Hot water heater and water pump selection

S

ST85

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Mar 17, 2021
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Hello, I am in the process of building out out new Hawk Shell and I’m struggling on some bigger equipment selections.

1. On demand vs 6 Gal hot water heater? Brand?

2. Water pump brand and how many GPM I actually need.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has come up against these decisions… Is there a thread I have not seen discussing this, or does anyone have any light they can shed on this?

Thanks,
ST
 
Shurflo pumps are very common in many if not most RV applications. I’m not sure of the GPM needed, but if you Google it, there’s lots of info.

I’m going to be the contrarian, I hate RV water heaters. IMO, they waste water and take up space. In both our camper and Airstream, we rarely use ours. We just leave them empty and on bypass. For us, it’s far easier to heat water for dishes and bathing on the stovetop. All that said, I believe Dometic maybe the most common brand. If I were doing a build and needed a WH, my preference would be an on demand.

Please document your camper build with a thread here on WTW, it will be a great guideline for others doing a build.
 
You’ll probably be more confused than helped, given the variety of opinions that will undoubtably surface here.

We are very satisfied with the Surflo pump and the Dometic 6 gal. water heater that FWC installed in our 2019 Hawk. I think that the pump is rated at 3 gal/min, which is well matched for our camping activities. The water heater has been very reliable and fool proof to operate. We find it to be really convenient for dish cleanup and bathing. We turn it on before cooking breakfast, and likewise at dinner time. It doesn’t use very much propane. It seems to hold its heat really well. The 6 gal. of water actually provides a backup; it can be drained back into your main tank if that runs out. But of course it does take up some space.

I don’t have any experience with on-demand water heaters, but I’m suspicious of them. It takes a huge amount of energy to quickly heat up a significant flow of cold water. There have been several discussions on the forum about them, and maybe someone has reported good results.
 
I have no experience with them in an rv, but I’ve read that on demand is not a good choice if you are trying to conserve water (as we often are in these campers). In addition to the water in the lines downstream of the heater (same as for a tank), the on demand heater only comes on with flow and, while they are pretty fast, they still have a bunch of thermal mass to heat up in the heat exchanger (metal and water). Meanwhile, you are running water for several seconds waiting for the heater to produce hot water.

If my camper had just been for me, I would not have ordered a water heater. Having worked out a shower bag system for backpacking, I don’t need it. However, my wife really wanted it. I have to admit after hiking the tank makes it easy to do multiple showers in a row. We actually use it on day trips quite a bit after swimming and for hosing down the sandy grandchild at the beach.
 
I agree that hot water heaters are not a good investment. Something else to go wrong that we have not had any problem doing without. The shurflo pump is standard and easily fixed or replaced if an issue comes up.
 
Hi,
lots of options talked about ... our personal preferences that work for us are jugs and boiling water in winter and summer we use on demand heater for showers and clean up, Hoop
 
My Raven arrives next week. I am a huge fan of hot water and have been researching since I placed my order over a year ago. My previous truck camper, a Hallmark Milner, had the popular 6 gallon Suburban propane unit. Showering outside after a day of mountain biking the hot water seemed endless. The unit was reliable and I liked the extra six gallons in addition to my 20 gallon water tank. However, my truck is a 1500 and I could feel those 26 gallons sloshing back and forth around every turn and dip in the road. That was too much water for my half-ton truck. I got rid of the old Hallmark Milner (probably weighed 1600lbs and the wood frame was starting to rot). With the Raven shell, I’m only installing the necessities. Heat and hot water. If I cook, it will be with a Jetboil or outside. I want maximum interior space. After lots of research, I settled on a Chinese knock-off of the Truma Combi combo heater and hot water boiler. It’s a JP CR-12 LPG also branded as a Wolf 6000. The Truma is $3500, the Wolf is $2500 and the JP was $1000 plus $500 shipping. When it arrived, it had all the Wolf branding… so go figure. I first heard of the Truma when researching truck campers. The Overland Explorer Camp-X camper comes standard with a Truma Combi. I like the Camp-X but they go for near $40k with no shell option, at least not a year ago when I was shopping. The JP unit is self contained and has a 6 liter boiler. Far less than the Suburban, but more than an on-demand unit. All the reviews say the heater is very quiet. I like that the heat is delivered through duct work so the machine can be isolated in a cabinet. My old suburban furnace, like the stock furnace in the FWC, would cycle all night constantly waking me up. I ordered a narrow 11 gallon water tank from plastic-mart that will have the same footprint as the JP. I intend to mount the tank on the floor near the front window with the JP heater on top (on a shelf made of 80/20 aluminum). Stacked, they will be flush with the tops of the side benches, completing my U-shaped seating area. With the heater and water tucked under the new front seat, the rest of the Raven will have “lots” of room for 3-4 of us to sit around a Lagun table. I’m planning to house my ARB fridge in the rear seat of the truck. I really want as much weight low and towards the middle as possible. I’m even considering moving the whole battery bank to the rear floor of the truck. It drives me nuts that FWC piles all of the heavy appliances on the same side as the driver. If you’re solo, you, plus the water heater, fridge, sink, stove, batteries, are all leaning to Port. Plus, they hang the fridge way towards the back of the camper/truck bed. Just throws the whole vehicle off-center. Good luck with whatever you decide. Planning and re-planning is half the fun of the shell model!

Here’s the pump I selected.

SHURFLO 4008-101-E65 3.0 Revolution Water Pump https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002XM5G70/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_BDZW1HNPW5KJBHHX1C0P?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

And the accumulator tank… supposed to help keep the pump from constantly cycling:

SHURflo 182-200 Pre-Pressurized Accumulator Tank,Black, 9.1" x 4.8" x 3.8" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000N9VF6Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_PW225K46NVZDB9C3WFQ5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

This is the JP Combi heater. Purchased from JP Industries distributor out of Canada:

https://m.car-parkingheater.com/sale-14173652-6kw-lpg-air-and-hot-water-heater-gas-electric-similar-to-truma-combi-6e.html

Camper X camper just FYI:

https://atoverland.com/pages/overland-explorer-camp-x-pop-up-truck-camper

And lastly the water tank:

https://m.plastic-mart.com/product/345/11-gallon-rectangle-poly-tank-rb319 no
 
Hi
Our experience is also that we don’t use the water heater that much, but I think nice to have. The accumulator makes for smooth water flow. You don’t get extra 6 gallons, because when the main tank is empty, the 6 in the water heater has no way of being pumped out.
Only running the water heater till a comfortable temperature is reached you can shower with only opening the hot water line. Not trying to mix saves a lot of water. We only shower in outside tent.

Russ
 
Water heaters are nice, mine takes 20 minutes or so to heat up and cycle off. So there is a wait time.

I always have water in it to be ready to use, but many trips it does not get used. Water is ready to be heated but no propane is used.

Have a aluminum pot that can heat water on the stove at night, strip down and do a sponge bath, quick and easy. What little hair I have can wash it with half of or so quart bottle.

I did install a shower tent on the side of the camper, someday looking forward to using it as there is no feeling like a hot water shower.

*Added clarification first 2 paragraphs.
 
CougarCouple said:
Hi
Our experience is also that we don’t use the water heater that much, but I think nice to have. The accumulator makes for smooth water flow. You don’t get extra 6 gallons, because when the main tank is empty, the 6 in the water heater has no way of being pumped out.
Only running the water heater till a comfortable temperature is reached you can shower with only opening the hot water line. Not trying to mix saves a lot of water. We only shower in outside tent.

Russ
Click to expand...
Hi Russ,

It’s not clear to me what camper you have, but if it’s a FWC with factory hot water you should be able to drain the hot water tank back into the cold tank. Maybe I misunderstood your statement, though.

Jon
 
I'm w/ the no hot water heater ppl. I have one. Never used it in the two years I've had the camper. Frequently take 2 week trips and just sponge bath when necessary. Tho I could see it being nice after a rough hike in the summer or something. So, I haven't decided to remove it yet.. But I think about it frequently. (Not sure how I'd close the hole after removing it.. that would look good).

The only minor issue is when washing dishes w/ relatively weak camp soap w/ cold water, the fat's/oils don't always clean up easily.

And as the others said they do, we just heat water on the stove when we want it for something.
 
Jon R said:
Hi Russ,

It’s not clear to me what camper you have, but if it’s a FWC with factory hot water you should be able to drain the hot water tank back into the cold tank. Maybe I misunderstood your statement, though.

Jon
Click to expand...
Hi Jon
We have an ATC, and I installed a water heater. There are no valves to return the water out of the heater back to the fresh water tank. So when the fresh water is out, 6 gallons are stuck in the WH.
 
I was in the no water heater camp, before I got a water heater. Now I am in the yes on the water heater camp and would recommend one with a tank, not tankless.

In the summer we often don't turn the heater on unless we plan on showering, but it is 6 extra gallons of water storage. In the shoulder seasons and winter it is sooo nice to wash dishes and hands in warm water and the water heater is a great heat reservoir to keep the plumbing warm and you can use the heater to warm your main water tank as well.
 
We enjoy our water heater. If we have heated water at night, we fill our 61oz vacuum bottle to have hot water in the evening and in the morning after flipping the power switch off.

I’m not sure I would want the camper without it even though we don’t always use it.

Now, we would definitely NOT buy the internal shower again. Have never used it.

Paul
 
@MaverickMTB

I am very interested in your JP Combi Heater install. Do you have it in your camper now? Can you share the details?

Thanks,
Bruce
 
We have had both one 6 gal heater install with first FWC now we have a on demand Joolco. we use it outside. mainly every 4-5 days or available water source. We heat a water on the stove otherwise. That works well for us. I use a 5 gal bucket and pump out of that for the water heater when in use you can visually watch the water disappear that way and it does....There are good reviews on water pumps out there and I will purchase my next camper or on demand pump from the specs needed. I researched pumps for a friend in need in the past and reviews led to another brand as best other than shurflow. I can drain the on demand easily. To isolate and drain the 6 gal. well was harder. We never used the 6 gal heater unless summer or cautiously spring, fall. We use our Hawk year round and Now the on demand more what defines the use is water availability. hoop
i
 
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