Marine Engine Compartment Heaters Can Extend Your Boating Season While Protecting Your Boat’s Engine

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More people suffer freeze related boat engine damage in mild areas like California and Georgia than in the more extreme northern climates. If you live in Minnesota, you probably take winterizing your boat seriously and accept it as a fact of life. In more temperate areas, the threat may not seem as great and there may be boating opportunities year around. That is where the problems arise. For example, where I live in Oregon, prolonged, hard freezes are uncommon, and fall and winter fishing are popular. When the hard freezes do hit, there is a flurry of activity as boaters try to quickly winterize their boats, or implement makeshift solutions.

Marine engine compartment heaters, sometimes referred to as bilge heaters, are designed to meet the needs of year around boaters. Mounted in the engine compartment, these heaters keep the temperature above freezing in critical areas. They can be permanently mounted, or placed temporarily for the winter months. When placing the heater temporarily, you need to make sure it is secure and can’t fall into water accumulations or into moving parts of the engine. For some models, special temporary mounting brackets are available that allow a boat owner to securely mount his bilge heater, and then with the flick of a safety catch remove it.

At this point, you may be wondering why you can’t just use a light bulb or other heat source to warm the area. You wouldn’t be alone, but this can pose a serious fire hazard and some marinas and boat yards have rules against this practice to protect your boat and those parked around you. One problem is that these non-standard sources may not have proper safety features. Even more important, engine compartments may contain explosive fuel vapors. A single spark could spell the end of your boat and possibly those of others that are stored or moored near by.

Engine compartment heaters are designed specifically to operate in these conditions. They meet stringent guidelines for safety set out by the US Coast Guard as well as the ABYC safety standards. Some are also tested to MILSPEC for temperature, moisture and vibration. This exhaustive engineering and extensive testing mean it is a lot of work to develop and bring an engine compartment heater to market. That is why there are only a couple brands on the market.

If you decide an engine compartment heater might be right for your boat, you’ll want to consider a few things. First, do you have a reliable source of power? No power means no heat, putting your boat at risk. Next consider the wattage you’ll need. Each of the manufacturers produce several sizes of heaters and offer guidance in selecting the size that is right for your boat. The next consideration will be what mounting space do you have available? Make sure that the bilge heater unit you are considering can be safely mounted in the space you have with all of the manufacturers recommended clearances. If you have power, and a place to mount it, you should be in good shape.

Whether you are involved with Public Safety and it’s mission critical to keep your boat ready to go at a moment’s notice, or you just want to be ready to hit the water when the Steelhead are running, an engine compartment heater may be worth considering.

About the Author: Loren assists customers with boating supplies and accessories at SavvyBoater - an on-line source for popular and hard to find boat supplies and boating accessories. He works with Xtreme Heaters to offer a selection of Marine Engine Compartment Heaters to help boaters with their winterization efforts.