Mr. Heater Portable for boats

[pjard]

Has anyone ever tried using a Mr. Heater Portable Buddy on a boat? instinctively I want to kick myself for even asking as this seems unsafe..but I'm just wondering.

[wynndog]

I use one in the house. I've known 2 people that use Rannier(non vented) in their houses for years. Works great for when the heat goes out fo short periods of time. Wynn

[mhtranger]

I have a "friend" that uses one in his boat and works fine after the needed modification. But on a serious note the way it works out of the box it will not work because of the tip over switch that will cause it to shut off. Also needs fresh air for venting the CO.

[gslpro]

Depends on how you are going to use it. If you are closing a cover of any sort, and pumping heat out of the heater, you will start to get dizzy and your ears will buzz....(Not a good thing). The phrasing "safe for indoor use" that some of these heaters had was to mean that you can use them indoors without causing a fire, but ventilation is paramount to your survival. I use a 42,000 btu tank-top heater in the garage sometimes when I am refilling my wood stacks in there, and without the door being open, I start feeling effects in about 5 minutes.

There are a few safer options available on the market if you are trying to get heat into a boat, but each comes with its own problems. Google "tent heaters" and you will see some safer options.



Probably don't want them sitting near the gas vent or anywhere where there is enough rocking to knock them over. If it is while running the boat (for spring or fall cruising) you can add a heating system like your car onto your boat engine, like this



Whatever you do, just be safe.

[upthesaukee]

... Understand this comes from a guy who barely knows what end of a hammer to use to put a screw in a wall to hang a picture.

How about an inverter wired into the boat, and use an electric heater? I would think that this would eliminate a potential CO problem, and with a higher wattage inverter (thinking the types that are used in motor homes), a smaller wattage heater may do the job.

I wouldn't imagine using one of these while running at higher speeds, so the tipping problem should be minimal.

Is this a viable option?

[gslpro]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

... Understand this comes from a guy who barely knows what end of a hammer to use to put a screw in a wall to hang a picture.

How about an inverter wired into the boat, and use an electric heater? I would think that this would eliminate a potential CO problem, and with a higher wattage inverter (thinking the types that are used in motor homes), a smaller wattage heater may do the job.

I wouldn't imagine using one of these while running at higher speeds, so the tipping problem should be minimal.

Is this a viable option?

Not really. the battery bank would have to be massive to sustain heat for any length of time with the engine(s) off. I had a Chris Craft with three huge house batteries, thinking it would last me all night at my UN-powered slip at the time. It gave me about 20 minutes of juice, and ca-put! It would power my computer monitor for videos all night long, but heat is just a wattage sucker. A normal draw is 750 or 1500 watts. That is a lot of amps from a 12volt system. 12.5 amps at 120v would equal about 125amps from 12 volt while in use. Not really viable.

While running, possible if you have big enough alternator(s), but an installed engine hot water system would certainly be a much better solution.

[upthesaukee]

But thanks for a good explanation.

[JasonG]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

... Understand this comes from a guy who barely knows what end of a hammer to use to put a screw in a wall to hang a picture.

How about an inverter wired into the boat, and use an electric heater? I would think that this would eliminate a potential CO problem, and with a higher wattage inverter (thinking the types that are used in motor homes), a smaller wattage heater may do the job.

I wouldn't imagine using one of these while running at higher speeds, so the tipping problem should be minimal.

Is this a viable option?

I sell marine chargers and inverters, and I can tell you the power draw here would be massive and not last long. Even if you were sitting on shore power, I would envision many batteries in parallel sitting off a 60 amp charger to keep up with it.