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Xtreme engine heaters


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Has anyone used these to extend their season? The wife and I wear drysuits when the water/air gets cold and would like to extend our riding season. The boat is in a covered spot with electricity, so I could run one of these when we park it in between days out on the water. I don't have access to enclosed parking for the boat and wanted to see if these would allow me to run later this fall and get the boat out earlier next spring. I will fully winterize it for a few months, but it will probably see a few freezing nights before full winterization. I was looking at the 450W one, just for the extra BTU's. Any thoughts???

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Has anyone used these to extend their season? The wife and I wear drysuits when the water/air gets cold and would like to extend our riding season. The boat is in a covered spot with electricity, so I could run one of these when we park it in between days out on the water. I don't have access to enclosed parking for the boat and wanted to see if these would allow me to run later this fall and get the boat out earlier next spring. I will fully winterize it for a few months, but it will probably see a few freezing nights before full winterization. I was looking at the 450W one, just for the extra BTU's. Any thoughts???

We've got quite a few customers that run them in the xtreme bilge heaters in their boats, mostly customers that live on the lake that really stretch it out! Pretty sweet set up, the only thing is how do you know if the heater is not running? I usually tell people to get one of those remote thermostats and keep one in the engine compartment so you know how warm it actually is.

-Paul

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We've got quite a few customers that run them in the xtreme bilge heaters in their boats, mostly customers that live on the lake that really stretch it out! Pretty sweet set up, the only thing is how do you know if the heater is not running? I usually tell people to get one of those remote thermostats and keep one in the engine compartment so you know how warm it actually is.

-Paul

Thanks Paul, but the remote thermostat won't help me out. The boat is stored 8 miles from the house. That's what worries me, when it doesn't work, I'm gonna lose a motor and more. I haven't been able to find a unhappy customer online yet, so that's a good sign that the failure rate is really low.....but still.

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Thanks Paul, but the remote thermostat won't help me out. The boat is stored 8 miles from the house. That's what worries me, when it doesn't work, I'm gonna lose a motor and more. I haven't been able to find a unhappy customer online yet, so that's a good sign that the failure rate is really low.....but still.

I'm a bit braver than most, but it doesn't get that cold here in Dallas. I never winterize my boat because I use it year round. I use a $25, 200W heater magnet plugged into a timer.

I suppose a couple of things could go wrong:

1) the heater element goes out

2) power to the heater goes out.

I guess you could do redundant cheap heaters to protect against the heater element going out.

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I have a Boatsafe Jr 250 watt bilge heater in my Vride..... 3 winters now.

I have the regular heater setup with quick drains, plus the exhaust manifolds have the quick release fittings, plus the knock sensor, plus the shower hookups...... so everything can be disconnected quickly & easily.

Then I have the Globe run dry impeller (15 min of run dry time). So I open all the above fittings, bump start the engine for a second. Then plug in the bilge heater & the on-board battery charger in.

Done. Takes me just a few minutes & can be done on the ramp.

Heres a pic of it. I think the Xtreme is quite a bit smaller.

heater.jpg

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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Bill, I'll have to give you a call and talk to ya about all of the quick drain valves. I really need to get on top of that and get those in before the cold sets in. I really want to use the boat for 8-9 months a year, so I'll need the heater and quick valves.

Brian

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Be careful putting quick drains behind the knock sensors, You would feel just as bad as the customer with the Hammerhead that installed those and roached his motor (everything was burnt up and crispy on the top end and really carbon fouled). The knock sensors are crucial for the ignition timing advance so if I were you just pull the knock sensors. Quick drains on everything else is no biggie.

-Paul

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Yea, I used a quick drain on the knock sensor of my 205.... without any problems.

But I just screw/unscrew it out of the Malibu. Half the time I don't even need a pair of pliers to do it.

Brian, check out the DIY section on this site,where they show you how to install garden hose quick release fittings in your heater hoses.

The way I learned it (from the old timers at HO Sports) was to use Prestone radiator flush Ts in the hoses. Then you just remove the caps (easily done with 1 hand) & the heater core & one side of the engine drain into the bilge.

Here you can see them down under the engine.

flushts.jpg

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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