# Heaters on unattended boats



## drgamble (Oct 28, 2008)

What is the consensus on keeping a heater plugged in and on the boat while away for a week at a time? I currently have the very simple and low heating element West Marine air dryer/de-humidifier on my boat while unattended. This was actually recommended by our yard shop and I'm not overly concerned as this product has a very mild heating element. I employ all the usuals of making sure flammables are not kept on boat along with proper placement of the unit. I've also seen heaters out there that have an automatic start when tempertures drop below freezing and I'm curious if any of you employ these devices. My boat is in a slip and there is nominal motion as it is in a very protected cove so movement is minimal. Any thoughts? And for the record, we're not talking any sort of 'old school' heater but one of the more modern, higher-safety devices. Thanks


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

We keep a heater on board in the fall/winter months, same situation - sheltered marina no wash- and use proper wiring and outlets without any problems. We do check the boat at least twice a week as a rule. This year we also started using a decent dehumidifier, that has really worked out well for keeping the boat dryer in our typical 90%+ RH rainy season conditions.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Most marinas won't let you leave a heater plugged in for insurance reasons.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

sailingdog said:


> Most marinas won't let you leave a heater plugged in for insurance reasons.


Not our experience up here, SD. The major limitation on heaters in local marinas is typically a power usage limitation - as low as 250W in some cases, precluding the use of any serious heater.

However many other marinas (including ours) offer power up to 30 amps if you're willing to pay for it.


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

> My boat is in a slip and there is nominal motion as it is in a very protected cove so movement is minimal. Any thoughts? And for the record, we're not talking any sort of 'old school' heater but one of the more modern, higher-safety devices. Thanks


We typically have all the breakers, AC and DC, off while the boat is unattended. When the weather starts getting into the 20's, I worry more about freeze damage than I do electrical fires, so we turn on a small electric heater on the low setting.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

Round here most marinas won't let you leave power plugged into boats ON THE HARD. But in a slip they have no way of telling what you have going on inside the boat. Folks leave A/C's running all summer.

I suggest you leave the heater on a low setting and check the amperage draw to make sure it is well below the rating of the breaker. also check all the wires inside your panel to make sure there is nothing loose or cracked.


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## baboon (Aug 7, 2008)

I keep a heater on low in my boat in the winter and it has worked well to reduce mold etc. I use one with a low heat ceramic element and a tip switch. Keep in mind that 30 amp shore power is the standard in some marinas. Some owners in my area will plug their heaters into the shore power cord with an adapter, particularly if their boat is older and does not have it's own shore power system with proper breakers. A short in the heater may not trip the dock breaker and will turn the heater's cord into a filament, a mistake you will only make once.


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

We always kept a heater on for the winter months in our last boat, it was a permanent built-in and never had any problems, but we made sure the wiring was properly done before leaving it. Now with this boat I will be leaving a freeze protection heater on and when I am on the boat (several times a week) I turn it on to warm it up and dry it out. 

John


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## WouldaShoulda (Oct 7, 2008)

sailingdog said:


> Most marinas won't let you leave a heater plugged in for insurance reasons.


Correction; many marinas won't let you leave an unapproved non-marine heater plugged in BECAUSE IT WILL BURN YOUR BOAT THEIR MARINA DOWN!!

Not "insurance purposes!!"


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

NO

On Long Island at least in my area it is in every winter storage contract NO electric heat and for the most part no shorepower if your NOT there 


Now if you go to a yard in Conn on the other side of the sound you can do a lot more and liveaborard is much less of a problem


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I use a "goldenrod" in the engine compartment and a 1000 Watt heater on the lowest setting for the cabin. Together I think the current draw is about 400 Watts when the heater is running, about 4 amps.
I put the heater on top of the stove so that there isn't anything flammable near it _just in case_. Also don't put it anywhere it is possible to get dripped on, or run the cord over cushions or curtains. I use the closest outlet to the AC breaker panel to minimize the amount of boat wire in use again _just in case_... Last year I discovered the AC wiring had been connected with acorn nuts and taped up in a ball. It was hot to the touch when I discovered it. Lesson learned. If you leave one on just make sure all your wiring and shore power connectors are in good shape.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

*Up here in New England, most marinas won't let you leave a boat plugged in regardless of whether it is a marinized heater or not... Just doesn't happen. *The reason is that in most boat yards, the boats are so close together that if one catches fire, you'll easily lose four or more boats to a fire.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

You New England types need to harden up.


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## drgamble (Oct 28, 2008)

SB - don't you guys have fireplaces on your boats up there in Alaska?


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Some people use fireplaces, but the Dickinson oil stoves are by far the most common. Harder to leave a wood fireplace unattended for a couple weeks....


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## jason3317 (Dec 20, 2007)

What about a permanently installed reverse cycle heat system? OK to leave on unattended?


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## T37SOLARE (Feb 1, 2008)

It's official, I really, really, really * HATE WINTER*....


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## kjango (Apr 18, 2008)

I'm living aboard & using an infrared ray heater.....keeps the inside of the boat 60-65 degrees.....comfortable for me....used to Montana winters


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## Trekka (Jul 16, 2006)

Check your connections. Are the plugs warm? Very warm?? Hot??!!

Plugs are a weak link. If the plug is very warm or hot there is a poor connection. Lots of trouble starts at such points due to heat caused by the resistence in the connection. Check the blades and clean if necessary, same on the recessed blades in the sockets. 

Even proper 30A 3 prong twist plugs can get hot enough to burn if the connection is poor enough while the current draw is high enough.

All that attended to, good heaters can be left on if set thoughtfully, with due consideration. I never leave them going full blast, nor where anything can fall down in front of them. And I mostly use the Pelonis heavy duty cube ceramics which never get hot enough to ignite anything though they put out gobs of warm air.

Thinking back to my first liveaboard winters, 30 yrs ago, it is amazing we never caught fire. But after 3 yrs we moved ashore again and the next year a former neighbor had his luck run out. Space heater technology has come a long way since then.


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## jstv4man (Nov 19, 2004)

I second the question about reverse-cycle heat. My boat is new to me, and my 1st with A/C. I really enjoyed the built-in AC over the summer, but have some concern about whether it is a good thing to run the heat over the winter, primarily due to humidity issues. If anyone could chime in on this, I would really appreciate it.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

reverse cycle heat that uses sea water is limited by the sea water temp. I don't recall exactly but I seem to remember that below a 45d seawater temp, they don't work.


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## donradclife (May 19, 2007)

The boat next to me in the yard was bought cheap because of a fire caused by an electric heater and acorn nuts in the wiring.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

xort said:


> reverse cycle heat that uses sea water is limited by the sea water temp. I don't recall exactly but I seem to remember that below a 45d seawater temp, they don't work.


The colder the water is the harder it is to pull the heat energy out of it, so the unit becomes less efficient. I think it varies a little by model, but somewhere around 40 seems right. I thought about using reverse cycle to heat my home until I looked into it a little. Since our water supply would be around 40-42 it would not work. 
However if it did work, and you were heating with reverse cycle I would have a some concerns over that method. If shore power went our and the pump failed you would end up with standing water in the plumbing. Seawater freezes somewhere around 28F, so it wouldn't be inconceivable that cabin temps could get below that and freeze, and possible rupture, the reverse cycle plumbing. Now you have a very expensive leak, and worrisome source of water coming in your boat...


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## TrueBlueCal44 (Jul 24, 2006)

*diesel heater*

What about leaving a Dickinson diesel heater unattended? Does anyone ever leave that running during the day while off the boat at work? We liveaboard and to heat it up every night and then turn it off and let it get cold during the day is tough. Especially with this unusual "cold spell" we're having in Seattle!


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

I know it's not recommended and I'm uncomfortable doing it, but I left our new Wallas 40D diesel forced air furnace running from Friday night until Tuesday morning when I could put the boat back in the marina and hook up to shore power. There is no shore power out on the fuel float (where I had it because of the low tides) so an electric heater wasn't an option. It did a great job, kept the boat about 50F in 25-40K winds and temps in the low 20's, and the thermostat was set fairly low. I'm not going to make a habit of it, but it's nice to have as a backup if the power gets knocked out. I could actually check the status of the furnace from the cabin with binoculars, the red and yellow LED's were visible on the control through the side pilothouse windows (made me feel better at 2am when I got up to check it).

John


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

jrd22 said:


> ..... I could actually check the status of the furnace from the cabin with binoculars, the red and yellow LED's were visible on the control through the side pilothouse windows (made me feel better at 2am when I got up to check it)....


Now you're just bragging, John!

A beautiful boat, tied up in sight of your house.... I guess your Christmas list is pretty short!


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

It will be longer after he transfers to boat to me.

David


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

> What about leaving a Dickinson diesel heater unattended? Does anyone ever leave that running during the day while off the boat at work? We liveaboard and to heat it up every night and then turn it off and let it get cold during the day is tough. Especially with this unusual "cold spell" we're having in Seattle!


This past week, I heard several unattended diesel heaters going on the dock each morning I went down to check on our boat. We have one of the Dickenson diesel heaters. The previous owner was liveaboard down at Shilshole. She used to leave it running while she was at work. I haven't worked up the nerve to do it myself, although we've had it running for a few days at a time while we were on board.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

I can hear a few boats with diesel or propane type heaters going when I've checked on my boat over the last few days. I personally have on of the newer electric heaters for the last three winters. Works fine. Some folks have put a cookie sheet under it in case the heater melts vs leaving it on the wood flooring. 

Marty


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

> Some folks have put a cookie sheet under it in case the heater melts vs leaving it on the wood flooring.


I actually have my little electric heater sitting on top of our Dickenson stove. Figured it was the most fire proof thing on the boat if the fit hit the shan.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

TrueBlueCal44 said:


> What about leaving a Dickinson diesel heater unattended? Does anyone ever leave that running during the day while off the boat at work? We liveaboard and to heat it up every night and then turn it off and let it get cold during the day is tough. Especially with this unusual "cold spell" we're having in Seattle!


Almost everyone up here that has a Dickinson leaves it burning all winter. Only one boat has burned down so far this year. Haven't had an shorepower induced fires yet, but we had two last year and no Dickinson fires.


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

> Almost everyone up here that has a Dickinson leaves it burning all winter. Only one boat has burned down so far this year. Haven't had an shorepower induced fires yet, but we had two last year and no Dickinson fires.


Thanks for a first hand report, very helpful.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

erps said:


> Thanks for a first hand report, very helpful.


Here is the official story:



> *Fire officials say overheated oil stove set fire to fishing vessel*
> 
> The Associated Press
> 
> ...


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## janders (Dec 18, 2007)

We liveaboard in Seattle. During this latest cold snap, we've left our electric oil radiant heater going all day long. We also have a Dickenson diesel heater but I don't like leaving that going. I've had it burn out once before on me. I didn't want to come home to a heater full of unburned diesel.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Do you mean an electric oil radiator??? I've never seen an electric oil radiant heater. IMHO, the electric oil radiator type heaters are pretty safe to leave unattended


janders said:


> We liveaboard in Seattle. During this latest cold snap, we've left our electric oil radiant heater going all day long. We also have a Dickenson diesel heater but I don't like leaving that going. I've had it burn out once before on me. I didn't want to come home to a heater full of unburned diesel.


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## WouldaShoulda (Oct 7, 2008)

sailboy21 said:


> Almost everyone up here that has a Dickinson leaves it burning all winter. Only one boat has burned down so far this year.


WOW!! Just one??


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## janders (Dec 18, 2007)

Judging by the number of question marks you used, there's clearly a large difference between oil radiant and oil radiator.  My bad. Yep, oil radiator. The only thing I worry about with the heater is the power cord and plug. I run my hand along it every day to see if it's generating any heat. So far, so good. I also bungee the cord so it doesn't lay on our settee. I don't want it slipping behind the cushions.



sailingdog said:


> Do you mean an electric oil radiator??? I've never seen an electric oil radiant heater. IMHO, the electric oil radiator type heaters are pretty safe to leave unattended


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

You should also check your shorepower cord, right at the shorepower inlet on the boat and and where it plugged into the AC source.


janders said:


> Judging by the number of question marks you used, there's clearly a large difference between oil radiant and oil radiator.  My bad. Yep, oil radiator. The only thing I worry about with the heater is the power cord and plug. I run my hand along it every day to see if it's generating any heat. So far, so good. I also bungee the cord so it doesn't lay on our settee. I don't want it slipping behind the cushions.


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## messenger (Oct 21, 2006)

I put one of thesehttp://http://www.eco-heater.com/features.html on a couple of weeks ago, kinda like a golden rod on steroids, but keeps the interior of a 24 trailer sailor nice and dry and sitting on the trailer, gets down in the thirties, it is still in the 70s in the cabin. Thinkin about wiring up a thermostat. Get the one with the dolphins if you want to maintain the nautical theme. They need to come out with more sizes and shapes.


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