Cabin Heater

[greencoast]

Hoping to get owners input on their respective methods of heating the forward cabin of an A25. We're planning on incorporating some winter cruising into our regime and would like to be comfortable. Have read and researched quite a bit, but the more "local knowledge" the better.
Thanks!

[coolchange]

Hi..my 27fc came with a Wabasto (about the size of a football.maybe a little longer) installed in the engine compartment (port side) with an air supply to forward just under the step....I wanted heat in back as well so I put a "T" in the heat supply line and ran another to the rear...works well in both areas. You could just lite the stove. Also, when on shore power I have 2 small elec heaters ...fwd and aft at night and I move one to mid if needed during day

The PO also had a red dot heater in the forward...kinda useless since you only get heat with the engine running so I moved it to the Port side of helm (midship) and it is great on cool/cold cruising times

[WillieC]

The stock setup in the A25 Super DeLuxe located the heater in the compartment just to the right of the helm and ran a supply duct forward to a y valve that split it with another hose to the aft cabin. Return was ducted from...now I gotta go look at it all.

Exhaust went right through the side of the hull and could really stink up the boat depending on wind.

Anyway, the ducting used was the black/aluminum/ spiral crap VW used to use on its carburetor preheat and from the fan housing to the heater boxes below.

Our original unit still seems to work, in spite of the unpronounceable name.

[DesertAlbin736]

There are several low tech options out there, depending on how sophisticated you want to get. The one we use, and admittedly very sporadically since we generally operate in a warm climate. Correction, hot climate. But there are times in the winter when our overnight lows can drop below 40. Yeah I know, worlds smallest violins playing etc etc. Anyway, the heater we use most often is an Origo Heat Pal canister heater. These are non-pressurized alcohol using the same style burner as the Origo cook stove and put out about 5,000 BTU. They look this:

Origo Heat Pal.JPG

Of course you don't leave one of these running all night, strictly manual control. Another low tech option is to place a clay flower pot upside down over your cook stove and heat the cabin that way. Be sure the cabin is vented so oxygen doesn't get depleted.

Another option is this ceramic catalytic propane space heater known as Mr. Heater

Mr Heater.jpeg

This puppy kicks out a lot of heat, but does run off propane, either Coleman cartridges screwed into the unit, or with an adapter hose that can attach to a regular propane tank. All the safety precautions related to propane should be observed, and this heater does have an open pilot flame. Neither unit should be used while under way. It does have a safety feature that shuts the unit off it it gets tipped over.

Then there's the Wallas diesel fueled combo cook stove/cabin heater.

Wallas stove.jpg

https://www.scanmarineusa.com/wp-conten ... -2011s.pdf

However, that's a very expensive proposition, requires 12V electric connection & overboard venting. But I suppose it could be rigged to run off your main fuel tank.

[Desertboater]

We used a Mr. Buddy propane catalytic heater to warm the cabin up prior to sleeping & again on waking up - i.e., the Engineer got up shivering and warmed the cabin until the Captain was able to climb out of the winter sleeping bag. But having propane on a boat can be problematic. Several years ago we visited Hera on her A25 Shatoosh the day after the Seattle boat show in February. When we stepped into a warm boat, the look on the Captain's face was all it took for me to move the boat heater up in the priority list.

So this winter's project is the installation of an Espar Airtronic D2 diesel fired heater in the A25. After searching online and visiting the Seattle boat show last year, the D2 was the final choice. The Webasto & Espar heaters are very close in design and operation; however, there were a few reasons for the selection of the Espar, such as being able to optain pdf files of the tech service manual, troubleshooting, marine installation, etc. In addition, Portland Oregon has an Espar dealer that has extensive stock of parts and offered very competitive pricing as well as the no-sales-tax in Oregon.

The main D2 unit was purchased as a Truck kit over the internet with all the marine specific parts, such as the thru-hull, ducting, air distribution fittings, fuel tank, etc. purchased from the Portland dealer.

There are dealers in Seattle that will install the Webasto or Espar - cost is a bit high however.

If anyone does go the Webasto/Espar route, one thing to consider is going with the largest discharge hood that the unit will take. We went with the 75mm discharge rather than the 60mm - this of course means all the ducting is larger (less pressure drop) and the holes in the bulkhead must be larger

Albin original Espar htr.JPG

This is a photo of the original Espar heater that was factory installed in some A25s. The new D2 should install in the same location - hopefully.

I'll post a photo of the D2 kit & all the duct, exhaust, thru-hull fittings, etc. once the ice storm is over and I can access the shop where the boat is stored.

[DesertAlbin736]

Several years ago we visited Hera on her A25 Shatoosh the day after the Seattle boat show in February.

Speaking of Hera and Shatoosh, that boat sold to Mike C in Sacramento & was renamed "Hobbit". Mike in turn put it up for sale again & got offer from someone who was going to bring it down to new home port somewhere in Arizona as soon as they got back from working in Japan. Haven't heard much more on that lately, but hoping to hear from Mike with contact info on said new owner.

[Sunsetrider]

I went ahead and got the Little Buddy
https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-F21510 ... ddy+heater
and a CO detector (10-year-battery powered). Will try try out when installing my Auto Pilot in the coming weeks at the winter storage barn, soon as the temps fall below minus 25. I don't think the little unit needs that big of a challenge!

[greencoast]

Thanks for the replies. My fantasy is the Wallas stove, but that'll be a little further down the line. That leaves me thinking that an affordable option until then will have to do the trick. I Like the idea of the Origo Heat Pal for just taking the chill off while AWAKE and in the cabin. Have also looked into the Little Buddy; again, used only while awake and with ventilation. One thing about the Origo I have reservations about is the possibility of condensation. Any problems with yours DesertAlbin?

[kerrye]

We use a little buddy in our camper. It’s more than enough for an A25 cabin. All the precautions of propane on a boat should be taken. It has a low oxygen sensor

[DesertAlbin736]

We haven't had issues with condensation. Then again we are in a dry desert climate & only need the heater to take the chill off on winter mornings when the overnight lows are in the low 40s, or at worst mid 30s. Once the sun is up it warms up quickly. While the NE & upper midwest is going thru bone chilling cold, down here it got up to 77 yesterday.

[Andrew cook]

Our Albin 25 has a 4”X4”X10” (approximate) steel “charcoal” fireplace don’t remember the make but when it warms up here (19 below in Vermont overnight)I’ll climb aboard and photograph it.

We used it to extend the season in Boston harbor for a decade, a few sticks of driftwood, or briquettes took the chill off before bed or breakfast, a sliding door exposed the flame behind the screen. I covered the hanging locker entry to mount it installed a deck pipe and charley noble. I put a louvered door on the fwd side of the locker for access.

It worked great until we came to the land of 90 day boating season. Now it takes the chill off the June mornings.

[Andrew cook]

Got the photo today. It’s stamped as a “Cole Heater” bought about 30 years ago. In 30 years never had a smoke or leak problem.

[kerrye]

I ended up buying one of those Origo alcohol heaters on Ebay for $50. Puts out a fair amount of heat. We'll probably try it in both our camper and boat.

[greencoast]

Let me know how you like that Origo; it's what I'm leaning towards.

[WillieC]

It took me a while to get it but I did.

" I covered the hanging locker entry to mount it installed a deck pipe and charley noble. I put a louvered door on the fwd side of the locker for access."

That is a great solution! I have been trying to figure out how to install that type of stove and you did it. Very nice. What threw me was that it looks like you have also modified the berth/seat on that side of the locker. Is that correct, Andrew?

Also,

"Another low tech option is to place a clay flower pot upside down over your cook stove..."

Now THAT'S my style! I looked at the Origo heaters and a video of a guy trying to incinerate his tile patio. He pulled out a piece at a time and it sure looks exactly like my Origo stove until he put it in a pot and put another vented pot on top of it. Even I can find a clay pot to fit.

What are y'all using for CO sensors?