12volt and propane shower

[rdemler]

I don't think I posted anything on this shower I installed in my trailer.So here it is. Eccotemp instant hot water heater with a 12 volt water pump that will pump water from a pond or bucket..Hook up propane tank and instant hot water shower..The pump,filter and heater cost 180.00 from amazon.

trailer shower.JPG (165 KiB) Viewed 2343 times

campsite2.JPG (164.89 KiB) Viewed 2343 times

[Bill n Robi]

What model number is your pump? I am planning on the same setup but found out my current pump doesn't push enough water for the 1.5L to work.

[rdemler]

look at the frequently bought together.That is the pump and filter I have also.
http://www.amazon.com/Eccotemp-L5-Porta ... uctDetails

[McDave]

Awesome! I'm doin' that, SOON!

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

Saves a ton of money on the shower pan, also leaves room to invite 3 friends to shower with you.

[rdemler]

Exactly!! Just can't shower in a crowded camp ground...

[daveesl77]

I have a similar unit, actually several over the years as they always end up going with the camper when I sell it. Mine is the Triton 5L and we love it. Something I did was switch out the D-cell batteries with the fake d-cell battery cases then installed a 12v-3.5v reducer inside one of the cases. These replace the d-cell and not only allow the heater to run off of house power, but also allowed me to wire in an on/off switch for the heater. I then only need a single water line, off = cold water, on= water temp I set. On mine the unit activates and run by pump pressure, so even a very cheap pump will run it.

On the showering in crowded campgrounds, no problem. I made a 9 ft2 shower/toilet shelter from the remains of a destroyed ez-up canopy. Excess water is collected in a floor pan I built.

dave

[Spotman]

Oh the ideas keep on coming. Very helpful from everyone here.

[daveesl77]

And after following the conversation on using a hot water heater for cabin heat, I did a test with my Triton and it is pretty amazing. Essentially I'm doing a side system using a non-pressurized holding tank. The cabin thermostat calls for heat and fires up the water pump. That in turn activates the water heater. The water is separated from the main water supply with a couple of solenoid valves. The heated water flows through an aluminum car heater core with a computer fan. As the water circulates, each trip through the water heater raises the temp dramatically. On my initial test the water temp went from 70-140 in about 90 seconds. I am adding in a high/low temp shutoff/startup, which activates that "fake d-cell switch system" I wrote about previously. This then shuts down the burner when high limit is reached, but the pump keeps running until the thermostat says that cabin temp is correct. If water temp drops below startup level while pumps are running the low limit restarts the burner. It is pretty simple and should be interesting this winter.

dave

[professorkx]

I don't think I posted anything on this shower I installed in my trailer.So here it is. Eccotemp instant hot water heater with a 12 volt water pump that will pump water from a pond or bucket..Hook up propane tank and instant hot water shower..The pump,filter and heater cost 180.00 from amazon.

trailer shower.JPG

Excellent idea on adding a pump to pull from a bucket. I have struggled with the water usage for showers using the instant hot water solution, which you have now solved. My wife will be happy, as she has been waiting for me to purchase this system.

Curious, has anyone adapted a small green 1 pound propane bottle to the instant hot water system? I don't want to have to carry an extra 20 pound tank, and have about 8 old 1 pound bottles that are easy to stash inside the trailer in nooks and crannies that I refill when I am down to just a few small bottles. We use these specifically for the Mr. Heater Buddy heater and outside two burner propane stove. Not sure how fast the water heater consumes fuel...

[Socal Tom]

I don't think I posted anything on this shower I installed in my trailer.So here it is. Eccotemp instant hot water heater with a 12 volt water pump that will pump water from a pond or bucket..Hook up propane tank and instant hot water shower..The pump,filter and heater cost 180.00 from amazon.

trailer shower.JPG

Excellent idea on adding a pump to pull from a bucket. I have struggled with the water usage for showers using the instant hot water solution, which you have now solved. My wife will be happy, as she has been waiting for me to purchase this system.

Curious, has anyone adapted a small green 1 pound propane bottle to the instant hot water system? I don't want to have to carry an extra 20 pound tank, and have about 8 old 1 pound bottles that are easy to stash inside the trailer in nooks and crannies that I refill when I am down to just a few small bottles. We use these specifically for the Mr. Heater Buddy heater and outside two burner propane stove. Not sure how fast the water heater consumes fuel...

I looked through the amazon questions for the triton 5L system. You can hook up an adapter to use the small tanks... but, it pulls the gas out so fast that the tanks freeze up. I would recommend looking into the smaller 5lb or 10lb tanks.
Tom

[lrrowe]

I don't think I posted anything on this shower I installed in my trailer.So here it is. Eccotemp instant hot water heater with a 12 volt water pump that will pump water from a pond or bucket..Hook up propane tank and instant hot water shower..The pump,filter and heater cost 180.00 from amazon.

trailer shower.JPG

Excellent idea on adding a pump to pull from a bucket. I have struggled with the water usage for showers using the instant hot water solution, which you have now solved. My wife will be happy, as she has been waiting for me to purchase this system.

Curious, has anyone adapted a small green 1 pound propane bottle to the instant hot water system? I don't want to have to carry an extra 20 pound tank, and have about 8 old 1 pound bottles that are easy to stash inside the trailer in nooks and crannies that I refill when I am down to just a few small bottles. We use these specifically for the Mr. Heater Buddy heater and outside two burner propane stove. Not sure how fast the water heater consumes fuel...

Professor,
Have you seen the system that was used in the GNAT post in viewtopic.php?f=42&t=57876&hilit=Gnat&start=30.
There are some interesting ideas used here, including a pump out system for the shower.

[daveesl77]

I've run my Triton off of the 1# tank before with an adapter. It works, but it only lasts about 15 minutes and it can freeze up. Not efficient, but for a quick fix it works.

dave