Thanks so much to #autoterm for the amazing heater. They’ve also made us brand ambassadors so we can offer you a 5% discount from their autoterm.store online shop. Use this link to go get yourself one : planarheaters.co.uk
a friend has one of those in his boat on the broads- we were having issues with it, and an engineer drove from wales to Lowestoft to meet us when we moored up, stripped the heater down, found a fault on the unit in a non user servicable area, replaced it with one he had bought with him under guarantee, then did extensive testing on the unit, even down to monitoring it in all user states, advised removing a grille on the intake to improve air flow, then drove home to wales, A1 + service can heartily recommend them
I’m still watching so forgive me if you already do this, but I’ve found the best way to use the autoterm heater is via power settings rather than the thermostat. My issues with the thermostat method is the unit blows cool air when it hits the temp, and then fires up again when temp drops. I find it fluctuates about and you can feel the different temperatures. My preferred method is to run it flat out on the power setting until I’m warm, and then turn the power right down so it ticks over and maintains temperature. If you try this method you’ll soon learn how low to turn it to maintain temp. For some, the thermostat method works great, but this is just another method that I prefer and you may want to try.
Had a Chinese one for years, yes they do have faults mostly coking up (soot). I ran 50/50 diesel and paraffin which helps but biggest pointer I can give you is don’t run constantly on low heat, periodically run at full chat to blast soot out, and run at full chat to blast out soot before shutting down.
I put a similar 3kW heater into our little bus project (Mitsi Rosa). Really pleased with it, ticks over at almost exactly a litre every four hours on low and heats the bus from 0C to 20C in about as many minutes. Stinks for about a minute when it starts, then it's clean. Highly recommended - we've run ours overnight a couple of times, it's quiet enough to not be annoying.
Looks a bit chilly in your necka da woods. Nice job on the heater Andy, give my regard to Steed & Emma [ 🙏the only real Avengers]! Thanks Andy, Hope Melissa, Cap'm Jack and Olly [?] enjoy camping. I love it. Thanks m8s, done well.
We fitted a Chinese heater last year to replace our broken webasto. The great thing was that the exhaust and the heating pipes were interchangeable as was the mount. It was a godsend over the winter even though there is only one outlet. It made a huge difference. We run it of the main diesel tank rather than a separate tank. That is how the old one was plumbed ant it just made sense to leave it.
Relieved you now have some heating. Nice job Andy. Great to see Jack having some time to learn and play away from home and enjoy a broader range of individuals. Well done Melissa, taking the boys camping on your own. Finally, Oliver is fast becoming a good looking toddler. well done all.
Jack...Please get the exhaust port covered so you do not get water back into a low spot and have pressure problems. Love the journey you and family are experiencing.
So nice to have heat. When I installed my heater, one of the important items was that the exhaust hose went to 12" above the outlet from the hull skin fitting before dropping down to water level so that you have a loop that will prevent down flooding. Did you have something like that? It would seem hard given how high on the topsides the exhaust skin fitting is.
If you want to shut up your diesel pump put it in a plastic cliplock box filled with sand. It will become totally silent. I have one in my Avan and another in my cottage. By the way I suspended it away away from the solid structure of of the house.
Another great video Andy, as usual you get so much done in a relatively short time. Your work ethic is second to none. Glad Melissa, Jack and Oliver had a good time. As already said Carbon Monoxide Alarms are pretty essential to keep everyone safe. Really enjoyed this one. Keep well and safe. James.
On my boat the former owner installed a Chinese heater. It had plenty power but it leaked exhaust gasses in a way they were sucked into the heated air. Not only bad for my health but it smells far from nice. So you are lucky with your welded exhaust. I have re-done the install and used a tin of gungum to seal the pipes and a lot of aluminium tape over it. Now it does not smell any more. Checked for leaks also with a CO meter and thermal camera (You see the hot gasses blow from a hole)
You have so many things to juggle. Two boats needing jobs done, a home tutored son and a new baby son, plus all the normal family 'stuff' of food buying/prep, laundry, cleaning. I am exhausted watching you all. Jack had great fun at the camping eveny despite the rain. Rain is just part of camping in this part of the world...NE Scotland for me, Wales for you. Getting rid of stuff you definitely don't need going ahead will eventually clear all but essential kit for both boats with all stored in a proper place aboard each. Once you have finally sold Steel Melody it will be a relief.
Hello Anxy, you bought the right brand. As a former dealer of Webasto ans Eberspacher, i know that they are not worth the money. They have a life expectancy of 5000 hours. Thats ok for summer sailing, but not if you live on a boat. We live on a boat and also fitted a autotherm. We chose for the waterheater with convertors, because a hot air system heats up very fast, but also cools down very fast. They sell a 5 kw and a 11 kw version, the 11 kw version makes more noise, that can be a problem for the neighbours in the marina.
Exhaust I hope you put in a one way valve because if water gets in to the exhaust system you could end up with severe issues as it is a small diesel motor and they can explode through build up of pressure.
Great video Andy pleased you survived the winds intact , I so hope you show us you finishing off jobs in the future as and when you get around to them 😊
Yeah I always get part way through a job and realise I’m missing a clip or an adaptor os some little part but then end up finishing it off camera: i need to stop doing that and show something properly finished 😂😂😂😂😂
@@SailingMelody I love watching all the fantastic work you do , when I started todays video I chuckled to myself lol if only I had a bet on have a lovely week looking forward to next videos
Hi Andy, Melissa, lightning Jack and little Oliver. Wow having a diesel heater on your yacht is going to be a change maker. Absolutely fantastic. You did a great job Andy, keep up the good work really love and appreciate you all , Cliff from Logan City Queensland Australia from the big island 🧑🏾🦽🐨🦘🏝️🇦🇺🌏😍🐬🏝
I hope that you have more success than we did, we fitted 2 autoterm heaters for a trip to the arctic, both failed before we left Scotland, it’s impossible to contact them by phone for advice. I wish we had fitted eberspacers!!!!
Sounds like an interesting curriculum at Jack's camp. Like a social skills/fun/art orientated version of Boy Scouts, without the militaristic trappings. I hope the inclement weather didn't detract too much!
I have the Planar hydronic diesel heater. I just replaced the furnace. If you burn kerosene instead of diesel, it will last twice as long. Mine ran for about 2,000hrs on diesel.
Yes we do. The fiberglass and canvas are looking like they’re going to be quite a bit of money so we need to find a decent temporary solution while we save for that.
Having fitted one last year my advice is go for a larger output than you think to compensate for poor insulation and fit the separate fuel tank on a tee which allows paraffin to be used periodically to de-coke. The chinese one was a simple swap for the old eberspacher and great value !
Not much freeboard in relation to water entering the exhaust skin fitting. When I installed our heater in our boat it was looped to stop water entering. Cheers
Yes it’s definitely a consideration. I don’t think it will be too much of a problem becsuee she isn’t a tender boat and we’ve never managed to get close to getting the toe rail in the water. And Even when heeled that portion of the gunwale is way out of the water, it’s further forward at rhe widest part of the beam that gets fractionally closer. However I am going to make a bung or stopper which will prevent water going in and a cover for rhe control panel which reminds the user to remove the bung before firing up the Heater
Nice job - my comments are focused more on the thermostat placement... I'm assuming the control pad you installed also houses the thermostat. I'm not a fan of seeing it tucked into a corner of a shelf cavity. You usually want those in a fairly exposed central area so that it can gauge temperature change fairly quickly and accurately. By being tucked in the corner, it may rest in fairly stagnant air which could mean that your heat will overrun for a while before the thermostat realizes how hot the rest of the boat already is. I was also worried when I saw the duct placed directly below that thermostat. The hot air could instead rise straight up and activate the thermostat shutoff before the rest of the cabin heats up. I was also concerned by how close the thermostat is to your cooking surface. Steam from noodle or tea making could perhaps keep that area hot and prevent the thermostat triggering when the rest of the cabin got cool. I'm glad to see in the comment that you will be installing extra ducting - that will certainly help significantly. Good luck with all future endeavours!
Yeah the episode was bombing because I thought that original thumbnail would do ok. But it really didn’t. So we had a couple of others lined up. It’s weird. If we put an episode and the thumbnail has 1. A picture of the boat. 2. The words “Project” or “abandoned” or “cheap” or something like that The episode does fine Anything else, literally anything else and it crashes dead lol
Unit makes some noise. Any plans for baffles or noise dampening? How many vents can you add to this unit? Or do you install multiple sets for each vent outlet? Once you start using it, how long does the tank last? Any other types of heat and dehumidifier(s) on the boat?
I just finished installing one on our boat as well. I found a unit with 4 hot air outlets allowing me to send heat in a few more directions. I converted an aluminum hot water tank from an rv into my diesel tank so that I don't have to worry that the plastic tank could get a leak as well as giving me far more capacity. My exhaust pipe smoked pretty bad on the first start up, but seems to be good now..Nice work on yours..
Yes I’m also keeping an auxiliary tank of some sort because it’s important to me to keep a close eye on my engine diesel and not risk running that tank down unknowingly
Great episode. I did not see you connect a duct to supply the return air from the cabin. Are you just taking cold air from the locker and heating it? If so that is not the correct way to install any of these types of heaters. Maybe I just missed it or you didnt include the footage.
Nice job on the heater install Andy they are good heaters and pump out fair amount of heat. Yeah weather been pretty ratty in NZ as well. Mum Natures been giving us a good wash and a blow dry for the last couple weeks. Bit of Flooding down South and the wind ah yes the wind getting a bit testy up to 150mph at some stages luckily no real Damage. Steel Melody looking fine in her epoxy paint. Also looks really dry inside which is a good thing. Mel ya brave going camping in those conditions bummer bout floor but at least you had an annex. Oli seemed to be enjoying the Madness. I suspect the new Heater gonna be a bonus and like that weather going to get plenty of use. 17k for Ocean Melody makes sense whyb ya bought her now good buy. Plodding along is more effective than rip shit and bust. Keep at it and Carry on ;0]
Nice one Andy. My only concern is the exhaust outlet at 18:57 seconds. Normally, the exhaust would be fitted to the transom and not on the gunwale as you will get a load of seawater in the exhaust particularly when on a starboard reach or the lee rail 'goes under' or you get slapped with a wave from a beam sea. :(
I see your point. If it looks like it will be an issue I might move it. But that part of the gunwale is very very unlikely to get a dunking. Ocean Melody isn’t a tender boat and we’ve never managed to any part of the tow rail in the water so I don’t think it will be a problem. But I’ll keep a close eye on it and I’ll move the heater to the aft lasarette if I need to. Now I’ve done it once I do t think it’ll be too tricky to move
@@dennisbrok9335 That won't work as the power of the water either slamming into the port side will push seawater over any loop in the pipe plus the fact that the outlet is probably as high as possible in the cockpit locker and there is no upper spare to install a loop.
Hi Andy quality installed heaters have a plug that screws into exhaust outlet fitting to seal it for bad weather because they know sea water will go up the exhaust even when transom mounted. It is very difficult to get a decent height swan neck in the exhaust routing to prevent sea water ingress. If you are going to leave the outlet where it is I would have some method of sealing it shut for bad weather and also have a means of putting a note by the controller to say the exhaust is shut so you don't start it up with the exhaust closed or you will have a cockpit locker full of smoke. How do I know? I handed a new yacht over to a couple who went to the pub and put the heater on with the storm cap fitted. They came back to think their new yacht was on fire on the first day they owned it!
That was a nice and instructive video. Thanks..with some nice elements so recognisable..you made my day!! Bravely forward and sail with the wind of today!!❤
@@SailingMelody My 38ft steel cabin sailboat...house...also has a diesel heater...but not with hot air but radiators in salon and the various cabins. Different concept but also nice and warm. Temperature here in Den Helder just high enough not to turn it on yet and use loose electric warm air fan until sun does its job.😎
@@WimvdBrink Van 38 voet?! ;-) Geloof niet dat we zo'n klein marinebootje hebben..even checken..sleepbootje?..al doen ze in politiek Den Haag nog zo hun best onze marine daartoe te reduceren ;-)
Down here in the Antipodes climate gives us the opposite challenge to yours, for Australians go to enormous expense to get and remain cool...in temperature that is! But our weather is usually, though not always, predictable. I can remember one notable occasion when it totally denied the forecast and that happened to be the weekend that we decided to enjoy the outdoors with a camping expedition in our tropical paradise! Weeeellll, this would inevitably be the w/e that the weather gods chose to drop 600 mm of rain on the tropical jungle in 24 hours wouldn't it? The waterproofing on the tent failed, the river flooded cutting us off with 3 metres of flood water over the bridge and we bogged the car. 'Nuff said. I notice that your English meteorology doesn't appear to have improved since I left in '59! Ocean Melody is starting to resemble a home afloat! I'm sure that you're going about the restoration in the best way, although I would expect poor Melissa's opinion on that to be perhaps, somewhat conditional? I can imagine that with a small baby life must have its moments !😢 Nevermind, you are winning! 😊😮😮
Wow that sounds like a camping story!!! It certainly does have its moment, there are certainly tears and frustration from all of us at times but we love it for the most part 🥰.just looking forward to the day we untie the lines and keep going ☺️
Cool guys - you won't regret it. I live in northern Spain - We have good marinas here and none of the weather you are trying to work through at home@@SailingMelody
I was looking at your tent and I was thinking of Harry Potter when ''OK... Your husband is working on 2 boats one in fiberglass Is preferred and the other in steel. In a couple of years after you sale the boat (in steel). He will say i remembers were " a few times. Why not it's a pleasure of life to talks and change subject's of do time. In a few years you will say do you remember... Why not fews good time to get to this to that.
Eberspachers have given me me unhealthy coping mechanisms after five years of boat life. Used to run ours on kerosine because it was a lot cheaper over the course of a winter in a 25l outboard motor tank
We will asap. We have been delayed by waiting for the framework for the cockpit enclosure to be finished when has had rhe knock on effect of not being able to complete the fiberglass work and fabrics which has meant we can’t cross Biskay now until after winter
I am surprised you didn't split the heater pipe and run it into both ends or at least give yourself flow options... Ah well you won't need it in the Bahamas anyway
Nice looking heater system. 2 comments though....(1) I did NOT see any insulation on the hot air duct to prevent heat loss between the heater and the boat's galley, and (2) can I assume you will have a number of strategically placed Carbon Monoxide detector-alarms in the boat???
Wind just sounded cold! 78* F here and just had chill run down my back. Never any summer in Wales, now I know why my family moved from there three generations
The Autoterm is a good choice and looks almost identical to our Eberspacher. We bought the official lagging for the heated ducts and it raised the temperature of the heated air so much it was practically a furnace blast coming out of the ducts 😃Also we installed a Carbon Monoxide monitor in the sleeping cabins as well. Hopefully you will be snug as bugs in a rug. Poor old Steel Melody is beginning to look rather like a large anchor, pinning you to N Wales 😞
Yes I agree My plan had been to get the cockpit enclosure finished in June or July and then spend august working on her to sell but delays with the stainless work meant we were kind of hamstrung and it’s cost us time and money
Iv fitted Chinese and eberspacher diesel heaters to boats and vans .After a year or two of hard use they all have there problems so for me I'd buy cheap all brands work the same trust me you will endup saying whys that bloody heater not working now when your family need it most I'd get two installed a cheap one as a backup
It’s actually a good few inches away and the exhaust is fully enclosed in a proper heat shield. However I take your point and will certainly be keeping an eye on it regularly to monitor for any issues. If needs be I can move one or the other very easily :)
I'm failing to understand the logic behind installing everything TWICE. So now you know the heater works, why would it NOT work, It's brand new from a reliable manufacturer. Next, you are going to dismantle it and reassemble it...and test it again to see if STILL works? I appreciate your concerns about safety but, surely those concerns have already been addressed by the manufacturer who supplied a heater specifically designed to be installed in a boat. It would have saved an enormous amount of time and energy if you had installed it correctly, logically and permanently just ONCE..and then tested it. I realise this might sound harsh but, having enjoyed following your long journey to achieving your ultimut dream, I fear that it will be at least another two years before Ocean Melody leaves that harbour. Best wishes to all the crew.
Ollie, when he was sitting up, on lap, .......... he's starting to look like a real person, not a baby, but with character, and inquisition, ... Uhh ................ NOT THE INQUISITION? ..... and you can start to see what he'll look like when he's older.
Melissa looks amazing it’s good to breast feed the baby it costs a lot of calories and don’t forget Andy’s hard work can’t wait to make the step to get on to our boat but it’s bare bone so a lot of work first
Thanks so much to #autoterm for the amazing heater. They’ve also made us brand ambassadors so we can offer you a 5% discount from their autoterm.store online shop. Use this link to go get yourself one : planarheaters.co.uk
a friend has one of those in his boat on the broads- we were having issues with it, and an engineer drove from wales to Lowestoft to meet us when we moored up, stripped the heater down, found a fault on the unit in a non user servicable area, replaced it with one he had bought with him under guarantee, then did extensive testing on the unit, even down to monitoring it in all user states, advised removing a grille on the intake to improve air flow, then drove home to wales, A1 + service can heartily recommend them
That’s incredible! What a great supportive company they are eh!
I’m still watching so forgive me if you already do this, but I’ve found the best way to use the autoterm heater is via power settings rather than the thermostat. My issues with the thermostat method is the unit blows cool air when it hits the temp, and then fires up again when temp drops. I find it fluctuates about and you can feel the different temperatures.
My preferred method is to run it flat out on the power setting until I’m warm, and then turn the power right down so it ticks over and maintains temperature. If you try this method you’ll soon learn how low to turn it to maintain temp.
For some, the thermostat method works great, but this is just another method that I prefer and you may want to try.
I like, how you have a guitar on every boat 🙂
Fit for purpose 👌
I fitted mine last week...
QUALITY
Had a Chinese one for years, yes they do have faults mostly coking up (soot). I ran 50/50 diesel and paraffin which helps but biggest pointer I can give you is don’t run constantly on low heat, periodically run at full chat to blast soot out, and run at full chat to blast out soot before shutting down.
I have installed one of those in my boat . It did on run well on Diesel. I changed to Kerosene and it has been great ever since.
Great music interludes during the boat work and to see Mr Happy Chappy.
He is a happy chappy 😊
I put a similar 3kW heater into our little bus project (Mitsi Rosa). Really pleased with it, ticks over at almost exactly a litre every four hours on low and heats the bus from 0C to 20C in about as many minutes. Stinks for about a minute when it starts, then it's clean. Highly recommended - we've run ours overnight a couple of times, it's quiet enough to not be annoying.
Thanks!
Wow thank you so much ☺️
Looks a bit chilly in your necka da woods. Nice job on the heater Andy, give my regard to Steed & Emma [ 🙏the only real Avengers]! Thanks Andy, Hope Melissa, Cap'm Jack and Olly [?] enjoy camping. I love it. Thanks m8s, done well.
We fitted a Chinese heater last year to replace our broken webasto. The great thing was that the exhaust and the heating pipes were interchangeable as was the mount. It was a godsend over the winter even though there is only one outlet. It made a huge difference. We run it of the main diesel tank rather than a separate tank. That is how the old one was plumbed ant it just made sense to leave it.
Relieved you now have some heating. Nice job Andy. Great to see Jack having some time to learn and play away from home and enjoy a broader range of individuals. Well done Melissa, taking the boys camping on your own. Finally, Oliver is fast becoming a good looking toddler. well done all.
Thank you. I’m so proud of Melissa in so many things.
Really like your videos and Jack is an absolute credit to you both, shame some adults couldn't be as grown up in life 👏👏👏
💯💯💯
Outstanding work ….very entertaining….bubs is beautiful
Jack is Soo cool.
Well Done!.... you four are amazing... keep it up... your balance is wondrous!!!!!!!!!!
Jack...Please get the exhaust port covered so you do not get water back into a low spot and have pressure problems.
Love the journey you and family are experiencing.
So nice to have heat. When I installed my heater, one of the important items was that the exhaust hose went to 12" above the outlet from the hull skin fitting before dropping down to water level so that you have a loop that will prevent down flooding. Did you have something like that? It would seem hard given how high on the topsides the exhaust skin fitting is.
If you want to shut up your diesel pump put it in a plastic cliplock box filled with sand. It will become totally silent.
I have one in my Avan and another in my cottage. By the way I suspended it away away from the solid structure of of the house.
Another great video Andy, as usual you get so much done in a relatively short time. Your work ethic is second to none. Glad Melissa, Jack and Oliver had a good time. As already said Carbon Monoxide Alarms are pretty essential to keep everyone safe. Really enjoyed this one. Keep well and safe. James.
We do have carbon monoxide alarms but we will invest in more so we can have them in the cabins. Thank you 😊
You are always so positive even when the weather is rubbish. Sending big hugs and thank you for another wonderful video ❤
He’s Welsh.
😂
@@PaulBKal So am I 🏴
On my boat the former owner installed a Chinese heater. It had plenty power but it leaked exhaust gasses in a way they were sucked into the heated air. Not only bad for my health but it smells far from nice. So you are lucky with your welded exhaust. I have re-done the install and used a tin of gungum to seal the pipes and a lot of aluminium tape over it. Now it does not smell any more. Checked for leaks also with a CO meter and thermal camera (You see the hot gasses blow from a hole)
Andy, you can do it in one buh!
I'm sure others have already pointed it out, but the mini tank was dripping during that test run... at 10:00
That was just a dribble down the side from when I filled it. It’s not leaking
You have so many things to juggle. Two boats needing jobs done, a home tutored son and a new baby son, plus all the normal family 'stuff' of food buying/prep, laundry, cleaning. I am exhausted watching you all.
Jack had great fun at the camping eveny despite the rain. Rain is just part of camping in this part of the world...NE Scotland for me, Wales for you.
Getting rid of stuff you definitely don't need going ahead will eventually clear all but essential kit for both boats with all stored in a proper place aboard each.
Once you have finally sold Steel Melody it will be a relief.
Hello Anxy, you bought the right brand. As a former dealer of Webasto ans Eberspacher, i know that they are not worth the money. They have a life expectancy of 5000 hours. Thats ok for summer sailing, but not if you live on a boat. We live on a boat and also fitted a autotherm. We chose for the waterheater with convertors, because a hot air system heats up very fast, but also cools down very fast. They sell a 5 kw and a 11 kw version, the 11 kw version makes more noise, that can be a problem for the neighbours in the marina.
Exhaust I hope you put in a one way valve because if water gets in to the exhaust system you could end up with severe issues as it is a small diesel motor and they can explode through build up of pressure.
Good stuff andy
21:03 that’s a seriously cool looking tent..
☺️
Great video Andy pleased you survived the winds intact , I so hope you show us you finishing off jobs in the future as and when you get around to them 😊
Yeah I always get part way through a job and realise I’m missing a clip or an adaptor os some little part but then end up finishing it off camera: i need to stop doing that and show something properly finished 😂😂😂😂😂
@@SailingMelody I love watching all the fantastic work you do , when I started todays video I chuckled to myself lol if only I had a bet on have a lovely week looking forward to next videos
Please change that fuel pipe for fuel grade pipe, the clear pipe degrades very quickly. 😊
Thanks for the tip!
Hi Andy, Melissa, lightning Jack and little Oliver. Wow having a diesel heater on your yacht is going to be a change maker. Absolutely fantastic. You did a great job Andy, keep up the good work really love and appreciate you all , Cliff from Logan City Queensland Australia from the big island 🧑🏾🦽🐨🦘🏝️🇦🇺🌏😍🐬🏝
I hope that you have more success than we did, we fitted 2 autoterm heaters for a trip to the arctic, both failed before we left Scotland, it’s impossible to contact them by phone for advice. I wish we had fitted eberspacers!!!!
That's very odd.
They answer the phone immediately and reply to all emails straight away within hours. Not sure why you had that experience with it
Sounds like an interesting curriculum at Jack's camp. Like a social skills/fun/art orientated version of Boy Scouts, without the militaristic trappings.
I hope the inclement weather didn't detract too much!
I have the Planar hydronic diesel heater. I just replaced the furnace. If you burn kerosene instead of diesel, it will last twice as long. Mine ran for about 2,000hrs on diesel.
Wow good to know ☺️
You need a tarp until the canvas is ready…protecting the well is invaluable…
Yes we do. The fiberglass and canvas are looking like they’re going to be quite a bit of money so we need to find a decent temporary solution while we save for that.
Having fitted one last year my advice is go for a larger output than you think to compensate for poor insulation and fit the separate fuel tank on a tee which allows paraffin to be used periodically to de-coke.
The chinese one was a simple swap for the old eberspacher and great value !
We fitted the 90mm ducting for the much larger output yes
I’m splitting that next week and taking a 60mm duct to the aft cabin
Not much freeboard in relation to water entering the exhaust skin fitting. When I installed our heater in our boat it was looped to stop water entering. Cheers
Yes it’s definitely a consideration. I don’t think it will be too much of a problem becsuee she isn’t a tender boat and we’ve never managed to get close to getting the toe rail in the water. And Even when heeled that portion of the gunwale is way out of the water, it’s further forward at rhe widest part of the beam that gets fractionally closer. However I am going to make a bung or stopper which will prevent water going in and a cover for rhe control panel which reminds the user to remove the bung before firing up the Heater
Try draping a cheap blue trap over the boom like a tent, while you're working in the cockpit area.
It was so windy it would have been tough to control and stop it blowing away or shredding it’s self
Cheers guys! 😊
Cheers back buddy
Nice job - my comments are focused more on the thermostat placement...
I'm assuming the control pad you installed also houses the thermostat. I'm not a fan of seeing it tucked into a corner of a shelf cavity. You usually want those in a fairly exposed central area so that it can gauge temperature change fairly quickly and accurately.
By being tucked in the corner, it may rest in fairly stagnant air which could mean that your heat will overrun for a while before the thermostat realizes how hot the rest of the boat already is.
I was also worried when I saw the duct placed directly below that thermostat. The hot air could instead rise straight up and activate the thermostat shutoff before the rest of the cabin heats up. I was also concerned by how close the thermostat is to your cooking surface. Steam from noodle or tea making could perhaps keep that area hot and prevent the thermostat triggering when the rest of the cabin got cool.
I'm glad to see in the comment that you will be installing extra ducting - that will certainly help significantly.
Good luck with all future endeavours!
Glad you changed the thumbnail Andy, I missed you! I saw it but thought it was an Ad earlier 😆. Lovely to see the boys camping, especially Oli 😍
Yeah the episode was bombing because I thought that original thumbnail would do ok. But it really didn’t. So we had a couple of others lined up.
It’s weird. If we put an episode and the thumbnail has
1. A picture of the boat.
2. The words “Project” or “abandoned” or “cheap” or something like that
The episode does fine
Anything else, literally anything else and it crashes dead lol
your right to get going with the heater, i think were going to have a wild winter and you all need to be cosy 🙂
Yep. Storm Agnes’s is hitting us right now
Good job getting everything ready to sail again.
We are getting there one little step at a time!
Good job on the heater Andy Steel melody looked small compared to ocean melody wasn't very nice camping weather
Surely you need an outlet into the rear cabin also??
Yes we have done that this week 😁
Unit makes some noise. Any plans for baffles or noise dampening? How many vents can you add to this unit? Or do you install multiple sets for each vent outlet? Once you start using it, how long does the tank last? Any other types of heat and dehumidifier(s) on the boat?
What a nice weather!
I bet you won't regret sailing south for the next winter, will you?
At least, for now, you have a running diesel heater. Nice.
Definitely cant wait to be somewhere warmer 🙂
The wind would compress and accelerate over the seawall before it hits your anenometer
I just finished installing one on our boat as well. I found a unit with 4 hot air outlets allowing me to send heat in a few more directions. I converted an aluminum hot water tank from an rv into my diesel tank so that I don't have to worry that the plastic tank could get a leak as well as giving me far more capacity. My exhaust pipe smoked pretty bad on the first start up, but seems to be good now..Nice work on yours..
Yes I’m also keeping an auxiliary tank of some sort because it’s important to me to keep a close eye on my engine diesel and not risk running that tank down unknowingly
Great episode. I did not see you connect a duct to supply the return air from the cabin. Are you just taking cold air from the locker and heating it? If so that is not the correct way to install any of these types of heaters. Maybe I just missed it or you didnt include the footage.
She knows how to borrow stuff never never give something back in a condition less than when you borrowed it
😁
Nice job on the heater install Andy they are good heaters and pump out fair amount of heat. Yeah weather been pretty ratty in NZ as well. Mum Natures been giving us a good wash and a blow dry for the last couple weeks. Bit of Flooding down South and the wind ah yes the wind getting a bit testy up to 150mph at some stages luckily no real Damage. Steel Melody looking fine in her epoxy paint. Also looks really dry inside which is a good thing. Mel ya brave going camping in those conditions bummer bout floor but at least you had an annex. Oli seemed to be enjoying the Madness. I suspect the new Heater gonna be a bonus and like that weather going to get plenty of use. 17k for Ocean Melody makes sense whyb ya bought her now good buy. Plodding along is more effective than rip shit and bust. Keep at it and Carry on ;0]
Nice one Andy. My only concern is the exhaust outlet at 18:57 seconds. Normally, the exhaust would be fitted to the transom and not on the gunwale as you will get a load of seawater in the exhaust particularly when on a starboard reach or the lee rail 'goes under' or you get slapped with a wave from a beam sea. :(
I see your point. If it looks like it will be an issue I might move it. But that part of the gunwale is very very unlikely to get a dunking. Ocean Melody isn’t a tender boat and we’ve never managed to any part of the tow rail in the water so I don’t think it will be a problem. But I’ll keep a close eye on it and I’ll move the heater to the aft lasarette if I need to. Now I’ve done it once I do t think it’ll be too tricky to move
You don’t have to move the outlet just snake the exhaust above it and turn it in to a up pipe to prevent flooding the hose
@@dennisbrok9335 That won't work as the power of the water either slamming into the port side will push seawater over any loop in the pipe plus the fact that the outlet is probably as high as possible in the cockpit locker and there is no upper spare to install a loop.
Hi Andy quality installed heaters have a plug that screws into exhaust outlet fitting to seal it for bad weather because they know sea water will go up the exhaust even when transom mounted. It is very difficult to get a decent height swan neck in the exhaust routing to prevent sea water ingress. If you are going to leave the outlet where it is I would have some method of sealing it shut for bad weather and also have a means of putting a note by the controller to say the exhaust is shut so you don't start it up with the exhaust closed or you will have a cockpit locker full of smoke. How do I know? I handed a new yacht over to a couple who went to the pub and put the heater on with the storm cap fitted. They came back to think their new yacht was on fire on the first day they owned it!
@@miketaylor3431 A butt plug might suffice? LOL
Hi Andy I don’t think the plastic fuel pipe is allowed on boats (bss)
Good to know!
Life by the inch is a cinch by the yard It’ll be hard ,by the mile will take a while!
Did you put a valve on the exhaust exit in case you sail rail under sometimes?
That was a nice and instructive video. Thanks..with some nice elements so recognisable..you made my day!! Bravely forward and sail with the wind of today!!❤
Glad it was helpful! :)
@@SailingMelody My 38ft steel cabin sailboat...house...also has a diesel heater...but not with hot air but radiators in salon and the various cabins. Different concept but also nice and warm. Temperature here in Den Helder just high enough not to turn it on yet and use loose electric warm air fan until sun does its job.😎
@@RonaldJHElzenga Den Helder, je zit toch niet op een marine boot ? ;-)
@@WimvdBrink Van 38 voet?! ;-) Geloof niet dat we zo'n klein marinebootje hebben..even checken..sleepbootje?..al doen ze in politiek Den Haag nog zo hun best onze marine daartoe te reduceren ;-)
How do you keep water/waves from getting in the exhaust?
What’s happening with the other boat ?
In Canada, we say: she's bucklin! or it's gonna buckle!
Isn't seawater going to go down exhaust when sailing?
It’s a long way out of the water and I think it’s very unlikely: however I have a couple of ideas to resolve that if it becomes a problem
Down here in the Antipodes climate gives us the opposite challenge to yours, for Australians go to enormous expense to get and remain cool...in temperature that is! But our weather is usually, though not always, predictable. I can remember one notable occasion when it totally denied the forecast and that happened to be the weekend that we decided to enjoy the outdoors with a camping expedition in our tropical paradise! Weeeellll, this would inevitably be the w/e that the weather gods
chose to drop 600 mm
of rain on the tropical jungle in 24 hours wouldn't it? The waterproofing on the tent failed, the river flooded cutting us off with 3 metres of flood water over the bridge and we bogged the car. 'Nuff said.
I notice that your English meteorology doesn't appear to have improved since I left in '59!
Ocean Melody is starting to resemble a home afloat! I'm sure that you're going about the restoration in the best way, although I would expect poor Melissa's opinion on that to be perhaps, somewhat conditional? I can imagine that with a small baby life must have its moments !😢
Nevermind, you are winning! 😊😮😮
Wow that sounds like a camping story!!!
It certainly does have its moment, there are certainly tears and frustration from all of us at times but we love it for the most part 🥰.just looking forward to the day we untie the lines and keep going ☺️
@@SailingMelody that will be Day 1 of your new lives!
probably would be good to have a exhaust fume monitor onboard.
Very good point!
I'm glad Jack has given up the "Thor" haircut...and Ollie is thriving!
Boat gonna be snug!
1:54... Do I see a Gemini 105MC Catamaran? Or is it a Catalac?
A Gemini 🙂
I've had so many problems with my AutoTerm(s) that I'm going to get a different brand. I mean, just problem after problem. New units, too.
17k ?? did I miss the event where you told the price of this ship ? ;-) great job in terrible weather, but at least warm inside now :-)
I don't think it's something we've discussed 🙈🙈
I think you got of lightly just putting in a heater
What do you mean?
@@SailingMelody two kids in a tent or putting a heater in mmm lol 😂
@@graememercer1653 ohhh yes you’re right there
You have a boat - Head for the Med. Everything is cheaper and you don't have to put up with Welsh weather...
We will be there as soon as possible!
Cool guys - you won't regret it. I live in northern Spain - We have good marinas here and none of the weather you are trying to work through at home@@SailingMelody
I was looking at your tent and I was thinking of Harry Potter when ''OK... Your husband is working on 2 boats one in fiberglass Is preferred and the other in steel. In a couple of years after you sale the boat (in steel). He will say i remembers were " a few times. Why not it's a pleasure of life to talks and change subject's of do time. In a few years you will say do you remember... Why not fews good time to get to this to that.
Hahah thank you 😊
A bit late in the season for Biscay?
Yes. Delays with the framework for the cockpit enclosure have really messed up our timing this year
Eberspachers have given me me unhealthy coping mechanisms after five years of boat life. Used to run ours on kerosine because it was a lot cheaper over the course of a winter in a 25l outboard motor tank
The link to the auto term does not appear to work. Sounds an interesting product!
Oh no!!! I’ll address that now
Fixed : the link
planarheaters.co.uk works now
Thanks for fixing. The 1st 2 links work just fine, but the discount code one a bit further down does not...
Well, if I stayed where you stay, I would also buy a boat and sail to the tropics
We will asap. We have been delayed by waiting for the framework for the cockpit enclosure to be finished when has had rhe knock on effect of not being able to complete the fiberglass work and fabrics which has meant we can’t cross Biskay now until after winter
I am surprised you didn't split the heater pipe and run it into both ends or at least give yourself flow options...
Ah well you won't need it in the Bahamas anyway
That's coming soon ☺️ but no you are right we won't need it there!
Nice looking heater system.
2 comments though....(1) I did NOT see any insulation on the hot air duct to prevent heat loss between the heater and the boat's galley, and (2) can I assume you will have a number of strategically placed Carbon Monoxide detector-alarms in the boat???
Wind just sounded cold! 78* F here and just had chill run down my back.
Never any summer in Wales, now I know why my family moved from there three generations
It’s a cold and rugged country to be sure to be sure
The Autoterm is a good choice and looks almost identical to our Eberspacher. We bought the official lagging for the heated ducts and it raised the temperature of the heated air so much it was practically a furnace blast coming out of the ducts 😃Also we installed a Carbon Monoxide monitor in the sleeping cabins as well. Hopefully you will be snug as bugs in a rug.
Poor old Steel Melody is beginning to look rather like a large anchor, pinning you to N Wales 😞
Yes I agree
My plan had been to get the cockpit enclosure finished in June or July and then spend august working on her to sell but delays with the stainless work meant we were kind of hamstrung and it’s cost us time and money
Melissa that camping doesn't look great... 🤣
😂 wasn't the best sleep I have had
❤👍
Iv fitted Chinese and eberspacher diesel heaters to boats and vans .After a year or two of hard use they all have there problems so for me I'd buy cheap all brands work the same trust me you will endup saying whys that bloody heater not working now when your family need it most I'd get two installed a cheap one as a backup
Buy once cry once as we say!
To close to the PVC pipes! You will have problems
It’s actually a good few inches away and the exhaust is fully enclosed in a proper heat shield. However I take your point and will certainly be keeping an eye on it regularly to monitor for any issues. If needs be I can move one or the other very easily :)
If you just sailed south you wouldnt need a heater :)
Tell me about it. We wanted to have left by the end of august but delays with the cockpit enclosure have put us weeks and weeks behind
I'm failing to understand the logic behind installing everything TWICE. So now you know the heater works, why would it NOT work, It's brand new from a reliable manufacturer. Next, you are going to dismantle it and reassemble it...and test it again to see if STILL works?
I appreciate your concerns about safety but, surely those concerns have already been addressed by the manufacturer who supplied a heater specifically designed to be installed in a boat. It would have saved an enormous amount of time and energy if you had installed it correctly, logically and permanently just ONCE..and then tested it.
I realise this might sound harsh but, having enjoyed following your long journey to achieving your ultimut dream, I fear that it will be at least another two years before Ocean Melody leaves that harbour.
Best wishes to all the crew.
I’m not installing it twice. It’s done
I just need to clip up the cables.
Don’t understand.
We’re leaving here sooner than you think though
Wednesday won’t be any better😂
I’m glad you didn’t go for the Chinese ones because they are terribly unreliable, I’ve had a couple on camper vans and they always play up
Haha the weather is awful today!!
Yes we had one in our van and never managed to get it working 😕
Ollie, when he was sitting up, on lap, .......... he's starting to look like a real person, not a baby, but with character, and inquisition, ...
Uhh ................ NOT THE INQUISITION?
..... and you can start to see what he'll look like when he's older.
Yes he is growing up fast!
Melissa looks amazing it’s good to breast feed the baby it costs a lot of calories and don’t forget Andy’s hard work can’t wait to make the step to get on to our boat but it’s bare bone so a lot of work first
*_ The sound was REALLY CR@P in this episode!! _*
Yeah apologies
It’s very hard to get good audio in a fiberglass cockpit locker the size of a small closet