On Demand water heater

[delta9007]

Anybody using one of these? http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/eccotemp-portable-tankless-water-heater/37786
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'89 2wd, 4spd, 2.1 Westfalia.

[luVWagn]

Some good info in these threads - not EccoTemp specific, but the search tool occasionally works

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=526171&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
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'91 Syncro 16 Reimo Hightop Conversion, eTDI

[thatvwbusguy]

The EccoTemp products are pretty good, but you need city water or a really strong 12V pump to run them. If you always stay in campgrounds with power and water hookups, this shouldn't be a problem, but that type of campground usually has shower houses available as well.

For hot water on demand without city water, check out the Zodi products at http://www.zodi.com. They make a range of propane water heaters that use a small pump powered by four D-Cell batteries. You can often find basic units on sale for $100.00 or less. I picked up a single burner #6185 model for $89.00 shipped a couple years back and it works well for showering and washing dishes.
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Jay Brown
'85 Zetec Westfalia
Newmarket, NH


If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

[4x4BNB]

[delta9007]

Thanks for the responses.

Judging by the specs I thought the OE pump would be sufficient, no?
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'89 2wd, 4spd, 2.1 Westfalia.

[thatvwbusguy]

From www.eccotemp.com:

"The ideal operating range for the Eccotemp L5 portable tankless water heater is 20~80 PSI. The system also works great on modified water systems such as a 12 volt pump. The L5 will offer a 30 to 35 degree rise at 1.3 gallons per minute."

Figuring out how to get 20PSI plus with a 12V pump at the proper flow rate could be kinda tricky when you factor in restriction from the shower head and pump head pressure from water source etc. I would probably try to shoot for the low end of the flow range to allow for enough heat exchange time to get water output around 110-120F.

I don't think the OE pump would even come close to what you would need. Maybe an email to EccoTemp would yield some pump recommendations.
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Jay Brown
'85 Zetec Westfalia
Newmarket, NH


If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

[One more islander...]

We used to have a hot-water heater like this, a Paloma brand, in our sailboat, for heating the water in the head (bathroom) for a shower and the handbasin.

It used a 12V Jabsco pump. The pump system, which served for both cold and hot water, had a small pressure tank so that it didn't continuously cycle when you were running the water.

Similar pump to this:

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-pumps-water/12-volt-electric-water-pumps.htm

Accumulator tank:

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-pumps-water/water-pump-tank.htm

Worked well enough, but in those days, the tankless heaters had a piezo-electric spark and a pilot flame (kind of like the Westy refrigerator). We eventually got rid of the system and went with a solar shower, just because it seemed too complicated for the advantage gained and I hated leaving the pilot flame on. We went to hand and/or footpumps for the head and galley sinks, and a good hot kettle-full of water when it wasn't solar shower season, and we weren't near a washroom with a shower.

I suspect the same would be true in the Westy. The system would cost quite a bit, take a fair bit of room, require a separate 12V pump and probably a pressure tank, and how often would you use it? Unless you were living in your Westy and boondocking, I think it would be overkill.

If you decided to install one, note this comment in one of the EccoTemp reviews:

"Make sure to plumb this thing outside like I did if your going to use it as a permanent fix because the exhaust is smelly and deadly." It's true!

---
Kathy

[Jon_slider]

[delta9007]

Ah, there we go, very helpful/informative. Thank you Basil
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'89 2wd, 4spd, 2.1 Westfalia.

[dubbified]

I have a west marine 28 gallon waterbag, a 1.1 gpm automatic sensing pump, and the eccotemp.

Works like a champ.

The nice thing about the Eccotemp, fires right up, turns right on/off when there is/is not flow. The zodi does not do that.

ALso, the eccotemp is adjustable flow/flame, and I've seen zodis, and I felt the eccotemp was a better answer.

The Zodi has its application, and is a good device as well.

To me, its a small hot air baloon sorta heater, the open element, requirement of the connection and setup were not needed with the eccotemp.

Take a look at the videos for each on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmqAM6azSm8

that is the eccotemp in action.

next, the Zodi single and double.

To me, there is really no comparison to a eccotemp, and reason i went that route.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYLCscbPGkE

[4x4BNB]

do you think that you can use the ecotemp with the smaller, green, propane bottles?

[shepherdsond]

I purchased a Zodi single stovetop unit while it was on sale. I used it once, it sort of worked but I had to recycle the water through the heater to get it hot enough. Since then (3-4 years ago) it has stayed in my basement. It's just too much to carry arround and too much effort to set up for the pay back for me (heating water in a kettle and pouring into a solar shower is much simpler if you want to have a hot shower but usualy I just go cold).The Eccotemp seems more plug and play especialy when setup like Cvbill's.
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87 Syncro Hightop Camper
3 knobs + solid shaft
2.2 Phase II Subaru
Hi-Top build thread:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=534517

[madspaniard]

[Jon_slider]

> do you think that you can use the ecotemp with the smaller, green, propane bottles?

yes, if you buy the necessary adapter

it could give you about 15 showers, 4 minutes long, 2 gallons each, so 30 gallons of water needed.

Keep in mind the Ecotemp relies on a hose connected to street pressure, or you must also buy some kind of pump to push water through the unit.

If you use a Westy onboard water tank, you could get about 6 showers worth of water

As an alternative, consider
Hot Jugz
http://www.hotjugz.com/

Link

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My Soapboxes: Inflation; Handling; Gearing; Decoupling; Swepco

[Timwhy]

Thinking about getting one of these units to take along on a week long trip in Aug. Those that have the Zodi units
can you tell me about the shower head? Does it shut off and if it does shut off will it also turn off the pump or is that
constantly running?

Also would it truly convert to 12 volt or is that an assumption? I would like to have it be 12 volt or would I need
to buy another pump and make my own switch to shut off the water flow. What I am thinking is, I would like to
use a 7 gallon Aquatainer and be able to keep that somewhat enclosed as the water source with the ability to
recycle the water to get it to shower temperature.
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'15 Audi A3 Quattro
'09 VW Tiguan (dead)
'87 VW Westy
'91 Tin Top
'90 Cabby
What the Westy wants the Westy GETS


http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=Timwhy&show_results=summary

http://www.youtube.com/user/TIMWHY2?feature=mhee

[joseph928]

Had a zodi sold it ,got warm not hot and the shower head does not shut off. You need water flowing to keep it from over heating. So what did I do- got a Coleman unit it is all in one . It cost more then the zodi but it works, it can make hot water for tea to that's hot! Used it at BBB it was great. Will use it in Moab in May. You get what you pay for. The zodi uses 4 d batters so that is like 6 volts you would need an adapter. So I would say no for 12 volt use. able Hot Water on Demand 5 gal. Portable Water Heater


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1987 syncro westy tin top sun roof , GW2.3, rear locker, decoupler, Gary Lee tire rack & winch mount, lift, south african grill, big brakes , rhein alloy ,15 BFG AT, Fiamma 10 foot awning ,140 watt rear 85 watt front solar , mppt, truckfridge, automatic fire extinguishing system, tencent oil cooler, And a RMW SS exhaust! - 1971 bug convertible 1776 engine- 2010 Subaru turbo - 1993 Toyota 4x4 truck - 1999 Harley 95 CI, big bore, Andrews cams . Also 80-84- vans. Stock 65 sunroof bug.

[whynotvw]

I just got awesome portable shower heater today. I'll take some photos tomorrow and post it. The name is Aquacube Basecamp by Mr. heater. I tried it today on my driveway. WoW is the word. No more cold shower when warm shower is not available. Amazon review was all 5 stars by 7 reviews. Now I see why. The lowest price I found was at Emergency Essentials for $319.

[vweggie]

Can anyone attest as to how hot the water is from their portable heaters? Some of them say the water is warm enough for coffee or tea. I'm looking for a portable system that can heat water up to 190F.
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1990 Multivan 2.1 AT