Most winters we find ourselves tucked into a marina, out of harms way of winter gales. As the temperature dips into the low forties my mind always strays into project mode as we sit in our warm little boat. There are so many things I’d like to do, and every winter I plan on getting a few of them done.
But because we use our floating home constantly, things wear out or break. The repairs take priority so the projects just have to wait.
The most recent repair involved our beloved hydronic heating system. A hydronic heater heats water and then circulates it throughout the boat. Small radiators located in various spots then blow out warm air, feeling very much like a central heating system in a house.
So when our hydronic system stopped working in the middle of December, fixing it becomes the priority.
Luckily I knew enough about the unit to get it running, and I may even have found the root problem. This is not the first repair/maintenance I’ve done to the system and I’m sure it won’t be the last. So far it’s doing great, time will tell. I’ll post some specific articles on its ups and downs soon.
You may ask why don’t we just run space heaters at the dock? Well, we do most of the time, but it isn’t the same. Imagine keeping your house warm with space heaters in each room. It would work. But in the morning it's nice to just turn on the furnace and let the whole house soak it all up.
Another bonus is that the hydronic heater is diesel fired and very efficient. This means we stay warm when the power goes out during a storm. It’s also our only source of heat when on the hook.
Our system came from Sure Marine in Seattle and uses a Webasto 90ST heater core.
But because we use our floating home constantly, things wear out or break. The repairs take priority so the projects just have to wait.
The most recent repair involved our beloved hydronic heating system. A hydronic heater heats water and then circulates it throughout the boat. Small radiators located in various spots then blow out warm air, feeling very much like a central heating system in a house.
So when our hydronic system stopped working in the middle of December, fixing it becomes the priority.
Luckily I knew enough about the unit to get it running, and I may even have found the root problem. This is not the first repair/maintenance I’ve done to the system and I’m sure it won’t be the last. So far it’s doing great, time will tell. I’ll post some specific articles on its ups and downs soon.
You may ask why don’t we just run space heaters at the dock? Well, we do most of the time, but it isn’t the same. Imagine keeping your house warm with space heaters in each room. It would work. But in the morning it's nice to just turn on the furnace and let the whole house soak it all up.
Another bonus is that the hydronic heater is diesel fired and very efficient. This means we stay warm when the power goes out during a storm. It’s also our only source of heat when on the hook.
Our system came from Sure Marine in Seattle and uses a Webasto 90ST heater core.
Webasto 90ST, 26,000 BTU 17 in long
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