Block heaters 24/7 ?

[Bob Quinn]

Just got our boat put into a wet slip inside a heated condo building for the winter.
They keep the building 50/55 degrees for the winter. (we are on Lake St. Clair in Michigan)

I don't know what wattage heaters I have, but I know with them on, you can't lean on the cast coolant tank area with your hand for very long.

I know of at least one other person who ran his heaters 24/7 during winter storage in the same wet slip environment.

"if" they are 1000 watt heaters, it looks like it would be a cost of around $260/ month total at $.18/ kwh (not sure $/kw is correct)


What are your thoughts on leaving the block heaters run 24/7?

[SKYCHENEY]

Just got our boat put into a wet slip inside a heated condo building for the winter.
They keep the building 50/55 degrees for the winter. (we are on Lake St. Clair in Michigan)

I don't know what wattage heaters I have, but I know with them on, you can't lean on the cast coolant tank area with your hand for very long.

I know of at least one other person who ran his heaters 24/7 during winter storage in the same wet slip environment.

"if" they are 1000 watt heaters, it looks like it would be a cost of around $260/ month total at $.18/ kwh (not sure $/kw is correct)


What are your thoughts on leaving the block heaters run 24/7?

I would leave them on and block off the engine room vents so you don't lose all of the heat.

[Glory]

What us the benefit of keeping the engines warm?

[madhatter1]

Standby generators are kept hot 24/7 so they can be loaded right after startup. Your call based on the cost. I spend a lot to have a spot for my boat in case of a hurricane. I spent a small fortune for a garage to house my classic car when I kept it on Cape Cod for 2 summers. Could have spent less but I’m comfortable with the way I went.

[Captain Ralph]

Other than the storage facility loosing power and unable to keep things a toasty 50°, I do not see the need for them on.
If the facility looses power, your block heaters are down also.

Please keep in mind, I'm in North Florida and never stored anything for winter other than a lawn mower,,, when I was a kid.
But I'm still trying to help.

[SKYCHENEY]

Bob,
You need some heat. The water gets down to freezing. We used an oil filled electric in the engine room since we didn't have block heaters. If power goes out your engines will still radiate heat for many hours.

[Bob Quinn]

Bob,
You need some heat. The water gets down to freezing. We used an oil filled electric in the engine room since we didn't have block heaters. If power goes out your engines will still radiate heat for many hours.

Thanks Sky could be good insurance. A frozen block or anything is the last thing I want.

Do they make heaters or heater controls that will maintain a certain temperature?

i.e. maybe maintaining 100 degrees or something like that would cost half just having them on full time? What would really be nice is some way to remotely monitor engine temps via a cell phone app / alarm system etc.

[Bob Quinn]

What us the benefit of keeping the engines warm?

One thing I have heard is keeping moisture out of the motors i.e. moisture that could cause rust.
The other as sky mentioned would be a "just in case" the power goes out in the building they would be like a giant heated chuck of cast iron that would stay hot longer and help avoid anything freezing.

I think though that in this building based on the fact that my old dog is the black sheep of the family and there are probably 10 million dollar boats in the building that any power issues would probably be fixed pretty fast or heaters would be fired up using generators. But who knows. We do get snow storms up here that knock power out in the winter.

[Bob Quinn]

I think I might get my Amp probe out and see if I can get into the breaker box and measure true current draw. That would help tell me the cost too. If anyone knows of any temp controllers please let me know. I think I'll search for something like that as well. There has to be something like that I would assume.

[dar636]

I keep mine on in the PNW as it keeps the core of the boat warm. We're heading into the coldest months soon and I'll block off the engine room vents soon too. We have electric wall heaters throughout the boat as well to keep temps consistent as we'll tend to use the boat all winter even if not leaving the dock. Nothing worse then jumping into a freezing bed.

I did replace my 1000w elements with 750w versions from Hotstart, 1000w was too much.

[sgharford]

Maybe pump non-tox antifreeze through engines, assume you are already doing this for fresh water system, A/C's, and generator. Wouldn't have to worry about electric going out or the cost to run them.

[SKYCHENEY]

Moisture will be an issue in the whole boat. The water is cold. The boat is warm(ish). You will get condensation, both in the cylinders(without block heaters) and everywhere. I have seen boats in these buildings that get mold inside the hull, behind the cabinets. It is better to be in a heated building, but you can prevent this with some heat. Block heaters are a good start. You may also need some heat in the master stateroom. Take a look at the oil filled electrics like this:

https://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-Comfort-Thermostat-Settings-Features/dp/B000TGDGLU/ref=asc_df_B000TGDGLU/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167116234959&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9615320975453049014&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9017227&hvtargid=pla-276712688777&psc=1

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61V5KvnKFZL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

[krush]

At $200+ a month for electricity, 10-20 gallons of antifreeze is much cheaper and no worries if the power goes out (or your wiring fails, etc). Even though pink juice is now 4-5$ a gallon at walfart than 2.

[Schoej01]

https://www.xtremeheaters.com/

[Blowncar]

Previous owner of my 52C had a good idea for this problem. He wired in an automatic/adjustable timer to the block heaters. While he had his set to come on 4-6 hours before he planned to go fishing; it would be simple to set them to run several hours at a time, turn off and recycle. Heck, I think you can even get a programmable bluetooth switch for around $40 wire it in and control the heaters from your phone.

[Bob Quinn]

Moisture will be an issue in the whole boat. The water is cold. The boat is warm(ish). You will get condensation, both in the cylinders(without block heaters) and everywhere. I have seen boats in these buildings that get mold inside the hull, behind the cabinets. It is better to be in a heated building, but you can prevent this with some heat. Block heaters are a good start. You may also need some heat in the master stateroom. Take a look at the oil filled electrics like this:

https://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-Comfort-Thermostat-Settings-Features/dp/B000TGDGLU/ref=asc_df_B000TGDGLU/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167116234959&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9615320975453049014&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9017227&hvtargid=pla-276712688777&psc=1

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61V5KvnKFZL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

Thanks Sky, good idea. I will pick up one or two. Looks like they have a temp controller on them.

[Bob Quinn]

Also found this62808

temperature and humidity monitoring thing, it reports to your cell phone. Cool.

[krush]

My buddy used this wifi remote sensor to view from his phone on his Hatt, thus it's Hatteras approved and tested. They have other models too with varying levels of features.

https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Indoor-Temperature-Humidity-Sensor/dp/B0872ZWV8X/