SAR_Squid79
Explorer
Coleman Hot Water On Demand - Independent Review
PART I:
Background:
Typically when I go out it's usually for 2 - 3 day trips. Normally my wife and I would just pour some water out to wash our hair, face, and hands, and then wipe off everything else with Baby Wipes. We want to do longer duration trips, but we'd really need a shower on any trip over 3 days, 2 nights. Since the beginning of my Expedition Trailer build, I've planned for a shower system. For over a year, I've been researching shower systems for my rig. The trouble is that I don't know anybody that has one, and I don't live near anywhere that sells them in-store. Therefore all of my research has been on the internet, and most of my questions were left unanswered.
Looking at all the systems out there, I had narrowed my focus down to 3 options:
Based on 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine's shower system article in the July/August 2009 issue, I thought that I had enough info to make an educated decision and pull the trigger on the Coleman. I still had some questions and resevations, though.
With the Overland Expo only 2 weeks away, I went ahead and purchased the system this week.
Initial Impressions:
The first thing that hit me about this system is HOW BIG it is. In all the pictures I've seen on line, it doesn't look very big. The unit measures 16"L x 16.5"H x 9"W. Here is a picture of the HWOD next to a 20L Nato Jerry Can:
The next thing I noticed was that it was a lot more solid and sturdy that I had anticipated. I get the impression that you could bang this thing around quite a bit, and not hurt it.
In the box you get:
The Recharger Cords are housed in a hidden compartment on the side of the unit. The system comes with everything you need except propane, and water!
Setting up the system:
The first this you need to do is charge the internal battery. The manual says that it should take about 8 hours to achieve a full charge. I pulled mine out, and plugged it in, and within 30 minutes the LED lights indicated a full charge.
According to the manual, the next thing that you should do is set it up, and cycle some CLR (Calcium, Lime, and Rust remover) through the system for 2 minutes (12oz CLR to 2 gallons of water). Followed by 2 minutes of cool fresh water.
After these initial steps, the system is ready for use.
System Use and Operation:
Setting up the system for use is very quick and easy. There are accessories available so that you can run this system continuously off of a garden hose, and large propane tank, or you can run it off of the standard 16.4oz propane canisters, and the 5 gallon water bladder, or dunk the hose into any open drinkable water source (such as the water in your cooler, or a stream).
Step 1: Insert the propane canister, and check for gas leak.
Step 2: Unwrap the pump hose, connect to water source.
Step 3: Rotate the faucet outward 90*
Step 4: Turn the knob to your desired water temperature.
Step 5: Enjoy your hot water!
You need to keep the system off the ground. If you have Pico or Xpress Lounger Chairs like mine, they are PERFECT! The unit always drains a little bit of water out of the bottom while it's running. The manual says that in a cold environment this drainage could freeze and damage the unit. I put mine up in my Xpress Lounger chair. The size, and the mesh bottom make it PERFECT for this.
Once you turn the knob, you'll here the igniter clicking & the pump priming. You'll here the fires light, and in about 2 - 5 seconds you'll have warm water flowing! If you turn it all the way up to the warmest setting, the water will burn your hand after about 20 seconds. The water temp will still go higher - to the HOT setting, but as a safety feature you have to physically hold it on "HOT", and the water will go well over 100*. But you can't just set it on "HOT". Temperature adjustments take effect in just a couple of seconds.
The unit will not cool water. You can run water on the "COOL" setting with no heat, but the temp of your water source will be the same as the output temp. If you are running "COOL" water, you can't just go from "COOL" straight to "WARM". You have to turn the unit off, and then turn it over to "WARM".
I wasn't able to take any accurate temperatures today. My wife seems to have hidden our thermometer... I did measure the flow rate. The flow is pretty constant at 1 Gallon per minute (even with the shower sprayer attached)
Accessories:
There are many accessories available for the HWOD system.
I got the Carry Bag and the Shower Sprayer.
The Carry Bag is awesome! I would highly recommend it. It's sturdy, padded, and fits the HWOD perfectly. In addition to the HWOD, the bag holds the 5 gallon collapsible bladder, up to 4 Propane cannisters, and still has room for the shower sprayer. Definitely worth the money, and I can't see any better way to house the system - other than a Pelican Case, which would be bigger, and heavier, and WAAAYYY more expensive.
The shower sprayer is kind of weak. I think you might be better off to build your own. It's better than nothing but the pressure is kind of poor, IMO. It's only 48" long. There's no way to turn the water off. At 1 gallon per minute I don't think you'd want to let the water run continuously for a shower. You could eat through 10 gallons of fresh water QUICK!
Conclusions:
I have not used this system out in the field yet. That will be in a couple of weeks, and I will post Part II of my review after that. I am planning on using this system with my PETT Toilet Enclosure, and a GSI Outdoors Cedar Shower Deck. I'll let you guys know how that turns out.
All-in-all, I am very impressed with this system so far. I don't really have any complaints so far. The shower sprayer could be better. I'm going to go to Home Depot, and try to modify the sprayer, and see what I can come up with.
The system all packed up in the Carry Bag with the bladder, the sprayer, and 2 propane tanks weighs in at 29lbs 16oz.
PART I:
Background:
Typically when I go out it's usually for 2 - 3 day trips. Normally my wife and I would just pour some water out to wash our hair, face, and hands, and then wipe off everything else with Baby Wipes. We want to do longer duration trips, but we'd really need a shower on any trip over 3 days, 2 nights. Since the beginning of my Expedition Trailer build, I've planned for a shower system. For over a year, I've been researching shower systems for my rig. The trouble is that I don't know anybody that has one, and I don't live near anywhere that sells them in-store. Therefore all of my research has been on the internet, and most of my questions were left unanswered.
Looking at all the systems out there, I had narrowed my focus down to 3 options:
- Zodi Hot Tap
- Go to Ace Hardware and build my own version of the Zodi Extreme
- Coleman Hot Water On Demand
Based on 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine's shower system article in the July/August 2009 issue, I thought that I had enough info to make an educated decision and pull the trigger on the Coleman. I still had some questions and resevations, though.
With the Overland Expo only 2 weeks away, I went ahead and purchased the system this week.
Initial Impressions:
The first thing that hit me about this system is HOW BIG it is. In all the pictures I've seen on line, it doesn't look very big. The unit measures 16"L x 16.5"H x 9"W. Here is a picture of the HWOD next to a 20L Nato Jerry Can:
The next thing I noticed was that it was a lot more solid and sturdy that I had anticipated. I get the impression that you could bang this thing around quite a bit, and not hurt it.
In the box you get:
- The Coleman Hot Water On Demand unit
- 5 Gallon collapsible water bladder
- 12V Car Recharger Cord
- 110V/120 Volt Recharger Cord
- Instruction Manual
The Recharger Cords are housed in a hidden compartment on the side of the unit. The system comes with everything you need except propane, and water!
Setting up the system:
The first this you need to do is charge the internal battery. The manual says that it should take about 8 hours to achieve a full charge. I pulled mine out, and plugged it in, and within 30 minutes the LED lights indicated a full charge.
According to the manual, the next thing that you should do is set it up, and cycle some CLR (Calcium, Lime, and Rust remover) through the system for 2 minutes (12oz CLR to 2 gallons of water). Followed by 2 minutes of cool fresh water.
After these initial steps, the system is ready for use.
System Use and Operation:
Setting up the system for use is very quick and easy. There are accessories available so that you can run this system continuously off of a garden hose, and large propane tank, or you can run it off of the standard 16.4oz propane canisters, and the 5 gallon water bladder, or dunk the hose into any open drinkable water source (such as the water in your cooler, or a stream).
Step 1: Insert the propane canister, and check for gas leak.
Step 2: Unwrap the pump hose, connect to water source.
Step 3: Rotate the faucet outward 90*
Step 4: Turn the knob to your desired water temperature.
Step 5: Enjoy your hot water!
You need to keep the system off the ground. If you have Pico or Xpress Lounger Chairs like mine, they are PERFECT! The unit always drains a little bit of water out of the bottom while it's running. The manual says that in a cold environment this drainage could freeze and damage the unit. I put mine up in my Xpress Lounger chair. The size, and the mesh bottom make it PERFECT for this.
SAR_Squid79 said:
Once you turn the knob, you'll here the igniter clicking & the pump priming. You'll here the fires light, and in about 2 - 5 seconds you'll have warm water flowing! If you turn it all the way up to the warmest setting, the water will burn your hand after about 20 seconds. The water temp will still go higher - to the HOT setting, but as a safety feature you have to physically hold it on "HOT", and the water will go well over 100*. But you can't just set it on "HOT". Temperature adjustments take effect in just a couple of seconds.
The unit will not cool water. You can run water on the "COOL" setting with no heat, but the temp of your water source will be the same as the output temp. If you are running "COOL" water, you can't just go from "COOL" straight to "WARM". You have to turn the unit off, and then turn it over to "WARM".
I wasn't able to take any accurate temperatures today. My wife seems to have hidden our thermometer... I did measure the flow rate. The flow is pretty constant at 1 Gallon per minute (even with the shower sprayer attached)
Accessories:
There are many accessories available for the HWOD system.
I got the Carry Bag and the Shower Sprayer.
The Carry Bag is awesome! I would highly recommend it. It's sturdy, padded, and fits the HWOD perfectly. In addition to the HWOD, the bag holds the 5 gallon collapsible bladder, up to 4 Propane cannisters, and still has room for the shower sprayer. Definitely worth the money, and I can't see any better way to house the system - other than a Pelican Case, which would be bigger, and heavier, and WAAAYYY more expensive.
The shower sprayer is kind of weak. I think you might be better off to build your own. It's better than nothing but the pressure is kind of poor, IMO. It's only 48" long. There's no way to turn the water off. At 1 gallon per minute I don't think you'd want to let the water run continuously for a shower. You could eat through 10 gallons of fresh water QUICK!
Conclusions:
I have not used this system out in the field yet. That will be in a couple of weeks, and I will post Part II of my review after that. I am planning on using this system with my PETT Toilet Enclosure, and a GSI Outdoors Cedar Shower Deck. I'll let you guys know how that turns out.
All-in-all, I am very impressed with this system so far. I don't really have any complaints so far. The shower sprayer could be better. I'm going to go to Home Depot, and try to modify the sprayer, and see what I can come up with.
The system all packed up in the Carry Bag with the bladder, the sprayer, and 2 propane tanks weighs in at 29lbs 16oz.
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