Portable, Temporary Underway Heater

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

. . . An electric mattress heater (an electric blanket built to take the weight of a mattress pressing won on it) sold for truckers and RV use, will keep you toasty warm while using minimal power and producing absolutely no moisture. . . .

I'm surprised more cruisers don't use these.


An amazingly small amount of power can keep you toasty warm at night. Absolutely feasible to run off a small inverter, if you have a reasonable battery bank.

[Bill O]

As I suggesting in one of Terry's other posts, possibly use a 12V electric heating blanket.

Won't heat the cabin, but is fairly low amp draw and can heat up an individual crew member after they come off watch.
Not perfect, but portable and can be easily stowed when not in use to be used in an emergency.

(I see great minds think alike as we were posting the same idea at the same time! No inverter needed for the 12V version)


Bill O.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

These things are dangerous on two different levels:


1. Explosion risk from leaking gas. Disposable LPG containers are much more prone to leaking, than large ones, and you should not have containers of gas inside the cabin in any case. Such devices are against ABYC and will likely void any insurance.

.

while I agree with most of your post one word needs to be added here

Such devices are against ABYC ( recommendations) and will likely void any insurance
This is how that sentence should read.

Now the heater buddy is just fine for use on a boat with the caveat I had already mentioned " not to be used while sleeping" that's what blankets are for..

I personally have a forced air diesel unit with properly installed overboard exhaust and I still don't run it while I'm sleeping . ( goose down is your friend. )

[Juho]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

An electric mattress heater (an electric blanket built to take the weight of a mattress pressing won on it) sold for truckers and RV use, will keep you toasty warm while using minimal power and producing absolutely no moisture. More efficient than an electric blanket, since all the heat travels up through you before it gets into the cabin air.

The first line of defence for the night should be a down duvet. You can get already quite far with that. The heater is the human body itself, and you can use food as fuel.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Bill O

Won't heat the cabin, but is fairly low amp draw and can heat up an individual crew member after they come off watch, Bill O.

Why does the watch have to get cold? riding the bike through the winter I used one of these, brilliant bit of kit.

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocia...t-liner-review

[Pizzazz]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

These things are dangerous on two different levels:

1. Explosion risk from leaking gas.

2. Asphyxiation risk. People die every year from being asphyxiated from unvented heaters in boats. Are you going to trust your life to a made in China CO detector?

Leaking gas is always dangerous but a good installation will mitigate the risk. The CO risk is overstated. Yes, people die from CO poisoning. But if you leave a window cracked for some air exchange, the probability goes way down. The amount of heat produced is much larger than heat lost due to the air exchange.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by hamburking

I have an Origo Heat Pal. Its simple, safe, and portable. Best used at anchor, but if properly secured, could be used under way as well. Its very simple...the canister of alcohol, exactly like inside the famous and well loved Origo stove, but in a heat dispersing structure.

Dumb question.


How is this any different from, or safer than, leaving the stove burning? Seems like the same thing. So do most non-vented heaters. Just exhaust into the cabin. Some, like the Mr. Heater, have a low O2 sensor, which is just a devise that looks at the change in flame shape as O2 drops.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Pizzazz

Leaking gas is always dangerous but a good installation will mitigate the risk.

A "good installation"?



We're talking about buying a Ronco Deluxe Mr. Heater Buddy Junior or whatever at Walmart, with a disposable 1 lb propane bottle, and setting it on the salon floor. Does that count as an "installation"?

Originally Posted by Pizzazz

The CO risk is overstated. Yes, people die from CO poisoning. ..

This is -- I don't know what else to say -- hilarious.


I guess, what -- death, sure, but the horror is death is overstated . . .

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by TrialRum

Hey Terry,
Use clay pots on the stove burners. Same clay pots used for planting. On lowest heat they will heat up and generate considerable heat to the surrounding areas. Use the stove fiddles to keep them in place.

How does it generate any heat that the burner would not on its own? It will convert A bit to radiant, but it won't create BUTs.


I've used a pot before, just for laughs, and I'm calling "myth," unless someone has an engineering argument

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

A "good installation"?



We're talking about buying a Ronco Deluxe Mr. Heater Buddy Junior or whatever at Walmart, with a disposable 1 lb propane bottle, and setting it on the salon floor. Does that count as an "installation"?








This is -- I don't know what else to say -- hilarious.

the my heater buddy is designed for portability.
The risk of leaks from the little 1 pound cylinder is when you remove it from the appliance.
Install and properly tighten the cylinder there is no more risk of leak than a standard cylinder.

As to his comment of co poisoning being overstated it should have read statistically overstated.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by thinwater

How does it generate any heat that the burner would not on its own? It will convert A bit to radiant, but it won't create BUTs.


I've used a pot before, just for laughs, and I'm calling "myth," unless someone has an engineering argument

they will increase the radiative effects. Also you are supposed to use a part thick pot that will radiate heat after the burner is extinguished when going to bed.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Dumb question.


How is this any different from, or safer than, leaving the stove burning? Seems like the same thing. So do most non-vented heaters. Just exhaust into the cabin. Some, like the Mr. Heater, have a low O2 sensor, which is just a devise that looks at the change in flame shape as O2 drops.

just my opinion but never leave an unvented open flame heat source burning when you are asleep .

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by newhaul

... there is no more risk of leak than a standard cylinder....

But a standard cylinder would be in a vented locker and there would be a propane sensor tied to a solenoid valve.


Not a direct comparison. This is why ABYC says "no." In fact, reviewers have contacted both Mr. Heater and Coleman, and they said "They are not recommended for use on boats." When pressed for the reasons behind that, they replied, "The propane."


Just sayin'. Personally, the exhaust and CO are enough for me. I value brain cells.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by newhaul

just my opinion but never leave an unvented open flame heat source burning when you are asleep .

Obviously.


But actually that should simply say "unvented."

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by newhaul

they will increase the radiative effects. Also you are supposed to use a part thick pot that will radiate heat after the burner is extinguished when going to bed.

Try it. Doesn't do beans. Compared to the heat in the cabinetry of the boat, the pot is a rounding error on a rounding error. Check the math, many hundreds of pounds vs. 1 pound.