Propane Hot Water Heater

[jjohnsonphx]

Anyone ever use one of these propane hot water heaters from Camp Chef? I found it as cheap as $104.00 on the web, but being this inexpensive I'm not sure what the quality is.


http://www.campchef.com/triton-hot-water-heater.html
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camp-Chef-Triton-Hot-Water-On-Demand/10363535

 

[jim65wagon]

It works pretty well. The shower head is a bit rinky-dink, lightweight and fussy to shut off. We plan on replacing ours with some kind of actual shutoff valve and a better quality shower head. It is the quickest way to heat water for showers or dishes that I've found. If you're not careful it can be a water hog. It is miles better than the warm trickle of water from the Zodi we had.


IMG_2746 by jim65wagon, on Flickr

 

[bob91yj]

Just can't help myself...An old plumber friend of mine goes into a coniption fit when he hears someone say "hot water heater" it's a cold water heater, if it was already hot wouldn't need the heater!:sombrero:

I've got the Coleman "on demand", it works great, but it's pricey.

 

[Engineer Guy]

Flash Heater Improvements

These Triton Heaters get rave Reviews. I've used an Electric Flash Heater I installed in a House, and have used plenty of such Heaters in Worldwide Travels. Big Wire and 40 Amp Circuit Breakers @ 230 VAC [208 VAC actually leg-to-leg]. Flash Heaters are how the World heats water. The 240 VAC types at Scottish and Campgrounds fed by Coins in the Shower with you kinda weird me out, but they're on GFIs obviously.

A handy way to cut flow is put a Nylon Disc in either end of the Shower Hose. Drill a small hole in it. Check flow. Increase the hole size until you like the flow/water conservation tradeoff. This is how Commercial Shower Heads are made to be 'low flow'.

Another trick is use a nice, hard-mounted [immovable], Ball Valve w/Handle. You can mark Handle positions relating to flow - 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock - and so on. Then, you can get back to those settings repeatably.

One Reviewer stuck the Pump intake in a 55 Gallon Drum of water and the whole Hunter's Camp could Shower up nonstop. Intake from a Stream should work, too. Just don't drink the Water; this is how much of the World showers. That is, potable Water is kept separate from Drinking Water.

Any Flash Heater I've seen has an internal flow Sensor that has to see some minimum flow before it turns on. So, too small a flow won't trip that Sensor to start the Heat Cycle. Just something to be aware of when playing with flow-reducing solutions...

 

[jjohnsonphx]

This is great news. I've seen it at Walmart for about $130. I think I'll pick one up. I want to mount it inside my truck after my Flip-Pac comes in. The washers are a good idea to limit the flow of water. Does anyone have any ideas or concerns about mounting it inside an enclosed area? Does this unit need an aluminum back plate to keep the truck safe? How about a propane detector? Any ideas would be appreciated.

Yea, cold water heater would be more accurate.

 

[jim65wagon]

This is great news. I've seen it at Walmart for about $130. I think I'll pick one up. I want to mount it inside my truck after my Flip-Pac comes in. The washers are a good idea to limit the flow of water. Does anyone have any ideas or concerns about mounting it inside an enclosed area? Does this unit need an aluminum back plate to keep the truck safe? How about a propane detector? Any ideas would be appreciated.

Yea, cold water heater would be more accurate.

My concerns inside would be 1) fire; the unit is well insulated around the sides (that was our initial concern with hanging it off the rack - the back doesn't get hot though) the heat from the propane vents upward; and B) did I mention fire? I don't think having a burning object inside a canvas living area is a good idea!

 

[teotwaki]

It works pretty well. The shower head is a bit rinky-dink, lightweight and fussy to shut off. We plan on replacing ours with some kind of actual shutoff valve and a better quality shower head. It is the quickest way to heat water for showers or dishes that I've found. If you're not careful it can be a water hog. It is miles better than the warm trickle of water from the Zodi we had.

Did you use gravity feed for the water or a pump?

EDIT:

Looks like this is the answer in your thread

 

[pods8]

Does anyone have any ideas or concerns about mounting it inside an enclosed area?

The exhaust has to be vented somewhere obviously...

 

[teotwaki]

Anyone ever use one of these propane hot water heaters from Camp Chef? I found it as cheap as $104.00 on the web, but being this inexpensive I'm not sure what the quality is.

View attachment 53947
http://www.campchef.com/triton-hot-water-heater.html
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camp-Chef-Triton-Hot-Water-On-Demand/10363535

Where was it $104? On Amazon it is $122 with free shipping

 

[jjohnsonphx]

Found it for 106 here http://www.productsthatsave.com/ptsl5.html

I can't find the 104 price today. But even at 122 I think that is a good price.

Would a dryer vent work or would you use something thicker like stove pipe?

 

[teotwaki]

Found it for 106 here http://www.productsthatsave.com/ptsl5.html

I can't find the 104 price today. But even at 122 I think that is a good price.

Would a dryer vent work or would you use something thicker like stove pipe?

looks a bit different. Maybe an older model and a different label?

 

[jjohnsonphx]

Maybe that one is a copy. I think I'm going to get it from Walmart.

 

[pods8]

Would a dryer vent work or would you use something thicker like stove pipe?

You'll probably need to find out the exhaust temps, whether the unit can handle any back pressure on the exhaust, etc. for you to determine if it'll safely operated vented in your proposed fashion.

 

[bat]

I am not going to say you can't use a dryer vent but the whole top is open for exhaust.

 

[locrwln]

Is the pump decent in those? I am really liking this setup. I have a Zodi and it has pretty much sucked the whole time and because it was a pain to use, it saw little use before it broke.

Jack