Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

So just poking for ideas here honestly. Wether it be for dish washing, or for showering, how do you heat water? Is space and cost containment more important to you or is convenience more important?

I've been toying with the various ideas I know of, and have settled on a system, but I looked into the following.

Joolca HOTTAP V2 Nomad Kit. This thing comes in at a kings ransom price of nearly $430.00, but it also comes with everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink, albeit a very bulky one. And it requires a bulk propane tank to operate,

There are lower cost on demand propane water heaters, like the Camplux 5L that are a much more reasonable $150.00 ish cost, but are just the heater, shower head / hose and propane hose. And the hoses are far too short to be useful, thus would require a good bit of DIY to get useful hose lengths for fuel and water in / out, not to mention addition of a water pump if you are getting water from anything but a hose under pressure.

There is my method, which sadly doesn't appear available any more, but I have the much smaller, Zodi Hottap Instant Hot Water system. IT has a battery operated pump, and a solar shower bag style shower head. I have modded the unit for quick disconnects, upgraded the hoses to hi temp silicone hoses, and replaced the pump and shower head with an Ivation rechargeable pump that actually fits in my AquaTainers, and the shower head is permanently attached to the ensuite tent in a home made ensuite plumbing rig, again with disconnects, and then another quick disconnect to another piece of hose, with the shower bag style shower head allows me to use it as a sprayer for dishwashing..

I CAN bypass the heater part via the quick disconnects and just heat water on the stove, and use the pump and showner head ad originally intended in both the shower, and at a dishwash station.

My question is, is it worth it to when building the camper, to integrate some sort of hot water heater like the Joolca, absorb the costs and since I'd have the space just go with it, or is the current battery pump, manual turn on / off heater method sufficient, especially considering no added bulk of bulk tanks etc...?

I think if I were building a larger Squaredrop trailer for example, the Joolca would be ideal as a tongue mounted propane rig could be set up, and plumbed to the back kitchen, where the heater could be set up on a swivel, then the Joolca plumbing kit could be set up to provide hot water right at the Drops kitchen sink, and the shower plumbing run off the Y splitter...

Just thoughts you know...

Not sure though, how much easier is that really than to heat a gallon of water on the stove and use that sprayed vor washing, or showering...

6 gallon RV gas electric water heater.

Probably not what you are looking for as it looks like you are looking for a hi-tech solution, but, I heat with a solar shower bag when possible and when it's cloudy I'll go with a pot on my butane stove. My shower kit is detailed here...

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=72491&p=1279769#p1279769

For dish water I use the same methods. I don't need much water as I wipe "clean" all my dishes after use and usually do all dishes after my last meal of the day. Full disclosure, I'm a mostly cold cereal breakfast and sandwich lunch camper. I leave the cooking for dinner.

Propane stove. Either in a pot, or in a kettle.

Rarely, for bathing, I have wrapped jugs of water with a black trash bag and left them in the sun for some solar heating. Doesn't need to be hot, just acceptable.

I had a solar shower, but tragedy befell it the first time I hung it up. Bags of water make very tempting targets for kids with blow guns.
So, I never got to try it. (Not my kids.)

dbhosttexas wrote:I have the much smaller, Zodi Hottap Instant Hot Water system. IT has a battery operated pump

I may have the same old zodi, with mini jumper clamps, never used it just acquiring trinkets and this set up has the shower head / Dishwashing sprayers in it with a switch on the other side of the lid, with A spare pump in case these two go out
Tim but not Taler's Elk camp set up.

Tony

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I boil on the stove. Since we mostly boondock, water is a valuable commodity. Plastic line attached to the 2.5 gallon carboy is plenty of water (for us anyway). Gravity system.

Since I'm in a truck camper, I've been looking at these engine heat exchanger style heaters. An ingenious fella could rig on in his tow vehicle.. Down side is you have to have a tank and drive (run the engine) to heat the water. Commercial units are expensive, $800 plus for 4-6 gallon setup and doesn't include lines to get the water back there. Keep thinking of a way to DIY it to something simpler (cost efficient).

large stainless steel mixing bowls

one to heat the water one for soapy water and one for rinse water

as the soapy water gets dirty the rinse bowl gets soapied and new rinse water is put in the old rinsed out soapy one

since stuff can be stored and travel in and around them they don't take up very much extra space

IIRC our set is riding in the center of a coiled water hose filled w/ stuff so in this mode they don't require any extra space

sw