Oooh hot water in my truck!

[Chris]

This arrived today. Luush!

http://www.outdoorworld.co.uk/kampa-gey ... ter-system

Now firstly don't be fooled by the picture. I researched this for a while and decided that this picture of a beige / grey one looked like a newer model. It isn't. It is a pre production shot used by Kampa. I know because I rang them. The Kampa one has always been green. However there are some other makes around.

So, out of the box - couple of clicks later it's all together. Pretty robust although I think I would use sealant on the shower threads just to help with the rough life it will get. Very light indeed. It comes with a carry bag too.

[attachment=1:3rttweaj]P1000956.JPG[/attachment:3rttweaj]

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Does it work. Blimey Charlie, it certainly does. Would you like copious amounts of steaming hot water (almost) instantly with enough pressure to be able to shower properly? Then this is for you. I can't fault it. If you leave it circulating in the bowl, the water it actually too hot to put your hand in after a couple of minutes. The pick up hose will actually screw onto a water container. I have to sort that out, but in the meantime, you can just drop it into a Jerry can. A water tank will be going in very soon. The on off on the shower head controls the burner too.

[youtube:3rttweaj]Vh15devtYpU[/youtube:3rttweaj]
EDIT: That should be it, CJ (from GS )

Sorry, I just don't get how you use the You Toob feature. Which bits do you leave out between the brackets?

Chris

 

[Andrew Prince]

Looks neat, Chris!

A water tank will be going in very soon.

Are you going to fit and plumb in a permanent water tank or is the idea to run from any old water container? If the former, an option is to use the rear heater piping to pre-warm the water in the tank and reduce the energy consumption of your Kampa unit. Obviously if the engine hasn't been running for a while then the Kampa still allows for hot water

 

[Chris]

Andrew, the water tank will be a cold water tank only for drinking and cooking too so I don't want to warm it with the heater pipes (that I removed from my vehicle). It will be a proper tank mounted in the back somewhere as part of my cargo barrier system. Looking at between 30 to 50 lits at the moment. 70 is too big. Lots of options at the moment none of them quite perfect. I ran the heater to empty the sink which wasn't quite full. I'd say around 8 to 10 lits of water and it took nearly 4 mins on full tilt. That's not a bad shower given that you'd turn it on and off.

I don't think that energy consumption is going to be an issue. There is a demon on the Toob of a chap who has made a thermostatic control for his and uses it to heat water for commercial window washing. Reckons it had been running for three weeks on a container and was still going!

Gary can you show me which bits you miss off and where you stick it etc. I really have tried all sorts of combinations. I have done it once before but no luck this time.

Good though isn't it.

Chris

 

[karl webster]

Looks like a great bit of kit to me
Can you vary the temp completly then Chris for showering? Does it run off 12v and gas or can you run just of 12v as well?

Sorry if it states it somewhere but never good at reading through things

Karl

 

[Chris]

You can Karl, yes from luke warm to pretty hot. Pressure doesn't change with temperature. It used gas - butane or propane for the burner and 12 v cig lighter for the pump.

Chris

 

[Ben]

looks good.

does this mean your planning some big trips abroad?

cant see much use for it at local pay n plays.

 

[Chris]

Ben, my truck is a hybrid off roader - overlander remember. Ok never overlanded but I can't really call it a camping van. I use it for shooting too and when you have been up to your elbows in a shot stag, you are pretty happy to get a shower in the field. I also wash up when I have eaten. I find hot water really good for that. Instead of having to boil a kettle and faff around, I can just turn a tap and in second have hot water. Really good for off road weekends when you are camping over too. I have one coming up at the end of the month. On luke warm it could be used to defrost the truck. Makes the truck nice and warm too. Maybe I should take a hot water bottle with me too

Surprised I'm in a minority in terms of seeing the benefit of hot water in a vehicle. Good job I didn't show you the drop down sink

Off for a shower.

Chris

 

[Olazz]

I saw on of these at a local camping exhibition recently. Says it needs Butane/Propane... so along with the "machine" you need to tote a gas bottle? ... So no gas = no hot water??

 

[karl webster]

I really like it. I have a 12v sink but its to big to go in cruiser just for hot water. with this having the shower part with it makes it sound a good buy.

 

[Chris]

Correcto Lazz, no gazo no hottie watero. But it's the same cylinder that I have for several other cookers and lamps. Plus you can get it in a pretty small size. It is miserly on gas so you get a lot for your cc's. I think that it's a lot more efficient at heating water than if you were to boil a pan. If you can use 5* campsites with hot water then clearly it is just baggage. But in terms of camping, it's a pretty tidy thing. I ran it this evening - to impress my long suffering Missus and it heated a sink of hot water to 50 degrees in only a few minutes. There is a very neat heat exchanger for LRs that just bolts straight on. OK you have to run the engine, but other than that there no moving parts etc. I like that but whether you could find somewhere on a Cruiser I don't know.


It will run from a 901 cylinder which is pretty compact. Appreciate availability of Gaz etc but as I am not likely to get further then Norfolk at the moment, I needn't worry!

Chris

 

[Justin_Elliott]

Very nice Chris...
I can definitely see the benefits of having hot water on tap where ever you are, the only downside (for me at least) is the size of the unit... space is normally a premium when camping...

Do your neighbours mind you showering on the driveway?

 

[Chris]

I'll know if they do - they're coppers!

It's not that big really and it packs nice and square. I think that getting the drawers in has provided a different outlook on the load space. I can get almost all my recovery gear and my camping gear into them leaving the deck with just the fridge on. I am going to build a cargo barrier with upper storage following Olazz's excellent design ideas. Piling stuff up in, well, a pile is a poor way to pack. If you can compartmentalise stuff then it seems to work better. I have the roof rack too with pretty much nothing on it. If I am going camping and need nothing more than a single tow rope and shackle for emergencies then I have the whole drawer to put more camping stuff in and vice versa if off roading. What I am determined to do is keep all the seats free. I don't want a three tonne one seat camping truck. (Oh yes I do)

All these things area a trade off aren't they. The more comforts I have on board, the more likely my Missus is to want to go somewhere. Having a shower is one of the last hurdles. Now if I can convince her about the bumper dumper toilet, we're sorted.

Chris

 

[Andrew Prince]

There is a very neat heat exchanger for LRs that just bolts straight on. OK you have to run the engine, but other than that there no moving parts etc. I like that but whether you could find somewhere on a Cruiser I don't know.

http://www.glind.com.au/index.php/Heat-Exchangers/18-Motorhome-Heat-Exchanger.html This is quite a popular option fitted to a number of cruisers in Aus and SA - mounted in the engine bay and feeding hot water through to an underbody hot water tank. As you've pointed out, with such a set-up you either have hot water or not (unless you have a tank each for hot & cold) and hot water is not produced instantaneously. But the heating is free

 

[Chris]

I did think about putting a tank underneath, but dirt gets in absolutely everywhere and sealing it so that filth doesn't get in there is too big a challenge. Fine if you can put any ports inside the vehicle but that's not easy.

Happy with this system. Tank is on it's way - to be fitted behind the fridge.

Chris

 

[Andrew Prince]

Yip, fitted tanks, especially large capacity ones are more for dedicated overlanders. They're obviously a significant weight and space penalty when not being used.
The other plus for your set-up is that if you are setting a fixed camp for a few days, you can de-mount the heater and tank and use away from the truck pretty easily I imagine.

 

[Chris]

Very easily Andrew and the fridge too. Basically I can strip all the accessories from the vehicle pretty quickly if I need to.

The other advantage of the system being portable is that it can be moved around, used in the even of a house boiler breakdown, wash the dog or children or both during a day out etc. Strange maybe but we get quite a few power outs and water cuts here. I have asked why but never had a response from the dedicated raid response to customer questions team. I have several small 12v batteries that can be used to power the pump and ignition away from the vehicle.

Chris

 

[james-c]

I can defo see the advantages of this out camping or working in the field. Even if it is just a for quick wash of the hands after fishing.

What are its dimensions? Does it have a small water tank inside or does it just heat up the water as it's pumped through?

 

[Chris]

Not sure if dimensions are on the website. I'll have a look. Sort of basket ball sized. No, there is no tank. There is a water pick up which you drop in and the electric pump sucks it up. If you put the water in a bowl, put the pick up in the bowl and send the heated water back round into the bowl again (recirculating) then you end up with warmer water going back to the burner each time until in a very short time, it's really really hot. So in effect you could heat up a quite large tank of water, a paddling pool, a bath etc. I don't know what the output is, but it seems close to a domestic water boiler - one of those Redring over sink jobbies. It has electronic ignition which fires up the gas as soon as it detects water flow. Without recirculating the water ie taking it directly from the tank and showering with it, it gets to 25 degrees above what it went in at. So that's pretty good. Typical tap temps are about 20 iirc so it'll get it up to the 40 or so needed for a shower with ease.

Got to design a heated water bed air mattress now. Mmmn, underfloor heating in my roof tent.

Chris

 

[Chas]

Got to design a heated water bed air mattress now. Mmmn, underfloor heating in my roof tent.Chris

Maybe just underfloor pipes would be easier to fit rather than a full-on water bed

 

[Chris]

You know me Chas, no half measures.

Chris