On board shower using exhaust heat?

Thanks so much. Happy Independence Day!

 

You hardly find these kinda threads anymore. Usually the op gives up before the finished product, good stuff right here for sure.

 

Happy fourth everyone!!

Haha hey man there's still time for me to give up!

But unlikely as I'm 200$ deep with all the parts in my garage.


Pro tip:
If you're gonna try a project like this, become very good friends with someone high up at McMaster Carr. Can't stress how important it is to get quality parts. Don't go to Home Depot or regular consumer stores. You'll get crap parts & frustration.
Getting them at employee pricing doesn't hurt me either

 

Here's the water pump I'm using. Was a spare for our old motorhome.
It says it can handle up to 40' of head! Which should kick ass for throwing a hose into a stream or whatever water source I can find.

 

You should have a MOD change the title since you ended up not using the exhaust

 

Why didn't I think of that...

 

It keeps all the subscribers and no new thread needs to be made. Pm a mod

 

Great job by the way. As money is budgeted properly on my end, I'll finish mine up.

 

Redid this bypass manifold


Didn't like the idea of galvanized crap in the engine coolant, and I shrank the fitting by a couple inches.



Fits much better here now

 

I got to see the finished Final product. What are you still waiting on to come in the mail?

 

It's all here man!
Thread title change pending bob's response.

Okay now, troubleshooting time. The bypass is working, but I'm worried the shower mode isn't.... AHHHH

 

Not too shabby for handmade parts with a hacksaw & file!

Pipe clamp to hold thermostatic valve



Goddamned beautiful work. I'll brag all day about

 

Looks like part of the stock engine bay now. You'd hardly notice it if not for the ball valve handle.

 

Could get fancy and make yourself a nice handle to replace the industrial one there.

 

Hood closes fine though, no hitting?

You run water through her yet?

 

Alright now for the troubleshooting party.



On bypass mode, cabin heater works well, but ONLY after accelerating & holding engine above 1700 RPM

otherwise, spent 20 minutes at 190 degree idle temp and rpm & no change in cabin heat.



Shower mode:

I have not yet plumbed in the water pump to the "exchange side" of heat exchange, so unsure if this is a side effect or fault of that check valve-


When in shower mode, cabin will NOT warm up when heater is on. No exception here- only cold air blows out on full heat.

Took a very long time for heat exchange to get hot to the touch- my other concern is where the air bubble is-


Heat exchange was empty upon install & I filled the coolant reservoir before starting engine, leaving only a tiny bubble in reservoir empty- this bubble had not grown, meaning the reservoir has not refilled the void in this system that needs to be filled.


How do I flush the air out?

 

SkyGear can you copy my most recent posts into your thread?
I think I'll get more input on issues & keep em both up to date. & it's not possible for me on the tapatalk app on iphone

 

Also, when valve was turned to shower mode, i assumed there was a bunch of air to purge out of the system and heat to discourse so I let it idle for 20 min or so, making sure water temp didnt get above 190.


Nothing changed & cabin air never heated up
So I drove around the block 7-8 times hoping the increased RPM would increase pressure & maybe blow the air out/ get things moving correctly.


Nada.
Heat exchange did heat up after 15 min of driving, but cabin air did not, and about 10 times I heard a motor running from footwell area- sounded a lot like a fuel pump kicking on... I've heard this noise on rare occasions when turning the key on, but never this frequently and never while driving like I just heard.

Any idea what it coulda been?

 

No stress. Will Do . On android, I just select the posts, click edit, then copy all the text.

 

I'll tell you right now man, Since I have NOT done this YET*, I can't help on this one. made sure all the valves are in the right position? Just starting out with the small stuff.