T&T: Hurricane, Webasto or Espar.

[Ken Bloomfield]

Glen is quite right that the watts that the compressor and pump consume 
are mostly liberated as heat inside the boat, and yes, I know that 
"energy can neither be created or destroyed".  However, that parasitic 
heat is not produced in the air-handler path, so ends up doing very 
little good towards warming the forced air stream, and thus does very 
little towards a uniform comfortable air temp in the boat.  Typically, 
the compressor and pump heat is released and confined in a small area 
where the unit resides, and creates a very localized warmer than 
necessary temperature in that close environs that just begs to be 
neutralized by exchange with the great outdoors via the hull. 

Ken Bloomfield
MT-50 Tellico Lady
Maryville, TN


Glen Zwicker wrote:
> Ken wrote:
> ".....all the time this compressor and pump are running, they
> are eating about 1500 watts (1.5 kW) and contributing very little heat
> for those watts -- "
>
> Don't mean to be picky but I believe that all of that 1,500 watts is 
> converted to heat,  part of it in the electric motors due to 
> inefficiencies, and the rest in the pumps, compressors and plumbing 
> due to friction and to work done on the fluids. Even if the system is 
> operating at zero percent efficiency the machinery is getting hot at a 
> rate of 1,500 watts.  So if the pumps and compressors are located 
> inside the boat then the inefficiences of the system  are not a total 
> loss but contribute to total heat produced.  The real loss here, in my 
> opinion,  is wear and tear on mechanical systems, when a simple 
> resistive heater would have done the same or better job.
>
> Glen Zwicker
>
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