Heating your boat when it's actually cold - diesel heaters compared 

Hi everyone! This video is a little bit different compared to my previous ones, yes it's mostly just a talking head type of thing, but I think many of you will find it useful. If you're new here then please have a look at my other videos as well for more action! PS. A new "real" episode is coming up soon as well, please stay patient 😉

so English is not likely your 'native' language, yet I've never listened to more articulate and accurate speech as this.. well done, information and all.!

This video is exactly what I was looking for. There’s more than enough videos of people showing how easy installation is, what I want to know is how the various systems stack up against each other. Thank you and well done!

I live in Gibsons BC (one of the places you sailed by on your way to Alaska) I plumbed in a bus heater in my boat that used the cooling water from the engine. It worked very well. The big advantage is the while underway you get double the use from your fuel, both to run. The engine as well as heating the cabin. One side benefit is that it also aids in cooling your engine if that ever becomes an issue. By the way I really look forward to your video’s👍 you are very down to earth and practical. Thank you

Don’t you need a CO carbon monoxide detector too to avoid the very serious risk of Carbon Monoxide death. Great video. Thank you so much. CO carbon monoxide is different from CO2 carbon dioxide. I know that YOU know this ( but others may not ). Keep up your great presentations. RS. Canada

Thanks for this. Just purchased a Planar 2kw heater for my Moody 33. I'm not as far north as you (only at 55⁰) but also a live-aboard and need dry heat. I'm very encouraged by your experience...

Great summary on the various heaters and although long it was packed with a large amount of information. It is good to have two sources of heat in that extreme climate and the dry heat is really good as well. Those thermal fans are such a great idea. You must store a lot of diesel for the boat engine as well as heat. Well done again. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!

We have been considering a diesel heater to extend our sailing season into colder months, but not winter. This was very good information. Thank you!

SV Basic, installed two of the electric diesel, forced air, chinesium heaters in their catamaran... Thanks for your review AA...

This is an excellent video explaining different types of heaters and installing heaters. Very straightforward info which is to the point without any naff music or pretty pictures. This is great because it shows heaters in use in a bloody cold sailing area. If it works in the Arctic in winter it will work fine in the Solent.

The Webasto heaters have been used in lorry cabs and RVs for years. I’ve been using them for 20 plus years and I can say I’ve never had any issues.

I had forced air diesel heaters in both my boats. They work really well and both also took advantage of the engine heat when the engine was running. The only caveat is that one fuel measuring system was based on a mechanical/electric system using a float in the tank while the other was purely electronic based upon fuel flow. With the first I would know how much fuel was in the tank while the latter it was a guessing game and when we went to refill the tank we would often see that the electronics thought there was much more fuel than actually. As such we were cautions to keep the tank full, or as much as practical, to avoid running out and having to tap into our emergency supply. Its amazing how much fuel you use on a cold night in Canada.

That was terrific. I was curious about how you stay warm. We need more videos please.

I have used the Espar (D5) for 25 years living aboard in New England USA year round. Keep it clean and it works great.

Wow. What a great video! You sir have giant balls to sail that far up and I certainly respect you for that! I just bought a boat and was looking for a heater just to get to where it's warm. Either way I'm not going to put in garbage heater in my boat. And the heater has to work! Very informative!

right video at the right time for me as i am considering what heating to instal in my barge and whileit does not heal and i want hot water on tap it is a brilliant introduction to some of the obvious options. thank you.

Great video. Thanks! I am researching for a 1971 31’ Airstream trailer/caravan. I live only 10 kilometres from Dickinson Marine. Will be checking out their diesel heaters, for all the same reasons you pointed out. Happy sailing!

You gave us well reasoned articulate and succinct clarity in the best way. Muchas kudos señor.

Very interesting video with some very valid positives and negatives. I use a small Taylor's diesel heater which is now about 22 years old. It's very efficient, use very little fuel but a bit tricky to light and can also suffer from blow-back in a sudden gust of wind. It may well get changed for a Reflek's heater this year so as to provide additional heat to custom radiators and heating hot water. May also look at installing a Wallas system as well for backup.

Excellent summary. You put a lot of practical thought I to this video. Well done. Yes to a video covering the refleks heater. Looking forward to that. Cheers. Safe sailing.

Thanks so much for producing this video - it's packed with useful information!

That is some very informative and educational material. Invaluable. Thanks. I saved this one for later rewatching.

Love your going into this topic a lot - like others commented - and looking forward to your offering another deep dive❣️

Just found your channel, and really enjoyed all so far. This part with some tech and +/- was nice too. And I’d definitely like to hear the details about how the run the burner in the best way. Keep on posting!

Thanks for the video. I was thinking about heating on sail boats a lot recently and even though I'd only have to make it through the Australian winter, this was very helpful.

I enjoyed this, thanks. Good to learn more about these different heating systems, and I would be interested to learn more about how the Reflex operates. Cheers

You are a very practical sailer , some things I tried to become, but failed. I wish you luck .

your video was really great and informative. you have answered a lot of questions on using heaters. I live on a 30ft power boat and will use the diesel heaters.

So nice to learn with you! Someday we will sail into the cold as well!!! Thanks for the episode

Great summary, thank you! Few years back I did replace my Wallas 1700 with 5Kw Chinese air diesel heater. I’m quite impressed how stable is preforming. Never had any issues with weekend sailings around Sweden. If you think is good idea dive a try with Chinese one 8KW I mean just for fun and spare heat. Btw I absolutely love your videos combining my favourite two skiing and sailing!

Thanks, more to think about. Your pro,s and cons very useful.

Great to hear from you again!!

Fantastic! Greatly appreciate your insight and experience with heating a boat. I am interested in a type of diesel heater that also acts as a cooktop and I have only seen one or two of them in person, but it seems like the perfect thing for us. It is made by Wallas and until I learn more, I am still looking for an unobtrusive diesel heater. The smaller forced air unit looks like another excellent solution for us. Thanks for doing this!

Nice video well done too! I am glad you mentioned the engine heating system, we call it 'red dot' for some reasons here in Canada. Regarding the diesel drip stove, I inspected a boat that used the 'radiator' option very cleverly and simply, I thought. It ran an engine hot water hose SAE J2006 or UL 1129 in Europe inside the hanging lockers and behind the bookshelves and in storage where heat was beneficial, just enough heat provided in these closed compartments to kill humidity! No more book getting moldy, no more clothe getting smelly! This ran off a 'Y' fitting with a seacock that could be closed to allow the engine to warm up quickly. I discourage electric heaters, as dangerous. Most people do not understand or care to understand electricity. Power = Voltage x Current, or Amp = Watts/Volts. Ohm law, those electric heaters will quickly overwhelm a shore power connection and cause a fire. Cheers! And thanks for the great video.

yes please for the in depth reflex heater video ...thank younger all the useful information in this one too

Very well thought out and presented description of heating options. Thanks!

Informative, thorough and well done. Good job!

Really nice walktrue with the pros and cons 👍

Thanks for the informative video. I have finally gathered all the bits and pieces to install by Taylor diesel heater. Just have to finalize the location and find the courage to drill a big hole in the deck. It will be gravity fed

Great talk on heaters pros and cons. Would like even a more on the Dickinson Reflex diesel. Thanks a lot !

Yes more on this please! Very nice walkthrough.

Thank you for this. Very informative and well presented.

Informative and straight forward as well as being pragmatic, great job. I am quite envious of your peltier fans and will now go looking to find some for myself.

Excellent video! Thanks for relating your thoughts and results in detail.

Thanks. Really useful. Would love to see the Reflex heater follow up.

Really helped us decide on which heating to get, thank you.

My Bride (married 54 years) insisted on adding heat to Dreamweaver (38') before we cruised up to Maine. I chose a Webasto forced hot water system. THE most difficult installation I have ever done! The system employs a burner, a tank for the water that will be circulated, hoses to link the various radiators and fans, each with it own switch through out the boat. Problems were limited to the hoses leaking at the radiators (anti freeze and teak do not play well together) The hoses just did not want to seal- answer permatex! Trying to get the right SS piping to expel the exhaust out the stern. Also suck up the amps. The up side was it works fabulously. I plumbed a radiator-fan into the head so showers were a delight. Our other problem was condensation on the hatches. I my humble opinion- if your vessel is not insulated- go south to warmer places

Thank you for sharing the information on your different heating sources . This is very helpful for me 👍

Excellent presentation of how to heat a sailboat in winter. As a Finnish Canadian I had to laugh at your comment about it being hard to talk that much. Yes, that would have been 2 months worth for me. Can’t wait to see some more sailors and skiing! Cheers.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

On my 12 m motorboat I had an Eberspächer diesel heater not for ducted air but warm water (with antifreeze). Ducting is easier, with 1/2 in copper tubing, but of course radiators must be installed. My system was connected with the engine cooling. On another boat I had a Reflex, which I liked much, first with the yacht style chimney cap. In strong winds sometimes backdraught occured, even with sort of an explosion in the oven blowing black smoke into the cabin. So I replaced it with an H type. Another "minus" of the Eberspächer with side exhaust: noise for neighbors, and melting fenders.

Hi Juho, just subbed. Found your channel via your link on FB. Congratulations on some very interesting videos, beautifully produced. This one about the heating was most informative. I have used a charcoal-burning solid fuel heater in a boat in high latitudes when diesel supply was an issue. Charcoal is physically light weight and can be stored in small bags and tucked away in the corners of the boat that aren’t used for anything else. My current boat (a Fisher 25) has an Eberspacher that works very well as you describe. I like your idea of redirecting the ducting to warm up the engine space as my Yanmar Diesel engine has no glow-plug so cold starting can be an issue. Some 25 years ago I had a Wallas heater that I transferred from one boat to another and also proved very reliable. In around 15 years of ownership I only serviced the burner once! In a small camping-style day boat boat I have used a slow-burning ‘tea light’ candle under a ceramic or pottery dome ... typically an upended flower pot ... this device works surprisingly well, but as an open flame is involved it isn’t safe to leave alone and certainly not to use underway! I try to sail all through the year whenever my work permits. So it is inspiring to hear of your experiences in much higher latitudes than mine on the east coast of England. Good luck with your channel. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Roy

Great video. I drive a truck, which is where the webasto is primarily used. They are usually installed under the bunk and hot air is piped into the sleeper. Many times you will find a slot cut into the forced air tube under the bunk to heat that space also because if you don't, the air in that space is freezing and so is your bed.

I would love an indeep presemtation of the oil burner heater, thank you! Also the aspects of using it on a non-insulated boat as mine, for sailing in scandinavian waters. Thank’s for a very well performed and informative video, it was really great! Simon

Very good presentation. Look forward to a detailed video on the refleks stove😀.

Very useful and interesting video. I very much like you attitude and reasoning about heaters.

Great video. Don't forget that marine air conditioners with the reverse cycle heat pump option (like the Domestic Turbo) is the one form of electric heat that is more efficient than all the others. I have two as well as a diesel and propane Dickinson and two wall mounted electric fan heaters. I still plan on installing two diesel air heaters at some point. No bus heater for me though, I have a raw water cooled engine. Fair winds!

In 2018 we had to replace the old Wallas 1600 heater in my friend´s yacht here in Finland. The burner itself, fuel pump, the combustion air fan and the fresh air fans still worked, but the electronics controlling the fans and pumps started to fail, and there were no spare circuit boards available for a 40 year old model. The heater was originally installed in 1983 or 84. So it "only" worked for 35 years or so, without major problems, with very little maintenance and service. I also had a warm relationship (and still have warm memories) with the Norwegian Refleks stove-type heaters from my childhood and youth. A stand-alone model, and also an insulated SV model that is used to heat the circulating water for radiators in the 11m (36ft) traditional wooden motorboat. The latter had to be ignited using a small amount of denatured ethanol. You had to drop the burning match in the burning chamber within a few seconds after the ethanol. Otherwise the ethanol evaporated and created an explosive fume in the burning chamber. I burnt my eyebrows a few times before learning the right technique. The air heaters are more convenient and better for drying up the yacht in really wet conditions, when people bring their wet gear inside the cabin all the time. The hot air heater helps to bring the humidity (and condensation) from dripping to a somewhat tolerable level pretty fast.

Excellent summary of heating systems. I have had experience with most of them (diesel, paraffin and gas forced air systems), a Dickinson stove on a previous boat and an engine system on my current boat, in addition to an Eberspächer forced air heater. I have not had any experience with a diesel burning central heating system though. Just a comment: a separate, forced air heating system in the bathroom is great. Even in mild temperatures, heating up the bathroom before a shower is great. It can also be used to dry wet clothing or washing. I have a Wallas 1300 for that purpose.

Best video about heaters..i watched over 50 videos before and read million pages ..congratilation and thanks

Thank you that was really interesting and I have to tell you this I am living onboard and I find that an oil filled radiator is fine for my needs. Now the boat next to me has just finished installing the heating system that you spoke about first he has cut an exhaust only a few inches above the water line and it is just an elbow no more that 6 or 7 inches from the main heater and oppersite my hull !!! He has no silencer at all. He comes down every Sunday with his friends and they sit onboard drinking coffee and eating dougnuts luckily he only put the heater in last week and has not run it yet I have saved the video you made so that said I will give him the video to watch before I quickly untie my lines and head out Sunday. So once again thank you for the information you have probably save me and my boat from a bad day. Take care my friend and I shall look forward to hearing more about your travels. Jim

I found this really helpful. It’s interesting how there are brands of heaters that are better than the normal stuff but they really don’t advertise.

Most informative video I've found so far on the subject.

Just joined you, very informative, thank you. Now to binge watch all your adventures....

Details and experience on the Refleks would be very useful. Looking at fitting one with backboiler on a 12m aluminium boat aimed at higher latitudes and ski touring. Best Casper

Thanks for a detailed walkthrough of your heating systems. I'd love to learn more about the Refleks heater. I'm planning to do some trips in northern latitudes soon, and am trying to figure out what I should get.

Really informative for me with my limited knowledge and experience, many thanks

Thanks!. Very informative video from a person who's living it.

I love your videos. They are good, but I'm also a Finn. I live in southern Australia. I have 52 foot Hartley with my brother. We do not have heater. Come and sail here to overcome heating problems, and also clothing. T shirt and shorts without shoes. Much better. Love you man.

Hello, i just stumbled upon your channel, very interesting! Love your cruising areas! Cheers from Canada.

Great video. The best I've seen about this subject.

Fantastic video, so informative especially saying i am about to purchase a boat and am decideing on a heating system

Hi, Thank you very much for your very instructive video. Thanks also to the comments. I hope to go there soon with my boat

Great video and very useful. Has put me on the hunt for a small self contained system that will allow me to spend the odd night in the boat and not be foundered

Another great episode! I learn so much from you, thanks.

Good info from a guy in the artic

Good content and clear presentation of details. Concerning the engine heat I think an integrated hydronic system would be optimal. Hydronic systems can be heated by electric shore power, engine coolant heat exchanger, and be heated by a diesel furnace. I am happy with my Eberspacher hydronic system provided by Rixen’s Enterprises. Rixen’s is a USA company, but I am sure Eberspacher has integrators in Scandinavia. These are not cheap systems, but I think the triple option of heat/energy sources in one system is compelling. All the best!

Thank you so much, that was very helpful. I have a much better understanding of the mechanics of heating and what other option are available. Keep it up pls. 🙏 I have a Nauticat 43 with an Espar heater I’m having fixed soon.

Thank u so much, in my top 5 of informative videos, you explain it crystal clear

Thank you!

Great job. Very well narrated and hit all the important points. Please go ahead with your plan to cover the refleks heater. Thanks...

Yes, please do a video on the refleks heater. Thank you.

Well done - very informative - thank you very much . . . stay warm!!

I have a SIG100 drip feed diesel heater. really good and simple and can be fitted on the bulkhead in the same location as yours on my HR Rasmus. Just ordered another stove fan whilst watching you. Thanks for that tip!

Thanks for a bunch of information. Guess I will try to get myself a drip feed stove in my little polca 28 soon enough. Fair winds and following seas my friend:)

This was a great video! Thanks for sharing your experiences with heating your boat!

We have a Wallas Spartan that I installed last summer. Compared to the Webasto we had in the past, the biggest advantage is that it is way less noisy and consumes way less electricity. I also like the fact that you can use your cell phone as a remote control for it as standard. Is it worth the money then? That can everybody decide them selves. Some have installed used EGR-coolers from cars to forced air heaters with unprotected exhaust pipes, like Webastos. In that way you can collect the otherwise lost heat from the exhaust and crank up the efficiency remarkably.

Great video , if you can keep warm where you are , then we certainly can in UK.

Loistava video. Kiitos siitä ja lisää tällaista. Lämmittimet kiinnostavat kyllä.

Hello from the high desert of New Mexico USA 🇺🇸. I just found your channel and I liked and subscribed. I don't have a boat anymore but I do live in my 1967 GM TDH-4519 city transit bus full-time and I was thinking about a diesel drip stove in addition to two diesel air heaters and a hydronic heating system. I would love to watch a longer more detailed video about your drip stove. Thank you for sharing your experience and your thoughts with us. Keep up the good work and stay safe

A lot of very useful information. Thank you.

Very many thanks for this very informative video.

Very useful video! Was interesting to know how such heaters work. Thanks a lot!!

Terve! Great video and cool boat! Nice to find your channel! Fair Winds and Following Seas!

I would be very interested to hear more about the refleks deisel drop stove.Thank you for a very ,very informative video A A.

Very helpful and Merry Christmas

LOVE the INTRODUCTION *music and video clips* (thumbs up) from OREGON U.S.A.

very good video thank you well worth watching will try to upgrade me heating on my boat now ..

Thank you for this very informative video. I'm debating entering the sailing lifestyle. And I would want both air-conditioning and heating. I'm amazed how few RU-vidrs address the air-conditioning of the boat. And even fewer address the heating. Also, I don't see much on insulating the boat.

Great video, thanks very much some great info and tips to help compare. Brought our first boat 29.5ft and with winter approaching need a heating solution don't think can fit a stove anywhere but think Planar is looking like a great possibility.