Portable On-demand Water Heater!

[EllPea in CA]

Good heavens. I've been researching small water heaters, but didn't expect to find a portable one:

EccoTemp Portable Tankless Water Heater $125.00
EccoTemp Portable Tankless Water Heater - Eccotemp L5 - Water Heaters - Camping World

For the most part, the customer reviews are quite good. Some people even use these to heat water in their kitchens (cabins, maybe?), to shampoo dogs and horses, and give outdoor showers to troops of people.

Has anyone used one of these? I love the idea of having the hot water available outside for quick shower-downs, and wonder if there's a way to run some inside just for quick dish & hand-washing chores?

LP

[Borrego Dave]

There have been a number of threads on tankless heaters. Although a few members do use them I think most folks don't think they are the way to go in our eggs as they are plumbed in. If you end up with a trailer that doesn't have a water heater installed it might be the way to go. Let us know if you do end up with one and how it works out for you.

[Bob Miller]

If it's a hot outside shower that you need, look into the ZODI shower. Compact, all in one, including it's own reservoir & pump, and they work great

[redbarron55]

I bought one for $70.00 and I plan to installation the tongue to keep the heat and exhaust away from the trailer.
The unit I have has a 3" vent and I assume could be installed inside if there were provisions for combustion air, but I think it is safer outside.
I plan to bend up a stainless box with a door to house it.
I have a technician that works for me who uses one for his barbecue (Professional) trailer and he tells me that pretty much you can set it and forget it.
He uses the hot water 100% (with no cold tempering) to get enough flow to turn on the flow switch an once set it stays pretty good.



I am still considering a way to mount it on the trailer, but so far I have not come up with what I am satisfied with.
I have tried this unit on the LP tank and garden hose and it works quickly and has controllable heat and I think that I will be as happy with it and any other and not worry about running out of hot water. When I have had a chance to mount it I will post some pictures here.
Personally I think a mounting box could be fabricated to mount it through the sidewall and vent out the top of the box with vents for combustion air and keep all of the business parts on the outside of the envelope. It is hard to find a good place for in on my trailer on the shell, thus the mounting on the tongue.
It could be mounted off the rear bumper, but with a long line from the LP tank and longer lines to the front bath and kitchen. I prefer to keep the lines as short as possible to get hot water fast and less loss.

[cchandka]

we use one (a different maker) in our outdoor shower house ... superb.
also, in a business remodel they were placed under the restroom vanity to avoid long runs from the central plant.... works great !

[Johnny M]

I am installing the same water heater in our Boler as we are adding a front bath. This Fastair model is designed for interior use with a roof vent. We are not yet ready to install it but will be using a standard gas water heater vent pipe and a capped roof vent for the installation. I will post pictures once we complete the project. We considered the tongue mount setup before we purchased this model then decided to put it in the bathroom since it was a ventable model.

[Jim Thor]

We used to use one of the Solar showers.... Blue Bag that heats in the sun, so you have hot water.... I like this a lot.

[Johnny M]

We have one of those too ours is black, mainly for a backup in case the water heater should fail.

[Jim Thor]

Maybe mine was black- but pretty "Old School" technology

[Sandra olafson]

I have a Coleman hot water on demand that is portable comes in its own carrying case and has shower attachment. We hook it up to a big propane tank not the little bottles sits on a table outside the trailer works great

[rbryan]

I had no idea these portable on-demand heaters were so inexpensive. Even more impressive when you consider that the Atwood or Suburban on-demand water heaters (designed to replace the tank system in the trailer) will set you back $700 or $800.

[Wayne Collins]

You don't get something for nothing. Heating water takes a lot of energy. whether gas or electric. Gas heat will require a good size supply pipe, and adequate exhaust vent. Electric needs a heavy wire for about 30 amps.
Tankless heaters will give you hotter water at lower flow rates. High flows don't get as warm as the water spends less time in the heater.
At least, you won't need to worry about draining a tank style heater to avoid freezing. Good Luck!

[Darral T.]

Wayne, you've lost me on this one. Where do you get 30A??? I put a HottRod in my Atwood 6 gal onboard water heater on my Scamp. It draws apx 4A. My wife has never complained running out of hot water when she's taking a shower with this add-on unit. We love it. The only time we'll use propane now is when we're off the grid.

Hott Rod Water Heater Conversion Kit - 6 Gallon - Diamond HR6 - Water Heaters - Camping World

Originally Posted by Wayne Collins

You don't get something for nothing..... Electric needs a heavy wire for about 30 amps. ..... Good Luck!

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by rbryan

I had no idea these portable on-demand heaters were so inexpensive. Even more impressive when you consider that the Atwood or Suburban on-demand water heaters (designed to replace the tank system in the trailer) will set you back $700 or $800.

That price difference is partly because the Atwood/Suburban units (which you can buy for about $500 if you shop) are designed for the full time hot water needs of a 3 bedroom/2 bath diesel pusher motorhome.

These little ones are not designed for high volume use nor are they designed to use in an RV, in fact some are specifically labeled that they are not to be used on RV's. They are sorta the "Cheapy" way to get bit of hot water.

[Wayne Collins]

[QUOTE=Darral T.;536887]Wayne, you've lost me on this one. Where do you get 30A??? I put a HottRod in my Atwood 6 gal onboard water heater on my Scamp. It draws apx 4A. My wife has never complained running out of hot water when she's taking a shower with this add-on unit. We love it. The only time we'll use propane now is when we're off the grid.

OK, I was looking at tankless heaters for a church washroom. Obviously the more heat you want the more energy it takes. 4 amps will heat a small volume of water.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

That price difference is partly because the Atwood/Suburban units (which you can buy for about $500 if you shop) are designed for the full time hot water needs of a 3 bedroom/2 bath diesel pusher motorhome.

These little ones are not designed for high volume use nor are they designed to use in an RV, in fact some are specifically labeled that they are not to be used on RV's. They are sorta the "Cheapy" way to get bit of hot water.

Yeah, I realize that Bob, but I still think they might be a good value for "supplementing" your hot water needs - particularly with using an outside shower tent. I might never use my inside shower.


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[Timber Wolf]

They use one of those at the Humane Society "Dog Wash" I take my pooch to once a month. They do aim the nozzle away and run a little water out each time they use water I assume because the first blast may be hotter or something? I have no first-hand experience myself, but have heard no complaints from the dog.

I would like to have one mounted on a hand truck with space below for the propane bottle. I thought this up and then found on the internet there is a company selling them like this already ($$$$$$$$$$$$). I would carry it in the back of my pickup truck and take it out and put it alongside the trailer when I wanted to use it. I would tap into the water line somewhere convenient along the street side of the trailer to make a short run to the shower.

Yes, I know this is not the most convenient way to get hot water. But I do not like the current heater, nor its’ weight, use of space, or location. I figure when I set up for hot water will be when I am boondocking for extended periods anyway and it will worth the trouble. And it will be easier to access hot water outside for an external shower (where I can actually stand up) or washing dishes outside and stuff. You know, like in the outdoors.

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by rbryan

Yeah, I realize that Bob, but I still think they might be a good value for "supplementing" your hot water needs - particularly with using an outside shower tent. I might never use my inside shower.


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

We have an outside shower (only) and a 4 gallon water heater on our Hunter and have yet to run out of hot water for two showers. We do allow about a 15 minute warm up while getting ready, but we are good to go after that.

Actually the 4 gallon RV water heaters heat up and recover pretty darn fast. Next time out we will try to run it out of hot water

[David Tilston]

I would imagine that if you run at a low enough flow rate, you would have what amounted to an on demand water heater.

BTW: I have never seen a 4 gallon water heater. Could you please post the make and model number?

[EllPea in CA]

I wondered about dry camping with one of the on-demand heaters I mentioned. But I think I understand that they require a certain amount of pressure to activate the heater. The burner goes out after a certain period of non-use, and activates again (via batteries!) when there's a demand for water. So it's likely that it wouldn't work with water from the holding tank... unless that's pressurized?

The specs also state that these are NOT for use inside RV's or indoors at all, but there are quite a few customer reviews discussing just that kind of use. I'm not suggesting anyone *should* use one of these indoors, but also suspect the company mainly recommends against indoor use to avoid liability.

LP