230 Heater vent tubes?

[Miljack]

I messed up some of my heater vent hoses, and I'm trying to figure out how they were hooked up in the first place. The heater itself is a H200, so only two outlets. The boat has three heater output hoses, under the dash, starboard under the seat back, and then the defrost. I couldn't find a "t", but it may have fallen into the hull.

Does anybody know?

Thanks

[relax230]

Did you ever figure this out? My heater behind the driver seat is ripped way in the back and I don't know how to get to it. Thanks!

[Miljack]

Actually did figure it out. You will need to pull the coaming pad which is next to the driver's seat.

To do that you will need to remove the armrest where the Hydrogate lever is on top.
Get a "christmas tree" tool to help pull the panel off the side of the boat
You can remove the speaker in the coaming pad, or just leave it screwed in, but you'll need to have access to the speaker hole cutout to reach the 3 way hose connection behind there.

Just forward of the speaker cutout you should find a "three way" hose connection, just find the run going towards the back, cut the zip tie and replace the hose.

Some tips ahead of time:

buy a bunch of replacement christmas tree pieces from your dealer or Nautiqueparts.com
buy the hose from Heatercraft, or a dealer, but make sure it's from Heatercraft-the hose is actually 3 1/2" in dia. you can make 3" dia work, but it's TOUGH to get the smaller hose over the Heatercraft supplied fittings.

I was able to make some 3" "RV waste hose" work, but I was able to access the fittings I was working on easily. You may be able to pull the 3 way out of the speaker opening and attach the replacement hose. Purchased from Wmart, this stuff is cheap! $7 for 15 feet, compared to $2.50/foot from HC.

The other "trick" is the hose end that you pull out of the fitting in the deck, to remove the hose from the fitting, you'll need a razor blade to slice around the bottom of the plastic "plate" finishing plate (perpendicular to the hose). It appears the Heatercraft uses superglue to fit these together, once you cut the joint, you can remove the collar and fit the new hose in there, apply some glue, and clamp it together.

Hope this helps, give yourself plenty of time, and maybe worth pulling the driver's seat to give you more room to work.