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Espar Forced Air Heater Install

Wednesday - February 2, 2011Views: 5470
We installed an Espar D5 forced air heater to help get us through the winter here on the Chesapeake Bay. There's a full explanation of what we did on our blog (http://ip42035-9.blogspot.com/). The heater unit was installed in the port side cockpit locker. The duct work runs forward from there into the aft cabin under the shelf, into the cabinets. It then crosses through the aft head into the Main Salon behind the port side settee. From there it continues into the forward cabin and into the forward head. We have four vents along the line and the boat stays toasty, between 73 and 75 degrees. It is a big job but not technically difficult. The hardest part was making the first cut in the teak cabinets. Since installation in 2011 we lived aboard year round on the Chesapeake Bay for five years. Once water temperature dropped below 38 degrees (F) the reverse cycle heater would freeze up, usually early December. We would then run the Espar heater 24/7 until mid-March when the water warmed up again. We averaged 2500 hours of operation each winter. Fuel consumption was about 2 to 2.5 gallons per day (0.1 gallons /hour). Over the five years we had to replace the fuel pump twice and the fan motor once. Yearly maintenance included cleaning or replacing the fuel injector and diffuser.
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The International IPYOA administration team.