Bilge Heater Brand

[Driller]

I have a bilge heater which came with my boat. It is an older model Boat Safe model. Fairly large, but does not have a fan to circulate the air, only convection.

It seems to be ok, but I can barely hear it run inside the bilge with the engine cover down and the mooring cover on. Some of my marina companions heaters are much louder and seem like they are doing more.

Looking on the net it seems the X-Treme heater move significantly more air, and might function better with some good safety features.

Anyone have any feedback?

[AsLan7]

Hey Driller.

We have never used one but I believe the X-treme heaters turn on at a certain temp (45 degrees?) and turn off around 55-60 degrees.
Some folks also recommend plugging your engine compartment air intakes with rags so the heat can stay inside.

Does your bilge heater run off of your batteries or off of an outlet? Be careful if depending solely on a bilge heater vs winterizing your block. Hate to see your bilge heater not kick on during a power outage or battery drain resulting in....well you know. This cold spell is covering 90% of the US.

.

[cmattj]

I have "the boat safe" it is supposed to come on at 40 degrees and turn off at 55 degrees..
It only runs when plugged in and my battery chargers are on the same junction.

I'm having my boat serviced so when it gets back I'll temp gun it and let you know..

I think I hear it come .. does that count?? Ha!!

[Driller]

Mine comes on fine just not really much air circulation. Same here 45 on ~55 off. Just seems weak air movement.

Thanks Alan7 not depending solely on the bilge heater plugged into an outlet. Winterization primary with heater backup. But, the cold weather is also tough on batteries and I don’t want to pull them if I can keep the charged and warm.

Cmatt does yours move a lot of air?

[cmattj]

Cmatt does yours move a lot of air?

MMMMMM good question.

I hear it so I assume it is but I have not tested the temp yet or went in and felt it.

I may add I have always used my trusty west marine cabin heater and a trusty 60-watt bulb in the interior as to remove all moisture inside during the damp weather.

[Big Block Power]

I have "the boat safe" it is supposed to come on at 40 degrees and turn off at 55 degrees..
It only runs when plugged in and my battery chargers are on the same junction.

I'm having my boat serviced so when it gets back I'll temp gun it and let you know..

I think I hear it come .. does that count?? Ha!!

I have the same heater. You can hear it that's for sure. It moves the air not real strong but it does. My cover I use covers the vents.

[Ytmsn]

Jeesh I don't know if my 262 has a heater or not. I've never looked for one. It wouldn't surprise me if it did, it seems to have everything else. But it's interesting to learn more about these, because if mine doesn't it will have soon! I'll do the same setup Driller has... Batteries on the charger with the heater running when it's early in the slip.

My wife and I were talking about how long it would be before we can put the boat back on the water. In our neck of the woods the single digit hard freezes like we just had are about over by March, but we have had some late snows later in the month. A heater running would be handy at nighttime!

[AsLan7]

Jeesh I don't know if my 262 has a heater or not. I've never looked for one. It wouldn't surprise me if it did, it seems to have everything else. But it's interesting to learn more about these, because if mine doesn't it will have soon! I'll do the same setup Driller has... Batteries on the charger with the heater running when it's early in the slip.

My wife and I were talking about how long it would be before we can put the boat back on the water. In our neck of the woods the single digit hard freezes like we just had are about over by March, but we have had some late snows later in the month. A heater running would be handy at nighttime!

Hey buddy.
The Boat Safe brand ( https://theboatsafe.com/ )bilge heater's installed in a Cobalt take up quite a large space in the engine compartment. You would know if you had one. Here is what the standard Boat Safe bilge heater in a Cobalt 262/63 series looks likes:
.

[Driller]

Jeesh I don't know if my 262 has a heater or not. I've never looked for one. It wouldn't surprise me if it did, it seems to have everything else. But it's interesting to learn more about these, because if mine doesn't it will have soon! I'll do the same setup Driller has... Batteries on the charger with the heater running when it's early in the slip.

My wife and I were talking about how long it would be before we can put the boat back on the water. In our neck of the woods the single digit hard freezes like we just had are about over by March, but we have had some late snows later in the month. A heater running would be handy at nighttime!

Hey buddy.
The Boat Safe brand ( https://theboatsafe.com/ )bilge heater's installed in a Cobalt take up quite a large space in the engine compartment. You would know if you had one. Here is what the standard Boat Safe bilge heater in a Cobalt 262/63 series looks likes:
.

Exactly the model I have, but I don't have it permanently installed. Just set it in the same location for the winter.

[AsLan7]

.

Exactly the model I have, but I don't have it permanently installed. Just set it in the same location for the winter.

.
That would be the way I would do it as well, Driller....don't have it permanently mounted so there is no loss of storage space in the summer. Just lay it in for the winter and pull it out for the summer. Nice.

[Driller]

I ordered a 450 watt Xtreme. So now I am the proud owner of both the Xtreme and BoatSafe models. Can’t find the wattage on the BoatSafe, but it’s a large heater.

Here’s my observations:

Xtreme heater is about 1/3 of the size. Moves a lot more air than the BoatSafe. You can feel the warm air moving 3’ away from the heater. Continues to circulate air after the element has turned off in “cool down” mode. Seems like it generates more heat and air movement.

The BoatSafe case gets a lot hotter to the touch and continues to radiate heat after it turns off.

Just my 2 cents.

[AsLan7]

Thanks Driller for the comparison!