We’re going to remove/replace our Platinum Cat over the winter and I had a few questions for those of you who may have done this…
What’s behind the heater? Does the teak panel continue behind the heater or is the heater cut into the panel, leaving a gap? I’m assuming there’s at least the holes for the gas, electric, and vent…but what else will I find?
Has anyone replaced it with a Dickinson Newport? I’ve seen pics of the Sig Cozy Cabin (I think that’s the name) in the pbase gallery, and that has roughly the same depth.
Down the road we’re likely to go with either a Webasto or a reverse cycle ac unit, but for now we’re looking for something to take the chill off when we don’t have shore power overnight.
Thoughts?
Carol Thorsten-Stein
Might as Well 30U #292
Nahant, MA
I am removing my Cat heater as well. I replaced it with a Webasto several years ago. I left the Cat in place because it neatly fills the big hole left when it’s removed. In a 30U removing the heater leaves a hole the size of the heater leading in to the head vanity. There’s also the exhaust pipe to deal with but for now I have decided just to leave that alone. It’s covered with a nice piece of teak. I would like to know if anyone has done anything clever with the resulting hole when the heater is removed. The obvious thing I have looked at doing is just put a louvered door over the hole or even fill it in with a louvered panel to provide ventilation under the vanity. I have some heating pipe connections under there and the louvers would let the heat out.
Another option is to make it an actual cabinet. It could probably be about 10” deep. With proper shelves and fiddles it could be used to store canned goods. It was also suggested that a can and bottle recycling station could be installed there.
So, before I go ahead and do something I wish I hadn’t, does anyone have any clever ideas for this little space?
Jamie Morrison
Dexterity II
30U 225
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Some kind of tip-out trash or recycling bin would be great in that location. We may also skip the Dickinson Newport and go straight to the Webasto Air Top. Having only one propane appliance would make that update very simple. Too many decisions!
Very nice but…..has anyone actually heard of an accident with a Cat heater? Just reading this thread makes me think about tearing ours out. Ours seems fine, nice and warm, we don’t use it that much, we have a propane sniffer. I know there must be some terrible stories but I just googled Cat heater boat accidents and didn’t see anything. There were reports of CO poisoning from no ventilation but we’ve got chimneys.
I guess we’ll get around to changing it out but still, whats the real risk?
Bob Hindle
NS33 Jenny
Haddam Neck CT
Part of what’s driving the decision is that insurance companies increasingly have angst over the Cat and Paloma. At the very least we would need to replace the line to the heater so the T is located in the propane locker rather than the cabin. We have the sniffers too…was required by the insurance company along with CO detectors.
Ideally we’d like something we could run overnight at anchor or mooring with the right “silencers.” This is almost worse than planning a home improvement project, and the survey was very much like a home inspection. I tell my friends I have a tiny home with a big sail.
The key rack looks very nice, and also gives me a good idea of the hole left when removing the heater. Thanks for the pic.
I can’t comment on the CAT since I have no experience with one but you mentioned the possibility of installing a Webasto. When we were refitting Toyger we had to go thorough the same research and decisions you are now facing with regards to heating. I would sometimes get a headache just considering all the options available on the market; the choice of which type of fuel, placement of the heater, intake / exhaust requirements, all the pros/cons and compromises each involve. Living up here in the Pacific NW we were very familiar with Westabo and Espar forced air heaters. Many people have them and they work well but as you walk down the dock in the fall or winter months you could tell which boats were equipped with them by the amount of noise they make. In our research we discovered the Wallas forced air diesel furnace. After going down to one of their distributers and seeing one in action, we installed a Wallas 30DT furnace in Toyger. We’ve have had the opportunity to use it a few times since we launched in this past March and I can happily report that they are really quiet and ours works well. I have spoken with another NS30U owner who has an older model Wallas and isn’t as happy with it’s effectiveness but so far I would recommend that you consider a Wallas in your research. If you do consider it, I can provide more info regarding our installation along with pictures if you like. Just e-mail me.
Best wishes!
I am at a loss why anyone would have to replace the Catalytic heater? The whole point of this system is there is no open flame. it uses Platinum as a catalyst to produce heat.
We have exactly that on our relatively new-to-us NS30U, Minou: A tip-out trash bin and it has proven to be really useful. Only problem occurs when heeling to port and the bin is full as it has a tendency to dumping the top part of the load! A bungee inside helps but I think I need to install a positive bolt to hold it shut when underway. A previous owner did the work
