[C38] Cabin Heater

[Charles]

I installed the Dickinson propane fireplace heater (New York) 5-6 years 
ago and would install another one if it was my choice.  I had one of 
their charcoal heaters in my Cascade 36 back in the late 70s, but the 
propane is much more convenient and certainly less of a mess.  The vent 
on these units is a double pipe that uses outside air for combustion 
(good idea with any of these units).  The only pain was running a 
separate line from the propane tank all the way up to the port 
bulkhead.  I would estimate installation was no more than 3-4 hours (cut 
vent hole in cabin and run electric and propane to the unit).  Even 
though this unit does not use any inside air... I strongly recommend a 
propane detector!  I put one in when I converted my stove from CNG and 
it does help me sleep better at night.

Charles Finn,
Mighty Quinn #114

Rich West wrote:
> Hi All,
>  
> Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do about a cabin heater?  
> I had an Espar diesel forced air heater installed in the port 
> lazarette but it finally quit.  There was bulky air ducting going 
> through the engine compartment and into the cabin on the starboard 
> side.  I didn't replace it because I hated the noise and when it would 
> complete it's heating cycle and do a "cool down" cycle, it would cool 
> the boat enough that it would need to restart almost immediately.
>  
> To replace it, I bought a cute little Espar diesel hydraunic 
> heater but I haven't installed it yet.  It's heats water which is 
> pumped through the boat to a small radiator (or radiators) with a 
> fan.   I haven't found a great place for the heat exchangers yet.  
> There are some places that would be suitable but I hate to run 40 feet 
> of hose (there and back) filled with coolant.  Legacy is heavy enough 
> as it is.  I'm not concerned about getting heat to the V berth because 
> in our case, it's a storage area.  
>  
> Thanks,
>  
> Rich West
> Legacy, #360
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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