Bilge Heaters

[Mike11]

Hello everyone. I need to purchase a bilge heater for a 1997 350 Mariner. Does anyone suggest a particular brand and size? I have been told the "XTREME" heaters are the best but wanted to see opinions of this group. Also, does the bilge have an outlet or receptacle down in it? Haven't seen one yet but not sure. Thanks for any advise on this topic.

[SplashyLady]

Xtreme heaters are a very good choice - make sure you get the right size for your bilge volume. You can run a cord from the cabin into the bilge if you don't have an outlet - make sure the cord is sized for the load - you might be running a 650W heater and zip cord won't do the job.

[Viper]

What part of the bilge is this going in? If it's the engine compartment and you have gasoline engines, you need to ensure the unit is rated for a gasoline engine compartment. If it is indeed a gasoline application you have, 120 volt outlets aren't allowed in the engine bay.

[km1125]

Source of the post What part of the bilge is this going in? If it's the engine compartment and you have gasoline engines, you need to ensure the unit is rated for a gasoline engine compartment. If it is indeed a gasoline application you have, 120 volt outlets aren't allowed in the engine bay.

Does that only apply to bilge heaters? Seems counter-productive to prefer a lower voltage, as the current would be correspondingly higher.

[g36]

Don't know about xtreme heaters being the best. Sure there ok i guess.. I have used this company on 3 boats now never had a problem. I Cut the plugs off and Hardwired them outside the engine bay. Like mentioned above no outlets in engine bay. On gas boats.. Whatever you get you need to test periodically to make sure they are working.....i also remotely keep a constant eye on bilge Temps and cabin Temps with a couple wifi thermometers and cameras. Also i only live 10 min from my boat.
https://theboatsafe.com/

[Viper]

Source of the post

Source of the post What part of the bilge is this going in? If it's the engine compartment and you have gasoline engines, you need to ensure the unit is rated for a gasoline engine compartment. If it is indeed a gasoline application you have, 120 volt outlets aren't allowed in the engine bay.

Does that only apply to bilge heaters? Seems counter-productive to prefer a lower voltage, as the current would be correspondingly higher.

If you're referring to the outlet, voltage doesn't matter, everything just has to be hardwired, no outlets allowed. The most common things I see plugged in are chargers, heaters, and inverters
Big no no.

G, what are you using for remote temp monitoring? Was thinking of doing the same just for curiosity.

[g36]

Viper We have good wifi at our dock and I'm using a couple of these to monitor engine bay and cabin temp. because if temp or humidity go out of range it will send a alert to your phone. Govee H5051 from amazon. if this ends up being something you end up liking make sure you order the wifi version they make a Bluetooth only that looks identical but would be for local monitoring not remotely.my first round with this idea i used ip cameras and just used a fridge/freezer wireless thermometer and put the temp readout in view of the camera and viewed temp on the cameras app to check on the boat. Ill still use this this year for the other areas I want to monitor and see the outside of the boat. I'm a tech geek anyway.

[buster53]

Source of the post Hello everyone. I need to purchase a bilge heater for a 1997 350 Mariner. Does anyone suggest a particular brand and size? I have been told the "XTREME" heaters are the best but wanted to see opinions of this group. Also, does the bilge have an outlet or receptacle down in it? Haven't seen one yet but not sure. Thanks for any advise on this topic.

OK, I see you are in Georgia. Do you really need a bilge heater there? If you are keeping your boat in the water over the winter, chances are slim you will ever have a problem. Out of the water, possibly, but not in the water. You would have to have a couple days of hard freeze before you have any freezing damage as the water the boat is sitting in insulates the boat. A little skim ice on the water doesn't count. Now if you had 1" or more of ice, I'd be concerned.

[Helmsman]

Not G but I have used a temp stick. Use lithium batteries and it does require a WiFi connection. Have to reset for every battery change. Batteries last about two months. They do the job though.

Source of the post

Source of the post

Source of the post What part of the bilge is this going in? If it's the engine compartment and you have gasoline engines, you need to ensure the unit is rated for a gasoline engine compartment. If it is indeed a gasoline application you have, 120 volt outlets aren't allowed in the engine bay.

Does that only apply to bilge heaters? Seems counter-productive to prefer a lower voltage, as the current would be correspondingly higher.

If you're referring to the outlet, voltage doesn't matter, everything just has to be hardwired, no outlets allowed. The most common things I see plugged in are chargers, heaters, and inverters
Big no no.

G, what are you using for remote temp monitoring? Was thinking of doing the same just for curiosity.

[Helmsman]

Source of the post Hello everyone. I need to purchase a bilge heater for a 1997 350 Mariner. Does anyone suggest a particular brand and size? I have been told the "XTREME" heaters are the best but wanted to see opinions of this group. Also, does the bilge have an outlet or receptacle down in it? Haven't seen one yet but not sure. Thanks for any advise on this topic.

I live just north of you. I winterize the fresh water system. You have to watch your cockpit water connection. I usually drain that, then winterize. Also, a bilge heater may not provide enough heat all the way aft to the stern so AC systems, generator, etc. need to be considered.