Thinking of removing and shipping my non working CAT cabin heater to Arnie Lind for repairs. Would like to communicate with any Nonsuchers who have done this to learn from their experiences.
Ed Strazzini
s/v PELICAN, N33 #36
Deltaville, VA
Very responsive to emails and does excellent work.
We sent our rusted, non-functioning cat heater to Arnie a few years back. His charges were embarrassing small and the unit came back totally refurbished and working great (not that we use it a lot). At the same time, we bought from him a new exhaust hose and replaced that. We also bought a new exhaust deck plate, a beautiful machined aluminum piece from Mike Quill (?) that cost more than the refurbish job by Arnie. Glad we spent the money on that as we can step on it and the old one was plastic that was crumbling underfoot.
lloyd herman
Rendezvous, 1987 30U
Port Washington, NY
Hi Ed,
You will find only positive responses regarding Arnie’s repair of CAT heaters. I followed that advice a few years ago and was very impressed with his work, accessibility and advice. I’m sure you will as well.
Best,
Jim Falcon
Ballybay
1986 N30 #357
Warren, RI
Thanks for the swift and positive responses to my CAT question. I will pull it out in the morning and get it to him.
Would appreciate tips on removal & reinstallation if any of you had encountered any challenges in the process.
Hopefully it is a simple straightforward procedure.
Ed Strazzini
s/v PELICAN N33 #36
Deltaville, VA
this may be meaningless as you may have already done the job, but if not, I found the removal and re-installation to be pretty straight forward. I believe I needed a wrench for the gas line and a Phillips screw driver for everything else. I seem to recall the hardest part being removal of the wood in the head that hides the exhaust hose - in our boat it is a very tight fit. Yours may not be. I also recall that the exhaust hose was stuck on the deck plate (or whatever that “chimney” is called), which necessitated replacing the hose as well. If you are replacing the plate, make sure you pull it out before you ship off the heater so you will know if you need to order the hose as well - will save you a bit on shipping to have it come with the heater.
lloyd herman
Rendezvous, 1987 30U
Port Washington, NY
Thanks for the tips. Just the info I was needing. Will tackle the job this weekend.
What did you use if anything to cap off the gas line?
Ed, just got mine back, I was pretty sure it could not be fixed. Arnie did an great job. The only problem I had with mine was it had the original Robertson head screws. They are a square headed screw that is popular in Canada. https://www.robertsonscrew.com/ I had to buy a set for the drivers.
Peter Farley
Knot in a Hurry U30 #328
Keyport, NJ
While you are at it… if like many Nonsuch’s the propane lines run to a junction inside the cabin… not legal any more. Run a separate line to the tank for each device.
As well you can use simple pvc pipe for the exhaust.