Aux Heaters

Russ Calasant

Active Member
Dec 9, 2009
2,128
East Greenwich, RI
Boat Info
2001 480 DB
Engines
CAT 3196
Has anyone installed and used the auxiliary heaters that Dometic/Cruisair makes for their reverse cycle units? How was the install, functionality and effectiveness? With the number of folks in cold weather climates I am surprised not to have heard or read about them before. Unless they just don’t work well they seem like a win win. I’m going to try posting this in a couple spots - not sure what makes most sense. Thank you!
 
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Never felt we needed to install one since a much cheaper alternative exists. We always kept a 1500 watt ceramic heater on the floor by the helm when temps got into the 30s or 40s. With that going and the reverse cycle stat set to 85 degrees our boat stayed very comfortable with a drop curtain up while running or even a full aft curtain for extra room when in the slip. I'm pretty sure the Dometic unit would cost more than a small ceramic heater. It might not provide as much heat in the spring time when the water is still cold.
 
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Just noticed your bridge may not be open to the heated salon. It may be bigger than our upper cockpit although maybe not with our aft curtain in place. Are you trying to heat the upper station? 1500 watts may not be enough on its own.
 
We spend a lot of time on board through the winter. No, the bridge is not a concern. I’m looking at adding a 4K kw and two 1k kw heaters to my ac units utilizing the duct work and controls. They are 230v so the amperage draw is considerably less. Total cost under $2k. Other options are $10k plus for hydronic installed. Just looking for people that have used them
 
What are you heating? We just use boat system for heat in the winter. Stays very warm inside. Fly ridge has heat as well. If I need additional, I use ceramic as well.
 
Russ,

I installed a Cruisair HMDL2-7 on my system.

It puts out 2,000 watts of heat and does a really nice job of warming up the boat when the system is winterized. The only caution I have is that their wiring to the main control board will overload the Triac and cause it to fail. We went through two control boards before I found a Cruisair heater relay (HRX-NW 25 amp solid state relay) that took the load off the control board.
 
Russ,

I installed a Cruisair HMDL2-7 on my system.

It puts out 2,000 watts of heat and does a really nice job of warming up the boat when the system is winterized. The only caution I have is that their wiring to the main control board will overload the Triac and cause it to fail. We went through two control boards before I found a Cruisair heater relay (HRX-NW 25 amp solid state relay) that took the load off the control board.


John, did you use the existing SMX controller?
 

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