Heat!

I wrote wrote earlier about my plans for heat, and the new system has been running perfectly for 12 days now. Just in time.

The install went smoothly. I did most of it myself with support from Sarah, who advised, assisted with some pipe pulls and gathered local materials. As I reflect on it there really weren’t any big challenges. Running hoses and wires is relatively painless in this boat.

I should have put more serious planning into the exhaust design. I talked myself into going over the fuel tank, but the outlet is a bit high and getting enough rise to keep water out is problematic. Should have run aft then down behind the tank and out a foot lower to get a bulletproof system. I have the winter to noodle on that as I work in the ER.

Apart from that I’m delighted with the system. I now have heaters in each room, each with their own thermostats. And no cold toilet seat or shower.

I’ve averaged 6 hours a day operation on the boiler in 12 days. Fuel consumption is 1.75 l/hr. But I’ve done zero winterization and have had a warm boat. We just covered the boat today, which will really help with heat.

I hate to take pictures of a messy install. The ER will get lots of attention over the winter, so I haven’t tied anything in there yet. You can see the footprint isn’t dramatically different from the water heater it replaced.

The whole thing wasn’t cheap – about $10k – but it achieves my goals elegantly. I’ve got hot water and limited space heating available from engine waste heat when underway or plugged in, with diesel fired heat always on call.

I’m again reminded of my small fuel tanks. Full they’re about 600 l. I arrived here almost full. But that’s not going to last the winter. I’m going to pursue additional tankage. There’s lots of room under the floor.

I want to write also about my solar panel install. Will do that soon in another post.

Samantha took a few shots leaving this evening. Nice to have some festive cheer from the neighbors!

We got the plastic on today and I’ll shrink it tomorrow. Forecast looks perfect, so I have confidence I won’t fail this time. Then some decorating…

Here’s a video of me drilling out the exhaust port. Measure twice, cut once! I never seem to learn.