We use a Mr. Heater BOSS-XCW20. We store it inside in a tub. We can get 4 showers out of a 7 gallon jug, and that is not skimping. We take the tub used for storage and fill it with water, this way we can cycle it a few times by putting the shower head in the tub until the water is nice and hot. We get hot showers even with ice cold water. Depending on where we are we either set up the Lightspeed Outdoors Xtra Wide Quick Set Up Privacy Tent or just let it hang out between the Aluminess boxes in the rear. Either way we stand on a bamboo mat. Also, the tent makes a handy "garage" when you are staying a few days and want to keep the clutter out of the van.
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2010 Ford EB350 Sportsmobile/UJoint
Couple installs, mine on sidewall, and another. Ecotemp. Not much heat vented during shower, eliminated shield and have shelf in place on top . Temp control not as good as hot water tank, but you aren't dragging the hot water around.
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Pac NW and warmer places
1995 E250 EB 5.8 2WD on to a new owner
2006 E350 EB Elect Top 2WD
I bought a different heater than everyone else (Camplux 6L), and on the bottom there's a small tube that discharges a little bit of water each time I shut off the water flow with the shower handle switch. Does the Ecotemp not have this, or are you connecting this to a drain somehow? I figure I can probably just attach a hose and run it somewhere to drain, but I haven't seen this mentioned by anyone.
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2011 Ford E350 EB Quigley 4x4 'PUPLGUK' | V10 Gas | Opt Overland Pop Top | GBS LiFeMnPO4 100Ah
I bought a different heater than everyone else (Camplux 6L), and on the bottom there's a small tube that discharges a little bit of water each time I shut off the water flow with the shower handle switch. Does the Ecotemp not have this, or are you connecting this to a drain somehow? I figure I can probably just attach a hose and run it somewhere to drain, but I haven't seen this mentioned by anyone.
Eccotemp does not have a drain that weeps...you can drain it, but have to open the output/input
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Pac NW and warmer places
1995 E250 EB 5.8 2WD on to a new owner
2006 E350 EB Elect Top 2WD
Couple installs, mine on sidewall, and another. Ecotemp. Not much heat vented during shower, eliminated shield and have shelf in place on top . Temp control not as good as hot water tank, but you aren't dragging the hot water around.
MooreFC, that bottom pic is my install on my old SMB Rusty. Do you know who has it now or did you just link the pic? Just curious.
FYI, I did not keep that setup for long due to the finicky nature or that HWH. I've heard they have improved but we could never get reliable hot water with it. It was either scalding or cold.
Also, even though I drained it, some trapped water froze in it and split a line inside somewhere. I took it apart to investigate and was blown away at how chinzy that thing was made inside. The piping was paper thin. Anyway, it was an early one. Hopefully there are better made ones now.
A couple of things to note. I purchased a used RS a few years ago, thinking that it would be a great addition to the rig, mounted it up on the pop top roof rack and used it on a trip down to Baja 3 years ago, I have sold it since. Probably not what you want to hear, and it may work for you a bit better. For me, the concept turned out to be better than practical use.
It worked fairly well, but only if conditions are ideal. As several have mentioned, you need to be in a warm place to start with plenty of solar gain and you need to use it before the sun goes down, as aluminum is not a good thermal insulator and the water would cool off quickly as ambient temps dropped.
As 1der pointed out of doing a practical test, I found it was a PITA to fill. I had to climb up on the roof rack dragging a hose, or other water vessel to fill it, if a hose was not available. They also don’t hold pressure for very long before needing more, so I’d have to climb back up to do that. Some have wired up an electric pump, but I’d have to make sure to pressurize before raising the pop top or I’d have to lower it back down if I wanted to shower. You can also use it as a gravitational tank, but you have to take off the fill cap to introduce air if you wanted to use it, again for me, not an easy task with the pop top.
My finding-A regular solar shower bag does the same thing, is cheaper and easier to use.
I’ve had an eccotemp L5 for several years, a little finicky on temp, but it works great once you have it dialed in. I recently integrated it into my back door and can plum it into my water tank with a quick connect fitting I added and hook it up to a little 5lb propane tank when needed.
Sorry for the string of less than favorable reviews, I had high hopes for it too. You can always give it go, sell it if it doesn’t work out.
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'03 Ford E350 7.3L Diesel
(de)SMB'd Custom RB-50
Quigley 4X4 w/Deavers & Agile Offroad's R.I.P. package
CCV High Profile Pop Top
MooreFC, that bottom pic is my install on my old SMB Rusty. Do you know who has it now or did you just link the pic? Just curious.
FYI, I did not keep that setup for long due to the finicky nature or that HWH. I've heard they have improved but we could never get reliable hot water with it. It was either scalding or cold.
Also, even though I drained it, some trapped water froze in it and split a line inside somewhere. I took it apart to investigate and was blown away at how chinzy that thing was made inside. The piping was paper thin. Anyway, it was an early one. Hopefully there are better made ones now.
I believe you posted the pic, and I had copied it. I thought the install was pretty snug. Water balance is a little tricky at first to balance flow and temp. That is the nice thing about a hot water tank....but you end up dragging that "dedicated" water and volume around. Mine has never frozen inside, but that is a potential problem with any water system. For a little over $100 the unit is pretty impressive and has to be inexpensively made...always trades.....I used to have a suburban water heater, various solar units....Oh and coming in from a cold mtn bike ride on a cloudy cold day can cure one of passive and the boil water on the stove/pour into passive system...On the other hand, passive in Utah can be scalding as well
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Pac NW and warmer places
1995 E250 EB 5.8 2WD on to a new owner
2006 E350 EB Elect Top 2WD
I chose the Camplux 6L over the Ecotemp because it has a small digital display you can use to set the water temp (plus it has a bit more BTU). Perhaps a bit gimmicky, but the price was about the same. I'm not sure how (or whether) it affects the temperature regulation, but it makes it super easy to just dial up my desired temp at a given flow. I haven't mounted it permanently in the van yet though, so I can't speak to how well it drains when dealing with freezing temps.
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2011 Ford E350 EB Quigley 4x4 'PUPLGUK' | V10 Gas | Opt Overland Pop Top | GBS LiFeMnPO4 100Ah
I use a Camplux as well. I originally wanted to go with the Road shower but ended up deciding against it due to the weight when full making the van more top heavy. The last thing I want to worry about when off road is tipping over. Also, I want hot showers, not warm shower.
Nice thing about the camplux is you can make it more portable so people don't have to shower near camp. I just bring a propane tank and battery buddy and we can take the whole setup down to a creek and just pump water out of that and heat it up for a shower. If we aren't camping near water I just bring an extra 5 gallon jug of water which is enough for my wife, baby and I for the weekend to to shower at least once each.
I also just bought an adapter so it runs off of the smaller green 1lb propane cans so that I don't have to transport the 20lb one if it is a short weekend trip. I am working on a more contained box to house everything so it is easier to pack and transport.
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