Hydronic Heaters

This forum is for comments and the exchange of information relating to Trojan Boats and boating. Please do not post used parts or boats For Sale in this area. For general, non-boating topics please use our "General Discussions" section.

Note: Negative or inflammatory postings will not be tolerated.

Moderators: BeaconMarineBob, Moderator, BeaconMarineDon

Post Reply
Vitaliy
Moderate User
Posts: 332
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 12:59 pm
Location: Norfolk, Virginia

Hydronic Heaters

Post by Vitaliy »

Any one have any experience with them? i was looking into them for my buddies boat and was wondering if anyone ever used them? the application will be using a hot water heater tank as the water source at about 120F

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... 8&id=48295

just caught my interest and was wondering how good/bad this idea would be?
1974 F36 Tri-Cabin "Jorallyn"
Vitaliy
Moderate User
Posts: 332
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 12:59 pm
Location: Norfolk, Virginia

Post by Vitaliy »

the link wont post properly for some reason....
1974 F36 Tri-Cabin "Jorallyn"
User avatar
prowlersfish
2024 Gold Support
2024 Gold Support
Posts: 12645
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2005 6:56 pm
Location: Lower Chesapeake Bay ,Va

Post by prowlersfish »

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... 8&id=48295

I can't see it being very efficient , there made to work off the engines not a hot water heater , you will need to add a pump also . a lot of money for a small amount of heat , your BTUs will be limited to the wattage of you water heater ,
Boating is good for the soul
77/78 TROJAN F36 Conv.
6BTA Cummins diesels
Life is to short for a ugly boat :D
Vitaliy
Moderate User
Posts: 332
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 12:59 pm
Location: Norfolk, Virginia

Post by Vitaliy »

This idea was my buddies, it just caught my curriocity, if you read the description it actually states that you can use it along with a standard water heater, technically i dont see how it would be any different from the engine heat since both the temperatures should be around the 170 range however yes, a pump will be required.

the max outbut is well over 20k BTU, thats what caught our eye really but that would deffinately depend on how hot the water actually is.
1974 F36 Tri-Cabin "Jorallyn"
User avatar
prowlersfish
2024 Gold Support
2024 Gold Support
Posts: 12645
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2005 6:56 pm
Location: Lower Chesapeake Bay ,Va

Post by prowlersfish »

You will not be able to get 20k BTU out of the heater with your water heater no mater how hot it can get the water . It is limited by how much power the water heater has . a 5100 BTU heater is 1500 watts (12 amps ) . So lets say your water heater is a 12 amp unit , with no heat loss you may get 5100 BTU out of that heater , of course it would be less with the heat loss of the pluming . Now if you had a 50 amp water heater then you would get your 20k .

Real world what would happen is you would get some heat when you first turn it on ( with fully heated water heater) then some warm to cool air after it ran awhile , and your hot water won't be to hot as the heater will draw all the heat out of the water.
Boating is good for the soul
77/78 TROJAN F36 Conv.
6BTA Cummins diesels
Life is to short for a ugly boat :D
User avatar
Commissionpoint
Active User
Posts: 1197
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2011 11:59 pm
Location: Diamond Point on Lake George, NY

Post by Commissionpoint »

I suppose it really depends on how cold it is outside and how much cabin space you have that you are trying to heat, but Trojans for instance, don't have a whole lot of insulation. So not only do you need to have a decent source of heat, but it has to be basically continuous to make up for what is constantly being lost out the non insulated glass, the hull, and the deck. Anything with a long(ish) recovery time isn't going to work very well.
1978 F-32 "Eclipse"
Merc 305 SBC's
1.52:1 Borg Warners

1983 Correct Craft
Commander 351 Ford (PCM)
1:1 Borg Warner

There are 350 different varieties of shark, not counting loan or pool.
Vitaliy
Moderate User
Posts: 332
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 12:59 pm
Location: Norfolk, Virginia

Post by Vitaliy »

Thanks for the input, this was planned for a 34ft silverton that has even less insulation then my trojan

it was just an idea that sparked some interest but now i see that it is inpractical...
1974 F36 Tri-Cabin "Jorallyn"
Post Reply