OME 506 water heater off 12v?

[jsmoriss]

Hi everyone,

I have an OME 506 propane water heater mounted on my Campa trailer. I recently took it apart to improve the mounting systems and rust-proof it somewhat. The unit uses 2 x D-cell batteries to power it, but the contacts etc. are already rusting / oxidizing. I'd like to run the unit off my 12v battery, but need to knock down the voltage to 3-8v.

Does anyone here know the OME 506? Any idea how much amperage it uses and when? Could I simply add a resistance to a 12v feed?

Thanks!
js.

 

[Rando]

I assume that the D-cells are powering the control system, and possibly the igniter correct? How often do you need to replace them? That would give you an idea of the power draw from the batteries.

You can't just add resistance to the 12v supply to reduce the voltage, you need to use either a linear or switching regulator to convert the 12v supply to a 3v output. My guess is that if it uses batteries, and you aren't replacing them every trip, it draws much less than an amp, in which case you can use a simple car dc power supply like this:
http://www.powerstream.com/dc6.htm

You can take it out of the case and hard wire it for convenience.

Hi everyone,

I have an OME 506 propane water heater mounted on my Campa trailer. I recently took it apart to improve the mounting systems and rust-proof it somewhat. The unit uses 2 x D-cell batteries to power it, but the contacts etc. are already rusting / oxidizing. I'd like to run the unit off my 12v battery, but need to knock down the voltage to 3-8v.

Does anyone here know the OME 506? Any idea how much amperage it uses and when? Could I simply add a resistance to a 12v feed?

Thanks!
js.

 

[BigJim]

You need one of these.

LM Voltage regulator

Hi everyone,

I have an OME 506 propane water heater mounted on my Campa trailer. I recently took it apart to improve the mounting systems and rust-proof it somewhat. The unit uses 2 x D-cell batteries to power it, but the contacts etc. are already rusting / oxidizing. I'd like to run the unit off my 12v battery, but need to knock down the voltage to 3-8v.

Does anyone here know the OME 506? Any idea how much amperage it uses and when? Could I simply add a resistance to a 12v feed?

Thanks!
js.