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instant hot propane water heater
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Rick
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October 19, 2014 - 8:44 pm
Member Since: June 3, 2014
Forum Posts: 94
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All:

I installed an instant hot propane water heater next to our pool in the back yard and it's been working great. Does not use a lot of propane and issues hot water as advertised: almost instantly. When we chartered in the Bahamas recently, the hot water shower on the swim platform was one of the most welcome conveniences on the boat so I'd like to install a propane fired water heater on Orion. Has anyone done this? I know propane scares everyone or it should, but we use it to cook so we must be smart enough to use it for showers. I have a heat exchange water heater that looks like it came from a yard sale but it's very small and for some reason it's scalding hot whenever the engine is running. Scalding hot out of both hot and cold. Even if it was working correctly, I'd rather not use the engine if I don't have to and a separate water heater would make that less necessary.

I'm thinking of dedicating a small part of one of the enormous lazzarettes for a separate area for the heater. I've seen exactly one on the market but I'd love it if I could get some feedback: it was easy as pie, it was hard running the propane but really worth it, it worked just as advertised and my wife has agreed to make long crossings because I installed it; that kind of thing.

Someone tell me they've done this or why not.

Thanks!

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Scott Carle
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October 19, 2014 - 9:36 pm
Member Since: October 10, 2009
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if you install it inside the boat it absolutely has to be a vented unit that all exhaust gasses go up through a chimney. I have seen old units build like this installed on boats but can not seem to find new ones as small as those old ones. I was going to put one under the sink in the head or against the bulkhead in there for showers. The only ones I could find required much bigger exhaust pipes and was physically larger than I wanted to deal with.. If you put it in the cockpit lockers you will need to seal them from inside the boat.. they are open to the engine compartment and the engine compartment is open to the interior of the boat as far as gas is concerned. Either exhaust or propane.  I think that one of the camping models would be super cheap and easy to use hanging in the cockpit outside the boat. Also easy to run a fitting to connect to for propane off the main tank in the propane locker.

 

If you find a good one that has a small footprint and is a vented unit let us know as a bunch of us would be interested.

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