Central Heating ideas for Bavaria 44

[elias]

Hi! I was wondering, is there any tested solution to fight cold inside a sailboat ? Not heavy winter , something around 10 celsius !

[tiger79]

Diesel warm air heater - Webasto or Eberspacher are the quality brands, there are cheap lookalikes if you want to risk them.

[Yngmar]

The standard solution is a forced air diesel heater, available from the Eberspächer/Webasto cartel, good quality Russian copies thereof from Planar and varying quality Chinese copies from eBay/Ali. Downside is, this involves laying large air ducts through the boat with outlets in various cabins.

Alternatively you can fit a hydronic system, which just needs hot water pipes but either radiators or blown air (powered fan) outlets. Downside is, it's another thing that can leak.

The more traditional solution is fixing a drip Diesel heater (e.g. Refleks). These have the advantage of requiring power, but the disadvantage of taking up a lot of space in the cabin and requiring a chimney.

Finally, Wallas makes a Diesel stove/oven that can be fitted with an optional fan hood that allows the stove to heat the room. There is no open flame, it works much the same as above forced air diesel heaters.

Take your pick

[Salty]

Hi! I was wondering, is there any tested solution to fight cold inside a sailboat ? Not heavy winter , something around 10 celsius !

Where is the boat likely to be at the time, at sea, berthed in a marina, on shore laid up for the winter, or all or any of those ?? In a marina or on shore there is often the opportunity for mains electricity powered heating which may not be much more expensive to use than a diesel heater.

[elias]

At sea , in Greece , May to October. Needed for first weeks of May and last of October.
Yngmar ,  propex gas heater looks interesting, any ideas?

[tiger79]

propex gas heater looks interesting, any ideas?

Their largest model is only 2.8kW output, which isn't a lot for a 44ft boat.  It also uses 225g of gas per hour - putting that into perspective, a 907 Camping Gaz cylinder would only last 12 hours.  You'd need to carry a few spare cylinders...

[Noelio Abrunhosa]

hi.
we replaced our faulty eberspacher with a chinese model. very happy with it. it fitted win the exact same mountings etc. used this winter with no hicups.

regards Abby

[elias]

Hmmm...
any links?

[Clivert]

Don't put an outlet in the head.
It just encourages people to take their time !!

[Symphony]

Blown hot air is the way to go for your intended use. If you are installing it yourself then the Russian Planar are worth considering because of the significant saving in material cost. However if you are paying somebody to do it, the heater unit itself becomes a much smaller proportion of the overall cost and using one of the more established makes might be worth it. As well as Webasto (which is the one used on Bavaria installations in the UK) and Eberspacher also consider Mikuni www.mikuniheating.com which is widely used in the UK particularly for boats used on our inland waterways as well as yachts.

However once you have seen the cost and disruption of a good installation you may find wearing extra clothes in the cooler evenings at either end of the season a more effective strategy!

[Harry Brown]

Go for something like this. I'm not saying this particular one, you can get cheaper, I've just linked it for your info.
I know many people have fitted these in boats and campers garden sheds, workshops etc. All very impressed by them!
Hell, for the price, install two! 

https://ebay.us/Vh4pnM

[Bav32]

I went with a Finnish brand called Safire. That's not the cheapest one out there but the heater wont burn down your boat

Safire heaters are quiet, efficient, has low elecricity consumption and have a ventilation function. And on top of all a kick-ass support with a lot of knowledge of heaters. I just installed a safire heater a year ago and I love it. They are apparently using the same fuel pumps as webasto and all the big companies.

Their internet pages are only in finnish, but they will probably answer questions in english too: https://safire.fi/heater_product/safire-36di/

I'm not a salesperson, I'm just a happy customer

[elias]

Thank you all guys!
I ll do the installation by myself, summer is almost here, so i ll start in 6 months. the use of the heater will be around one month per year. So i ll buy a cheap to see how it goes , and upgrade depending on how often i will use it. Yngmar, you are right, diesel is better.
Thanks again!

[sunshine]

The Mikuni gets my vote. Thermostatic control and drops to a lower output to maintain the desired temp once reached. I've read elsewhere about insulated ducting improving the efficiency of the system. Worth seeking out since you lose a bit of he's into the voids where the ducting runs.

[Bav32]

The Mikuni gets my vote. Thermostatic control and drops to a lower output to maintain the desired temp once reached. I've read elsewhere about insulated ducting improving the efficiency of the system. Worth seeking out since you lose a bit of he's into the voids where the ducting runs.

I insulated the ducting near the fridge and in spaces that would not heat the interior. There is no need to insulate ducting in the saloon. Remember that you loose the most heat in the first meters of the ducting.

[elias]

Even i said goodbye , are there any pictures of the vents in the living room of somebody? I was thinking to install a main vent underneath the stove that is empty and looks like wasted space

[Ziffius]

Elias, do you have a generator? I find my Webasto heater on my Bav 39 uses a fair amount of amps especially when starting up but gets you toasty especially aft cabins and saloon. Forward cabin takes longer as it’s so far from source. I find I run it if really needed, to take the chill away before diving under the duvet. I don’t leave it running all night. Loacation the Ionian March and May. At last it’s warm enough out here now to not need it.

[elias]

True is not so cold , but i host freedivers and i freedive too so it would be fantastic to protect from shivering after the dives . I dont have a generator , just a 80w panel and is more than enough for the loads we use .

[elias]

And ine idea for heating room and water ? Diesel fuel too

[sy_Anniina]

Last weekend I was sailing in 9-13C weather and my Eberspacher D4 (or D5 - have not checked) provided enough heat at around half-power setting. If you run your engine even somewhat while leaving / entering marina or anchorage, that may provide enough heat for the water, assuming you connect your calorifier to engine cooling circuit.

There are eberspacher (and other brands) diesel heaters for hydronic systems, providing hot water both for heating and consumption. Downside is as Yngmar stated complexity of system (blowers / radiators) as well as potential leaks.

BR,

Tommi - s/y Anniina - Bavaria 40 (2001)

[Yngmar]

And ine idea for heating room and water ? Diesel fuel too

A hydronic system piped through the calorifier (hot water tank) will provide both hot water and room heating.

Normally the engine coolant is already plumbed through the hot water tank on most boats and you get hot water from there. If you usually motor, you can also have radiators/blowers heated from the engine.

What suits best depends mostly on how you use the boat.

[elias]

update! I just ordered a cheap 2kw diesel air heater, just to try it.
question
1. is it a good idea to link the exhaust of the heater to the engine's exhaust, how long can ot be?
2. i will use the extra 10l tank provided in the package instead of drilling the main...or is there a T link that i can put on the main fuel tank?
3. i m thinking just to drill a heat vent underneath the last step of the staircase , will that increase the noise coming from the engine room too much?Maybe the duct pipe isolates the noise?

[semaphore]

1. is it a good idea to link the exhaust of the heater to the engine's exhaust, how long can ot be?

I don't think you want to link the exhausts. The manual for my heater says max 2 meters.

2. i will use the extra 10l tank provided in the package instead of drilling the main...or is there a T link that i can put on the main fuel tank?
much?Maybe the duct pipe isolates the noise?

I have a 20l tank in the starboard deck locker. It is in the way, and not easy to fill and I will be returning it to the main diesel tank. However, there's already a tap on the tank. I don't know for certain about T's on fuel lines,  but I seem to recall reading that it's not a good idea.

[Yngmar]

update! I just ordered a cheap 2kw diesel air heater, just to try it.
question
1. is it a good idea to link the exhaust of the heater to the engine's exhaust, how long can ot be?
2. i will use the extra 10l tank provided in the package instead of drilling the main...or is there a T link that i can put on the main fuel tank?
3. i m thinking just to drill a heat vent underneath the last step of the staircase , will that increase the noise coming from the engine room too much?Maybe the duct pipe isolates the noise?

1. No, that is the worst idea. The engine exhaust is not designed to run dry and will melt, either killing you by fire or fumes.

2. To run it from the main tank, you need to install a new tap, usually leaving the standpipe a bit higher than the engine one, so the heater can't drain the tank to the point where you can't motor anymore.

3. You can install ducting through the engine room if you have to, as long as it doesn't create an opening into the engine room.

Please re-read the installation instructions carefully, there is a lot of good advice in them. If your heater didn't come with any, download the installation instructions for a similar Eberspächer or Webasto heater, their advice applies to the copies too. Especially the sections about exhaust installation, ducting, spacing around the heater and fuel installation, all of which are potential fire hazards if done incorrectly.

[elias]

Thanks a lot! I ll try to stay away from the  news    !