32xx - windshield defroster?

[Norm]

Just finished 10 days out between Brentwood Bay (Victoria BC) and Campbell River - it was great.
- our little Chinese diesel furnace worked wonderfully - wifey was never cold (which made the trip)
- boat purred along just fine!
But it was quite cold weather, and we often fought front window fogging, despite the boat being warm and having 3 small window defogging fans whirring away from the top of the windows (I believe these were original equipment). We were constantly wiping away with hand towels; thankfully there are few logs out in open water right now.

Does anyone have a windshield defroster set up that really works? Pics would be wonderful!

Norm

[Uncle_Bob]

No fans were original equipment. I have 3 (D type) battery powered fans that keep my windshield clear. You mentioned the Chinese furnace. Our neighbour flunked his survey when the surveyor told him the Chinese knock-off was not certified. I don't know what certificate is required if any, but you might want to quietly investigate in case it voids insurance or re-sale.

[Norm]

Looked at your fan Bob….and realized USB power was an option….that would work. Have a similar product enroute for a try.

[Norm]

Thx Bob
- if they weren’t OEM, then what I have that makes noise but doesn’t quite do the job is what appears to be three Camano Fairview 12v defrosters, one per windshield pane - though to be fair, I haven’t taken one down to figure out 1) if it has a heating element and 2) if the heating element is still functional.

[Destiny_4588]

We had the same 3 fans on 3288 back in the day and hav two on 4588...our work OK if we start them up way before hand and left run non stop....

[Norm]

Thx Mark, guess I need to pull one and see if it has a working heater element. Need to rewire he suckers if I keep them - there’s too much of a voltage drop if I turn all 3 on
- silly set up on my 3270 has wayyy to much running off starter batter Circuit

[Tony Bacon]

An age old trick is to wipe the windows down with soapy water, like a little dish soap in water. When I am in Christmas ship parades I set a small 1KW ceramic heater on the dash and it does a great job but that is a fair current draw. I always had the generator running to power the reverse cycle heat though so it didn't matter. I bought one of those canframo devices and found it to be useless.

[Adventuren1]

If your fans are powered by the terminal block built into the brow above the lower helm, you will be doing good by running new power to them. On my 3288, the power to that block comes from a fuse panel under the fly bridge. It is an old looking duplex, maybe 14 awg. I still have not been able to trace where either helm gets it's power from the battery switches. But the connections on the old flat blade fuse blocks and terminal blocks are getting really sloppy.

[SuperiorDiver]

I have used this in my tractor when blowing snow: https://www.harborfreight.com/https-...0525-html.html

[Norm]

Bit of follow up - took a better look at my defrost fans yesterday….they’re an old Hella model that doesn’t have any heating elements.
- the area below the windshield is warm (engine heat or diesel furnace), so I’m going to try ideas that circulate air from the bottom vs the top

[Centerline2]

i have a nice functional windshield defogger in my boat...... it consists of a length of 1.5"pvc pipe that i heated and bent to match the contour of the lower part of the window frame.....once it was all formed and fitted correctly, i removed the visible parts and painted them with rustolium white "hammered" paint, which makes it look better than a unpainted joint of pvc pipe....

then i drilled holes in it every 2.5 inches for the defrost air to get out,,,, because the defroster works on the entire window and not just the drivers side, the holes drilled on the incoming end of the pipe are a little smaller than the ones at the far end of the pipe, so that it balances the flow of air across both sides and the middle pane.....

my design was made using an inline blower similar to the bilge blower fan, but due to the noise it produces i have since bought a squirrel cage fan to install in place of the inline blower.... the air for the defrosters is heated from the furnace (which comes from outside of the cabin), so that the defrosters distributes heat at the same time it defrosts the window.... which with the air movement, it keeps the entire cabin ventilated, dry and fresh, and keeps it at an even temp throughout the corners nooks and crannies so that the boat feels warm and comfortable all the time, no matter the weather.... the air taken from outside, heated and pushed into the cabin keeps the damp, stale air pushed OUT of the cabin, which is the best way for a boat to remain comfortable....

any furnace or heater that only reheats the moisture laden air that is already inside the cabin will have to work harder to keep the occupants warm but NEVER as comfortable as warm DRY air will, and it can eventually cause a mildew issue..... and due to the nature of how condensation works, blowing warm damp air on a window will not offer very good de-FOG capability, even though it may de-FROST just fine... dryer air than that which is already in contact with window is needed for the best results... although a much stronger/higher airflow can help keep the window clear when the air is saturated

for the defroster air intake, i installed a T in the furnace duct that runs forward to the v-berth, and take the air from there for the defroster... but the defroster tube at the T'ed junction is not sealed, so that the defroster can suck as much air as it needs, which some comes from the heat duct, and some gets sucked in from the surrounding area, as needed to create the best flow of air, which is really much more important than the heat is for the system....

all the pvc pipe joints i used to get the system installed in a manner that conceals it the best and looks decent where it isnt hidden, were NOT glued, but only push fit together and a screw driven in the side of the fitting to hold it all together, so that it can easily be disassembled and reassembled if ever necessary....

I do have photos of the installed system, and i am currently trying to remember what file i put them in... i will post them when i find them....

[Norm]

Yes! Pics please - very much like your idea, little worried about my ability to make it look good….