Tag: Frost thermostat

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Winter Frost Protection Year 2

Last year we set the boat up with two thermostats, a normal one that controls the Eberspächer D4W diesel heater when we need it, initially the heating was just a switch on/off. I also fitted a frost thermostat both of these have a switch so they can be taken out of circuit.

Frost Thermostat
Frost Thermostat

So this year we made sure the diesel tank was fully topped up switch in the frost thermostat as low as I could above freezing (about 2°C).

Update Feb 2023 – This seems to have worked well again this year, we have used a few gallons of diesel, but the boat seems to be free of any frost damage.

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New Heating Thermostat and Isolation Switches

Another quick trip to the boat last weekend to fit another thermostat this time so we can control the heat. Last time I fitted a frost thermostat that I wired in parallel with the heater on/off switch.

This time I added a normal household thermostat again in parallel, but I also added switches so we can switch off either of them and just use the original heater on/off switch.

Frost and Heating Thermostats
Frost and Heating Thermostats

For the moment I put small bit of insulation tape so I could label the switches.

Diesel Gauge
Diesel Gauge

Now with the heating thermostat we can leave the heating on low when we go out and return to a not so freezing boat.

Now we have been on the boat for two long weekends and left the frost thermostat on while we have been away and we have used almost ¼  of a tank of diesel, the tank hold 350 Litres or 77 Gallons, so we have used 80 Litres, plus a little mains electricity to keep it all running.

 

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Eberspächer D4W Diesel Powered Frost Protection – Update

Winter is not over for us yet, there will be a lot more opportunities for our canal boat Floydtilla to freeze.  In November I fitted a frost thermostat to control the Eberspächer D4W Hydronic diesel heater, before that it was just a pull button start and it would run until the water returning to the diesel heater was to hot, now with the frost thermostat we have it switching on if the internal temperature of the boat reaches between 2 and 4 degrees.

Diesel Tank Usage
Diesel Tank Usage

We have mains power at the marina, and also a large diesel tank, but I was still worried that our tank would run out or a prepaid electricity would run out, either could have stopped the heating working.

So last weekend we went to visit the boat and check everything was working, and to our great good fortune, it all had been working very well. We can see the diesel tank gauge had dropped, but not by much, less that a eighth of a tank used in two months, and our prepaid electric which was at about £25 when we last left was down to about £10. The electric in the marina is not cheap, but this summer may be the time I fit some solar panels for complete independence.

Electricity Topup Card
Electricity Top-up Card

Went we left on Sunday, we topped up the electricity with another £20 just encase, we do hope to be back within a month, but you never know.

The next project for Feb is to fit a thermostat so we can set and maintain a temperature, and also add some isolation switch for both thermostats so we can override them if needed after that we want a remote control for the heating so I can turn it on before we arrive on a cold day.

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