Hot water heater

1975Jas

New Member
Hi all
First post on forum so sorry if I’m in wrong section.
Having a conversion done and including 70ltr underslung tank and hot water system.
Suggested system is 3litre hot water capacity.
For those with a 3litre capacity, do you find it enough.
There will be two of us, so main use will be washing pots, cups etc. rinsing mucky shoes and dog. But we are also having a shower attachment at the back, so occasionally might want to shower off.
It will be an off grid, no gas, design, so mindful of the fact that best to heat the water when driving, but slight concern is if 3litre runs out in no time and need to re heat when pitched up, could take lots of store from battery on a low/no solar day - especially as we want to be able to use through winter too.
Be grateful of thoughts for those with similar system.
Thanks
 
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I’ve live in my van for 3 months at a time off site, if I need hot water I boil a kettle.
I have a larger pot for shower water which effectively doesn’t consume valuable space as it’s a storage container for my shower equipment when not in use.
IMO the space taken up by the system has better use.
I have a Wallas XC Duo.
 
If you don’t have gas I’d consider offsetting the cost of the water heater against a Wallas XC Duo, you’ll get a versatile double hob with a very effective heater.
 
Does the shower mix the hot with cold?

During Covid, we refilled our 20litre container with the kettle until it was warm enough for a shower, that was more than enough for two of us to get thoroughly clean.
 
I did use the generic Ebay pump/shower head kit to start with but they are very poor quality, went through two in no time.
I now use a Whale GP1002 pump, standard reinforced poly hose, shower head from dead Ebay kit with a remote IP67 illuminated electrical switch.
If in the middle of nowhere there’s no need for a shower tent IMO, otherwise I use a Kyham Privvy Bivvy with the switch and shower head fed in through the top vent.
The water pot with the pump normally stays in the van, if it’s raining I route the hose and cable through a front window using the wind deflector to keep the rain out.
If it’s blowing a hooley I tie the tent to the wing mirror.
The tent has been modified with some additional quick clip on poles at the base to make it rigid without pegging to the ground.
I found the bottom of the tent got muddy, not a big deal but rather than waste water cleaning it I made some legs for each corner from sealant nozzles to keep it off the ground.
Works well for us and even in sub-zero temperatures soon gets hot and steamy inside.
Recently I bought a 1m diameter dog bath for inside the van, it fits nicely. Still awaiting a trial run…..woof!

No mixer, just add cold water until the temperature is correct. Pot, pump, switch, hose, shower head and dog bath. I don’t bother with the privacy tent anymore, takes up too much space.
 
If you don’t have gas I’d consider offsetting the cost of the water heater against a Wallas XC Duo, you’ll get a versatile double hob with a very effective heater.
I’ll take a look at that, thank you
 
Does the shower mix the hot with cold?

During Covid, we refilled our 20litre container with the kettle until it was warm enough for a shower, that was more than enough for two of us to get thoroughly clean.
Both the shower and the sink tap mix hot and cold

Thanks for your reply
 
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We are going fully down the Joolca route. We have the double ensuite easy pop up tent, a cheapo £30 usb chargeable shower pump in a bucket of kettle warmed water with an ok shower head.
The Joolca Nomad kit will be our next purchase, basically a 907 gas powered shower and kitchen sink/tap combo.
The cheap kit we have works well but having hot water 'on tap' will be a considerable improvement especially for the bigger festivals where showering can be an unpleasant and time consuming experience.
We've managed to save up £4 to now, only another £495 to go, I secretly think the wife thinks the 'handsome actor' in the Joolca adverts is hot, so obviously well worth the investment.
I did initially think she was off her trolley with the cheapo shower system, but we use it regularly when real showers are hard to find, it is very acceptable!
 
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Hi all
First post on forum so sorry if I’m in wrong section.
Having a conversion done and including 70ltr underslung tank and hot water system.
Suggested system is 3litre hot water capacity.
For those with a 3litre capacity, do you find it enough.
There will be two of us, so main use will be washing pots, cups etc. rinsing mucky shoes and dog. But we are also having a shower attachment at the back, so occasionally might want to shower off.
It will be an off grid, no gas, design, so mindful of the fact that best to heat the water when driving, but slight concern is if 3litre runs out in no time and need to re heat when pitched up, could take lots of store from battery on a low/no solar day - especially as we want to be able to use through winter too.
Be grateful of thoughts for those with similar system.
Thanks
What did you go for? I’m just starting my T6 conversion. I’ve had a T4 for a few years with cold water but would love hot water. We spend 99% of our time off grid.
 
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What did you go for? I’m just starting my T6 conversion. I’ve had a T4 for a few years with cold water but would love hot water. We spend 99% of our time off grid.
We went with the 3 litre hot water store in the end - it’s a compromise of minimal space taken up but not a huge amount of warm water - also, due to its size it doesn’t take too long to re heat.
So many options out there, and in a Transporter you have to consider how much storage you are happy to sacrifice
 
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