PAL Heaters and Ventilation

[ps34]

Has anyone used a PAL heater on board and if so, how much ventilation is needed in the boat? We have PS 34 and are wondering if the dorades are sufficient ventilation or if we should also leave a port cracked open a little. Thanks, Pam

[RickBowman]

Can I take a life insurance policy out on you and your crew?

[peikenberry]

That is a propane heater. I have never used one but I sure wouldn't use it inside on a boat. Spell that C. O. As RickBowman said: Need an insurance policy?

[ps34]

I know this is a late response but it's not a propane heater - it uses alcohol and we have since found a number of people in our marina who use it regularly - and yes they keep a port or the companionway hatch pulled back a bit!

[Plumper]

It is important to remember that one of the byproducts of burning alcohol is moisture (as well as the other noxious gases). If you don't ventilate really well you'll fill the boat with very moist air and the problems that are associated with it. Lots of ventilation is important.

[JohnRPollard]

I always scratch my head when I read about heaters that require one to leave a hatch partially open for ventilation. It just seems like a backwards way to heat a boat. Imagine if you had to leave a window open in your house every time you ran the heater? And on a boat, heating efficiency is even more critical given the lack of insulation and the limited energy supplies.

We installed a Dickinson Newport propane heater in our PSC 31. It has a sealed combustion chamber, and a double-walled chimney stack that draws air for combustion from outside the boat, end exhausts all by-products of combustion outside the boat as well. Well worth every penny....

If you don't mind the inefficiencies, I do think your two dorades left full open would provide adequate ventilation. Be sure to install a CO detector.

[Beattie]

Hi John,

I too have a PS31; any chance you could send me a picture of the Dickinson Heater installation on your boat?

Many thanks.

Richard Beattie

[sailortjk1]

While you wait for John, I can show you a pic of our installation (and a pic of my daughter; Melissa)

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by Beattie

Hi John,

I too have a PS31; any chance you could send me a picture of the Dickinson Heater installation on your boat?

Many thanks.

Richard Beattie

Hi Richard,

If you own a 31, then you are well aware of the dilemma when it comes to bulkhead-mounted heaters: No bulkhead!! I struggled with this problem for quite a while. I saw one guy that installed his on top of the galley cutting board, which was okay but not ideal in our view. Another boat put it on the forward side of the galley drawer area, next to the trailing end of the port settee. That wasn't ideal either.

Then I saw a photo of this boat:




This guy essentially built out the forward bulkhead on both sides, mounting a heater on one side and a bookshelf on the other. I basically copied this approach, but only on one side, leaving the other side open as it is normally. I chose to build-out the starboard side and mount the heater there, primarily because I found it easier to run the propane to that spot.

Unfortunately I do not have a good photo handy of my installation. It is similar to the one you see in the photo above, but on the starboard side, and also we used the Newport Dickinson (same as SailorTJK's further above) heater rather than the smaller Force 10 you see immediately above (by the way, I strongly advise against that Force 10 (now Sigma) heater, as it doesn't have many of the advantageous features of the Dickinson).

Happy to answer other questions if you have them.

[Beattie]

Thanks to both of you (and Melissa!) for your photos. As you correctly guessed, my PS31 does provide a challenge since it has no bulkhead but John, you have given me some ideas.

Richard