Advice for new heater for a 2004 SANTE 210

[Beach-TJ]

I am looking at adding a heater to my new (to me) 2004 SANTE 210. I have two questions.

1. Should I go with a 2 or 3 outlet heater? I know the 2 outlet will be easier to fit under the dash, but would it be worth it to stuff a 3 outlet heater in there?
2. What purpose does the dash mounted heater vent serve?
   I realize I can put a Y on one of the outlets of a 2 outlet heater to deliver heat to a dash vent, so this decision does not drive the answer to question #1.
   What I'm wondering is why would I want a dash mounted vent, does it help keep the driver warm? I have never had an issue in a boat with the windshield fogging up, so I don't see any use in having a defroster.
   I'm asking because the only part of installing the heater that appears to be difficult would be installing this defroster vent.

Thanks for any advice or input.

[WakeSlayer]

You would only see that early in the AM. I don't think I would mess with drilling a hole in the top of the dash, personally. More work than it is worth, unless you are out at the crack of dawn every morning.

[DanielC]

I have a two hose heater in my 1997 Ski Nautique. I did put a "Y" in one hose, so I can route hot air up to the windshield.
It has been used a few times.

Do you own a drysuit? If not, you probably do not go out in conditions where you would need a defroster.

[Beach-TJ]

No dry suite, not sure I can imagine getting into water that cold. Currently use a spring suite at the beginning and end of the season, but hoping a heater might help move me into water that needs a full wet suite.

[jward]

I just did a heater install on my 04 210. Hit me up if you run into any issues or have questions.

[slmskrs]

Stay Warm!! Four vent heater is the way to go!

I put in a four vent heater in my '96 SN. Granted, a different layout than your boat, but these are the reasons and how I did it (yes, I ski year around in northern California, and even in the summer at the crack of dawn, you sometimes need defrost).

Three hoses are under the dash:
* one to the right of the steering wheel specific for the driver
* two at the far left of the dash (next to the observer seat--driver or observer use)
* one on the port side between the end of the seat and the port side of the boat (specific for the observer)

I did NOT put in a defrost-specific vent since that precludes using it for something else. Instead, since there is a dash pod thumb screw that is directly below where a defrost tube should be, I put a small hook there, and a small black zip tie at the end of one of the center hoses. This way, when needed, I pull out that hose and hook the zip tie to the hook on the thumb screw so it blows directly on the windshield for defrost. When I don't need defrost, I can use that tube for other reasons.

I would NOT put a Y on a hose (unless there is a way to close off one or the other--you will NOT have sufficient flow for defrost, etc. if you split a hose and can't shut off the other end--it might defrost a little at the dock, but as soon as you start moving with cold airflow around the windshield, without good defrost airflow, the windshield can fog back up (really cold)).

Next, I also insulated the long run hose (the last one) with thermal pool cover material since the temp of that vent was noticablly cooler than the short run tubes.

As for where to plumb it, I have tried a multitude of locations to try to get good idle heat, and have never had good heat at idle (in any of my boats-the runs are just too long). I currently have two in-line hot water pumps that keep it flowing at idle. An added benefit is that I can shut off the engine and run the heater for another 20+ minutes with those pumps on and still have hot air (kids and sleepy teenagers love it).

Finally, I would put in the largest heater you can. NOONE has EVER complained that there are too many heater hoses. Even in the middle of the summer in early evening (in No. Cal), the air gets cool enough that we use it (kids love it). When it is cold, everyone in our club is happy when I have my boat at the course (unanoumously the best cool weather boat in the club (lots of hot water to fill our "hot tub" as well) . Most standard heater installations do not work well (not hot enough, cold at idle, no defrost, and just not enough hoses). Note: I don't know if Heatercraft still make the 4 vent heater. The three and four vent heater use the same heater core (40,000btu), but we use all four of our tubes all the time. The two vent heater is lower BTU (25k?), so just for the additional BTU, I'd at least go for the 3 vent unit.

For those of you in colder areas, a great addition to the heater is an electric seat heating cushion. You get them at Amazon for $20. They draw less than 4 amps so you can forget and leave them on and not drain your battery. Drivers love them!

Gordon

[Beach-TJ]

slmskrs, thanks for the write up, just the sort of things I was looking for. You have given me a lot to think about. I'm going to pull the kick panel this weekend to figure out just how much space I have to work with.

jward, I will definitely hit you up if I run into any issues.

I'm thinking I can't get a crew together for enough early morning runs to worry about a defroster vent, and I think I could add one latter if I find I need it, so that may get skipped for now.

Thanks,
Bryan