xtreme bilge heater in a 320

skolbe

Well-Known Member
Oct 3, 2006
3,549
St. Louis, MO
Boat Info
320 Sundancer, Zodiac 290 Wave Inflatable Tohatsu 6HP, Boston Whaler 130 Sport
Engines
350 Mag V-Drive - Kohler 5ecd
Anyone mounted a bilge heater in a 320. If so where did you mount it? I am considering one - for extending the season. Thinking through if I would leave it loose or mount it somewhere.
 
Anyone mounted a bilge heater in a 320. If so where did you mount it? I am considering one - for extending the season. Thinking through if I would leave it loose or mount it somewhere.


It's not a 320 but have one in my bilge unmounted so I can move it out of the way. Never had a problem with it shifting the past two years since it is kept taught by the power cord from not falling into the bilge itself. It comes with a 20 ft cord so it is easy to plug in anywhere.
 
I am thinking if I get one - I may do the same. Do you guys put any thing in your bilge vents. I would prefer to let them breathe a bit.
 
If you stick some foam on your bilge vents, the heater will not have to work so hard. The air is much colder than the water, so the coldest part of the bilge is aft, and to the outside edges. The most likely spot to freeze are bilge pump lines that run to the outside that may still have a little bit of water in them.
 
I keep my boat is dry stoage and I just dropped the heather in the bilge area between the two engines.
 
Scott...the boats at our marina that have bilge heaters cover their vents....the covering looks like some sort of plastic or wide tape.
 
Like many of the previous posters, my Xtreme is not permanently mounted. I made a small platform out of scrap wood that would nest next to the port stringer and against the slope of the hull bottom. Since we use the boat year-round, I made a "handle" of sorts from wire attached to the platform so I could easily lift the heater out of the engine compartment with a boat hook before startup, and drop it back in when we secure the boat upon return.
 
If you stick some foam on your bilge vents, the heater will not have to work so hard. The air is much colder than the water, so the coldest part of the bilge is aft, and to the outside edges. The most likely spot to freeze are bilge pump lines that run to the outside that may still have a little bit of water in them.

What I do is use some cheap sponges from Home Depot. they are about 6"X4" and less then 2 bucks eack. I cut them in half and stuff them into my bilge vent exhaust ports on th side of the boat. I have seen others use towels, etc. the foam is a sure, easy and tight fit though. Being yellow sponges, they are easy to spot and remind you to remove them before motoring out.

I have a Boatsafe securely mounted on the starboard side next to my Genset. It is hardwired to the GFI in the head. It weighs almost nothing and does not get in the way, so my theory is "Set it and Forget it".

After a few nights of below frezzing I went down and checked the boat. I found some water in the bilge. This is before I installed the sponges. I wonder if there could be enough condensation happening between the cold air coming in from the vent and the warmer air from the bilge. I guess I will know in a few weeks when I go back.

also, I bought the memory Temp gauge listed on another thread. It has both an inside and outside reading (via remote probe). I put the probe in the bilge and the unit up at the helm. this is a great thing for 40 bucks. Lets you know the heater is working and its min and max temps.

I need to go back and thank the guy who posted that link cause it is a brilliant device for keeping up with temps.

Mike
 
I have BoatSafe heaters. I just place it on the step inside the engine compartment. Remove it when I move the boat.

My friend, Swingdancer, has a 330 and basically does the same thing. With all the controversy over covering vents or not, he emailed the BoatSafe folks. Basically they told him it wasn't necessary to block off the vents. So this year we aren't going to close them off.
 
Boy's, boy's, boy's. Why would you want to have a nice piece of equipment (Xtreme) rattling around in your bilge? Even though you're not using while running, you still have to unplug it before you leave the dock! Secure the thing!!! It's a great unit and a great company. So take care of it.
 
- I don't cover vents.
- I take the whole heater out of the engine compartment when I run the boat.
- Boatsafe heater 750w.
 
If you plug the blower hoses inside the boat there is still the likelihood that air circulates into the bilge thru the vent covers anyway. On my 260DA, if you look up inside the vent cover you see a screen all across the top that allows air to get into the bilge. That opening is in addition to the separate blower hose openings. But I have seen a few boats where the owners had a canvas shop make covers for the outside vents to totally block the flow of air. They are secured with canvas snaps just like on a regular mooring cover.

I generally don't plug my vent lines unless I know it will be brutally cold outside.
 
Moose.
Not a big fan of Drilling holes.... Wheres the heater going at the dock... NO WHERE..

If ur worried about a tip over ( very doubtfull ) mount a board to the heater to make it more stable but dont DRILL holes in ur glass for a heater !!!!

Rob
 
My heater is mounted to a 2X6 that just sits. It is not mounted too the boat in any way. Its a 3 min job to drop it in or pull it out & I dont want to take up space with a permanent mount. I have some $6 temp/humidity monitors that records min & max.

As a side note - before I bought a boat & before I knew bilge heaters even existed I thought the sponges, rags & tape I saw covering others vents were to keep birds from nesting in there! Oh well.
 
Boy's, boy's, boy's. Why would you want to have a nice piece of equipment (Xtreme) rattling around in your bilge? Even though you're not using while running, you still have to unplug it before you leave the dock! Secure the thing!!! It's a great unit and a great company. So take care of it.

If there were room in my engine compartment for permanent mounting, I'd agree with you. But there isn't, without compromising maintenance access, hence my solution. I agree that it's a nice piece of equipment, very powerful for its size.
 
I have a 320DA with two bilge heaters. On my 280 I used the BoatSafe JR250W and when I bought the 320 I purchased an additional BoatSafe heater, model BSAT750W. My large unit is mounted on top of my genset via heavy Velcro pads (my gen is at back of boat) and my JR unit is mounted at the front of the engine cover by the table post holder. The plugs feed through and plug in to the trash receptacle area. I have used BoatSafe brand heaters for all three of my Sea Ray’s and so far, so good. I still winterize my freshwater system, close the sea cocks and drain the engine exchanger water every time I leave the boat. I also have two air dryers in the cabin area, one inside the HVAC unit compartment and in the mid cabin (keeps the air dry and warm). Per the advice of another poster, I also plug my fresh air intake vents with rags but I like the foam idea better.

M
 
For what it's worth, this is how a permanent addition looks in my boat:

DSC_0435.jpg


The thing is bolted to a plywood floor that other equipment rests on and the screw holes have blue RTV in them...

Just an FYI.
 

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