Indoor or Outdoor Tankless Water Heater

[2bits]

I just spent a couple of educational hours searching, but it seems that all the stuff I am running into on the forum/eBay etc are "outdoor" tankless water heaters. I am going to put a shower in my next trailer and prefer to have a tankless water heater in a cabinet rather than hanging from a tree or bolted to the outside of the trailer. I would like to screw a water hose into the side of the trailer and be done with it. I have decided against Solar or alternate water delivery or storage ideas. Just looking for one of those wonderful units that I see everywhere but can be mounter indoors.

Anyone have suggestions or a link? Propane or Elec and at or under $200 would be great! (Experience with said item is even better!)

Thanks!

[GPW]

2bits, we just went through this tankless madness for my Home ... Frustrating and expensive .. Gas (some made to run on propane ) tankless units put out a LOT of Heat requiring Serious and expensive venting ... Electric units , even the small under the counter kitchen units draw BIG Amps ... Probably OK with a 50 amp RV hookup... All the units were fairly expensive ,not only the price , but also the proper installation. Good Luck ... I am going Solar ... Cheap and easy ...

I think Mad Jack posted a boat WH unit a while back ... May be something usable there ... MJ knows his stuff!!!

[aggie79]

Good topic Thomas! I'm interested what everyone says.

One option I've considered is to do something like what Woodsmoke (John) has done for his standy. John has an electric tank-type water heater that is freestanding outside of his tear. He connects up water and electricity after he sets up camp. The only downside of this is that it is a little more work to set up. But he doesn't have to worry about how to empty the tank in the winter and it doesn't take up space in the TTT.

Take care,
Tom

[madjack]

Thomas, under 200 bucks cannot be done in the manner you requested...interior gas units require 4" 2r3 wall vent piping...interior electric units require a DEDICATED 50amp service...the above are EXPENSIVE...the best bet for a built in camper unit is a regular RV style 6gal heater which can be had in both gas and electric or a hybrid of the two and run 3-400+bux(more or less) http://www.ducktec.com/itmidx17.htm
...the only reasonable alternative, that would come close to fitting your requirement is the EcoTemp type units, which hook to a 20# propane tank...Eddielbs has the top one listed and last I heard, both he and Anna were quite pleased with it...you could rig your plumbing connection kinda like you wanted, hang it on the side of the trailer and hook shore water and propane to it and be good to go for a little over 100bux...the second unit is for permanent, outdoor/open air mounting and the third one is for indoor mounting with a powered ventilation system........................
madjack

p.s. GPW...thanks for the flowers...always appreciated ......................mj

[Wobbly Wheels]

What about putting an extra heat exchanger and a circ pump in your tow vehicle's coolant line ?

You'd have to run the engine for hot water, but it wouldn't require modifying your build.

[bobhenry]

A year ago I was in a pissin' contest with our podunk town board about a water disconnect and went over a month disconnected. My next door neighbor is the tiny town treasure (and she was on my side) . She reported to me that it liked to drove all of the other board members crazy worrying how I was getting along without their precious water. I was taking eggbert my little cargo tear and going to the town park and filling up

I prominently displayed my porta potty tent in my side yard where we took care of business and showered. The hot water heater was 50 feet of black hose coupled to a 55 gallon drum via my 120 volt demand pump. The only problem was if you weren't careful you could scald yourself. I put on a ultra fine mist shower head and pointed it up so the water would cool slightly before hitting us. Made a great low tech water heater

[GPW]

I tried a black garden sprayer... Doesn't take but a few minutes in the sun to get to shower temp. or above ... CHEAP... Green !!!

[StandUpGuy]

I just spent a couple of educational hours searching, but it seems that all the stuff I am running into on the forum/eBay etc are "outdoor" tankless water heaters. I am going to put a shower in my next trailer and prefer to have a tankless water heater in a cabinet rather than hanging from a tree or bolted to the outside of the trailer. I would like to screw a water hose into the side of the trailer and be done with it. I have decided against Solar or alternate water delivery or storage ideas. Just looking for one of those wonderful units that I see everywhere but can be mounter indoors.

Anyone have suggestions or a link? Propane or Elec and at or under $200 would be great! (Experience with said item is even better!)

Thanks!

So a mini tank unit all electric like these will not fill the bill? The 2.5 gal. one is 14" x 14" x 10"


http://www.electricwaterheaters.com/ari ... eaters.htm

[StandUpGuy]

I would like to know myself if there is a problem with this kind of mini tank unit. This is the route I am planning to go with my shower unit. I know that myoung said there was no drain outlet to drain the system. that seems like a minor hurdle to overcome. Thes units are small so that is not a problem. Tank capacity is a concern but if you do not run the water very hot I suppose it is possible to get several minutes of water for a quick shower. They state the recharge is some 40 minutes so that is not too bad.

[StandUpGuy]

This one looks pretty nice too. 4 gallons. $168


http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/plumb ... paignId=WU

[2bits]

Thanks for the replies! Madjack, I like the way you cut to the chase. That helps alot and I guess I am going to have to rethink my ideas a little! Since it is just me the 6 gal tank heater might not be too bad, and I will give the outdoor mounted one another thought. I wonder if it would work inside a vented box on the tongue? I wouldn't mind putting huge vents in it, I just was thinking about covering it up just for the look of it...

[madjack]

T, having lived in a 22' travel trailer for 3 yrs(a long time ago) I can tell ya the 6gal units will work just fine...maybe you couldn't take a loooong soaking shower BUT, with a cutoff on the shower head handle, you can take a fairly long shower and certainly get all your bits and pieces clean...the portable unit might work in a tongue box but instead of relying on vents, I would make the top open to vent the unit...look at the pics closely and you can see it up against a wall, I've seen Eddie simply hang his from a tree!!!!!!!!
madjack

[b.bodemer]

The Eccotemp has a cover on the top. That's a plus compared to other units. I'm considering one to use and will mount it on a hand truck . The weight of the propane tank and the unit mounted just above should work nicely. Took the idea from here:
http://www.hotcampshowers.com/horse_was ... et_washers

I would purchase the smaller unit:
http://www.hotcampshowers.com/inc/sdetail/1257

If you don't have water spigot at your site you'll need a water pump.

Barb

[boomboomtulum]

Look at Bass Pro Shop on line. Just saw they have 3 models from 159.00 - 349.00. Maybe one of those could be used for what you want.
Just a thought.

Dave

[StandUpGuy]

Thanks for the replies! Madjack, I like the way you cut to the chase. That helps alot and I guess I am going to have to rethink my ideas a little! Since it is just me the 6 gal tank heater might not be too bad, and I will give the outdoor mounted one another thought. I wonder if it would work inside a vented box on the tongue? I wouldn't mind putting huge vents in it, I just was thinking about covering it up just for the look of it...

Oh I get it now. You have already been using a 6 gal tank and you would like to increase your capacity by a tankless unit. Well this is actually very interesting to me. I was thinking of using a 4.5 gal unit and now you have me wondering just how much of a shower is possible with that if you are thinking that a 6 gal is not enough.

How long of a shower do you get out of a 6 gal unit?