[AirborneSF]

Got to talking to a guy the other night, about putting a heater in line with the exhaust water before it gets expelled into the exhaust. Just how much heat will it give??????? Thanks.

 

[RichH]

Depending on the BTU/hr heat transfer of the engine's cooling water, quite a LOT.

example: JEGS Performance Products 70601 JEGS Hot Rod Heaters - Free Shipping on All Orders @ JEGS

 

[Maine Sail]

Got to talking to a guy the other night, about putting a heater in line with the exhaust water before it gets expelled into the exhaust. Just how much heat will it give??????? Thanks.

Pretty much none if the engine has an HX.. If the water across your HX is getting that hot you have other issues..

A "bus heater" taps into the engine coolant circuit and if your engine is raw water cooled it would perform only marginally well. Many RWC engines have trouble just heating hot water...

If RWC measure your raw water hose at the injection point and that would be what is moving across the fan coil...

If you have a HX then tap the bus heater into the coolant loop and you will get cooked out of the boat...

 

[travlin-easy]

Ditto! Not much at all from the exhaust waters, which I can put my hand in without being close to getting burned. I believe your best bet would be to place an automobile heater core in line with your freshwater heat exchanger. It would work just like a car heater, maybe even better. And, you'll have a fan for circulating the cabin air if you rig it properly. You can find the heaters at JC Whitney, or most auto junk yards, and they're not very expensive. Replacement Direct Fit Heater Core - JCWhitney

Good Luck,

Gary

 

[Dave_E]

I have one like gary describes, auto type. Works fair, except it's positioned in the aft of the cabin. If the companion way boards are not installed... all the heat goes right up and out. It was on the boat when I got it, I don't use it. Placement of such a unit would be the most important aspect of installation.

 

[sailak]

We had a Red Dot heater in Cirrus that worked great. If I can find somewhere to put it I'm planning to install one in Elnora. They are very handy for drying clothiers/gloves/footwear.

 

[Maine Sail]

Hamilton Marine has a huge selection of "bus heaters" (made by Heater Craft) as the local Maine and Maritime Lobstermen all tend to have them..

I've installed a bunch of the Heater Craft units and we had one on our old power boat too, good units. Unfortunately they just don't do anything when you stop the engine, so are of little use on a sailboat, unless you motor a lot...

 

[AirborneSF]

If I understand him correctly, the eng has an 180deg thermoset like a car, so the eng. would be heated to that deg? I'm guessing he's partly right, as the water in the heater, should be as hot as the eng.? I think he has the atomic 4, so it's like a car eng.

 

[mitchbrown]

Most engines have plugs where the heater hoses can be attached. one on the fresh water pump and the other on the or near the thermostat housing. Do a search on ebay for red dot heater and you should find a good price.

 

[Capt Len]

The car heater is not in series (in line) with the rad.T'eed off at the water pump is good. Needs its own control valve.Can also run a parallel circuit thru the hot water tank core exchanger. Edit ,, what Mitch said.

 

[rikhall]

We had this one Heater 28 000 Btu 12V Basic Kit with 2 Outlets from Hamilton Marine on our Tanzer 28. It had a 2GM20 Fresh Water cooled engine. The heater has two "vents" and I had one "plumbed" to the main salon and one plumbed up to the head near the V-berth.
We "cruise" from NB Canada and down the coast of Maine. Lots of beautiful hot sunny days, lots of foggy damp days.
The heater was fantastic - dried the cabin out. We strung "cloths lines" all around and across the main salon on one trip when everything was feeling pretty damp. Dried the stuff right out.
On our IC34 we have a raw water cooled Yanmar and we have a 6 gal hot water tank "plumbed" into the exhaust water. Certainly great for showers and doing dishes, but not hot hot.
Still thinking of adding the same heater to this boat.
But - if I add one more thing, she'll probably sink!

Rik