Ben Lewis' inquiry reminded me that heat is also on my to-do list, although
with summer almost here it's slipping fast in priority.

The back of my mind is worrying about several issues that have been touched
on briefly in earlier furnace threads:

1. Glow plugs. My understanding is that Espar uses them but Webasto and
   Hurricane do not, that they use a lot of battery power, are expensive, and
   need replacement every season or two. What are their benefits?

2. Noise. Someone mentioned in passing several months ago that diesel
   furnaces are noisy. Is it an irritant or simply background? Is it a problem
   just on board or does it affect neighbours?

3. Soot. Same questions as for noise.

Cheers, Garrett

Can't address anything but the Espar that I have, but to answer your
questions:

1. Glow plugs - Espar uses some sort of resistance ignition device, may be a
   glow plug.  Haven't had to replace it in the two seasons I've operated it.
   Hope your info isn't right about the lifespan/cost.  It does draw some
   battery juice for perhaps 10 seconds during the initial startup phase, but
   not much after that.
2. It makes some noise, but not much, and I don't find it irritating.  On my
   little boat the unit's mounted under the dash, so I'm pretty close to it.
   If you mounted it in an engine room you'd never hear it outside.  However,
   friends who have installed forced air heaters have complained about noise
   transmitted through the ductwork - not necessarily heater noise, but from
   other sources in the boat (engine room, cabin next door...). Noise outside
   very minimal.
3. No soot.  No smoke.  No odor.  A little bit of steam at startup.

Bob Deering

Garrett:

1. GLOW PLUGS:  Don't know about glow plugs.  We have a Webasto Furnace and
   don't have any.

2. NOISE:  The only inside noise is from the fans except when you first turn
   it on you will hear the boiler ignite and run till the water is hot.
   Neither the fans nor the boiler  bother us.  Like you say, background noise.
   When you consider all the nice warm air coming out, boy you don't even hear
   the thing.  Affecting Neighbors:  We have ours vented out the transom so
   when you are side by side you cannot hear it in the next boat.  If we are
   backed into our slip, and you stand directly behind the boat, you can hear
   it.  Not noisy but you can hear it.  A boat down the way has another brand
   diesel furnace and it is vented out the side.  This makes for problems for
   them rafting with other boats and the sound also seems to ricochet between
   the boats.  Can't hear it when you are inside the neighbor's boat.

3. SOOT:  We do not have any and never have had any soot.

4. HEAT:  We have two thermostats, one in the salon and the other in our
   stateroom.  In addition to the off/on switch in the salon, Bob put in a
   switch next to the bed.  When he wakes up he flips the switch.  In 15
   minutes the place is warm and toasty---we don't leave the furnace on during
   the night.  We have three fan/vents in the salon, two in the stateroom and
   one in the head.

Cheers

Anne on Seabird

While this thread is running, may I widen it out just a bit by asking for
comments anyone may have about Epersbacher heaters?

Thanks in advance

Fred Blair
Panacea II
35' Oceana
Port Severn, Ontario

I can't imagine having a boat in a cool/cold climate without a diesel
heater. Even if you don't cruise during the cooler periods, it makes the
boat liveable year round. I use Sanderling's Espar heater whenever I
need to bring the temp up really quickly (like when I first come aboard
after being gone several days), or when the electricity on the dock goes
out (like during a snow or ice storm). I also run it when underway when
sea state is not too rough and when anchored.

Regarding Garret's questions, I replaced the glow plug three years ago
when I had the heater completely serviced by the factory authorized
agent - it had never been serviced in 10 years prior to that. The glow
plug has never failed to function properly since then.

The spec sheet says it burns 1 liter of diesel per hour - pretty good
"mileage" I'd say.

I don't know what amperage it draws on start up, but the only draw
afterwards is the fan which draws about 1.5 amps.

It is quiet. Located in the engine room which helps dampen most of the
sound. I can hear the fan running, but it is no more noticeable than the
forced air fan on my gas furnace at home.

I've never had to deal with soot, but anticipate I might have to in the
future based on what others have said about buildup in the burn chamber.
The exhaust gasses are vented outside (not inside like someone
suggested) and I do notice a little grey smoke when the diesel is
actually burning, but I haven't seen any build up of soot on the hull
near the exhaust vent. The exhaust vent does have to be covered when
underway in rough water to prevent water from entering the heating
chamber, but that is only because there wasn't enough room to properly
loop the exhaust line just before the vent. Since the vent is fairly
high on the hull, and located slightly forward of mid-ships, I do use it
when cruising if there are no waves which will come that far aft or that
high.

I'll make sure my next boat has a diesel heater - it's a great feature.

--
Bob McLeran                              rmcleran@ix.netcom.com
M/V "Sanderling"                        Docked at Point Patience Marina
Hailing port: Wianno MA                      Solomons, MD
Hampton 35 Trawler