Heater

[GroovyNautique]

Can I buy/install a heater/plumbing on my 1993 SN myself? It currently doesn't have one and I'm thinking it will be nice for September! I have all the breakers in place, so I can just hook it up to one of those.

[JAG]

Heater

No problem if you got some mechanical ability and a good holesaw drill . You'll need to do a little research on where you have room to install the unit. I have a 90 Sport and the unit fit neatly under the dash compartment. I'm sure there are others with 93 SN that can tell you exactly where to install it. You can use one of the spare breaker switches for power if you install a single speed fan. If you install a multi speed fan it will come with a switch. If you pre-plan the job, and get all the fittings & tools you need in advance, it will take you the day to do. I installed two brass ball valves, brass fitting (from West Marine), and a automotive heater line flush connection so I could isolate the unit or winterized it.
It's rarely used now that we live in FL but when we need to it's great. We would warp the kids up tight in a towel and give them the vent hose which would inflate the towel like a balloon.
Good Luck

[GroovyNautique]

Exactly the kind of information I was looking for! Thanks!

Where did you get the unit?

[NCH2oSki]

I purchased mine from www.schnitzskis.com Go ahead and purchase the "Y" for low rpm, it will make all the difference in the world at slow speeds.

[M3Fan]

I'd recommend buying directly from Heatercraft if you can.

[NigelC]

Any chance of a photo showing where and how the hose connections go onto the engine/manifold/water pump or wherever please.

[M3Fan]

Any chance of a photo showing where and how the hose connections go onto the engine/manifold/water pump or wherever please.

Depends on how you want to rig it. On my 00 factory install, one line goes to the starboard side block drain hole and the other line goes up to the intake manifold with a brass angled fitting which has an in-line temp sensor in it. I've never had problems with this configuration and I get good heat output all the time at all RPMs.

For an aftermarket setup, I'd recommend purchasing the "Y" fitting for your return line from Heatercraft with your heater. This is a 1" x 5/8" x 1" wye fitting (in plumber's terms) which is spliced into your raw water intake hose just before your raw water pump. Rigging it this way is supposed to increase heater temp at idle, although I've had no problems without it on my boat. In this case, one line goes to the 5/8 fitting on the wye and the other hose goes into the intake manifold using a connector that will clear the intake plenum and whatever other EFI bits are there if you have the GT40. The heater kit comes complete with all of the brass fittings, including the angled piece for the intake manifold and standard 5/8 barbed, threaded connectors. I'll try to get some pics up later if I can.

[JAG]

I'll get you some additional pictures when get home later today. I would also recommend Heatercraft. I installed mine in 92. I just recently replaced the long vent hose & grill and was still able to get parts for it. My unit connects directly to the block and produced plenty of heat during the winter months in GA, but I like M3Fan's idea on the wye connection if you live in colder climates.
What engine do you have?

JAG

[NigelC]

I have the 290HP HO engine.
I was interested to know where the heater comes from/to. I am running on LPG and the gas vaporiser requires a hot water feed. This comes from the same points that M3Fan mentions. I am wondering if running a heater in parallel with the LPG setup would allow enough hot supply to the LPG system. The vaporiser can freeze up the gas supply if insufficient hot water is available.
I know there are Ford engined Nautiques here in the UK that are running LPG and a heater but I have never had a chance to see the installation.

[JAG]

LPG on a ski boat! That's something I haven't seen yet, although we probably will if the price of gas continues to rise.
You may just have to experiment. IF you run the units in parallel I would think that you can supply enough hot water to both. If you install the ball valves to isolate the heater you could throttle the inlet or outlet if freezing becomes a problem. The other option would be to connect to the disharge side of the vaporizer. You would need to determine what the water temperture is at the outlet from the vaporiser to see if you had sufficient hot water.

[SquamInboards]

Living in NH, the heater is the best accessory in my boat. Highly recommended, though somewhat complicated install - JAG is right though, very doable with some mechanical ability and certain tools. I don't know about international shipping but the best prices I've found on heaters is at Hamilton Marine...

[GroovyNautique]

which unit from HeaterCraft would be recommended from people who have installed them?

[JAG]

Heater

Thats a hard question. First you need to decide how much room you have for the unit and what will fit. Single speed units differ in size from the 3 speed units. Then do you want fixed directional vents or Hot Tubes, or a combination? Hot Tubes allow you to pull a 6' section of vent hose out and direct it where ever you want. I have one Hot Tube and one fixed directional vent on a single speed unit. If I had to do it over again I would go with the 3 speed fan, but it wasn't available at the time. Then do you need all the hoses and fittings? Buying the parts with the unit is a lot easier then running all over to get them, unless you have all the stuff readily available. The only thing you would want to add to their parts kit are the threaded brass ball valves and threaded hose barbs. Then it's your budget. Here is a link to the Heater Craft site if you you haven't visited the site yet. https://www.heatercraft.com/search.a...ter&page=2
Hera are some additional pictures.

JAG

[M3Fan]

Here's a pic of the GT40 setup- the heater hose is the 5/8 red hose. Note the brass T fitting.

[Laptom]

Nigel,
I have a LPG system and a heater on the boat. It works perfect together. Just run the hot water output first to your LPG vaporizer, from there to the heater and back to your engine. So put it in series. I'll try to make a picture.

JAG, it's normal to have a LPG system on a ski boat in Europe. I think 90% of the ski boats have one in the UK, Netherlands, Spain and Germany. Can't speak for the other country's. The conversion kit is around $1500,- and it works flawless. It's cheap and much better for the environment. You only have to deal with some extra tanks (for us it's a bonus because we keep the boat in an harbour and don't have to bother with refueling petrol). You can run the boat from LPG as well as Petrol.

Tom