PS did a review in early '99 - I remember it well because it panned
the Seaward and came out a few weeks after my boat was "sealed" with a
Seaward in it! (Or is that a "Sealand", I'm not sure now. I'll try
to track down the issue.) The major test they were doing was heating
with the AC and measuring the cooldown rate. As bad as ours was
rated, it isn't that bad, since the largest use of shower water is in
swimming weather, when its not so important to be really hot.

The Sealand has an aluminum tank. So far, that hasn't been a problem,
but I have the required galvanic isolator.

GBM wrote:
I saw a review of hot water tanks that was published in Norway, but it did
not cover the common units available in North America.

Has Practical Sailor or anyone else done one that cover Force 10, Seaward,
Raritan, Isotemp etc?

I no longer get PS, so if anyone has results of testing, could they
summarise?

Some concerns:

- materials - Some have aluminum tanks and heating coils, others S/S or a
combination of the two, others glass lined steel. (How will aluminum coil
stand up to salt water - I will be using raw water cooling)
- Type of insulation - PU foam, Fibreglass, rock wool - how long does water
stay hot?
- Outer cover - galvanised, S/S, Plastic.
- Hot/cold mixing valve - is it needed?
- Wattage - some are 750W and some are 1500W regardless of tank size!
- Dimensions - need to get it into cockpit locker where it will consume a
lot of space!

I would like to have a custom unit made to fit the space, but suspect cost
may be excessive - has anyone done this?

Thanks,

GBM