[C320-list] Diesel boat heater installation

[Graeme Clark]

Forgot the link!

Don’t be put off by the fact that his main business is selling varnish. What this guy doesn’t know about Diesel heaters isn’t worth knowing!

https://www.letonkinoisvarnish.co.uk/eberspacher_intro_1.html

Graeme


Sent from my iPad

> On 18 Apr 2021, at 17:02, Graeme Clark <cg at skyflyer.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> I have had two C320s with Diesel heaters although in both cases installed prior to me becoming involved
> 
> First one (Mikuni) was installed on inside of transom directly behind the rudder quadrant. Bad idea! Very difficult to access for maintenance etc
> 
> Second one (Eberspacher, on my current boat) is also on inside of transom but moved to the port side so it is easy to get at if you stand in the aft port locker.
> 
> The ducting routed from there across to the shelf where the fridge compressor sits, down to the bottom of the hull and then in-between the gap between liner and full, effectively under your feet if you are sleeping in the aft bunk. At that point there’s a Y junction (accessible by lifting the stowage space cover board at foot of bunk) and one arm discharges in aft cabin and other routes under fridge, cooker etc to discharge under chart table into main cabin
> 
> Both systems failed to adequately heat the v-berth cabin!
> 
> I can’t speak for other makes but one of the issues with the Mikuni and Eber is that the thermostat is at the air inlet, because they are designed to recirculate air  in (for example) truck cabs.
> 
> Being situated outside the cabin means that the heater always draws fresh cold air so “thinks” the desired temperature  hasn’t been achieved and continues to belt out max heat no matter what you set the cabin controller to!
> 
> For the Eber there is a mod that per is a remote temp sensor (in the aft cabin). Another less satisfactory workaround is to open the hatch in the aft cabin to allow the heated air into the locker space that is feeding the heater.
> 
> In the UK the Eberspachers cost upwards of $1000.  There are now Russian and Chinese equivalents closer to $100. My son got one for his camper van and it’s excellent all the safety features still work (overheat auto shutdown etc)
> 
> One other think to think about is ducting.  Flexible aluminium duct is great but easily crushes if you step on it accidentally. Stronger semi rigid plastic ducting is an alternative but tends to give off an unpleasant “hot plastic (reminiscent of burning electrics” smell!
> 
> Best advice on installing these is don’t skimp on the wire gauge when wiring up. On start up they draw a hefty 25A or so to heat the glow plug. If your batteries aren’t new and/or fully charged that can drag the voltage down quite a bit.  With thinner wiring the voltage loss in the cabling can mean an even lower voltage at the heater itself and it will auto shutdown - or not fire up, at least.
> 
> I don’t know if Eberspacher brand heaters are available or popular in the US but if so I can give you a link to a really excellent site for everything you ever needed to know and how to diagnose problems.
> 
> Hope this helps
> 
> Graeme
> UK
> #366, 1996
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
>> On 18 Apr 2021, at 13:21, RONALD HODEL <ronandgail2 at me.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I installed an Espar hydronic heater in the aft port locker as well. The tubing runs forward to the hot water heater (I don’t use the engine to heat my hot water anymore), through the hot water heater into the main cabin and then under the floor to the aft cabin where it’s looped in the hanging locker (now shelves) and a smaller radiator vents warm air into the aft cabin as well. This setup has worked well for all the time we’ve owned the boat. 
>> 
>> I put pictures up on my owners album. I don’t know how to do sub-pages to the heater pictures are on the third page of my album, the last 5 photos.
>> 
>> Ron Hodel
>> #1070 Lokomaikai 
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad
>>