Hot water - Small Cabin Forum (2)

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Small Cabin Forum / Off-Grid Living / Hot water

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Author	Message
kreig	# Posted: 22 Jun 2011 17:24 Reply Overland Said: "I have an ecotemp tankless " We are looking at the L10 or maybe the FV12. Trying to get some real info to compare models. What model do you have??? What is the true temp rise you get?
giraut	# Posted: 30 Jun 2011 08:05 Reply Passive Solar Water Heater with Dock Float I have a rain-catch water system at my small cabin for washing dishes and showering. I collect water from gutters in a large tank that lives under the deck. I've bought a black dock float to heat water. I have two on-demand pumps (one for cold, one for hot) and enough hose to reach my kitchen sink and outdoor shower. The system worked well for cold water last year. This year I want to make it work for hot (assuming, of course, the sun shines). Here are my questions: 1. Can I simply connect the smaller hot water tank (dock float) to the large cold water tank, place it lower and will the hot water tank fill from the cold one? I will have to put in a manual shut-off valve, I guess, so water from the cold tank isn't always pouring into the hot tank and cooling off the water. Is this a reasonable way to proceed? How much lower than the cold tank does the hot tank have to be in order for it to work? 2. Does it make sense to enclose the dock float in a wood box painted black? Will this increase the heat retention significantly? 3. The dock float only has one entry port, and of course I need two – one to get the cold water in and another to attach a hose to the pump and up to the shower and sink. What is a good way to cut a hole in a hard plastic dock float and put in some kind of receptacle that I can attach a hose to? Do I use some kind of silicon sealant? Many thanks!
Anonymous	# Posted: 1 Jul 2011 07:41 Reply Looking for some ideas. We have an off grid hunting cabin in southern Iowa. I have it wired up so I can use my Honda 2000 generator. We also have LP available. We want to build a shower house for hot days when bowhunting and extended stays. I'm looking for advise on burying a tank below the frost line and so we don't have to haul water. Also want some advise on how to use quick connects so we can pump water into an eco water heater and drain lines and pump when we leave to prevent freezing. Any ideas on storing water from downspouts and then using it to fill buried tank. Want to keep it from freezing.
barliboy	# Posted: 7 Jul 2011 20:41 Reply Hello, I have heard great things about this little Zodi on-demand propane water heater, but can not seem to find one in B.C.. I am on Cortes Isalnd, near Campbell River. Anyone know where I can buy one? Thanks
turkeyhunter Member	# Posted: 7 Jul 2011 21:27 - Edited by: turkeyhunter Reply www.cabelas.com direct link to Zodi shower page: http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/search.cmd?form_state=searchForm&N=0&fsch=true&Ntk=All Products&Ntt=zodi&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products
friendofdeer	# Posted: 17 Jul 2011 02:23 Reply I built a great shower at my Wisconsin main cabin and another at my guest bungalow. It is simple and effective. After building the shower base and walls (marine-varnished plywood), I mounted a 3-gallon clear plastic rectangular tank (bought from WalMart's kitchen appliance and storage section) on cross-bars a little over head-high over the center of the shower. I had drilled a 3/4 in hole in the bottom and put a threaded pipe thru, secured with threaded washers and rubber o-rings. Screwed on an on-off connection for garden hoses, the kind with a lever for opening and closing, then a yellow cap in which I had drilled several 1/8" holes. During the cold months I always have a covered pot of water on the wood stove.... mixing a gallon of that hot water with a gallon of room-temp water and putting that into the shower tank (by hand, simply by scooping it out of a metal pail with a half-gallon sized wide-mouth container and, standing a bit on tiptoes dumping it into the open-topped shower tank). Gives me a great 2-gallon shower which is plenty of water, I get wet, shut off the valve, soap up and shampoo, and rinse. Usually there is enough hot water left to luxuriate for a couple of minutes. During the summer I heat several gallon-sized recycled milk jugs, painted black, out in the sun. If I am planning a morning shower, I have a cooler-within-a-cooler setup where I can place two of these hot water jugs, cover the whole assembly with a quilt, and have perfect shower water ready for me at 7 am. If I have a cloudy day, or want to take an unplanned morning shower, I run 12 cups of water through my coffee maker (with NO coffee or filter in place), at this to 12 cups of room temp water, and viola! enough warm water to take a full shower. I also have a propane camp shower, but it's more of a hassle to use to heat shower water than the coffee maker. Of course, I have electricity here.... if I didn't, then I would use the camp shower setup to heat water in a pail (circulate it, bring the hot water back to mix with the cold in the pail, you can heat up 2 gallons pretty quickly that way). I would still then hand transfer the water to the shower tank, easier and simpler than trying to run the hot water hose through a hole in the wall and then mount the head.... and no way to turn it on and off from IN the shower! I recently ordered an inline tankless heater from Menard's, cost $189, uses 120 volt wiring. I'll supply water from a tank I have mounted on the roof. It's a concession to my daughter who likes to take long showers and hates having to load up the shower tank. I'm installing it in the guest bungalow's bathroom, here in my cabin I prefer my tried and true "green" method of showering.
tony dean Member	# Posted: 28 Jul 2011 12:44 Reply I'm in a remote spot and have a well-fed rain barrel. am thinking about the zodi system for use either inside or out. Anyone have anymore recent expereince with a Zodi? What a great site by the way.
Scienceguy	# Posted: 1 Nov 2011 18:45 Reply I have property on the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. Have camped there for many years and plan on building a cottage next summer. My solution for hot water was to buy a turkey fryer with a 30 quart stainless steel pot that has a draining spigot. The propane burner will heat 30 quarts to shower temperature in about eight minutes. I bought a 12 VDC water pump that runs on 4 D batterries from Bass Pro Shops. It comes with an 8 foot hose and shower head like those that come with a Sun Shower. A real hot shower under pressure. Because it is under pressure my wife and I get two good showers out of the 30 quart pot. When not used for showers it is used for washing dishes and occassionally steaming a few lobsters and clams. Total cost with the pump about $130.
backwoodsTim	# Posted: 8 Apr 2012 11:34 Reply I realize this post is kjnd of old by thought I would add to it anyway. I found a site called Bear Ridge Project that has many ideas on all aspects of living off grid etc. Bear the author built a hot tub from a farm stock tank and used a used propane turkey fryer setup to heat copper coiled tubing inside a metal can. Also used a 12 volt boat bilge pump to circulate the water from the tank thru the coils and back to the tank. I think a similar setup could be adapted to an outdoor shower setup.
akatv	# Posted: 22 Apr 2012 02:23 Reply It works great have one at our camp. Use it for dishes hot water and showers. We are off grid charge it whe generator Coleman instant hot water

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