Hot water heater in v-berth?

[Dave22q]

Engine location makes most sense to me, closest to the galley so minimal wiring. Runs off engine or shore power. Battery powered water heater equals extra weight if special purpose battery. How much water can you heat on a single charge anyway?

[er9]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

Engine location makes most sense to me, closest to the galley so minimal wiring. Runs off engine or shore power. Battery powered water heater equals extra weight if special purpose battery. How much water can you heat on a single charge anyway?

not connecting it to the engine. i care less about galley hot water than shower hot water. if im on the hook and i need hot water for dishes, its easy enough to heat up the tea kettle. 12 volt doesn't need shore power to work just enough 12 volt energy.

Whale has a 750 watt version. thats would consume about 65 Amp hours of energy give or take, if i run it for an hour. thats only 1/5 of the useable energy in a 400 AH battery bank. that should be long enough to heat 5 gallons of water hot enough for a shower or two. my current 1500 watt heater will heat enough hot water for a shower in 20-30 minutes.

when im plugged in at the dock its no concern at all. if i want a shower aboard i can run the water heater and charger at the same time to keep the batteries topped up. both running at once would only be about 15 amps draw. thats only half the amperage of my dock power inlet.

the other advantages i see are that the 12 volt heater can be used anywhere, anytime. AC water heaters can as well but only through an inverter. it seems a direct 12 volt heater would be better but im no expert. i also like the idea of it being a way to store excess energy from solar or hydro generation. once the batteries are topped up from either you can bleed off the extra energy into the heater and get free hot water. to me thats better than running the engine.