IN HOT WATER!

[Peter_n_Margaret]

I am currently building another expedition truck.
No propane was the first big fuel decision. Why? It is expensive fuel compared to other options, It is not always available in remote locations, it is heavy (when the container is included) and it is dangerous in confined areas.
Chosen fuels are:
1. Solar. Clean, silent, free. Planning 1.5kW. Cost of equipment has crashed in recent years. Stored in LiFeO4. Much of the electrical energy will be used in domestic appliances (which are cheap and efficient) as AC via inverters. This includes the inverter fridge freezer and induction cook top. Airconditioning is possible. Backed up by the vehicle alternator.
2. Diesel. It is a diesel vehicle, so it is there anyway. It is cheap and available. Used for central heating and hot water (if the solar is insufficient).

It is of note that we are prohibited from collecting firewood or having fires in many National Parks at all times and many other places during the fire season.
Cheers,
Peter

 

[Ozarker]

Diesel is $5.00 a gallon here, last time I paid prices like that for fuel was in the 70's in Germany.

I can still smell the diesel heater burning in our tent @ -20F at Ft. Drum in January.

If you have a diesel vehicle, using diesel is obviously the better choice. However, this is about trailers.

Which brings me to ask, does anyone use a solar water heater set up?

Those water bags seem to work well enough, can't really regulate the heat but if it gets too hot it can cool down.

Seems you'd need to plan ahead using solar hot water, time to put it out, wait and use it in a timely fashion.

 

[WSS]

I bought a coleman green instant water heater off of offerup a few years back for $150. It was kitted out with a lot of options. Even had a adaptor to use RV/BBQ tanks. The battery was dead, it was a oddish 6v sla type that was about $20. Works great. Can be used like a sink with it's swing faucet or have the optional shower head attached. We do not have a trailer, but I would imagine it could be integrated nicely on a trailer.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

I can still smell the diesel heater burning in our tent @ -20F at Ft. Drum in January.

Chinese diesel heaters are the air heater of choice for caravans (trailers) in Australia. If you can smell it there is something wrong with it. We never smell our hydronic unit.

Friend built this evacuated tube solar hot water unit for his truck. It was a failure. The heat losses in the circulation pipes were too big a % of the total.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[86scotty]

I have thought about it and I still might considering my van is a passenger model with rear coolant lines already in place for the rear heat, but for three things. First is price, those Isotemp units are steep. However, everything is steep these days and getting steeper. Second, I'll already be buying an inverter for the van. Third is space. I'm building a pretty small van (Ford RB) and the little Bosch 2.5 is pretty small.

I still haven't made up my mind though, thanks for the idea.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Be sure to install any gas heater so that there is no chance of carbon monoxide from the exhaust getting into the inside of the van.
It is deadly stuff.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

The only downside with the Bosch -- for the tanked version -- is there is a limit to how much hot water you will get in a given period of time. I'm currently living in an RV, with an electric hot water heater that holds 3 gallons. It's enough for a shower, or the dishes - but not both, and you need an hour between them for it to come back up to temperature. In a daily living situation this means you either time your showers, cooking, and cleaning around your hot water tank's capacity (no big deal, and our current practice), or you cannot have a morning shower and do the dishes after breakfast so you must pick which is most important to you.

This is why I lean more towards on-demand hot water, and I think Bosch do make on-demand electric hot water heaters though I have no idea how well they work; this other advantage of on-demand is it can reduce the weight you are carrying as you can heat up from any source and not have to haul around a ton of water in a tank. And finally, they only use energy when you need them, so if you are limited in your power, you can opt for a cold shower that day, whereas the tank water heaters use power non-stop (You can always turn them off, but practically, the scenario I'm imagining is leaving the heater running overnight for a nice hot morning shower only to find it's a cloudy overcast day and your solar isn't topping up quickly enough and you wasted your reserve energy on heating water all night)

 

[PCO6]

We've used an Eccotemp L5 for about the last 3 seasons. It works great and has been trouble free. We mount it temporarily on the outside of the trailer using parts from the mount we use for our kayaks. We remove the kayaks and shift parts of the rack to the side of the trailer for the water heater.

The heater and a 20 litre Jerry can are stored in the trailer when in transit. The water pump is permanently mounted in the trailer.

 

[WanderingBison]

I have thought about it and I still might considering my van is a passenger model with rear coolant lines already in place for the rear heat, but for three things. First is price, those Isotemp units are steep. However, everything is steep these days and getting steeper. Second, I'll already be buying an inverter for the van. Third is space. I'm building a pretty small van (Ford RB) and the little Bosch 2.5 is pretty small.

I still haven't made up my mind though, thanks for the idea.

I love my Isotemp Square - I was able to tuck it in into what would have mostly been lost space. Yes, it’s pricey but with the rear heat loop already there and the fact that you will have an inverter, its a no brainer, in my opinion anyways.

Also important to note that once heated with “waste” engine heat, the water remains hot for 16-18 hrs sometimes since the Isotemps are really a thermos bottle.

At full temp (engine coolant temp) the 4 gallons + produces way more than that since its mixed with cold and cooled down is plenty for hands, dishes or a navy shower.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Joe917]

If you want to be really fancy you could heat water in the trailer with engine heat by using hydraulic hoses and quick couplers.
And to be clear "engine heat " is during driving, nobody will heat water by idling an engine.

 

[4x4tripping]

Here I did collect links for different units for hot water:

Hot water and shower solutions for vanlife, overlanding and outdoor.

A hot shower from geyser, boiler or hot water tank during hunting, camping or Vanlife.. Generated by electric, gas, diesel or heat exchanger!

vanlife.4x4tripping.com

Guess I have to add/mention the evacuated tube solar hot water unit from peter ;-)

trippin

 

[WSS]

Way back in the mid 90's, I used to gold mine using a dredge. Usually in a cold river 15-30 feet deep. I tapped a 1/4npt on one of the pumps and plumbed it to copper tube that I wrapped around the muffler, then via vinyl tube routed with the airline and to my wetsuit with a 1/2 turn valve to regulate the warmth. Worked great to keep warm.

 

[Ozarker]

I've started buying stuff for my trailer build, that build is in another thread.

Insulation is the first order of business on the inside. I think I'm going the same route most of you have with a portable hot water heater and shower. No interior plumbing to mess with.

Now, which unit to buy, how critical is the GPM on these units, 1.5/1.6/2.0, does it matter?