We generally turn it on when outside temps go below 50 or so. Boat
is well insulated so heater doesn;t have to run much to keep inside
in the 60s.


"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
ah, yessssss. 3,000 amps of battery capacity is about right.

btw, ***10*** ??? minutes per hour of run time for a heater? The outside
temps
dropped to, what, 68*? Most people don't turn on a heater until overnight
temps go below 50*.



From: "Doug Dotson" AMcom
Date: 12/12/2004 3:45 PM Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:


"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
Would be nice to know what brand that was.

Espar.

Mine
draws 17A while starting (maybe a minute) and 5-7A while running.

that is one hell of a lot of amps overnight. Even a much greater bunch
of
amps
if you don't move the next day.

Not really, it only runs maybe 10 minutes every hour. 20-30 AH per day for
heating is not too bad. Not sure what moving has to do with anything
unless
you mean moving towards a warmer climate.
.
btw, you might wish to actually measure just how many amps your system
*really*
burns. That brand new system on the boat would run out the about 50 to
60 amp
capacity of the brand new Group 25 in less than about 5 hours. (note a
Grp 27
rated in about 105 amps, gives up about half that before it is
effectively
dead. That is the way battery ratings work.)

I know. Such a small battery is not suitable for any forced air heating
system. Perhaps a Force 10 or Dickinson would be a choice for a boat
that does not support a serious battery bank.