Heated WaterPORT??

Hey all,

Curious if anybody has heated their WaterPORT?? Trying to get some ideas. Heat trace? I know some companies like Coleman make instant hot water heaters but they are too big and bulky. I can't be the first to have this idea! Lets hear/see your ideas!

 

I’m interested in trying to heat the unit itself. Either with a probe or wrap. Ever try anything?

 

I built a couple of solar showers this past summer and while they heat up nicely during the day, they don’t retain the heat for long. I also have a Coleman H2Oasis which does a great job of heating water quickly but you are right saying that it takes up space. I have been researching and working on plans for wrapping a portion of my exhaust with copper tubing and then running a 12v pump on the cold water side to recirculate the water. Here are some things I am currently working out. Exhaust runs much hotter than internal coolant temps so I’m not sure how quickly water would be heated or overheated. I am looking for a temp control switch (perhaps something like this??? https://www.evwest.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=154 ) that would turn off the pump at a certain temp. I have considered a manual switch in cab with temp gauges so that I could turn on and off when temperatures reach shower temperature. Need to determine best location: It is possible that the temps are cooler south of the muffler so that may be the best location for heat transfer and access to my showers. I would have to run tubing (pex ??) in and out with fittings to a 12v pump but that should be the easy part. I know the technology is sound...just don’t know if it would work for this application. Here is a pic of my shower system. I have one on each side 4.5 gal a piece. Currently pressurized by a tire pump.



Disclaimer:

Not sure what temp your waterport is rated at. Mine are built out of ABS, rated at 140 degrees, it also absorbs heat slowly, so recirculating hot water into it is more efficient than heating it from the outside. Mine are used for rinse down only, not as potable water. If there are any galvanized parts on the waterport you would need to take measures to avoid corrosion.

I will let you know how it works.

 

You could use a 12v aquarium pump to circulate water through a small solar panel.

 

For relatively instant heat and windshield defrost, Lexus had a system that uses glow plugs to heat coolant before it enters the heater core. Today they have a PTC heater, even the 3rd Gen V6 Taco receives it. Anyway, here are the bones of the old system, which was installed on many cars and models. Might be useful here, if the temp can be controlled in some manner.

 

Wow, thats an interesting idea. Any idea what the P/N for that is? Would be cool to look up some more info on that like amperage draw, wattage, price, etc

 

I'll dig up what I can.... these were installed on IS models from 2006 until roughly 2013, some GS too. The complete units are plentiful on eBay and salvage yards. Not sold new as a unit, glow plugs are #87343-30010.

 

Glad I started this conversation again. I know we all like hot showers. Especially on days like this in Texas:

 

Cue @austinmtb and his water heater setup…

 

One of these is ~12.5A. Screws into 1” npt female fitting.

$23 DERNORD 12V 150W Immersion Heater Submersible Water Heater Element Stainless Steel Heating Element with 1" NPSM Flange

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0761L2Q8...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

@socalexpeditions

 

Oh man I rely on the sun to heat up my shower water. I have a roadshower I’ve been meaning to put up on my drivers side.

 

It would take about 50 minute to raise the temp of 5gal of water by 10°F. If the water was about 60°F and you wanted a 100°F shower, you'd have to heat it for at least 3hr 15min (assuming you don't lose any heat). Probably need several elements to make it worthwhile.

 

I don't use my Waterport for showering. Mostly for carrying drinking water and having it pressurized. On cold camping mornings, I've found the water in the tank has frozen inside and around the hose outlet so no water available until it thaws out. I'd be interested in a 12v solution that could just heat the water enough from freezing and not for showering purposes. Something similar to a fish aquarium heater seems perfect but hard to integrate. Bagleboy's linked heater seems great but how do you reach the inside of the tank to tighten the threads once you drill a hole for it.

 

Heat exchanger with the coolant. You connect them inline with the heater core lines. Use a 12v rv pump to move the water through the heat exchanger to heat up the tank to the desired temperature.

Some sort of in-cab adjustable thermostat would be sweet!

$71 Duda Energy HX1220:M34 B3-12A 20 Plate Stainless Steel Heat Exchanger with 3/4" Male NPT Ports Copper Brazed, 2" Height, 2.9" Width, 7.5" Length

https://www.amazon.com/Duda-Energy-HX1220-Stainless-Exchanger/dp/B003EBLTI4

 

There are some excellent intercooler and inverter electric water pumps out there.

 

This^ I had this setup on my truck for awhile without a tank and it work great. I just pulled water out of lakes / creeks but having a tank would have been pretty handy. I have my hot water setup posted early in my build thread if you wanna check it out. It would be really easy to tie a system like that into a waterport.

Edit: Also, when tied into your heater lines, your heat control in the cab controls the temperature that the water is heated. No need for any special heat adjuster.

 

Different choices are going to make more or less sense depending on whether you need in camp heating or heat while you drive. If you start with already hot water then obviously it will take less effort to keep it warm. Some combination of the suggestions would work for me.

 

Okay, a suggestion to get everyone way farther down the build line and closer to completion. I've been mulling the idea of onboard shower/hot water for a few years. Not just a wannabe dream either. Already have a nice camp shower, but takes time to setup and take down. To replace it I already have a bunch of crap I have bought out there in the shop as I continually rethink this. Lookin to replace this:



I came upon the idea of using this, and it answers many of the needs we will meet in constructing such a system:


NorthStar ATV Spot Sprayer — 16-Gallon Capacity, 2.2 GPM, 12 Volt | Northern Tool

First, remove the wand. Then plumb the output hose forward to pass through the heat exchanger of your choice under the hood, then back to dispense the heated water into the tank, creating a hot water "loop". (You will need to add a fitting in the top of the water tank to return the heated water.) Continue recirculating water through the heat exchanger and back to the tank until your desired water temperature in the tank is reached. THEN redirect the water flow out of this heat exchanger loop with an inline 3-way valve, redirecting the now-heated water to the output method of your choice: faucet in the bed cubby, quick connect anywhere, etc.

The pump has a flow adjustment valve on the output side of the pump that really assists us in doing this. (That little red thing behind the pump is the flow adjustment knob, the pic just shows a small part of the knob.) Screwing it in increases flow. Screwing it out decreases flow. It gives you the option of NO flow or FULL flow, or anything in between. The pump is always going to pump 2.2 gallons/minute to somewhere, until it reaches it's head pressure, then it goes on stand-by. At zero output flow setting it continually redirects the 2.2gpm flow back into the tank through a return line. At full pressure it continually directs all 2.2gpm flow through the output hose and no flow through the tank return line. Between the two extremes it divides the flow between the return to the tank and the output hose at a ratio of flow that you select by tuning the flow knob. That division of flow solves much for us and simplifies the build. Here is how:

By using this flow adjustment to dial down the output flow rate you can slow the flow of water through the heat exchanger during the water heating cycle, thereby achieving optimal resident time in the exchanger for the tank water to fully absorb the available heat out of the exchanger and achieve temp equilibrium with it. Slowing the water down more heats it up more. Dial the flow rate down until the water temperature coming out of the heat exchanger no longer increases. That is the optimal flow rate for heating the water in the tank the quickest. (As the tank water temp increases the exchanger output temp will increase too, but that is okay: we simply wanted an initial indication of the water temp coming out of the exchanger in the beginning to aid us in adjusting for optimal flow for heating purposes.) Best of all, the rest of the pump's flow is diverted back to the tank, agitating and mixing the heated loop water with the colder tank water. Pretty neat, huh? So you simply turn the pump on and adjust the water's flow rate through the exchanger loop until you get the maximum water heat coming out of the exchanger, then let it continue to flow into the tank heated until the tank water temp is at your preferred shower temperature. Mine is 105, so this heating process shouldn't take long. Then you turn the in-line three-way valve to stop the flow through the exchanger loop and redirect the flow into the shower head hose and get to showering. Or build-out whatever system you desire from there!

They make a 26 gallon version too. You can build this with quick connect fittings so that it can be taken out of the truck when not needed. Only other things needed are some hose and a couple more 3-way valves to plumb the heat exchanger into the cab heater core loop. Pretty simple really. I've already gone down the rabbit hole, purchased the 16 gallon setup and connected it to a shower head. Its 2.2 gallon flow is way more water out of a shower head than you are accustom to at home. That's a 7-1/2 minute HOT shower of EPIC flow! (Home is 1.5gpm.) Or, dial the flow down with the same flow valve to 1gpm and have a 16 minute HOT shower. Flow the heating loop until the tank temp is 140-150 and have a steam bath in your shower enclosure.

I've filled the tank with 145 degree water and pumped all of it out to see if this system is compatible with hot water. Works fine, as if the water was room temperature. I'm going to finish this up this Spring. I hope.

Fits nicely under this wire shelf I will use to set my 6000Btu window air conditioner on to cool the cab when I sleep up there during the hot months. Otherwise I'm in the hammock AFTER a long, hot shower!



Question: How much and for how long will 16 gallons of 140-160 degree water heat the inside of your bed cap for your toasty night's sleep in cold weather? Answers the sleeping-in-the-bed during winter problem? Two birds with one stone?

 

Unless you keep adding heat to it not nearly long enough. Consider how fast a hot bath cools in a heated bathroom. That’s more than 16 gallons with less of a temp differential. The energy to keep the water hot would be better used warming something less massive or conductive like a blanket or mattress pad.