The original Atwood Hot Water Heater came to a sudden end over the winter. Since purchasing Intuition, our 1990 Pacific Seacraft 31, decommissioning of the hot water tank has seemed an iffy proposition. The drain petcock is only 1/4 inch and seemed to be consistently plugged for decommissioning. As with most water heaters the sediment build up can be a killer. I had been able to eliminate enough of the water for the last 3 winter seasons, by blowing compressed air into the drain petcock and slowly getting the bulk of the water out. This year seemed to have gone well also, but upon visiting Intuition this past week, I found the water heater to have been frozen (as evidenced by the change in shape of the outer shell!
Atwood no longer makes marine hot water heaters. The original was approximately 13" x 13" x 16 inches deep; another 3 inches of electrical and hose fittings for the fresh water intake and hot water output took up space in front of the water tank; a few more inches in the rear for connection to the engine coolant / heat exchanger connections. So overall dimensions about 21 or so inches athwart-ship mounting space required.
There are several similar shaped / sized hot water heaters in production by Seward, Whale and others.
I found an ISOTEMP SPA 15 - which is 4 gallons and an ISOTEMP SPA 20 which is 5.3 gallons. The tank is 316 stainless steel and the outer shell is polypropylene.? Tank diameter is 12 inches; the smaller SPA 15 is 18' in length and the SPA 20 is 12' in diameter by 21.6 inches in length. They both come with a mixer, which is a nice safety feature and also maximizes the water in the tank , while reducing chances of scalding. We have often found the water so hot out of the Atwood, it could burn you without adding in some cold water.?
Wondering if anyone has had any experience with the ISOTEMP or other HOT WATER heaters?
Daryl
s/y Intuition - Pacific Seacraft Crealock 31 # 54
Daryl Clark