PDQ OWNERS FORUM

I have a pdq 32 Number 29 built in 97. Are the original water heaters that came from the factory still legal and usable? There seems to be some concern with the lack of venting. I installed a monoxide detector by it years ago and it's never sounded off. It seems very safe and dependable to me. I'd love to hear any comments regarding these...

Yes, they are. They are now sold under the PrecisionTemp name (was Wolter) but are very expensive. Many of us have gone to the unit made by Excel. Do a search for Wolter, PrecisionTemp, and Excel in the PDQForum and you will see lots of discussion.

Sam

So is it ok to keep the existing one that came in the boat or do I have to switch to an excel?

If it works use it.

BTW interesting career you chose.

Lightflight,

We had to remove our Wolter unit for our insurance survey - required by Boat US insurance. I had a 4 gal electric Seaward marine water heater, bought for another boat (the basic square unit with the inlets for the engine cooling system) our 36 has a single Yanmar diesel in the port hull and I mounted the heater unit in the aft of the motor behind the shaft log where it is easy accessible and helps keep the engine compartment warm in the winter.

The one change I made was to switch the original 1800 watt 110v (about 16A load) heating element with a 1400 watt 220v unit (only draws 7A on 110v) and it works great (it doesn't take long to heat 4 gallons). We don't usually shower on board at the dock and always seem to have hot water for dishes or whatever(and the current load is very low).

It was a nightmare removing the Wolter unit there is little access on a 36 (and we've moved our holding tank to the same compartment making it tighter)- not sure how much access there is on a 32. This year winter has already been chilly I may consider installing a diesel heater unit next year in the same location as the Wolter was.

Thought I would share our hot water solution as it works well,

MB