low cost alternative to bilge heater....

Windchill is about the rate of heat loss. It doesn't matter if the object is you or the posters engine, except that in the case of you, the rate will be inreased by the effect of evaporation. If you use your boat during the day the engine will have heat to give up via transfer to the air, wind would increase that rate of transfer so parking it in the garage would be a better choice. To say windchill only affects animate objects is incorrect, my tea is inanimate but when I blow on it it cools faster and it isn't all because of evaporation.
 
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Yes, you guys are right. I was referring to what we (humans) typically think of when it comes to the term "wind chill" - I think the weather guys use the term "real feel"?. My comment was misplaced.
 
Never a dull moment out here, gotta love it. To the original point of 'cheaping out' why not just buy a real bilge heater and be protected from both freezing temps and an insurance claim if anything ever did happen? $300 bucks vs the investment in your boat and possibly half your marina, or if stored at home your boat, garage, house and probably the whole dam neighborhood from blowing up? I guess that's what the majority of the post were saying in a more humorous way.
 
My boat is winterized in the drive way, not looking to heat the bilge, but looking for a cheap alternative to keep the engines from sweating. It,s not the cost of the heater, but the expense to run it .
Maybe that electric blanket isn't a bad idea. When's the last time you heard of one bursting into flames? You shouldn't have explosive fumes in your bilge anyway, if you do, best find your problem.
 
Dehumidifier. And I would think that temp regulated bilge heater would not, if at all, cost more to run than a blanket. Plus a lot safer. I don't want electrical wire near or touching metal.
 
Haven't tracked or researched electric blanket failures resulting in sparks or open flames but boating 101 tells us NOT to put non spark arrested electrical components in an enclosed bilge space, I choose to follow that guideline. I don't like it when I hear of boaters who but light bulbs in their bilge over the winter for the same reason, fine if they are off by themselves but if in a marina they are putting other boats at risk as well, not cool. While there shouldn't be fumes can never be sure.

Also agree electric usage can't be that much for a Boatsafe that has an automatic thermostat to keep temp between 45 and 55 degrees in the overall cost of what we spend boating. That's my thinking, to each his own.
 
Just wondering?

PS: Those plywood stands are pretty hinky!
boatfire.jpg
 
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Just get one of the oil pan heaters - they aren't expensive and work really well on diesel boats. Anyone try this on a gas engine? Something like this: http://www.padheaters.com/ For me the bilge heater just can't be beat - no issues at all in almost 4 years. The only thing I want to add this year is a thermostat which would be able to have the probe in the engine compartment and the display in the house. A small ceramic heater in the cabin completes the deal and I can be ready to hit the water over the winter in about 5 mins.
 
[QUOTE only thing I want to add this year is a thermostat which would be able to have the probe in the engine compartment and the display in the house. [/QUOTE]

I put a cheap Radio Shack unit on my boat. Comes with 1 remote sensor which I put in the bilge the other home base unit I move around from cabin to cockpit. Records High and low temps. Suppose to handle up to 3 remote sensors. I need to get some for the other boat.
 
Thinking about trying a couple of 36" goldenrods. 45 bucks apeice. 36" is rated for 500 sq. ft. Amazed at how well a little one works in my big gun safe.
 
thanks for all the input...this idea was really not for me since i winterize my boat by draining the water...i just had the thought as i was reading several post concerning bilge heaters.....an electric blanket may offer someone a short term solution if/when needed....it probably would not be a suitable long term solution....

as far as the discussion relating to how the wind affects inanimate objects, let's not forget the sign below that we see in areas where freezing conditions are a possibility...i have not taken the time to study the physics behind this but i am guessing that since the wind can blow completely around a bridge it would get cooled faster than the road that is on top of the ground, thus the bridge would reach freezing temps faster...i think it is all about the rate of heat loss....


 
thanks for all the input...this idea was really not for me since i winterize my boat by draining the water...i just had the thought as i was reading several post concerning bilge heaters.....an electric blanket may offer someone a short term solution if/when needed....it probably would not be a suitable long term solution....

as far as the discussion relating to how the wind affects inanimate objects, let's not forget the sign below that we see in areas where freezing conditions are a possibility...i have not taken the time to study the physics behind this but i am guessing that since the wind can blow completely around a bridge it would get cooled faster than the road that is on top of the ground, thus the bridge would reach freezing temps faster...i think it is all about the rate of heat loss....


:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
Someone decided we should have a way to describe, illustrate the winds effect of cooling on people. We ended up with charts and the weathermans term 'Wind Chill' to describe it. I see nothing wrong with using 'wind chill' to describe the effect on any material, the principal is the same, but of course the charts wouldn't apply. Maybe instead of calling it 'wind chill' we could call it 'wind cooling' or convection cooling and it wouldn't irritate anyone of meteorological persuasion.
 
The bridge doesn't freeze up first because of wind chill. It's subjected to freezing temps on all 4 sides, unlike the road surface.
 
The bridge doesn't freeze up first because of wind chill. It's subjected to freezing temps on all 4 sides, unlike the road surface.
The freezing wind strikes the bridge above and below and on both sides, so it's losing heat from every side. The road is only losing heat from its surface. Even while the temperature on the road surface is dropping, the heat underneath the road keeps it warm enough to prevent icing as temperatures in the atmosphere drop below freezing. Bridges have no way to trap any heat, so they will continually lose heat and freeze shortly after temperatures in the atmosphere hit the freezing point.

Sort of like a boat sitting on a trailer! Right?
 
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The freezing wind strikes the bridge above and below and on both sides, so it's losing heat from every side.


The road surface of a bridge is losing heat above and below the road surface because it is subject to the the ambient temperature on all sides of the structure ....an ambient temperature which is lower then the temperature of the bridge's structure itself. That heat loss will occur quicker on a cold windy day, but it's not the wind that is causing it to freeze...it's the freezing ambient air all around the structure. Does a bridge get warmer on 100 degree days because the hot wind is blowing on the bridge or because the ambient air is hot?

The road is only losing heat from its surface. Even while the temperature on the road surface is dropping, the heat underneath the road keeps it warm enough to prevent icing as temperatures in the atmosphere drop below freezing.

The roadway sign says that the "Bridge ices "BEFORE" road". When the ambient temperature is cold enough....wind or no wind....the road will freeze. The warmth of the earth beneath the roadway surface will conduct through the roadway to the surface.....but when the ambient temperature is cold enough long enough to overcome the rate of conduction....the roadway will freeze just like the Bridge.
 
Around here we have what's called a "Frost Line," which is about 5" below the surface. Theoretically, in a typical winter, the ground will never freeze below that point. Subsequently, the ground acts as a sort of "radiator." If there's no "ground" beneath the surface, as with a bridge, there is no source of warmth - thus the bridge freezes first. That's how I understood it.

And Dom should know since he racks up the overtime driving salt trucks on the NJ TPKE.
 
The road surface of a bridge is losing heat above and below the road surface because it is subject to the the ambient temperature on all sides of the structure ....an ambient temperature which is lower then the temperature of the bridge's structure itself. That heat loss will occur quicker on a cold windy day, but it's not the wind that is causing it to freeze...it's the freezing ambient air all around the structure. Does a bridge get warmer on 100 degree days because the hot wind is blowing on the bridge or because the ambient air is hot?


As stated numerous times " the wind causes it to freeze faster". In the the south that is critical. If you can get through the night without freezing that is a good thing becuase the temperature will rise enough during the day. Up north where a lot of y'all live, that doesn't matter because the temperature rarely comes above freezing. Therefore, the wind is no relevan in your area, but here it is.

I guess we can all agree to disagree, but a lot of us down here boat all year and need to know the best techniques to prevent freezing without a complete winterization program as used in colder regions. My mehtods have been successul and I guess yours have as well.



The roadway sign says that the "Bridge ices "BEFORE" road". When the ambient temperature is cold enough....wind or no wind....the road will freeze. The warmth of the earth beneath the roadway surface will conduct through the roadway to the surface.....but when the ambient temperature is cold enough long enough to overcome the rate of conduction....the roadway will freeze just like the Bridge.

As stated numerous times " the wind causes it to freeze faster". Which you continue to prove that point in your statements. In the the south that is critical. If you can get through the night without freezing that is a good thing because the temperature will rise enough during the day. Up north where a lot of y'all live, that doesn't matter because the temperature rarely comes above freezing. Therefore, the wind is not relevant in your area, but here it is.

I guess we can all agree to disagree, but a lot of us down here boat all year and need to know the best techniques to prevent freezing without a complete winterization program as used in colder regions. My methods have been successul and yours have as well.
 

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