Onboard Air and Hot Water Build

[spressomon]

If you hate dust on your rig at the end of a big dusty trail day, all things rear hatch/gate related, and in addition to pneumatic tool use its nice to be able to blow the dust off the rig . Of course in addition to the obvious of being able to use the same compressed air system for airing up tires.

 

[jeegro]

If you hate dust on your rig at the end of a big dusty trail day, all things rear hatch/gate related, and in addition to pneumatic tool use its nice to be able to blow the dust off the rig . Of course in addition to the obvious of being able to use the same compressed air system for airing up tires.

Exactly. I bought one of these : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EAQUR2...d=1501874461&sr=sr-1&keywords=air+suction+gun
Nearly any 12v vacuum I've tried has sucked. This one is pretty good, but it sucks the tank dry in a few seconds. I will try it out on regulated pressure once i finish the panel I'm building.

I also picked up an air operated grease gun. Hoping the OBA system can handle it.

I am a huge fan of cordless 12-18v tools, it's all I use. Impact, drill, angle grinder, jigsaw, etc

I'll assume since no one is commenting on the actual build... then I am doing a good job!

 

[rayra]

Reconsider your decision about non-potable water. Going to such lengths for a tank and NOT having it potable, especially when you are in the desert southwest just doesn't seem very smart / efficient. It's a lot of volume and weight to carry, just to have to carry potable water too.

It wouldn't be pretty, but you could readily nest some large diameter PVC pipes in a honeycomb pattern to fill your desired tank space and plumb their ends together to create a single volume. Sched40 3"-5" dia PVC has a burst pressure of ~200psi. More than adequate to apply a moderate pressure to the tank for your shower.

Also consider aluminum tanks. You could have one made to fit your space for not a lot of money. There are also cylindrical tanks that may serve.

5gal 8"x24" is $130

Lots of options for cylinder tanks in the racing / offroad buggy world, which woul dfit in your space. And they are pretty affordable.

 

[jeegro]

Well there's no reason why my system can't be used for drinking, it's simply my preference not to. I have a 65 liter fridge and like my drinking water cold and very clean.

Thanks for the tank ideas. For now I think the front runner tank will work well. Going to finish up the project and take her out on a few trips

 

[jeegro]

Baby steps..

Afsupply.com sent me the union sweat version of the Honeywell mixing valve by mistake. So I had to re-order the NPT version somewhere else. I need to have it in hand in order to mount the water spigot and valve, because there won't be a way to panel mount the valve, so I'm hoping I can use some solid brass pipe and elbows to connect the outlet to the water spigot, therefore "suspending" the valve just right on the panel.

 

[jeegro]

Here's where I'm thinking to put the heat exchanger - on the frame rail using aluminum plate and square u-bolts. I'm concerned that it's too low? 2ft drop to the exchanger + 2 feet back up to the heater core.
I have no idea if that's a problem, it just sounds like adding a lot more work on the water pump.

 

[jeegro]

The panel assembled

 

[jeegro]

Project is done. Everything works perfect. Water temp is a solid 110+ degrees. Shower head is a low flow model, with 3 settings: 0.5/1/1.5 gpm.

Garden hose quick connects are great.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=lnvdPkDScAw[/video]

 

[Borrego60]

Looks good, one thing I would change is the brass fitting. The spring inside will rust!! Change over to SS and you will be fine. I know form which I speak. I could not for the life of me figure out where the rusty colored water was coming from. I took apart the brass fitting and it was loaded and corroded, the spring was the problem. Check out this Peabody tanks in Corona.http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/63643-03-Tundra-helton-heater-install/page5

 

[jeegro]

Looks good, one thing I would change is the brass fitting. The spring inside will rust!! Change over to SS and you will be fine. I know form which I speak. I could not for the life of me figure out where the rusty colored water was coming from. I took apart the brass fitting and it was loaded and corroded, the spring was the problem. Check out this Peabody tanks in Corona.http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/63643-03-Tundra-helton-heater-install/page5

Thanks for the tip... mcmaster doesn't even sell a stainless version of the universal quick connect coupler. I think I'll have to learn this lesson from experience. Can't stomach a 12th order for fittings at this time

 

[Borrego60]

Ebay Carpet cleaning HP quick disconnects. Good luck on your system. I love hot showers in the boonies.

 

[jeegro]

the only quirk I'm dealing with so far is the garden hose quick connect socket for the water input side. It's a single flow valve, aka closed, but I discovered that it requires substantial water pressure to actually stay closed. So when I pack up the hoses, the fitting starts to leak some water. I'm thinking my options are

1) put a ball valve behind the panel. Pros: will definitely work. Cons: another thing to do
2) check valve. They require 1-2 psi to prevent backflow. Do you think this would work?
3. Epoxy a QD plug fitting shut and keep it inserted.