Hot water in a Chaser !!!!????

[jacobconroy]

There are internal adjustment screws for the water flow and gas flow to the pilot light. I had to mess with them
with some help from tech support. I'm just so hesitant to bring that big box of stuff up with me and have that shower
not work. I sold a very simple Zodi Extreme to get that set up. I'll probably buy another Zodi Extreme and keep
it simple.

Good stuff. I’m always between 5 & 8k feet.

Still warming up about this project.

 

[shade]

Simplicity is a good thing.

We use a 3-gallon steel weedsprayer painted black. The hose is about 6' and has a garden nozel. If the sun doesn't warm it up enough, we cook up a coffee-pot of hot water and dump it back in.



T

Simple & effective. I've used a pump sprayer for years, but I was given a few 5 gallon Corny kegs, so now I use a pressurized keg for dispensing drinking water. Just add a Schrader valve to the lid, and connect it to a compressor. It already has a relief valve built in, and parts are plentiful & cheap.

It works so well, I'm making a similar system for showers with a 2.5 gallon all metal keg. I still have to pick out a stove, but that's easy. Heck, I could set it on some coals and it should work fine. 2.5 gallons should be quick to heat, and be more than enough water for a single shower. It's all food grade, so the water can be used for cooking or drinking, too. If I used a 5 gallon keg, I'm sure someone would blow through the whole tank going Hollywood.

 

[Teardropper]

Simple & effective. I've used a pump sprayer for years, but I was given a few 5 gallon Corny kegs, so now I use a pressurized keg for dispensing drinking water. Just add a Schrader valve to the lid, and connect it to a compressor. It already has a relief valve built in, and parts are plentiful & cheap.

It works so well, I'm making a similar system for showers with a 2.5 gallon all metal keg. I still have to pick out a stove, but that's easy. Heck, I could set it on some coals and it should work fine. 2.5 gallons should be quick to heat, and be more than enough water for a single shower. It's all food grade, so the water can be used for cooking or drinking, too. If I used a 5 gallon keg, I'm sure someone would blow through the whole tank going Hollywood.

View attachment 523971

How do you plumb it? Pics?

T

 

[shade]

How do you plumb it? Pics?

T

Nothing to plumb, really. I can find a photo later.

Attach a ball lock connector to the tank, with a kitchen sprayer on the end. Done.

 

[pside]

There are internal adjustment screws for the water flow and gas flow to the pilot light. I had to mess with them
with some help from tech support. I'm just so hesitant to bring that big box of stuff up with me and have that shower
not work. I sold a very simple Zodi Extreme to get that set up. I'll probably buy another Zodi Extreme and keep
it simple.

Added edit: I wasn't implying that the system will work properly if you adjust the water flow and gas. I'm just saying that there are some adjustment
screws. I don't believe it will work effectively if at all above 5,000 ft as per Ecotemp, even if you adjust the flows.

For what it's worth, I have this water heater and have used it almost exclusively above 5k with as much hot water as I asked for. I cant recall the highest el. I have used it in but my most frequented camping areas are between 5 and 6 ( last use was 5/8/19 at 5469')and the thing has been a champ for the last 5 years. The flows Ecotemp designed the unit for are not achieved in my system which may attribute to its ability to heat my small amount of demand.

 

[Dr Gil]

For what it's worth, I have this water heater and have used it almost exclusively above 5k with as much hot water as I asked for. I cant recall the highest el. I have used it in but my most frequented camping areas are between 5 and 6 ( last use was 5/8/19 at 5469')and the thing has been a champ for the last 5 years. The flows Ecotemp designed the unit for are not achieved in my system which may attribute to its ability to heat my small amount of demand.

Whoa! I just didn't have that kind of success with it. Wonder what the difference is?

 

[jacobconroy]

Whoa! I just didn't have that kind of success with it. Wonder what the difference is?

I wonder if you two are running different regulators? Does it ship with it's own regulator? Or do you have to pick one up on your own?

 

[dreadlocks]

he's using a 1# bottle that might make it a bit harder to get steady pressure, I wonder if an adjustable regulator for like a burner stove that you can adjust pressure on fly would make it work in high altitude.. might be a bit fiddly tho.

I spend majority of my time between 7-10k, heck I live at nearly 6k and I'm not even in the mountains.. I never really have any issues starting LP stuff (furnace/radiant/burners/lanterns) but I can notice the reduced output, thats a big reason why I have two heat sources..

 

[pside]

I am using the regulator that comes with the heater but I am running off of a 11# tank. I accidentally hooked the heater's regulator up to my partner stove once and it wouldn't heat water let alone boil, thought my tank was near empty then I realized i had the wrong regulator. So if you go the adjustable route startw ith it almost off.

 

[billiebob]

Someone posted a cool idea.

A galvanized bucket full of stream water, a grate over a campfire, a 12V pump, hose, shower head.
So cool, it all stores in the bucket, weighs 10?#, costs $25.00. And a fire will boil the water pretty quick.

 

[pside]

Whoa! I just didn't have that kind of success with it. Wonder what the difference is?

how recently did you purchase your heater? I'm curious if they have made them cheaper at some point which could effect their performance? These heaters are so basic I don't see why they wouldn't work with some adjustment if needed in higher elevation.

 

[shade]

how recently did you purchase your heater? I'm curious if they have made them cheaper at some point which could effect their performance? These heaters are so basic I don't see why they wouldn't work with some adjustment if needed in higher elevation.

I don't think that's it. Things just burn less efficiently as elevation increases.

If the appliance has an oxygen depletion sensor, it doesn't take much elevation to trip it, but I've used a Big Buddy heater above 7,000'. I'm sure it'd work better at lower elevations, though.

https://www.higherpeak.com/altitudechart.html

Here's a discussion on propane space heaters that's relevant.

 

[Dr Gil]

I am using the regulator that comes with the heater but I am running off of a 11# tank. I accidentally hooked the heater's regulator up to my partner stove once and it wouldn't heat water let alone boil, thought my tank was near empty then I realized i had the wrong regulator. So if you go the adjustable route startw ith it almost off.

@pside You said you are "using the regulator that comes with the heater and you accidentally hooked up the heater's regulator to your stove". The only regular I got with the L5 is internal and can't be taken out to use with any other piece of equipment. I know there is a regulator on the additional propane hose you can purchase but it's not adjustable. Is that the regulator you are speaking of?

As @dreadlocks said, perhaps an adjustable regular on a larger tank may help. The fact that Ecotemp is warning us in advance that use above 5000 feet is not recommended, I don't feel confident that the L5 would work consistently above 5000 feet