Propex heater

B~C · Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:19 pm Post subject: Propex heater

I ran into this at the Portland boat show-
http://www.propexheatsource.co.uk/products.htm
It looks like a nifty heating option, First Mate Marine from Anacortes was selling them

SEA3PO · Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 10:06 pm Post subject:

Hey that sounds neat.... any idea what they sell for ??? How large are they ?
Might be nice on a cool night....

Joel
SEA3PO

B~C · Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 10:31 pm Post subject:

here's a price list for the kit- http://firstmatemarine.com/2800.pdf

the smaller 6,200 btu model is about $300 less

It was a pretty small unit, I asked if the unit could be mounted in the cockpit under the gunnel, he said no problem. one down side to this, I saw somewhere in the specs that the heater will run 8 hours on a gallon of propane. That could pose a capacity issue if you where going out for a long trip and using propane for BBQ and cooking. Getting refilled at a marina may be a toughy

Dora~Jean · Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:48 am Post subject:

Joel,

Come aboard on our next get-together, I'll show you my Wallas 1300, I'm extremely happy with it, about $1,100 total with all accessories. (and BTW, that 'special knife' that comes with all Wallas' still remains in its sheath!)

B~C · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:05 am Post subject:

After thinking about this propex heater for a spell, I ventured north into the heart of the city and purchased a one from sure marine. For less than $1000 I walked out of there with the heater and most of the fixins for a proper propane system. I just started installing yesterday& so far I'm really liking it. I mounted it under the counter in the space that the old wallas 800 guts used to occupy & used the same exhaust and through hull from the wallas....this is going to be awsome to have dependable, quiet heat.

I now have a finicky wallas 800 mineral spirits stove sitting in my garage that the spousal unit is bugging me to get rid of, I have to do some head scratching on that

TyBoo · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:35 am Post subject:

You're going to be so toasty!

I remember when you put that Wallas in you were pleased with it. Wasn't it a used one with a history?

B~C · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 11:35 am Post subject:

why yes Mike, it is a historic wallas, if we ever have a C-Brat museum, it should go on display Smile

The thing has worked good for me, it just needs regular fixing. last spring it fired up and ran good but the fan wouldn't shut off, eventually it it fixed itself. Last week I fired it up and it ran good for hours & again the fan wouldn't shut off, now it will fire up but wount stay ignited.....I went through this same thing years ago and had to replace a sensor...I'm moving on to more heat, more regular....not that I ever use the durn boat anyway

potter water · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 1:10 pm Post subject:

A lot of fear of propane has been expressed on D-Brats about propane on a boat, but I will be watching and hoping to see full installation pix as you go through your propex install. I had propane on my Gulf 32 motor sailor for the oven, not for forced air heat. But even back in '86 when I had that boat, there seemed to be a lot of safety checks in place. Not only did you close off the bottle valve at the bottle, but there was a small solenoid valve that was activated by a switch in the cabin that had to be activated to get gas to the oven before the oven could be fired up. The oven itself had some fail safes built into it. The propane bottles...two small ones...were in a locker that had fume drains overboard at the stern of the boat. I liked the two small bottles rather than the single larger (BBQ sized bottle). The smaller bottles were easier to take for refill as well, and took up less space than the single big bottle. At least there were more space options using the two small bottle installation.

TyBoo · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 2:06 pm Post subject:

On another note, B~C - just why is it you need to heat your propex?

Sunbeam · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 2:29 pm Post subject:

Bill K · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:35 pm Post subject:

Sunbeam,
I had Wefings measure my port lazarette and it is not deep enough even for a ten pound propane bottle.

Bill Kelleher

Sunbeam · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:48 pm Post subject:

Bill K · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:59 pm Post subject:

Well it is to late for me as I already bought a 20lb. Lite tank and will have to find a different place to put it.

I am using propane for my Honda 2000i generator that I run on propane only.

I got taken on the composite tank as it is 4 years old already and only has a 15 year life span. Sad

So far no response from where I bought it.

Bill Kelleher

Larry H · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:42 pm Post subject:

I was able to fit a horizontal 10lb aluminum cylinder in the (stock) port lazarette in a 1991 22 cruiser. The 1991 model used a molded fiberglass hatch and the opening was larger than the current plastic hatches.

Sunbeam · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 8:41 pm Post subject:

I have two 10 lb. horizontal cylinders in my notes, and they are both too wide to go into the IMTRA (or probably the original plastic) hatches. One is a Manchester aluminum that's 10.38" in diameter, and the other is a Seaward aluminum, which is 11" in diameter. The IMTRA hatches are 9.5" wide (I didn't measure the original plastic hatches, but I'd guess they were 1/2-3/4" wider?). That said, I may not have found all the options.

The older, molded fiberglass hatches are nice Thumbs Up

If I do the locker-bottom mod - which depends on whether or not I go for propane heat - I'll have to console myself with being able to fit 22# in (two 11# cylinders) once I do the work. But it would be nice to be able to just drop one 10-pounder in, for sure.