Water heater replacement for 2004 FV 250

amajamar

After firing up the water heater for the first time...  I will be needing to replace the darn thing!  I guess it only leaks when it's hot, so nobody noticed at the survey.  Oh well! 

The unit is an Attwood 1400W 6 gal heater, but I can get a Seaward or Kuuma for a little less and they are configured exactly the same.  However, the Attwood is a 1400W and the others are 1500W.  Is the wattage difference an issue with the electrical system or any other potential problems with swapping to another manufacturer?

Thanks in advance!!

browncbr1

100w difference doesn't seem like much, but I think the 1500w versions will head up the water a little quicker  ... I would base my decision on quality and reputation... I don't think any marginal wattage difference would matter on your system.

amajamar

I am not sure there is a whole lot of difference between one another.  After some research, the Kuuma says that it's for engine coolant only not raw water.  Neither the Atwood (stock) or Seaward said anything like that.  Also, in reading an install manual for one of them, it is recommended to prime the cooling system to prevent issues with air gaps.  Is that something I need to worry about?

browncbr1

Yes, you can burn out the element if the system is not bled free of air.. 

i would go with OEM and just follow the install instructions... 

raybo3

If you unit is feed with a 15 amp breaker you should go with the 1400watt heater. You can only draw 80% of the circut breaker. 1500 watts at 120 volts is 12.5 amps at 1400 watts its 11.6 amps the total amp draw on the circut should be 12 amps.

amajamar

My owners manual says that the water heater circuit is 20A.  Is that not correct?

raybo3

Not sure what you have. I was just making a point that before you to bigger you need to make sure it can handle the extra load. Check the breaker to see what you have... Good luck and keep us posted...

TikiHut2

Ray is explaining the safe current calc on the wire and Ama is talking about the breaker size. Although the breaker is rated to trip at 20a you don't want the load that high. I agree w Ray to go with the 1400watt unit. You won't notice the minute diff in wattage nor time to heat the water but you might notice a burned wire that's struggling with high current......

I need a new one too so let us know how the project ends up. Be safe and have a nice hot shower.

Mike

Dream_Inn

I had to replace the heating element on mine last spring (first thing that went on my boat as well - or probably wasn't working when I bought as well).  I ended up going from a 1500W to a 1400W mainly because it was what I could get my hands on in stock that day for the weekend.  I can't imagine you'd notice a difference in speed of heating water, especially for 6 gallons.  I'd go with what you had originally.

amajamar

I ended up buying the 1500W model.  It cost less and I can't imagine that the additional 100W will be a fire hazard.  Of course with my luck...!

I'll check in after the install!

raybo3

Well you can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink it....LOL Just kidding. Have you ever changed out an old light fixture in your house and seen the old fixture wires crumble? Well that is cause by heat from a light bulb most likely 60 watts. Now add a 100 watts to that and see what happens. Someone on the old RBO posted a pic of there water heater connection and it was burnt to a crisp. Dream I thought it was you on your old boat but maybe not. Point is bigger is not always better. Keep an eye on it. Good luck bro... BTW where in Mass are you from?

Dream_Inn

Raybo, the pic I had posted was the crumbling away of the connection where raw engine water went thru.  Could have been a disaster pumping in water with the engine running.

gotfins

Hey there dream inn, hope the new rinker is treating you well... Had a big problem with your old 310 yesterday Boating home from the O's game.. Around hart miller I noticed that I was topping out at about 28mph, just me and another guy on the boat. I throttled up, and still 28mph.. Docked it at the Bush River, shut her down, and low and behold, 4 inches of water was in the cabin.. After panicking for a second, I found the problem to be the heat exchange inlet was corroded and fell off, so when the engines were running, they were pumping the bay into my boat..spent the day today cleaning it out good, and drying her well, but my question to you is, didn't you just replace that water heater? And do you know if I have to swap out the entire heater, or is there a replacement for the inlet barb? Thanks Brother, and see you on the Chessy. Bret

Dream_Inn

Hey Bret, nice to see you made it over here!

I did replace that water heater about 2 years before you bought her. I'm assuming you mean it's rusted at the heater itself?  It could be the barb on it, I don't remember replacing that at the time.  On the heater side all there is a a thread for the barb to thread in to.  So it does come off and definitely could be the barb.  I sure hope so because that water heater is a bear to get out.  Only thing that will help you out is I only put one of the two back screws in to hold it down (you will see why if you need to pull it out). 

The white panel in front of the water heater that has the smaller access panel inside it does come out pretty easy.  I'd removed that and then take a better look at what you have.

Worse case you could cap it and only have heated water when you plug in or use the genny.  But if it is just the barb then that shouldn't be too bad.  Let me know what you find!

Hope to see you on the bay this year & come along to the Rendezvous on July 12-14 at Still Pond.  Oh, and we are loving the boat!

TonyWalker

A suggestion I frequently offer.  If you put a couple of sections of Dri- Dek (West Marine part number 325151) underneath when you reinstall it, you will prevent any water that seeps underneath from coming in contact with the bottom of the heater and causing corrosion to the case.  I did that to mine as a preventative project and once I did that, all the stains that were creeping up the sides of the heater from the water that accumulates underneath were stopped in their tracks.

 

I plan to do the same thing for my generator which will be out of the boat next week.  That stuff has been wonderful everyplace I have found to use it.

 

Tony

Salt Shaker 342