I have a Webasto in the lazarette with ducting to the aft cabin and under the dinette.

Zero diesel smell and great warm DRY heat.

I think the bulkhead-style ones, while they look yachty, are going to give you diesel smell and possible soot if you are not careful, plus they require a large chimney to function properly.

I had a bulkhead-mount propane unit (Newport Dickinson) in my old boat. Loved the visible flame for the ambiance, but no way it would have heated a Catalina 36 even in the fall season in the PNW.

If you have diesel smell it's because of a leak, not the heating system. Forced air or hydronic heat are the two choices. The PNW guys know all about heating systems. We have a bulkhead mounted kerosene heater. I dislike it. Needs alcohol to start the burner and it makes a lot of noise with little heat, also requires a fan to move the air around. We bought a small catalytic heater from REI (any camping store would do). Takes the chill off the feet, but that's about all, much like a 1500 watt electric heater. We use the catalytic heater at anchor, electric in marinas. For "true" heat, a "system" is the way to go. Webasto seems to be favored over Eberspacher, since the latter has replacement parts "issues" much like Volvo diesels - great units but parts are hard to find and expensive.

When our boat was new in 2002 I installed an Espar forced air furnace. It has performed flawlessly!

I think that especially in the Northwest, a forced air furnace is the way to go because the enemy of mildew is air circulation.

One of the secrets to my Espar's success was having purchased it from the most knowledgeable sales outfit in this corner of the US...Boat Electric, in Seattle. They know furnaces, and they sell a marinizing installation kit that has the electrical issues all neatly packaged for easy installation. You'll still have to determine an installation strategy and purchase the ducting/outlets etc (from them or another source), but they have an instruction booklet that takes a lot of the ignorance and risk out of the project. They are exceptionally good people to do business with.

One of the issues with a bulkhead-mounted heater - I would surmise, although I have never owned one - is the localized nature of the heat. My guess is that it would be very hot near the heater, and cold as heck away from it.

I replaced my old diesel heater (xxx-041D) with a new Wallas diesel furnace. It works great and was relatively easy to install. I installed it below the port lazerette. Wallas units are available from Scan Marine in Seattle.

[url]http://www.scanmarineusa.com/wallas_furnaces.html[/url]

I have just put together an article for the coming April edition of Jibsheet detailing how I installed an Espar D5 forced air heater to our C375. We used it through last spring and fall on Lake Ontario with beautiful results. It's also great when you want to do some work on the boat on the hard. No smell and very little noise. If ducted properly, it can heat all areas of the boat including the head! I have not had any problems for parts (yet); only purchased some spares for future maintenance.

It is a lot of challenging work but I like to do this type of stuff. If you are not quite technically inclined, definitely get it installed. It is quite an expensive installation, but very labor intensive. Most difficult part is running the duct work; lots of surprises behind bulkheads and covers!

[quote=langweer2;7868]I replaced my old diesel heater (xxx-041D) with a new Wallas diesel furnace. It works great and was relatively easy to install. I installed it below the port lazerette. Wallas units are available from Scan Marine in Seattle.

[URL]http://www.scanmarineusa.com/wallas_furnaces.html[/URL][/quote]

Do you have any photos of the installation? Especially the ductwork. We've been thinking about a heater to extend our season and the Wallas looks very interesting, cost seems more reasonable than any of the others we've seen so far. We have a Mark II so location of the heater would have to be different, possibly in a hanging locker, cockpit lazarette or under the aft side of the dinette. What size unit did they recommend for your boat?

Here's a picture showing the final installation of the unit (Model 40D). I don't have any pictures showing the duct runs. The unit hangs from a bracket that I had to create a mounting spot for. It just barely fit into this spot. I've got 4 outlets. One in the aft cabin. One in the galley. One in the main salon and one in the head. Since I was replacing an old Ardic 041D, there was already a fuel line, exhaust port, and duct runs everywhere except in the aft cabin. The Wallas uses larger diameter ducting, so I had to replace that. Fortunately replacing the run below the icebox wasn't difficult. A couple dock mates tell me my unit is far quieter that their Webastos. If you want more pictues, let me know and when I'll take a few more next time I head up to the boat.

Nice job and an excellent location. I'll bet that was fun. :D

Mike

Mark, how did you run the exhaust? How hot does that pipe get? Their literature seems to show the two smaller units (22 and 30) with double walled pipe but the biggest one (40) with single wall pipe which is odd. That is probably going to be our biggest issue given where we are thinking of mounting it.

The exhaust runs back and out the transom. You've got to have some rise in the pipe prior to it exiting the hull to minimize the chance that water can be pushed up the exhaust and back into the unit. I think I have only the bare minimum rise. I already had an exhaust port in the transom from the old unit. The exhaust pipe is single walled and wrapped with some sort of fiberglass insulation. I don't believe it gets too terribly hot, but I can't give you a number. (I've been wanting an infrared temp sensor tool, so maybe I'll use this as anexcuse to go get one!) I expect the guys at Scan Marine probably could tell you more precisely. They have a demo unit in their showroom and are very helpful. If I pick up a temp sensor tool, I'll put it to good use next weekend and get you some numbers!

Bud, on the Mk II don't overlook the hell hole. That's the opening under the aft cabin floor, portside, at the base of the fuel tank area. I've been thinking about relocating my furnace and that is my prime candidate for a permanent location.

Reviving this old thread. We had to replace our D3 and now have a slightly more powerful unit... So might as well add more outlets!  We now have two in the main cabin, and most importantly one in the head. All air ducting is on the port side. Has anyone found an aesthetically pleasing way to get the ducting up to the forward cabin?