New Mr Heater LP Hot Water Heater

[BlueCruiser88]

Thats a good question as I am wondering the same thing myself. I am going to be using a front runner water can but I am also using some canvas buckets (easier to store) for water supply for the shower. I fly back into Sacramento tuesday evening and will take measurements of the pump unless someone beats me to it.

[orionkhan]

Same question...from the video it looks like it absolutely would fit but would be nice to confirm.

hmm...I dunno. In the video when the guys is showing the "This Side Up" angle of the pump, it looks kinda beefy. The reliance aqua-tainer opening is about 2 3/8 inches wide. It would be great if it did fit. I picked up an extra one at a garage sale for basically nothing. I guess I could hunt down a container with a larger opening if it ends up being to big.

Edit:
Looking at this video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1be1X9i-oDU )of a Coleman water heater, it looks like the same pump (at about 2:10 mark in the video). That pump just fits inside Reliance aqua-tainer.

[BlueCruiser88]

Sorry this info took so long to get to you guys. Lots of new toys came in the mail so I was busy messing with those.

The dimensions for the aquacube are as follows: And please note, nothing on the packaging or anything else says "mr.heater" it is in fact made or at least badged by Basecamp products.

Bag size: 19 1/2 wide 10 1/2 deep 13 3/4 tall

Pump head (the thing you submerge) 2 1/2 wide. See pics for other measurements

Heating unit: 13 1/2 high 16" deep 10 1/2 wide approx 23lbs...with power supply, bag, hoses etc approx 34lbs

I ran the pump through a small 3 gallon collapsible bucket I found at camping world. It took 3 min 22 seconds to pump most of the water out with the exception of about 1" so the pump would not suck air.

I ran the unit on its built in battery power only, although I would imagine similar pressure results with 12v or 110 power. I can test that later if you guys like. *edit* Unit apears to pump the same using 110v house current.

My impressions of the unit are very good so far. It is mostly stainless steel and plastic with a sort of "roll bar" grab handle which serves to carry the unit and protect the lp bottle you screw into the regulator on the back.

The water pressure is more than adequate for my uses which will be showering in remote areas. The temp indicated approx 135 degrees when I had it cranked which is VERY hot and much too hot for my showering needs.

Now the bad. The outlet over temp switch did its job cutting the burner to cool the water outlet temp....and NEVER resumed to function again. The water flowed and pump works however the burner still is not igniting. The fault code lit and said over temp reached....allow water to cycle and burner function will resume except it did not. Bummer!

Further research on some Down under forum shows this to be a common issue, or atleast water not getting hot enough. There is an easy bypass for the outlet sensor by removing the bottom panel and hot wiring the safety switch. Although I will see if it resets itself before I go voiding the 12 month warranty so quickly!

Here are the pics.

*Update* I naturally could not leave it alone and cracked the unit open. I "hot wired" the over temp switch and the unit works perfectly now. The burner only ignites when water is flowing however it will heat to scalding if desired which of course can be dangerous. I do not recommend bypassing safety features however it is a common one on these units from other folks down under apparently.

Any other questions feel free to ask. I messed with it some more today and am quite pleased. Although expensive, it seems to be the only thing on the market that is as compact and streamlined. Time will tell of its value.

[orionkhan]

Well, I pulled the trigger on one also. Your measurement would indicate that it won't fit in a reliance container. But that pump looks like the same as the one used by coleman in the youtube vid I posted. I figure if it doesn't work I can get a different water container. We've been using the solar shower with some success, but we've been running into issues of where to hang it the last couple times out. And the weight of a full bag actually snapped one of our privacy/shower tent poles. So this would solve that problem.

[kraqus]

Wow! I like it......





Benny

[Latetobrake]

I have to second BlueCruisers report. Just got mine in from Cabelas and ran the same test........It is a quality unit and extremely compact. Puts out good water pressure and is easy to operate. I would definetly reccomend this to anyone who wants quick and easy hot water. No more water jugs by the camp fire for me!!!!!!!!!!

[orionkhan]

Got mine today. You can add me to the list of positive reviews. To answer my own question, yes the pump will fit in a Reliance Aqua-Tainer container. I also have the Jumbo-Tainer. The pump didn't quite fit in the jumbo-tainer even though their caps are the same size. But that was nothing that a few minutes with a dremel couldn't fix. I think it was just a production variance in the hole diameter. The pump barely squeezes in there. Anyways, I charged it up and gave it a test run. Works very well. It will heat water hotter than I could stand in a shower. Nice water spigot. Nice quality product. It's not the cheapest option out there. But is seems to be a quality product. And the wife loves it. The only problem I foresee is having to tell the wife not to take 20 minute showers with the thing. I don't want to be filling up that 7 gallons Aqua-Tainer jug to many times.

[kb7our]

Hey all I appreciate reading the feedback thus far so thanks for posting it, albeit early experiences for sure and longer term reports will help convey quality or otherwise. I've got the AT electric 1.6L heater behind the passenger seat in the JKU and although it is terrific "once the water gets heated up" if you are camping in one place for any length of time you need to keep the vehicle battery charged or plan to run the engine 20 min + depending on starting water temp as the unit pulls ~17A at 12V. Comparatively, the MR Heater unit although certainly more bulky is nice to have portable and just plop the pump into nearly any fresh water source plus a bottle of LP and you are good to go. Might pick one up to supplement the AT (Nautic Jr) heater. It's certainly nice to see some more options like the Mr Heater hitting the US market FINALLY!

[sixbennetts]

How about a mesh bag over the pick-up pump, and you drop the pump in a stream or pond?

[kb7our]

How about a mesh bag over the pick-up pump, and you drop the pump in a stream or pond?

I sure don't see why not - seems ideal for this.