April 9, 2021 - Hydronic Heater Installation - FINALLY COMPLETE

April 9, 2021 - Hydronic Heater Installation - FINALLY COMPLETE

It has been a LONG HAUL since January 9 when we started the hydronic heater installation with Yacht Services.  

On March 22nd, we repositioned from yacht Services to CSR to have work completed on our gates and then on April 5th we moved over to Miller and Miller to have some finishing touches completed.  All the while Yacht Services kept working on the heater.  And on April 9th, Yacht Services finished it up, we did a full test run and it is working great!

The inside of the boat was significantly opened up to allow for the installation of:

Olympia OL60B furnace

Hydrostat 3250-Plus Controller

Axeman-Anderson B Series Oil Fired Unit

Beckett NX Oil Burner

Amtrol Therm-X-Span Expansion Tank

Grundfos UP Series Circulation Pump

Uponour Heating Manifold

Surewire Water Control Board (four zones)

NINE (9) REAL Heaters (one with Defrosters)

Four Vimar Thermostats

Four Hi/Low/Off Switches

Triangle Tube Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger

Honewell Thermostatic Mixing Valve

One of the toughest challenges was finding a way to squeeze in the furnace/boiler.  We had a spot in the lazarette identified and it required making a custom stand on which to place the furnace which would allow access to the air conditioning seacocks.  It fit in nicely with air gaps, although small, around the unit.  Thermal issues do not seem to be a factor as everything (furnace and exhaust) is warm to the touch - measured temperature is in the 70 degree range.

Olympia Furnace SQUEEZED  into Lazerette

Since there was not room for a gooseneck for the rigid exhaust, an Exhaust Water Box was made as part of the exhaust system.  The entire system was wrapped and thermal lining was installed on the wall and ceiling area for added protection.

Exhaust Water Box

We found an ideal location for the manifold in a wall space in the utility room.  This worked out fantastic as we were able to take advantage of two conduits running behind the fuel tanks.  These conduits were previous occupied by the dormant stabilizer hoses we removed so voilá!  The route from the lazarette to this location worked out perfectly.  And with insulation on the wall of the locker and the hull, there is no thermal issue within the locker. 

Manifold tucked into utility room wall space

The electronics were placed under the drawer the master bed.  This works well as it is out of sight, yet  easily accessible.  

Surewire Four Zone Control Board

And to provide heat to our domestic water system while the heater is running, we had a brazed plate heat exchanger installed.  To manage the hot water temperature, from both the heat exchanger and water heater, we installed a thermostatic mixing valve to the system.

Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger and Mixing Valve

Wrapping up this phase of work was the repositioned LPP for the water maker due to poor installation and location along with the replacement of the AutoAnchor system due to improper wiring.  Speaking of improper wiring, we continue to make new discoveries of poor installation and repair them such as this wiring to our water pump.

Domestic Water Pump Wiring - REPLACED!

Our list is finally whittling down and we are anxious to take Raven out for a cruise to Alaska!

Growing list of things not found during survey:

• Poor water pump wiring
• A/C control in bunk room not connected
• AutoAnchor wiring is faulty
• Mystery toggle switch on F/B is for compass/rudder indicator light
• Leak path under name plate
• Corroded terminal buss block
• Faulty VHF/AIS wiring and failed antenna
• Gelcoat blisters - no evidence noted during survey
• Failing bottom paint - reported renewed in the fall of 2019
• Pitted drive shaft
• Failing shaft bearings - even though it had been serviced 2015 and 2016
• Bow thruster wiring issue
• Stabilizer system in need of significant maintenance even though reported they had been serviced in September 2019
• Failed Balmar regulator and missing thermal sensor connection