TimC wrote:Sorry if I am hijacking your thread, just a couple questions... I'm intrigued with these portable LP gas fired water heaters. There's some really cheap ones on ebay (but you get what you pay for).
- This Camplux 5L water heater uses an on board battery. Did you find any 12v powered versions available? I'm referring to the ignition voltage with LP gas fueled units. I know I can buy a converter to go 12v to 3v, it would just be simpler to wire it to 12v.
-Will a Surflo Diaphragm pump work with these units? I'm thinking the pump turns on when a shower valve opens and the water heater fires up immediately after?
Thanks,
Tim
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No worries, I was hoping to stir conversation on this topic so that I can honestly glean setup and usage ideas for my rig. A bit self serving but also hoping to make the matter clear for all as the propane camp shower / on demand water heater market is quite muddied up on Ebay and Amazon.
The cheaper ones all, at least the ones I have seen use G thread, or British standard thread sizes and are quite difficult to get fittings for in the US, which is why I opted for Camplux. Honestly there are some versions that come in at half the cost of the Camplux, which in itself is quite inexpensive compared to say the Joolca, but when you factor the special fittings in, it just wasn't worth it to adapt the gas, and both water fittings just to get basic function out of it.
They all seem to rely on 2 D cell batteries and do not have 12V power onboard or socket available. The 2 D cells reportedly last quite a long time, change them out as you would smoke detector batteries.
If you are willing to void the warranty, and take safety risks pretty much anything can be done DIY.
The pump shutoff is backpressure from the shower head. Turn the shower head off, pump shuts off, turn the shower head on, pump turns on, gas starts flowing, igniter does its thing, at least that is the idea...
Will let you know soonest possible. I am using a different brand pump, but generally the same thing.
And I am thinking about opting for the 14' harness with 12v plug from Amazon for a quick, not too mentally exhausting connection to my power pack, or the vehicle.
So my next target of interest, and part of the reason I avoided the Joolca as I would have had to modify it anyway is... the plumbing. I am pretty sure I want to stay with 3/8" ID tubing. There is plenty of silicone, and hi temp vinyl tubing on the market. I can get 50' runs of blue, and 50' runs of red hi temp vinyl tubing for about $20.00 each. But I need fittings and I kind of want to go with the lighter weight of plastics.
Can anyone recommend quality plastic fittings, particularly fittings that would connect hose to quick connect, quick connect to hose, and hose to say shower head? Also is there a way to go directly from a 3/8" ID 1/2" OD vinyl hose to say a standard sink sprayer? What fittings are needed there?
My desired end result would be quick connects an optional Y fitting on the outlet side, with output to EITHER or both the Ensuite shower head, and / or a sink sprayer in the kitchen.
The pickup side should offer a long enough stub of tubing with a screen so that priming the pump won't burn it up, then push the water a max of 25' to the heater, but with an optional shorter intake. I want to go from the 3/8" ID to 3/4" garden hose thread Quick Disconnect there as I want to be able to quickly configure for camp site hose water, or fresh water source pickup with the pump. Oh and the output of the pump should go into an inline filter like my Camco 40043. The idea is to filter out the pump harming bits before the water gets to the pump, then filtering out the human harming bits before they get to the human.
Since I am setting up in a truck camper shell camper, I am looking for a swing out, OR a contained box setup that can be QUICKLY and EASILY configured for use...
I am thinking pickup options that could include pumping from say a creek or stock tank into a fresh water carrier,, and then from said carrier to heater. That way I can use shorter hose runs
I've seen ONE setup with the Camplux on a teardrop. Or Squaredrop, or whatever. The guy setup with a plastic box mounted to the side, fueled with a remote short hose, and a steak saver to a 1lb bottle. Cool idea, short run time on the shower, but assuming short showers, not a bad deal...
https://youtu.be/fLWvc2NX0C4