20 January Fitting the new water heater

disconnecting

It must have been a blue moon day because fitting the new water heater today was a relatively straight forward job. The most timing consuming part of the job was altering the base the unit sits in; the new water heater has the same capacity but is physically smaller than the old one.


First job was to undo the water and electrical connections and lift the Isotemp out of the engine room. Once out we could see where the pinhole corrosion had been leaking. I was struck by how much heavier the steel heater was compared to the more modern plastic, and better insulated, replacement. David was able to open the old heater and inside there was a quantity of metal slivers, ie rust.
This outgoing heater had been fitted by the previous owner just prior to our purchasing Jackster and David has always considered the way it was sited on a wooden cradle was somewhat amateur and too close to the generator. Now he has the opportunity to improve the wooden cradle it will sit in and to move it away from the generator. Doing this took him half a day but it is now rebuilt to his high standards. After the cradle was finished it was simply place the new unit, tighten the steel holding straps and connect water and electrics with newly purchased fittings.
The new Quick heater does what it says on the box; heats 40L of water 50% quicker than the Isotemp due to a larger heating element, we've reduced weight and it should never rust. Caveat. It's a boat so there's always the possibility / probability that something will malfunction in the future.

the new, improved cradle

ta dah! all done

light & better insulated