Coleman Hot Water On Demand - Review

[SAR_Squid79]

Running the shower today for a pretty long duration, I would alternate it between a few minutes of shutoff (recirc), followed by a minute or 2 of run. I did notice that if I left the water on recirc for more than a couple of minutes, it would be hotter when turned back on. I wouldn't say it was TOO HOT but that is definitely something to be aware of.

You've gotta figure that after about 5 - 6 minutes, you've heated your entire supply of water, and after that you're only going to increase the temp of the water as it keeps going around.

The HWOD does have a built in safety feature that will kill the burner if the water temp is above 160* for more than a minute.

 

[ThomD]

Thanks for the detailed write up. The HWOD is a great tool and you've addressed most of the concerns I had about using its shower option.

 

[gasman]

Running the shower today for a pretty long duration, I would alternate it between a few minutes of shutoff (recirc), followed by a minute or 2 of run. I did notice that if I left the water on recirc for more than a couple of minutes, it would be hotter when turned back on. I wouldn't say it was TOO HOT but that is definitely something to be aware of.

You've gotta figure that after about 5 - 6 minutes, you've heated your entire supply of water, and after that you're only going to increase the temp of the water as it keeps going around.

The HWOD does have a built in safety feature that will kill the burner if the water temp is above 160* for more than a minute.

cool .. our rental waters heaters used to come with a warning sticker that said .. hot water can produce 3rd degree burns in 6 seconds at 140 degs.
30 seconds at 130 degs.. becuase of legeslation most tanks now come with a 130 max.. unless its an on demand or a combi unit... when i see young kids in a house i set them between 125 and 130 and dont even tell the customer.. the new tanks we are putting in have a sticker that says severe scalding and death at temps over 125 ( a little strong if you ask me) i can handle 120 for a little bit, but it is a little uncomfortable .. 105 is just right

again this is a great write up .. one day i may get one.. if i dont build my own first.. im always keepin my eye out for scrap burners and heat exchangers that i can use.. but im not sure i could build one for the price..

 

[gasman]

hey !! just thought of somethin.... is the 160 limit adjustable or factory set..

i bet it could be changed for a lower temp.. well i could prolly change it.. might not be legal but.... altering manufacters specs dosnt always go over to well..

 

[Life_in_4Lo]

I've been using the Coleman hot shower for years and it works fine in all conditions. The only drawback is

-it's bulky and heavy (the bag is highly recommended-doesn't add much to the size)
-the battery can fail and you can't run off of 12v. Buy an extra battery- it's a 10 sec. swap.

It works great in a river or stream, endless supply of water. Just throw the end into the stream.

The water gets plenty hot- I only go about halfway up the dial- and it's great. Even with ice cold mountain stream water, it got hot on the first pass.

I have the knob within easy reach to turn off between soaping up and stuff but the shutoff is a nice idea. Just remember circulating water is getting hotter with every pass.

Mostly only use it as a shower w/ nato jerry cans for water. Perfect setup

it will use up a lot of water, quickly, as a sink to wash dishes and stuff. But, if you need hot water, it's great you just twist the dial!

 

[SAR_Squid79]

is the 160 limit adjustable or factory set..

i bet it could be changed for a lower temp...

I have no idea - I would guess that it's probably factory set, and I wouldn't feel comfortable opening up the unit - especially since I need to send it back for warranty work anyway.

When you put the Selector Knob all the way over to "HOT" you have to hold it there, you can't just set it on "HOT". And when you do turn it all the way over to "HOT" the manual says that it will heat the water to 170*, but that if the water temp stays over 160* for more than a minute, that it will turn off the heater.

SO - I think that you would have to recirculate your water supply at least 3 times (20 - 25 minutes) to get the water that hot in a shower. I don't take showers that are that long at home, much less in camp.

 

[ThomD]

[snip]

It works great in a river or stream, endless supply of water. Just throw the end into the stream.

...

Mostly only use it as a shower w/ nato jerry cans for water. Perfect setup

Do you just drop the pump into the can? Is it water proof? That is the one thing I've been thinking about since I got the scepter cans, how do I avoid transferring water to the collapsible bag?

 

[SAR_Squid79]

Do you just drop the pump into the can? Is it water proof?

Yep! ...Check out my videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1be1X9i-oDU

...but I don't think the pump will fit through the mouth of a standard NATO Jerry Can. Should be no problem with a Scepter, though.

 

[SAR Jeepster]

Great write up!! I like your bypass valve idea I am going to try to add one to my Zodi shower. I have kept the water in an open container in the shower and just dropped the head back in the container to let the pump run. Occasionally we would end up with soap in the rinse water.

 

[Life_in_4Lo]

Do you just drop the pump into the can? Is it water proof? That is the one thing I've been thinking about since I got the scepter cans, how do I avoid transferring water to the collapsible bag?

throw it in the jerry can or stream it's fine. the collapsable water bag is a pain in the butt.
I have a couple that I never use and will give away.

 

[Life_in_4Lo]

that bypass valve is pretty neat. I think you will save propane and battery by using it on a low setting and letting it recirc as you shower. Plus,it's super convienient

 

[john101477]

My dad has one of these water heaters and loves it. i have only used it once or twice but it worked fine for me.

 

[SAR_Squid79]

could you tell me the diameter of the pump?

The diameter of the HWOD pump is about 2 1/8". Maybe a hair bigger.
The mouth of the Aqua-Tainer is 2.25" and the Coleman Pump barely clears.

 

[SAR_Squid79]

Update:

Sorry - no pictures this time...
But at the Overland Expo, I finally got to use my camp shower. There were no surprises, it worked out exactly like I thought it would with no problems! My wife and I each took 2 showers, and we only used about 5 - 6 Liters of water per shower. My modified shower head / recirculation valve system worked PERFECTLY!!!

The only thing that you need to remember, and be careful of is overheating the water. The way I have it set up with the water recirculating back to the water source when the shower head is turned off, the water is getting heated over and over again. Since the pump moves 1 Gallon per minute, after about 7 minutes (if the water container is full) you've already heated your entire water supply once. I found that when I had the heat set on a medium setting, after about 5 minutes the water was getting too hot. This is actually a good thing - because on my 2nd shower I put the heat on the lowest setting, and it was perfect - which is saving on propane use!

The P.E.T.T. enclosure was perfect, I had plenty enough room to shower, but I would not want it any smaller. ...But even my wife had no complaints.

The GSI Outdoors cedar shower deck did work as advertised. It worked great. But after only 5 uses (5 times getting wet, and then drying out) it's already starting to develope a few cracks around where the hinges are screwed into the wood. So I am starting to have some doubt about this item's longevity. But I'm going to keep using it until it breaks - and we'll see. Maybe it will surprise me!

The Coleman Hot Water On Demand unit continued to work GREAT! I topped-off the charge on the battery the day I got it, the first time I took it out of the box, and never charged it again. I used it in making all the videos and pictures above, and 4 actual showers out in the field. I would estimate that I have about an hour of run time on it so far (give or take), probably about 60 - 65 gallons has been pumped through it. So far, after that much use, I have not gone through an entire propane bottle yet, and I never got any low-battery indication. The unit did continue to leak, and on the last night at the Overland Expo I thought maybe the leak had gotten very slightly worse.

Since I bought the unit from REI.com, and since I've been an REI Co-op member for many years, I boxed it back up and returned it to REI. They took it back with no problems, and ordered me another one on the spot. Couldn't have been easier. I didn't have to pay a dime, and since I had it shipped to the store (again), there were no shipping and handling charges. Hopefully the new one doesn't leak! I'll let you know.

 

[Rev]

Fantastic write up!

I want to get this set-up now. :drool: