boomerang
Guru
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2016
- Messages
- 1,446
- Location
- united states
- Vessel Name
- Wandering Star
- Vessel Make
- Hatteras 42 LRC
As promised, I said I would post pictures of the water heater project on our '78 34' Mainship. I also posted pictures on the facebook Mainship owners group.
I just didn't feel we needed the 12 gallon tank that was original equipment under the cockpit. We ordered a 5 gallon roto-molded model and I was all set to reinstall it in the same location. I happened to get on this forum and somebody's post got me wondering if our new heater wouldn't fit in the space ahead of the starboard fuel tank. Sure enough, it did! In addition to saving the space under the cockpit, the new heater in it's new location is a lot closer to the shower, head and galley keeping the water hotter and less of a travel to the faucets. While I was at it, I added ball valves to the block for servicing the cooling system ,if needed. The coolant comesfrom the pump ,into the cabin heater, out of the cabin heater and into the water heater heat exchanger ,then exiting back into the enging block. Even going through the buss heater first, the hot water temperature is still scalding hot.
Also, after last weeks first real boat ride of the season, the alternator quit charging. I replaced it and wow what a difference a new alternator makes! The old one must've been failing because at it never seemed to put out more than 15-20A. Now, according to the SOC meter, it was outputting 35A (after leaving the onboard charger off and the DC refrigerator on for a over a day) at less than 1500 RPM. That'll be a welcomed change when our cruising season gets started.
I just didn't feel we needed the 12 gallon tank that was original equipment under the cockpit. We ordered a 5 gallon roto-molded model and I was all set to reinstall it in the same location. I happened to get on this forum and somebody's post got me wondering if our new heater wouldn't fit in the space ahead of the starboard fuel tank. Sure enough, it did! In addition to saving the space under the cockpit, the new heater in it's new location is a lot closer to the shower, head and galley keeping the water hotter and less of a travel to the faucets. While I was at it, I added ball valves to the block for servicing the cooling system ,if needed. The coolant comesfrom the pump ,into the cabin heater, out of the cabin heater and into the water heater heat exchanger ,then exiting back into the enging block. Even going through the buss heater first, the hot water temperature is still scalding hot.
Also, after last weeks first real boat ride of the season, the alternator quit charging. I replaced it and wow what a difference a new alternator makes! The old one must've been failing because at it never seemed to put out more than 15-20A. Now, according to the SOC meter, it was outputting 35A (after leaving the onboard charger off and the DC refrigerator on for a over a day) at less than 1500 RPM. That'll be a welcomed change when our cruising season gets started.
