Hot Water in a small camper.

[Billb]

[quote]i am trying out this new (to me) gizmo i picked up from camping world.
it is a tankless water heater for camping.
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/...er-heater/37786
it works with propane and ignites with a couple of D cell batteries.
i have hooked it up in my yard to see if it does what they say it will, and low and behold for $125 bucks and 13 pounds there is a hot water heater that is as mobile as my trailer.
just thought i'd share with the masses.
if you already have one of these or something similar, what are your experiences?
is i get an opportunity to put this to the test, i'll post my findings. at the moment with my back-yard test it is doing what they say it would do.


Attachment 17571


Eric, I really like this idea. With how some campground showers are, I like the tankless heater and shower tent MUCH better

[John A]

Based on the good reviews, I bought one of these Eccotemp L5 units from Overstock.com, $120 no tax no shipping. Kind of an indulgence purchase... hot showers are what I miss most when camping, and the SunShower sometimes isn't ideal. As others said, this unit seems to do just what it is supposed to. The manual warns that it can reach 'scalding' temperatures when run at max gas/min water setting, but I tried it and it seems like a nice hot shower to me! Haven't camped with it yet, building a temp shower to go inside my Scamp 13 for when in cold weather/"no grey water on ground" campsites. Going to hang the heater outside on the side of the Scamp (a rope over the top!) and just run the shower wand through the cracked-open door. Seems like a versatile little unit, adapt it to the conditions you find. I expect I will eventually replace the bulky wand with a small metal $5 low-flow head with built-in on/off, like from Lowes.

John A

[Parker Buckley]

....... building a temp shower to go inside my Scamp 13 for when in cold weather/"no grey water on ground" campsites. .

John,

Please let us know how it goes. I made a temporary shower for our 13' Scamp, using a plastic bin and fiberglass rods to hold a couple of shower curtains. The rods came from driveway reflectors (Lowes) and I attach them with suction cups from the bath/shower department of Lowes (of course). We heat water on the stove and pour into a garden sprayer ala Raya. It works fine, but it's a lot to mess with. We like camping in national parks, which typically do not have showers (sometimes pay showers) and consistently do not allow shower tents. All this is having us thinking more and more of a 16' Scamp with shower, but it's a lot of money to pay just to improve the shower situation!

Parker

[Lizbeth]

I'm glad this topic popped back up.

ErikJ, did you have a chance to give this product an in the field testing?

[John A]

John,
Please let us know how it goes. Parker

Will do, but it'll be a few weeks til I get to really use it. Current plan, compatible with no-shower-tent areas/ no-grey-water-on-the-ground areas:

Shurflo pump hooked to my Scamp's freshwater drain, supplying 9 gallons, rigged to a cigarette lighter cord driven from Scamp or Subaru.

Outlet of pump running via garden hose to Eccotemp L5, hanging on side of scamp with a rope over the top to hold the unit.

Hot water line/hand wand snaked through door.

Shower enclosure consisting of PVC pipe shower curtain frame (not made yet), the curtain being a SunShower portable vinyl enclosure, 30" square.

Shower tub being the top half of a plastic cartop carrier, inverted. My measurements say it will fit and take up the whole floor... haven't tried it yet... otherwise, the bigger of the two Lowes square plastic washing-machine anti-leak pans ($30)

600 GPM bilge pump , with a switch in the cig lighter cord, to evacuate the tub to a 9 gallon spare Scamp-type tank on the ground ouside the door.

Yes, it is too complicated. Parts are all modular and many can be omitted when using in less restrictive areas. I had all this stuff (other than the enclosure) running on 12V in my kitchen this morning, troubleshooting, sans propane.

BTW up to now I just carried a SunShower and that enclosure, for nice weather it is fine.

Parker, I wouldn't worry about having a built-in shower in your camper, for me, I can't stand up except in the dead-middle of my Scamp anyway. The front-shower units would be difficult and I would lose the open-plan feeling which is so nice in a Scamp 13.

John A

[Bill K]

John,
I think maybe you have your letters wrong.
I believe it should be 600 GPH

This is what the showers on my boat have.

Bill K

600 GPM bilge pump , with a switch in the cig lighter cord, to evacuate the tub to a 9 gallon spare Scamp-type tank on the ground ouside the door.


John A

[Parker Buckley]

Parker, I wouldn't worry about having a built-in shower in your camper, for me, I can't stand up except in the dead-middle of my Scamp anyway. The front-shower units would be difficult and I would lose the open-plan feeling which is so nice in a Scamp 13.

John,

Ooooh, you hit a soft spot with me. My wife and I both feel like our Scamp 13 is more open than many larger rigs. Maybe I'll continue with the garden sprayer for a while yet! I do want to check out your shower curtain source, though. I'm using two cheapo plastic curtains right now, and have thought of trying fabric shower curtain liners; something that doesn't want to cling to the person trapped inside!

Parker

[John A]

Bill K, yes you are correct. Basically the smallest/cheapest one I could find locally. Preference would have been a 350 GPH Rule pump. I have it necked down to 3/8" line anyway. I noticed it cavitates if it is on before water is present, therefore the switch so you can toggle it if if it needs to be 'burped'.

Parker, not sure if Cascade Designs/SunShower still makes this hanging enclosure I have - it is handy though, and I am trying to make this system mostly with stuff I halready have around...

John A

[John A]

I have to report in that it worked very well, using it inside the Scamp 13 with a rooftop carrier top inverted as the "tub" - we used the system I described earlier but just pumped the grey water out the power cord hole afterwards rather than pumping it into a grey tank. The shower hose on the Eccotemp unit (hanging on the outside of the Scamp, running in through the door) could be longer, but worked OK as-is. Two-foot longer ones are available in the stores. I am thinking next year of upgrading the pump to one of the quiet, expensive Shurflo electronic units mentioned elsewhere on the forum, and building the pump into the Scamp water system to minimize setup.

John

John,

Please let us know how it goes. Parker