Cruiser shower (1 Viewer)

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Trollhole

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Well I've decided to take the plung and build one. I ordered the heat exchanger today for $110. My budget is under $200 and that includes a pump, strainer, enclosure and all hardware. Will be interesting if I can pull it off and make it work also. If I can I might just make a hundred or so and sell them on e-bay as a kit. The heat exchanger goes down by half at 100 pieces. Might be an interesting venture.

I'm planning on trying to build it before I go to Hemingway camping in two weeks so I'll keep ya'll informed with pics on the progress.

Here is the heat exchanger.

brazed-plate-unit.jpg


The highly efficient design and excellent value of SEC Brazed Plate Heat Exchangers (BPHE) makes them a wise choice for your heat transfer applications. Produced to the highest standards utilizing the latest production technology SEC Brazed Plate heat exchangers meet the demanding quality requirements of ASME, CRN, and ISO 9002.

SEC Brazed Plate heat exchangers are pressure rated for 435psi @ 437°F copper brazed, 752°F nickel brazed. Brazed Plate heat exchangers have a 1 year warrantee. They are available in Double Wall, Air Gap, and All Titanium, with threaded, solder or flange connections.

SEC Brazed Plate Heat Exchangers consist of specially formed stainless steel plates, vacuum brazed together to form a highly efficient heat transfer device. The corrugated pattern stamped into each plate produces turbulent flows. This results in high heat transfer coefficients. The plate size, number of plates, and connection sizes are varied to match the customer's heat transfer requirements precisely. Individual units have capacities up to 4,000,000 btu or 50 tons for refrigeration.
 
Trollhole said:
Well I've decided to take the plung and build one. I ordered the heat exchanger today for $110. My budget is under $200 and that includes a pump, strainer, enclosure and all hardware. Will be interesting if I can pull it off and make it work also. If I can I might just make a hundred or so and sell them on e-bay as a kit. The heat exchanger goes down by half at 100 pieces. Might be an interesting venture.

I'm planning on trying to build it before I go to Hemingway camping in two weeks so I'll keep ya'll informed with pics on the progress.

Here is the heat exchanger.

brazed-plate-unit.jpg


The highly efficient design and excellent value of SEC Brazed Plate Heat Exchangers (BPHE) makes them a wise choice for your heat transfer applications. Produced to the highest standards utilizing the latest production technology SEC Brazed Plate heat exchangers meet the demanding quality requirements of ASME, CRN, and ISO 9002.

SEC Brazed Plate heat exchangers are pressure rated for 435psi @ 437°F copper brazed, 752°F nickel brazed. Brazed Plate heat exchangers have a 1 year warrantee. They are available in Double Wall, Air Gap, and All Titanium, with threaded, solder or flange connections.

SEC Brazed Plate Heat Exchangers consist of specially formed stainless steel plates, vacuum brazed together to form a highly efficient heat transfer device. The corrugated pattern stamped into each plate produces turbulent flows. This results in high heat transfer coefficients. The plate size, number of plates, and connection sizes are varied to match the customer's heat transfer requirements precisely. Individual units have capacities up to 4,000,000 btu or 50 tons for refrigeration.
I'm impressed! I have first dibbs!
 
Hey Marshall we could easily make a heat exchanger out of some copper pipe. I can get the plans from my buddy and it fit's nicely along the firewall. Idea for platform is for it to fold down off the back of the cruiser.
 
Here's a pic of the one I have been using up at Tellico. Not exactly a vehicle-mounted unit. Old aluminum race-car fuel tank heated by 2-burner propane stove. Home-made copper pipe heat exchanger rigged to a 12 volt marine pressure pump with accumulator tank and cut-off switch. The white container is my resevoir of hot water. Shower hose is a hard-plastic coiled air line with a shower head on end. Unit draws water out of nearby stream and has an in-line filter on suction line. In my current configuration, I am drawing water out of a partially filled bathtub. Gives me 4 to 5 showers per cycle. It has gotten lots of use here the past 8 days as we still have no power since a week ago yesterday. My neighbors love it.
PB010014.JPG
PB010015.JPG
PB010016.JPG
 
Capt. Jim said:
Here's a pic of the one I have been using up at Tellico. Not exactly a vehicle-mounted unit. Old aluminum race-car fuel tank heated by 2-burner propane stove. Home-made copper pipe heat exchanger rigged to a 12 volt marine pressure pump with accumulator tank and cut-off switch. The white container is my resevoir of hot water. Shower hose is a hard-plastic coiled air line with a shower head on end. Unit draws water out of nearby stream and has an in-line filter on suction line. In my current configuration, I am drawing water out of a partially filled bathtub. Gives me 4 to 5 showers per cycle. It has gotten lots of use here the past 8 days as we still have no power since a week ago yesterday. My neighbors love it.

Geez, Capt. That looks like a high-end machine!
 
ALEXGAR said:
Geez, Capt. That looks like a high-end machine!

You must be certified to operate it. :D

Thing kinda evolved over the years to its present state. Barry, who works in the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant down here, affectionately refers to it as "UNIT 3".
 
Nice Marshal if you can do it I'll look into one from you. Whats the UC discount on that?
 
CruisinTiger said:
Hey Marshall we could easily make a heat exchanger out of some copper pipe. I can get the plans from my buddy and it fit's nicely along the firewall. Idea for platform is for it to fold down off the back of the cruiser.


Yeah I've seen the threads on this. It looks easy to make but I like the idea of a stainless steel unit and the fact that it is on 3"x8" with fittings already on it. Plus the big copper is hard to find in small sections as well as the fittings. I wanted to find something that anyone could just buy and hook up with little skill.
 
clemson55 said:
Nice Marshal if you can do it I'll look into one from you. Whats the UC discount on that?


I'd never charge UC guys any more than I paid for the parts. Hell most of the time I just give stuff away. :D
 
Capt. Jim said:
Here's a pic of the one I have been using up at Tellico. Not exactly a vehicle-mounted unit. Old aluminum race-car fuel tank heated by 2-burner propane stove. Home-made copper pipe heat exchanger rigged to a 12 volt marine pressure pump with accumulator tank and cut-off switch. The white container is my resevoir of hot water. Shower hose is a hard-plastic coiled air line with a shower head on end. Unit draws water out of nearby stream and has an in-line filter on suction line. In my current configuration, I am drawing water out of a partially filled bathtub. Gives me 4 to 5 showers per cycle. It has gotten lots of use here the past 8 days as we still have no power since a week ago yesterday. My neighbors love it.

Damn Cpat that is a contraption! Nice. I'm looking for something a little more compact.
 
Good news heat exchanger is plumbed up. And it works! 3 GPM and it's hot at about 1500 rpm. I'll post pics tomorrow. And look for my write-up in the 40 section. I'm ROTW this week. Got a lot to do tomorrow.
 
Thats pretty sweet marshal. Could you run it further back on the cruiser eg. could I put it in the bed of the pig?
 

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