Current HWH options/opinions?

[kbeefy]

Originally Posted by 1der

I have not bothered to hook up the available motor assist loop due to primarily due brining very hot pressurized coolant into the cabin.

I have installed aftermarket heaters and have no issues with a coolant loop into the cabin.

Originally Posted by 1der

Without some type of additional water pump (with ability to handle hot water) a true recirculation system would not be possible, as far as I can see.

I think recirculation can be done with a valve just before the point of use and a return line to the fresh water storage tank. I recently watched a video where someone had done this and incorporated a sprinkler control valve and a thermostatically controlled relay. No additional pump required if you already have an on-demand pump in the system.


The control and valving could be as simple or complex as you wanted to make it.



As a side benefit this would also add heat to the fresh water tank, possibly preventing freezing.

[b. rock]

Originally Posted by kbeefy

....
As a side benefit this would also add heat to the fresh water tank, possibly preventing freezing.

I was actually just having that thought too. But those stick on resistive heaters are supposedly decently effective.

[kbeefy]

Originally Posted by b. rock

I was actually just having that thought too. But those stick on resistive heaters are supposedly decently effective.

They work great, I put them on all my diesels oil pans. Plug them into a timer that comes on 4hrs before a cold start, it's like they were just running.
But they are electric. The cabin heater would draw far less electricity and make it's heat from burning diesel.


I have a couple of those resistive heaters (12v) for a lithium battery enclosure. The battery doesn't have a low temp cuttoff so that was the 'hack' way to prevent battery damage. I usually just make sure the battery is disconnected when it gets cold, I don't camp in the winter anyways. At least not anywhere that has winter weather.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by kbeefy

That was my original plan, but now b. rock has me thinking about an Espar.
For alot less money I might try one of these...


https://www.ebay.com/itm/26631700261...3Avlp_homepage







It's a pretty big electric load, I would think. 100w heating element x 12 hrs = almost 100A.


I just reread your message, your just running it while driving, right? That would be fine then, but I'd be curious about how warm it is in the morning.

No, not nearly. I used a 300w DC element which pulls just under 30 amps.

As for the Ebay listing above I have no experience with that type of thing.

[h.grenade]

For a true 12DC HWH a lot of Aus overlanders use the Duoetto. Power draw is very low (25 amps) but its pretty small (2.5g). Good enough for dishes and rinsing off though. I plan to switch it while driving right before we get to camp so that most of the power comes from the alternator charge. Should have hot water for the night at least.

https://ausj.com.au/products/duoetto...r-10l-12v-240v

[kbeefy]

Originally Posted by h.grenade

For a true 12DC HWH a lot of Aus overlanders use the Duoetto. Power draw is very low (25 amps) but its pretty small (2.5g). Good enough for dishes and rinsing off though. I plan to switch it while driving right before we get to camp so that most of the power comes from the alternator charge. Should have hot water for the night at least.

https://ausj.com.au/products/duoetto...r-10l-12v-240v

I guess I'm just frugal thinking that 25-30A draw is excessive. I only have 200aH of lithium and 400w of solar, so I guess I'm not 'all in' as others are. I still don't see electric heaters as plausible boondocking solutions.


I'm sure solar works better in AU than here, so that may be the deal breaker....

[1der]

A 25-30A (300 watts/12vdc) draw on a 200Ah Lith bank is not excessive in terms of current. When the current draw goes on for nearly 3 hrs to heat the 4 gals of water from 55F to 130F then it becomes excessive. A related question is how to get the 100A back into the battery bank for the next heating cycle time.

Water temp rise calculator:
https://www.easycalculation.com/phys...calculator.php

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by kbeefy

I guess I'm just frugal thinking that 25-30A draw is excessive. I only have 200aH of lithium and 400w of solar, so I guess I'm not 'all in' as others are. I still don't see electric heaters as plausible boondocking solutions.


I'm sure solar works better in AU than here, so that may be the deal breaker....

I'm certainly not trying to talk you in to an electric HWH. It's what I wanted but I do not do any extended boondocking.

You are though, in my opinion, all in on power setup. 200ah and especially 400 watts solar is a pretty strong setup. A vast majority of Sportsmobiles out in the wild were spec'd with 200ah batteries and NO solar and they've worked for people just find for a long time, and these were lead acid batteries to boot. Your 400w of solar and lithium battery greatly improves on that. I did a 300ah lithium but only because I could and I went with a bargain Amazon Li battery. I have no solar yet but future plans are about 300w.

[kbeefy]

I started with 100aH of Lead Acid and the vehicle alternator, that was fine for just keeping the fridge going a few days until it got really hot outside.
I made the mistake of camping where it was over 90 and my fridge ran 24 hours a day, then the Lead Acid batt only lasted 1 day.


Then I added 300w solar, and everything was great when it was sunny...
Shoulder season camping running the diesel cabin heater I was back to 1 day.
So, bigger and better, right?

[basssears]

I've had nothing but happy experiences with the small, tanked propane hot water heater that came installed in my Sportsmobile. Simple, always hot, only fiddling is to turn it on when you get to camp and you're done. Never measured propane consumption but doesn't seem much. -- Bass