Coleman Hot Water On Demand - Review

I know a lady that has been using the same Colman water heater in her off the grid cabin that she spends weekends and vacation time in. She loves it!

For me I think getting a hot water shower was almost as good an upgrade as getting a 12v fridge. Even though I only have a wallmart single burner Zodi it's stilll makes that 5th day in the woods as comphy as the 2nd.

I stand in the wind on a rubber floor mat so making the water as hot as I can stand is the ticket. I have everything set up on my folding camp table along with extra back up water. When I soap up I just drop the shower head back into the supply bucket and keep it running. It's no where near as nice as the set up you have but that shower on the third day is great.
 
for all you canadians out there , i was in cdn tire in fort erie today this unit was on clearance for 199 bucks eh ! i assume that this price would be at all the cdn tires? the ft erie store only had 1 and i almost bought it.. but i had to buy a new radiator.. doh!!! the last time i looked this unit was 258 bucks i think..
 
I think I saw it at 150 or something in Trenton. I believe clearance prices are set by each store, not the same as sales.
 
I got mine brand new for $70.

The Fry's grocery store by my house had a pretty decent 'camping section' at one time. They decided to remodel the store and clearance most of the outdoor/sporting product. Right place at the right time.
 
I got mine brand new for $70.

The Fry's grocery store by my house had a pretty decent 'camping section' at one time. They decided to remodel the store and clearance most of the outdoor/sporting product. Right place at the right time.

good score !!!
 
That shower setup with the reliance tank is brilliant. Thanks for the write up and the time it took to figure it all out.
 
UPDATE:

I picked up my new Coleman HWOD from REI yesterday. I returned the 1st one due to water leaking internally from the heater (see previous posts).

I came home, tried it out, and there is NO LEAKAGE on the new unit! REI was super easy to deal with. I'm still liking the HWOD system, and am extremely happy to have one that doesn't leak! :wings:
 
FYI, I'm putting one up for sale in the "expedition equipment" section. Looking for local sale only (SoCal). It has all the goodies.
 
question

Wonderful writeup...

Does anyone know how long it will run continuously on a 20# tank? Can it run continuously or does it have an auto shutoff?
 
Wonderful writeup...

Does anyone know how long it will run continuously on a 20# tank? Can it run continuously or does it have an auto shutoff?

I'm not sure how long it runs on a tank, but it only runs when you are using it.
 
For you Coleman owners I've been shopping around for the shower head and the carrying bag. A lot of web sites charge California tax and shipping. So far Coleman's site is the cheapest at roughly

$30bag + $15shower + $3tax + $8ship = $56

Any better deals out there that you know of?

Thanks!
 
I've had mine for a few years, replaced a pump, other than that trouble free.

They are supposed to heat 40 gallons off a small propane can, 20#'er is going to last a LONG time. Nothing to stop it from running continuously except the battery. It can't be charged and operated at the same time.
 
I've had mine for a few years, replaced a pump, other than that trouble free.

They are supposed to heat 40 gallons off a small propane can, 20#'er is going to last a LONG time. Nothing to stop it from running continuously except the battery. It can't be charged and operated at the same time.

What I am going to make is a 12v to 6V regulator to replace the battery and run the Coleman off of my trailer's dual Optima batteries. I need to measure the current draw off of the little sealed Gel Cell in the Coleman and size the regulator appropriately.
 
What I did for my semi-permanent trailer install, was I use an RV water pump. The electrical feed that normally runs the Coleman pump, now just drives a relay which in turn sends 12V to the RV pump. So, the only thing that the Coleman battery runs is the circuitry, the valves, and the relay. The Coleman battery lasts forever like this.

Talking about how much you can heat on a 1lb tank... I dunno, but I'd say a lot. I find it is VASTLY more efficient to heat the water in the HWOD than using a stove. So if I'm going to boil water for cooking, I'll warm it with the HWOD first, then put it on the stove.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
191,035
Messages
2,931,861
Members
234,925
Latest member
Bobbyjr
Top