On board shower

[mp_tx]

Ambulance.


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[Beowulf]

What kind of specs is everyone running on for their pumps? How many GPM? Pressure? I'm sure there has to be a match to exchanger size and GPMs or you'd never get hot water.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

What kind of specs is everyone running on for their pumps? How many GPM? Pressure? I'm sure there has to be a match to exchanger size and GPMs or you'd never get hot water.

Correct, too much water volume and it won't spend enough time in the heat exchanger to to well, exchange heat

With the Helton units we recommend something in the 1GPM range. That seems to be a good cross-section of heat absorption and economics of water.

 

[Tigglebitties]

What kind of specs is everyone running on for their pumps? How many GPM? Pressure? I'm sure there has to be a match to exchanger size and GPMs or you'd never get hot water.

Correct, too much water volume and it won't spend enough time in the heat exchanger to to well, exchange heat

With the Helton units we recommend something in the 1GPM range. That seems to be a good cross-section of heat absorption and economics of water.

My theory was to find a cheap pump (which I did- free)
Then make the heat exchanger oversized to make up for the heat loss in hoses that intercept the heater core and inevitable drop in efficiency over time. I got a 40 plate rectangular heat exchanger rather than a tube type. To each their own, but I found a 40 plate far more than I could possibly need for a shower and extremely easy to mount securely.
This puts all the hot water I'd ever need straight to the anti scald valve which removes all adjustment and just only puts out 104 degree water constantly with zero user hassle.

 

[rbkelley89]

can someone post a build list so i can cost out parts and begin a hassle free build PLEASE

 

[Tigglebitties]

can someone post a build list so i can cost out parts and begin a hassle free build PLEASE

Sorry to redirect ya to another forum, but I'm far more active there and put most of my hard work into the threads there.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=215548
On Board Water?

Start around post 20. It rambles a bit, but the thread hasn't yet gotten convoluted with time and you'll be able to learn through our brainstorming to the finished product.
My name is Spencer on there. I'd be glad to help ya out man
Most of my parts came from Amazon and I picked up the brass hose fittings at a local store.

 

[Tigglebitties]

The helton units work, but take up more space and I read somewhere they're not as efficient as a plate heat exchange. no idea if this is true or not, but I can say the square plate type I got was very easy to mount rather than a round cylinder type and took less space.
I'll try and remember everything & keep this updated for a whole parts list and sources to buy them from
PART LIST:

Heat exchanger:
http://www.dudadiesel.com/
I bought it through amazon- I got a 40 plate exchanger which may be overkill, but at idle around 700 RPM, works perfectly and does not run cold even when used with a garden hose on full blast. I've read around that the smaller 20 plate exchanges need you to rev the idle up to 1500 or so not to run cold with a large water throughput.

All parts used were brass- fairly easy to find
two 1/2" brass Tee's

one three way 1/2" ball valve - McMaster Carr

40' of 1/2" multipurpose hose rated above 200 degrees - McMaster Carr

one 72" RV shower hose w/ rv showerhead - Amazon - real cheap, 15$ or so
one Anti Scald mixing valve - "Powers" brand off of amazon - BE CAREFUL ORDERING THIS! many are marked as M pt not N pt - be careful you don't get a metric thread type here. this part will run 100$ or so.

One 1/2" ball valve - McMaster Carr
**I had originally used a hydraulic line check valve here so that there would be no possible way to accidentally turn both ball valves and cut off the flow of coolant completely - the check valve didnt crack under 5 PSI, however, which caused issues on this. I had to settle for this second ball valve for unimpeded flow and locked it open with a band clamp. In emergency failure of the heat exchange circuit I can shut it off.***

several 1/2" brass close nipples and elbows to fit these parts together- you can cut many of these out using street nipples.

About 10 1/2" barbed to 1/2" NPT fittings - McMaster Carr

One water pump - TEEL brand - though any RV type will work- look for the "on demand" types that shut off when you close the shower head valve. Mine was a free spare in the garage. for ease of use, find one with the 3/4" garden hose male with female threads inside both fittings.

about 30' of 10AWG wire red and black

a switch rated over 15 Amps

In line fuse

two 1/2" barbed to female garden hose fittings

:victory:

can someone post a build list so i can cost out parts and begin a hassle free build PLEASE

Or you could just read this entire thread to find the info you need..

 

[spressomon]

FYI/FWIW: High pressure, low volume is the winning ticket for my camp shower. I use a kitchen sprayer (compact; cheap; easy & quick on/off for conserving precious water) with a drilled penny to restrict flow to .75gpm yet high pressure from Flojet/ShurFlo/Aquajet 12v, 35psi pump. Works great and have used it plenty.

 

[Crom]

What kind of specs is everyone running on for their pumps? How many GPM? Pressure? I'm sure there has to be a match to exchanger size and GPMs or you'd never get hot water.

I recommend the Flojet 03526 144A Triplex Diaphragm 3526 Series Automatic Water System Pump, It can do 2.9 GPM, and has an automatic pressure switch built in (close shower head, pump turns off, open shower head, water pump starts back up. Works great!)

can someone post a build list so i can cost out parts and begin a hassle free build PLEASE

My build is very similar to the OP's.

Here it is all diagrammed out on the test board.

 

[Tigglebitties]

Only way to improve that would be to have gotten the heat exchanger with built in hose barbs and saved yourself 4 fittings haha it's perfect!
What are you gonna do as far as intercepting the heater core hose? It scared me too much having this heater circuit as permanently on so after trying and failing with two separate check valves I settled on ball valves... Not my ideal setup but It works as a failsafe



I don't like my pump but I love the price of free . if anyone tries this, get that pump. The pressure shutoff and self priming save so much hassle I've had.

 

[Frdmskr]

Great work from both posters on their systems. Kinda makes me want to swap out the house shower for this. Could be better! lol

What is your water source? Are you doing drafting off a pool of water or something? Just curious. I assume no more than 3-5 mins max of actual water flow per shower. If you need more than that you take the biodegradable soap and go for a swim. At nearly 3GPM that is about 9-15 gallons of water per person. (Let's assume the dog did not find a skunk.)

 

[ismael D]

Nice diagrammed

 

[Tigglebitties]

Great work from both posters on their systems. Kinda makes me want to swap out the house shower for this. Could be better! lol

What is your water source? Are you doing drafting off a pool of water or something? Just curious. I assume no more than 3-5 mins max of actual water flow per shower. If you need more than that you take the biodegradable soap and go for a swim. At nearly 3GPM that is about 9-15 gallons of water per person. (Let's assume the dog did not find a skunk.)

Hey now don't discount how useful this mod can get if your home water heater dies on you and you have no hot water for a few days!

My pump is up under where the spare tire used to be and the output up front so I can back up to any water source, throw the intake hose in and bam continuous water.
With my 7 gallon container I get just a hair under 10 straight minutes , but like any camp shower you gotta shut the nozzle off and soap up so my 7 gallons has lasted me 3 showers when I'm being careful.

It should also be noted that regardless of original design, most aftermarket OEM replacement radiators have a second circuit that can be used to cook your transmission- or heat your water if you didn't have a tranny cooler to begin with.

 

[Crom]

Great work from both posters on their systems. Kinda makes me want to swap out the house shower for this. Could be better! lol

What is your water source? Are you doing drafting off a pool of water or something? Just curious. I assume no more than 3-5 mins max of actual water flow per shower. If you need more than that you take the biodegradable soap and go for a swim. At nearly 3GPM that is about 9-15 gallons of water per person. (Let's assume the dog did not find a skunk.)

I will use a 5-Gallon container of clean water. I have attached a high-quality chrome shower head cut off switch between the stainless steel hose and shower head. With the switch I can regulate the flow of water, thus providing longer showers with 5-gallons.

Nice diagrammed

Thanks.

Only way to improve that would be to have gotten the heat exchanger with built in hose barbs and saved yourself 4 fittings haha it's perfect!
What are you gonna do as far as intercepting the heater core hose? It scared me too much having this heater circuit as permanently on so after trying and failing with two separate check valves I settled on ball valves... Not my ideal setup but It works as a failsafe

I don't like my pump but I love the price of free . if anyone tries this, get that pump. The pressure shutoff and self priming save so much hassle I've had.

The Tacoma coolant hoses are 5/8" and my water lines are 1/2", and it was not possible to find a heat exchanger in the desired configuration, hence the fittings I needed to buy ($5 each x 4 = $20). I'm very happy with what I've assembled thus far. I have selected a mounting location for the heat exchanger under the hood. A mounting bracket will have to be fabricated, and then I'll finally be done.

To answer your question, I will splice into the coolant system at the heater core outpout. It will circulate through the heat exchanger and then return to the Tacoma water pump. It will circulate full time, indefinitely. I will construct a boot/jacket for the exchanger to protect it. I'll monitor it for leaks, monthly, etc.

 

[Scrapdaddy]

Here's how I mounted mine, Pump and exchanger. Still need to plumb the lines. I made a manifold out of alum. that will have three ball valves. Each one going to a heater and the exchanger. I can isolate any one of them if need be.