water heater....stay or go??

[Strayed Arrow]

Buenos Dias,

Tweaking our "new to us" boat in preparation for taking off cruising next year. Sorting out the plumbing systems now and am considering getting rid of the hot water side. Currently has hot water heater as well as accumulation tank. Wife is completely on board with nixing the system. It would mean increased storage as well as decreased chance for leaks / maintenance. I've been living on our trawler for almost four years and have not used the really nice hot water heater that she currently has. Don't see it as an issue. Once we leave, there will be no more snowflakes! Hot water can be made on the stove or by Mother Nature......
Do you have WH? Do you use it? What say ye?

[gamayun]

I have a small 6 gallon heater that I installed after the old one started leaking. It is tiny! Much smaller too than the old one it replaced. I also removed the accumulator tank and got a pressure water pump that works without it. Lots of space there now. The water heater is great for dishes and a quick shower. It doesn't take much engine time to heat up and is way more fuel and time efficient than waiting for a pot to boil on the stove.

[Pete7]

What is the water heater? does it heat via the engine cooling system or some other means?

Pete

[Strayed Arrow]

It is the West Marine 6 gallon heater with a separate 6 gallon (ish) holding tank. The PO has it set up in series, if you will, so that the engine can heat through both tanks or the 120 volt can heat while at the dock. Thought about dropping out the electrical side of the loop and just keeping the holding tank heated via the engine. But if I got rid of both, I would have just that much more room as the holding tank is in a hanging Locker that would be ideal for some other equipment...... the boat has in been in the PNW for quite some time and maybe the PO liked long hot showers????

[stormalong]

I lived aboard for 19 years and loved the hot showers. The idea of cold showers sends shivers up my spine.

[steve77]

I have no doubt that you will get responses from people advocating keeping the hot water tank and also those saying to remove it. I would recommend going cruising first and seeing if you use it or not. Make your decision after cruising for a year. It's always easier to remove something than to install it.

In our experience, we cruised for a year in the Caribbean when we were 40 on a boat that did not have hot water. After our year sabbatical, my wife made the decision that our next boat WOULD have hot water. All caps does not come close to how emphatic she was.

Orontes II has a 20 liter tank heated by our engine or auxiliary and we have been very happy with it living on board and cruising the last four years.

Cheers!

Steve

[Cheechako]

keep it. Nothing like a warm shower now and then when cruising. Heck I'd say it's in the top 10 most valued things I want when cruising. The engine heats it, it stays warm for 24 hours.... what's not to like?
Spend the day in the cold beating to weather? Salt spray all over you? Nice warm shower makes you whole again.

[Strayed Arrow]

HaHa. "WOULD" I can definitely read between those lines. ��

[Strayed Arrow]

Good point Cheechako.

[Shrew]

The "Water Heater" heats cold water. If it were a Hot Water Heater, there would be no point to the device.

The accumulator tank and the water heater are mutually exclusive devices. The accumulator tank reduces short-cycling of the pressure pump. This applies to both the hot and the cold side. There is no need to remove the accumulator tank unless you're also removing the pressure pump. IF the pressure pump stays, then keep the accumulator tank as well.

[Cheechako]

My advice is use it a while, go cruising. Then decide. This applies to the whole boat really! it's funny how sitting and thinking I devised lots of things to modify or etc. After cruising a while, the whole list changes!

[Chanticleer]

Originally Posted by Strayed Arrow

Buenos Dias,

Tweaking our "new to us" boat in preparation for taking off cruising next year. Sorting out the plumbing systems now and am considering getting rid of the hot water side. Currently has hot water heater as well as accumulation tank. Wife is completely on board with nixing the system. It would mean increased storage as well as decreased chance for leaks / maintenance. I've been living on our trawler for almost four years and have not used the really nice hot water heater that she currently has. Don't see it as an issue. Once we leave, there will be no more snowflakes! Hot water can be made on the stove or by Mother Nature......
Do you have WH? Do you use it? What say ye?

We have always had hot water on board ... but ... I have seen a lot of INSTANT hot water heaters in motor homes!
Anyone heard of this type of water heater for a boat?

[Cheechako]

I've had them on two boats. They are not "boat approved" but work great if you take care... as you should with all propane on a boat.
Many here on CF are against them though due to safety concerns. I always used mine like the cook stove: Turn on, use, turn off. They have all the safety features of an approved cook stove, maybe more.

[Sparx]

Love the hot showers. It makes a huge difference on longer cruises. My crew prefers her hot shower on the boat to any marina shower.

We heat galley water on the stove in a tea kettle, which works very well for us.

I don't think I would tear out a hot water system unless it was severely compromised and I desperately needed the space for something else. I probably would make sure isolation valves were in good order to close off the system if a problem occurred.

It sounds like hot water is not that valuable to your boating style, which is perfectly ok.

[wrwakefield]

Strayed Arrow,

The best way to test whether you like having hot water available is for both of you to stop using it all together in your current living situation. [Or at least reduce the temperature of the water you use now to what you anticipate your ambient water temp being once you go cruising...]

Do this for everything: showers, dishes, clothes washing, etc.

A month or two of this experiment should help you both make a decision...

Best wishes with your plans.

Cheers! Bill