[TSOJOURNER]

We are going to put a diesel fired forced hot air heating system in our
Tayana 37. We are debating between a Webasto model AT-5000 and an Espar D5LC.
Does anyone have any advice or experience on the pros and cons of each?

 

[TSOJOURNER]

I have been teaching aboard charter boats in the Northwest for eight years on many types of vessels. I have found that the predominant marine heating system has been the Wabasto syetem. I have also heard that the espar units do not hold up under continous live-aboard type use. Hope this helps.

 

[Constantin]

I installed a Webasto Airtop 5000 into our 39'' Prout Escale. It replaced a DL4C from Espar that had rusted through completely due to water ingress via a crappy hatch in the rear (that''s another story)

We rebuilt the hatch to incorporate drains (what a novel concept) and then installed the webasto I bought at sure marine in WA. Their home-made installation manual was simply amazing in detail, they really cover everything. The standard Webasto manual is rather limited.

Would the DL4C have lasted longer under non-soaking conditions? Probably. But I''m delighted with the Webasto we have. The unit runs well and keeps the crew happy and warm. The variable speed fan is a real plus. The Webasto also costs less than the Espar competition.

If you want to see the stages of the retrofit/fix, follow the links on vonwentzel.net to the Prout Escale section and then onto "Lets Just Pretend it''s Warm".

 

[TSOJOURNER]

does anyone have any imput on the Dickinson heaters? I''m considering the diesel fired Newport.

 

[TSOJOURNER]

The boat we now have had a Dickinson diesel cabin heater in it. It worked wonderfully. We had no odor in the boat when we used it. We used it very frequently most often when anchored out.They have a glass window on the front which adds alot of "cozyness" and makes a nice night light. If you use it at night as we did make sure the chimney is vented properly along with having other addequit ventilation in your boat.
Remodeling the inside of our boat this winter we have descided to switch from a diesel cook stove to a Force 10 propane stove to have temperature control.We therefore opted to purchase a Force 10 propane cabin heater. It is smaller,does not have near the same btu output,and does not look as nice as the Dickinson heater did. Good luck, Dave

 

[TSOJOURNER]

We have been living aboard our sail vessel for five years. Our primary heat source is a Dickinson Pacific cook stove. The stove is an old one and admittedly I fought with it for about a year until I learned how to properly maintain it. They need to be cleaned on a regular basis, this is a messy job though not too time consuming. When the stove is not burning right it is a nasty sooty mess (on the outside of the boat). Now that I''ve learned to clean the stove and keep the flame burning above the can, I have been happy with it. Would I buy another one? Probably not, unless money was an issue, then I would go with the Dickinson as a reasonable, economical, alternative. I believe the Newport is a bulhead mounted unit, however, my experience with these as proven to me that the above considerations apply as well.