Water Tank - Hot or Not?

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C

Count_Fred

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
May 31, 2006
Threads
31
Messages
159
Location
Yamhill, OR
Website
www.jfs3.com
I will be adding a water tank into the rear of my 80. Probably 15 gallons or so. The whole setup will be able to pump water in, pump it out, and run it through a shower. I will filter the water as it comes into the system so that if the pump fails in an emergency, I can still break into the water tank and 15 gallons of safe drinking water. There will also be a bypass so the pump can take water from a lake/stream filter it and then push it out (or through the shower and then out)

I'm undecided and looking for input on the best way to hook up a shower and tank. Keep the tank warm or not. Here are the options as I see them.

Option 1
Hook up the pump to send some water through the heat exchanger and some through a bypass and then have a mixing valve to control the temperature. Source could be the tank or an external source

Option 2
Cycle the water through the heat exchanger while driving to keep the water at a nice shower temperature. I have a computer in the car so adding in a control loop to achieve a temperature set-point is feasible.

Option 1 Pros:
- Precise control of water temperature with mixing valve

Option 1 Cons:
- Car must be running to get hot water.

Option 2 Pros:
- Instant hot water when setting up camp/doing dishes
- Car does not need to be on to maintain hot water

Option 2 Cons:
- Drinking water is now hot (This is not a big issue as I keep a nalgene or two in the fridge and top them off regularly)
- Heated water furthers bacterial growth. (Incoming water to tank is filtered so tank should be clean but...)
- Copper poisoning risk. I'm not sure I buy this one. I think it was cruiseroutfitters.com that mentioned the risk of running drinking water through the heat exchanger, however, aren't most domestic plumbing lines copper? Are they treated in some fashion?
- Tank will need to be insulated and will still lose heat and likely be luke warm/cold by morning. Can easily run the car for a while to warm it back up, and be able to turn it off before starting shower.

I like option 2 because I hate washing up while camping, especially so when the water is cold. However much I hate it though, I'm not going to turn my car on just to get hot water if I happen to be in a campsite with others around.

So I'm looking to hear anyone else who has considered heating the whole tank and why they did it, or decided not to, or wish they did/didn't.

Cheers,
JFS III
 
WOW! That's some serious engineering for hot water...kudos to you! I take enough crap from my hunt'n buddies for having a Helton heat exchanger and manual throttle to control the water temp for showering...(they stop with the remarks AFTER they have used the shower :rolleyes: ).
 
My advice? Make it simple so that it's reliable, even if perfectly executed, the added level of complexity could potentially cause problems down the road, and Murphy's Law says that it works 99% of the time, but then breaks down when you really need it.

I would make it a simple tank with an output that you could connect to your water pump and then run hot showers when you need them. The rest of the time, you get regular temperature water.
 
x2 on keeping it simple. However, with an onboard computer that you are making "control loops" you are probably playing a very different game than myself.

That said, Option one looks best to me.

Post up some pics if you make this happen, I am building a water/plumbing system for a trailer now, and I would love to see it!

Rezarf <><
 
Not to hijack, but does anyone know if Slee discontinued their water tank they offered? Can't seem to find it on their website. It was rectangular, carpeted I think and you could also presurise it I believe.
thanks,
:cool:
 
I like option one. To be able to heat the water once through is a big plus, especially for the stream-side shower. I aslo don't understand how option 2 "maintains" hot water without the engine running--isn't the engine doing the heating. And what happend to heating water on a stove for dish washing? This has to be more efficient than running your engine to heat water. Get a stove that burns unleaded gasoline if you're worried about running out of stove fuel.

I think you also need to think twice about filtering the shower water. You don't say what type or how big your filters are, but I think you will waste filters if you always filter the shower water. The tank should be reserved for drinking water. Wait to shower until you are next to a water source.
 
I just carry a very fine kitchen sieve strainer for the times I have to take water out of the creek for showers...keeps most of what would clog our shower pump out of harms way...assuming your water sources/creeks are as clear as ours are in Nevada.
 
Search around for Trollhole, he did a hot water install in his 40 and posted a fairly detailed writeup of how he did it and what he used... yeah it would be a little different but you might get some ideas.
 
I was going to use the tank for shower water only.
switch for the pump
temp gauge in the tank
turn the pump on while you are driving to destination for shower
turn pump off when temp is good.
Problem if you are staying at the same place for a few days you still need to start the engine and circulate.
I am still with the very simple solution
3 5 gallon jugs heat up when wanting the shower
 
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