TheSamba.com :: View topic - Westfalia and custom onboard hot water systems

Mon Mar 30, 2020 6:34 pm

We hear it all the time, “Where do you shower?” Whether it’s from folks considering living in a van full-time, someone’s spouse who is on the fence with camping out of a van, the currently dirty traveler(you know who you are), or the just plain curious — hot showering is a sizzling topic that’s only getting hotter. The attempts out there to deliver a system that meets our goals have all fallen short in one way or another, so we have taken on the task to deliver a system that is safe, reliable, compact, attractive, modern, and robust. Through this process, we have become the North American distributor of the GLIND Hot Water System. While this system can be installed on any water cooled vessel, our main focus has been designing kits for our beloved Vanagons and we are excited to present and offer these to the Vanagon community.

What is the GLIND Hot Water System, you ask?
 GLIND is an Australian company that has an impressive history of supplying industries with hot water spanning from the Australian Air Force, to the National Parks, to Whittley Cruisers, to Toyota, and much more. GLIND has a proven record and has passed the greatest test of all — the test of time — 30+ years, in fact.

The heart of the system, the GLIND heat exchanger, is plumbed into the van’s heater line. A modern 12V marine pump draws water from the water tank -or outside source- through a separate line in the exchanger, effectively heating it to a comfortable temperature for use (the shower water does not mix with coolant.) No moving parts. No maintenance, other than standard winterizing.

For the vanagon we have designed 3 different kit options (Customizable kits also available)

The Westfalia Kit
The Custom Camper Kit
The Tintop Kit

The Westfalia kit -

This kit enables westy owners to install a hot water system that will provide hot water to the kitchen sink and to a shower hookup box on the outside of the van. The water in the westy tank can be heated with the flip of a switch while driving, using a digital temperature controller and a motorized valve. Mounted directly into dash…

Exciting update! We have teamed up with another Vanagon small business DeFunk3D to bring you this mount system for the temp controller NO DRILLING INTO DASH!

A 1 gallon per minute pressure sensing pump will circulate water through the Glind heat exchanger and heat the tank to a preset temperature, all while you drive to camp/surf/work etc. A thermostatic mixing valve(Anti-Scald valve) is added to the system to prevent the chance of scalding. Outside the van, you can open the hookup box, flip the switch and water will come out for showers, washing hands, filling dog bowls, rinsing off feet, kids, dogs, the van etc.

Turn on the sink faucet and enjoy hot water there as well.

We recommend insulating the water tank for longer lasting hot water. If the tank is cold, you are also able to start the van, idle or drive for a little bit and once the engine is hot, you can turn on the sink or shower port and hot water will flow in an “on demand” style without the need to heat the tank.

Installation instructions included.

Custom Camper kit -

The Custom camper kit is very similar to the Westfalia kit except it is modeled for vans without the westy water tank. This uses a 45L tank made by Riemo that mounts under the van. This kit includes a level sensor and gauge for the water tank. The hookup box can be installed anywhere and acts as a water OUTLET for showers, sprayers etc- and with the flip of a switch now acts as a water INLET for filling the tank. The rest of the system functions in the same way as the westy kit above.

Installation instructions included.

TinTop kit -

This universal kit is for folks without onboard tanks or for those who want the simple and cost effective. Essentially, the Glind, a pump, and the ‘temper’ mixing valve live under the van and there are quick connects for INLET and OUTLET wherever is convenient for your use. Water can then be drawn through the system using a water jug, jerry can, river, stream, etc and heated while the engine is hot. Hot water for showers/ clean up at your fingertips. Perfect for all vehicles.
Installation instructions included.

Customizable kits are available as well.

So now to answer the opening question, "where do I shower????" Anywhere 8)

(Original post has been edited for simplicity, more to come)

Mon Mar 30, 2020 8:37 pm

Looks great! When are you set up to start selling kits or the key parts?

Mon Mar 30, 2020 8:54 pm

this is awesome. Very seamless system

Mon Mar 30, 2020 9:14 pm

Neato! Thanks for the detailed post.

Mon Mar 30, 2020 9:49 pm

Thanks for the kind words. It's all a labor of love, we all know that.

I have some more info I will add soon:
Designs specifically for the Euro Campers water tank
Designs for using jerry cans
and a kit I made for collecting water from natural sources ie rivers lakes etc.

Quote: When are you set up to start selling kits or the key parts?

I can put kits together pretty easily - its the "universal" kit that is challenging. Using the "modes" I think will be helpful. I could put together kits for each mode and offer them. If anyone is interested, please email me at [email protected] for now.

Tue Mar 31, 2020 7:58 am

I put a pot on the stove . . .

Tue Mar 31, 2020 8:51 am

Great write up!

Tue Mar 31, 2020 8:51 am

That looks like a great heating system. I opted for an insulated Calorifier water tank to store a few gallons of hot water.

Hot water at the tap is really nice!

Tue Mar 31, 2020 3:59 pm

Nice set up!

I've sometimes thought of doing something similar by coiling soft copper tubing around one of the fore-to-aft coolant pipes. Run one end into the water tank and the other to a pump and second faucet. The more times you coil it, the better the heat transfer and the higher the temperature.

What stopped me was having to run the engine to make the heat transfer work. I camp for weeks without starting the engine at all, and that would be my primary use.

If you wanted an onboard steam cleaner, you could wrap the copper around an exhaust header! The possibilities are endless.

Tue Mar 31, 2020 6:53 pm

Californio wrote:

If you wanted an onboard steam cleaner, you could wrap the copper around an exhaust header! The possibilities are endless.

There's nothing like leftover lasagna warmed up on the exhaust manifold of a 350 ci Caprice Classic cab).

Wed Apr 01, 2020 6:40 am

This is really nice. Any timeframe when you will start selling these in USA?

Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:46 am

Interesting, But 1st thing in the morning you have to go for a drive to warm up the tank..
I also like to use the tank water for drinking and filling up camel backs..

I think the on demand like Go-Shower would work better for me..

Pretty cool though..

Wed Apr 01, 2020 2:33 pm

^ Yeah its a totally different use cases. If I was full time in my van this is something I'd consider. However as a weekend warrior, a propane water heater would be fine with me.

Wed Apr 01, 2020 4:17 pm

Syncro Jael wrote: That looks like a great heating system. I opted for an insulated Calorifier water tank to store a few gallons of hot water.

Hot water at the tap is really nice!

Agreed! It adds quite the homey feeling to the van. Especially on long trips.

Wed Apr 01, 2020 4:22 pm

Californio wrote: Nice set up!

I've sometimes thought of doing something similar by coiling soft copper tubing around one of the fore-to-aft coolant pipes. Run one end into the water tank and the other to a pump and second faucet. The more times you coil it, the better the heat transfer and the higher the temperature.

What stopped me was having to run the engine to make the heat transfer work. I camp for weeks without starting the engine at all, and that would be my primary use.

If you wanted an onboard steam cleaner, you could wrap the copper around an exhaust header! The possibilities are endless.

Sounds like our brains went to many of the same places :lol:

As far as running the motor when you are parked up for a while, we have found that the days we want to shower we plan a little road adventure to get the water hot- and it has worked well. Or like someone commented above, can warm a pot on the stove for dishes.

On the next project inline I’m doing the full system and adding a solar heat exchanger for this same reason. When parked for a while, the solar tube can heat up and then circulate to the tank once it reaches temp. So essentially in the summer the solar exchanger makes it so the engine will never need started. I’m pretty excited to test that one out. Plus it will add 4-5 gallon more capacity to the whole system.

Wed Apr 01, 2020 4:24 pm

SyncroChrick wrote: This is really nice. Any timeframe when you will start selling these in USA?

I can put a kit together for any of these setups today! Just let me know which “mode” you are interested in. Can email me [email protected]

Wed Apr 01, 2020 4:31 pm

targabill wrote: Interesting, But 1st thing in the morning you have to go for a drive to warm up the tank..
I also like to use the tank water for drinking and filling up camel backs..

I think the on demand like Go-Shower would work better for me..

Pretty cool though..

Each system has its pros and cons. I know Mike at GoShower and we have had chats about our ideas before we both came up with any kits. He’s a great guy. And for many, his kit will be fantastic.

Personally, I don’t want to carry an on demand water heater and extra propane. Which is one of the biggest pros to an exchanger setup is it’s all installed and ready to go. It’s compact and out of the way.

I also generally don’t recommend drinking out of the Westy Tank. To each their own but old plastic isn’t very appealing to many. We carry our drinking water separate. So in that case, there is never a time I wish the water to be cold, because I have cold water elsewhere.

Wed Apr 01, 2020 4:39 pm

Some visual in action:

We have lots of footage but haven’t found the time to edit- yet!

Sat Apr 04, 2020 12:51 pm

How do you refill the water tank? The water inlet is now an outlet?

Sat Apr 04, 2020 1:33 pm

mreuter wrote: How do you refill the water tank? The water inlet is now an outlet?

Good question- on a westy, it is the city water port that is used, so the fill port is still there and usable.

On custom non westy builds, I have the outlet and the fill inlet combined into the one hookup. The switch at the box is an ON OFF ON DPDT switch. So when the switch is in the UP position water comes out (for shower, sprayer, washing hands, filling dog bowl etc) MIDDLE is OFF and DOWN is to fill the tank. It’s pretty cool what one switch is capable of doing.