Adding a pair of wolverine engine heaters and 110 lights in the bilge

[Steve500dancer]

Well after reading all the posts about Wolverine engine heaters, I decided to give them a call and see what they had to say. I got some great advice and recommendations. I ordered a pair of the 40s to go under each of the 6v92's

My plan is to hard wire a GFCI outdoor plug on each side of the engines and hard wire the line feeding the plugs into a separate dedicated 20 amp breaker on the cabin panel. (ordered two from Flounder pounder)

I am also going to hard wire six 110 volt lights into the engine room so I can see what the heck I am doing down there when I have work to do. Again we will wire them into another separate 20 amp breaker on the cabin panel.

Here is the great thing about this electrical project...my electrician has volunteered to help me do all this wiring this Saturday. He wires about 75 houses a year for me and nothing has caught fire yet. Sounds like he is qualified to work on my boat to me.

I already have 4 engine room cove heaters that are wired to a thermostat that also turns on heat lamps at each air conditioning unit, under the master head, two in the shower bilge area and their is also a cove heater in the hot water heater area. If you can't tell. I am a little paranoid about freeze. Other then a power outage, I should be covered. I am also going to remove the sound box on the generator to allow more heat to get to the generator itself.

The one thing that I wish I could find is a thermostat that I could leave in the bilge or cabin that could notify me if the temp dropped below 45 degrees. Our docks do have wifi, you would think that someone could have come up with some kind of thermometer and app for that by now.

I will post pictures of the install on Saturday or Sunday if all goes well

Steve

 

[HUMPH]

Well after reading all the posts about Wolverine engine heaters, I decided to give them a call and see what they had to say. I got some great advice and recommendations. I ordered a pair of the 40s to go under each of the 6v92's
My plan is to hard wire a GFCI outdoor plug on each side of the engines and hard wire the line feeding the plugs into a separate dedicated 20amp breaker on the cabin panel. (Ordered two from Flounder pounder)

I am also going to hard wire six 110 volt lights into the engine room so I can see what the heck I am doing down there when I have work to do. I am also going to wire them into another separate 20 amp breaker on the cabin panel.

Here is the great thing about this electrical project...my electrician has volunteered to help me do all this wiring this Saturday. He wires about 75 houses a year for me and nothing has caught fire yet. Sounds like he is qualified to work on my boat to me.

The one thing that I wish I could find is a thermostat that I could leave in the bilge or cabin that could notify me if the temp dropped below 45 degrees. Our docks do have wifi, you would think that someone could have come up with some kind of thermometer and app for that by now.
I already have 4 engine room cove heaters that are wired to a thermostat that also turns on heat lamps at each air conditioning unit, under the master head, two in the shower bilge area and I also have a cove heater in the hot water heater area. If you can't tell. I am a little nervous about a freeze. Other then a power outage, I should be covered. I am also going to remove the sound box on the generator to allow more heat to get to the generator itself.

Wiring the boat is way different than wiring a house. Make sure this guy knows what the proper type of wire is, the best location to mount the receptacles, a good route for the new wiring, etc. I personally would recommend that you leave the sound attenuator for the generator. I doubt the enclosure will prevent the temperature to drop too low allowing water to freeze. If the engine room temperature is a decent temperature, you should have no problems, at least I would think not!

 

[Uplate]

Well after reading all the posts about Wolverine engine heaters, I decided to give them a call and see what they had to say. I got some great advice and recommendations. I ordered a pair of the 40s to go under each of the 6v92's
My plan is to hard wire a GFCI outdoor plug on each side of the engines and hard wire the line feeding the plugs into a separate dedicated 20amp breaker on the cabin panel. (Ordered two from Flounder pounder)

I am also going to hard wire six 110 volt lights into the engine room so I can see what the heck I am doing down there when I have work to do. I am also going to wire them into another separate 20 amp breaker on the cabin panel.

Here is the great thing about this electrical project...my electrician has volunteered to help me do all this wiring this Saturday. He wires about 75 houses a year for me and nothing has caught fire yet. Sounds like he is qualified to work on my boat to me.

The one thing that I wish I could find is a thermostat that I could leave in the bilge or cabin that could notify me if the temp dropped below 45 degrees. Our docks do have wifi, you would think that someone could have come up with some kind of thermometer and app for that by now.
I already have 4 engine room cove heaters that are wired to a thermostat that also turns on heat lamps at each air conditioning unit, under the master head, two in the shower bilge area and I also have a cove heater in the hot water heater area. If you can't tell. I am a little nervous about a freeze. Other then a power outage, I should be covered. I am also going to remove the sound box on the generator to allow more heat to get to the generator itself.

My neighbor with the 320 turned me on to this.

http://weatherdirect.com/2511s/

we set it up the other day and it works great. I can now see my boat temps from phone or computer. Radiojon can chime in. You will need a hardwire to the gateway so that means you will probably need a wireless bridge to your marina Internet. Both of us have one sensor in the bilge and one in the cabin. Love it and cheap. About $150 for the entire setup sans bridge.

 

[Steve500dancer]

Wiring the boat is way different than wiring a house. Make sure this guy knows what the proper type of wire is, the best location to mount the receptacles, a good route for the new wiring, etc. I personally would recommend that you leave the sound attenuator for the generator. I doubt the enclosure will prevent the temperature to drop too low allowing water to freeze. If the engine room temperature is a decent temperature, you should have no problems, at least I would think not!

He is also a boat owner and has recommended a special 12-2 out door wire that is wrapped so that vibration heat or water will effect it. The lights that we are using are a single florescent bulb that is waterproof and shock resistant. They also have a clear plastic cover so if I smack my head on it, I won't be pulling glass out of my scull.

Steve

 

[Steve500dancer]

My neighbor with the 320 turned me on to this.

http://weatherdirect.com/2511s/

we set it up the other day and it works great. I can now see my boat temps from phone or computer. Radiojon can chime in. You will need a hardwire to the gateway so that means you will probably need a wireless bridge to your marina Internet. Both of us have one sensor in the bilge and one in the cabin. Love it and cheap. About $150 for the entire setup sans bridge.

Mike that sounds great. You were on our docks for some time. Is this something that would work on the Four Corners Docks? If it will I will order it in the morning. Is it pretty simple to set up?

Thanks
Steve

 

[Uplate]

Mike that sounds great. You were on our docks for some time. Is this something that would work on the Four Corners Docks? If it will I will order it in the morning. Is it pretty simple to set up?
Thanks
Steve

as long as you can bridge the dock wireless to give you a hard wired connection, then I think yes. Simple to set up via the Internet. Radiojon has me using his Internet connection and my bridge connects to his boat. I see no reason why the same thing would not work with the marina wireless, unless the are blocking somehow.

 

[Steve500dancer]

Excuse my ignorance on this Mike, so are you saying that I need a bridge that will bridge the wifi dock signal from wireless to wired because the unit has to be hard wired to the Internet? What all did you have to buy as far as a bridge and the unit and anything else.


Steve

 

[radiojon]

+1 on Mike's suggestion. You can buy a simple wireless bridge (like one of these: http://bit.ly/11ndm9l) to connect the WeatherDirect system to your marina's wifi. Total outlay of less than $175 if you've already got the internet access via the marina wifi. Not only does the WeatherDirect system periodically report the current temp/humidity for all of the sensors you have wirelessly connected to it (I have one in the bilge and one in the cabin), but it'll also send you text/email alerts if the temp drops below your pre-set threshold -- OR if the system goes offline for more than 4 hours (potentially signaling a power outage at the marina). Since I live 30+ miles from my marina and it's not prudent to check every day or two through the winter, I'm relying on this system to alert me if something goes wrong with the heating system on board the boat in really cold weather.

(Btw, very soon, I'm also going to install an inexpensive wireless IP camera to set up at the dock, too -- just so that I can also get a visual check on my vessel whenever I want. Modern technology is simply amazing.) ;-)

 

[radiojon]

Excuse my ignorance on this Mike, so are you saying that I need a bridge that will bridge the wifi dock signal from wireless to wired because the unit has to be hard wired to the Internet? What all did you have to buy as far as a bridge and the unit and anything else.


Steve

Steve -- the WeatherDirect system works like this: The battery-powered sensors relay the temp/humidity to the "gateway," which is AC-powered and needs a connection to the internet. Most people would plug their gateway into the home router, but since most boaters don't keep a router on board, you'll need a way to "connect" that gateway to an internet connection. That's what the wireless bridge does -- it serves as a way for the gateway unit to report the temps to your free account on WeatherDirect's website. On the website, there's a link to your own personal webpage with your sensor's current readings -- which you can bookmark on your home computer and on your cell phone's browser. Voila -- instant real-time readings of the temps on your boat.

For the wireless bridge, you'll only need a laptop for the one-time setup. You'll basically use the laptop to permanently dial-in the marina's wifi settings so that it's always connected to the marina wifi, then you'll plug the gateway unit into that wireless bridge.

 

[Henry Boyd]

He is also a boat owner and has recommended a special 12-2 out door wire that is wrapped so that vibration heat or water will effect it. The lights that we are using are a single florescent bulb that is waterproof and shock resistant. They also have a clear plastic cover so if I smack my head on it, I won't be pulling glass out of my scull.

Steve

If by outdoor you mean wire that is used for patios and pools, then its the wrong stuff as it will still have solid conductors. Marine grade wire not only has the waterproof shell, but is also stranded. I know the smaller gauges are tinned, I'm not sure on AC grades.

Henry

 

[Lazy Daze]

In addition to what Henry said about the wire, just some observations...

It sounds like you're already more than covered in the "heating" department for your engine room. Maybe just start with monitoring the engine room temp until you reach a level of comfort with it.

Those heaters only draw about 5amps. Adding six CFL's into the mix adds virtually nothing in regards to amps. One 20amp breaker will be more than enough for both heaters and the lights. Using a higher amperage breaker than needed is not always a good thing. Now, I'm not an electrician, so maybe some others with more experience can offer more advice here.

 

[Steve500dancer]

So on Wednesday night I finished my install of my Wolverine heaters for the 6v92s. I sanded the bottoms if the oil pans down, cleaned them real good with thinner and followed the instructions to a "T". I routed the wires real nice and wire tied them off.

So the last part of the instructions tell you to seal around the heaters with the tube of silicon they send and then let them sit for at least 24 hours before you plug them in.....today I went to the boat and plugged them in. Port side heated up right away. Starboard nothing. Holy ****. What are the chances. Tested the plug, tested the plug again and it worked fine. The damn heater must be bad. I can't freakin believe it. Oh yes I can.

Now I have to figure out how to get it off the bottom if the pan, order another one and start over. For the love of God I can't wait till this year is over

Steve

 

[Lazy Daze]

I understand completely... unfortunately. And:

Holy ****

is saying it nicely.

When you tested the plug, did you Ohm it? Or try switching where each heater is plugged in? ...Just a couple thoughts before you rip it out.

I've never taken one off, but I would think a sharp razor blade through the silicone, around the perimeter, and then try to peel it off? If you have a stiff putty knife (or similar), that would likely help in the peeling process.

 

[Steve500dancer]

Got to the boat yesterday to check the heater and sure enough nothing. I tried plugging it into another outlet, wiggled the cord around then tested the outlet with my meter 119.6 volt. Good news is that it came off pretty easy. Just reached up and grabbed a corner and she pulled away.

I figured I would touch the other one to see how hot it was and it was not to hot that I couldn't touch it. I pulled the dip stick and the oil was still cool to the touch. What the hell is going on here. How long does it take to heat up the oil? I turned them on this Saturday and checked them last yesterday afternoon. Beginning to really doubt these heaters.

Can you guess who I am calling first thing this morning?

Steve

 

[Lazy Daze]

Geesh. You're not having much luck, are you?

I've never touched the pad, itself, after it's been installed. I only have touched it when it was like you have it there on your counter - it was HOT HOT HOT after just a few seconds! I did that for two reasons - to see if it worked, and "just because". Just going from memory, but I think they should get your oil to about 60* in just a few hours? I also don't have any experience with the Wolverine brand - the ones I've used are Pro Heat. Made in the USA, too (maybe Wolverine is as well - I don't know).

Wait... I take back what I said about not touching it once it was installed. There was one time when I did, but I was heating up a bucket of muriatic acid (whole 'nother story, there!). It was still hot. Not as hot when it was just on my workbench - but that's to be expected as the bucket of acid (like a pan filled with oil) was drawing off the heat.

 

[carterchapman]

Steve,

I'll put my IR thermometer on my oil pans next trip to the boat, but my oil pans are warm to the touch when my Wolverines are on...

 

[Gimme Time]

Steve,

Sorry to hear about the problems you are having. Fortunately I have had no such bad luck with mine and after 3+ years they still work fine. With my engine room air vents closed even in very cold weather in the 20s-30s my engine room is always nice and warm. When it's been cold for a while when I first get on the boat and crank up the heat more from the electric heaters in the winter time I open the engine room hatch to let some of the heat from below up just to help warm up the boat quicker.

Talk with Wolverine and asked if they can give you any suggestions as having one that didn't work is one thing but two of then would seem very odd.

Good luck,

 

[Steve500dancer]

Thanks guys, today I spoke with Wolverine. Turns out that I have the CSA version. This means that they can't get as hot. They say they have been having trouble with this the Canadian version. They don't get as hot and they have a different shut off in the circuitry.

I will say that Wolverine were very apologetic about it and said they would air ship another pair of NON Canadian heaters to me today. They are also shipping me an additional one for my generator at no charge. I thought that was Good customer service. However, once I started looking at the generator diagram and how close the oil pan is to the bilge floor and the work I have ahead of me removing the sound shield and sanding down the oil pan, I began to have second thoughts about that install. We will see how it goes.

I also drained the rest of the water out of the fresh water system this weekend and dumped 8 gallons of antifreeze into the system and ran it through all the fixtures. I don't think 8 gallons was enough. The pink wasn't pink enough, so I picked up another 10 gallons today that I will add when I go back to install the new engine heaters.

What sucks is the weather is getting down to the mid to high 20s at night for the next couple of days. I did leave a ceramic heater in the bilge and turned the 4 engine room cove heaters on. Hopefully that will be enough. I also plan on ordering the "Weather Direct System" tonight or in the morning so I can install it this coming weekend. I have tried to cal, them a couple of times but I keep getting cut off when they finally answer.

Steve

 

[Lazy Daze]

That's good to hear about their customer service, Steve. I was wondering what the "bump" was on the heater pad as I don't recall seeing anything like that on any of the pads I've had.

Don't stress out too much about the cold weather - as long as you have even a little bit of heat in that engine room, you'll be fine. It really needs to be below freezing for a few days STRAIGHT (not just at night) to begin to have a chance of doing some damage. Plus, if the boat is in the water, the bilge floor will be above freezing since it will basically be the temp of the water. Remember, it's only going to dip into that mid-high 20's range for a few hours. Even something as simple as running the engines for about 30 minutes will take you through a VERY cold night. Those two big hunks of iron will retain heat for quite a while. Hang in there - everything will turn out well.

 

[Steve500dancer]

Today I received the 2 new wolverine engine block heaters and the one for the generator. I was pretty surprised how small the heater for the generator is. It is probably only 1 1/2" wide by 3" long.

I plan on taking the afternoon off tomorrow and spending it in the bilge again. I have to remove the glue from the last heaters I installed and re sand the area and install the new heaters. I am also going to remove the sound shield from the generator and see if I can get to the oil pan to install the generator heater. I am sure that it is going to be pretty tough to get at, I need to remove the sound shield anyway and re paint it. It has some paint flaking off in a few areas that are driving me nuts.

I will post the results of this install in a day or so. Keep your fingers crossed.


Steve