G'day! Bart here from Joolca - Portable LPG Water heaters.

[Barrabart]

G'day Bart,

If pumping direct from a creek using the 20m extension hose, I'm assuming the pump will be local to the shower unit and drawing through 20mtrs of hose from the creek, is this correct?
(naturally the bank height etc will come into play with how well the pump draws the water)

Only asking as most of our 'showering water' would be coming from a creek, not our on-board water as we normally camp out bush by a creek.

[barrel01]

If I am too far from a creek I just use the pump down at the creek to fill a 20 litre Jerry then hook it up back at the shower to the Joolca.

The pump runs fine from a 12 volt 7ah battery to remote fill from the creek


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[Barrabart]

Thanks Barrel01,

I guess my question is, will the pump draw water through 20mtrs of hose on reasonably level ground or a slight bank etc, as I would imagine this a pretty big task for a small 12v pump. ?

[myminirocks]

Just a little addition to our favourite bit of camping kit. I used a Projecta Battery Box (BPE330 $60), an NS40ZL car battery (left behind by a previous worker, all it needed was a top up of water and a rejuvenate charge) our existing diaphragm pump, a spare Anderson plug ($7) and a rocker switch ($2.95).











So now our HotTap is truly an anywhere shower, previously I had to set up within about 5mtrs of the car or camper so I could plug the pump in. This way, I grab the HotTap, gas bottle, hoses and this little box and we are done.

I found that the NS40ZL ran the pump, non stop for over an hour and a half and only dropped to 12.1v. It took 20mins on the solar to top it back up.

Fun little project, very happy with the results.


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[myminirocks]

Thanks Barrel01,

I guess my question is, will the pump draw water through 20mtrs of hose on reasonably level ground or a slight bank etc, as I would imagine this a pretty big task for a small 12v pump. ?

Hey Barra Bart,  12v diaphragm pumps are generally designed (like all pumps) to be set up with the shortest possible suction hose, with the smallest "Head" (height from water to the pump) after that, they will "push" water virtually anywhere. I have a 3 mtr suction hose and a 30mtr outlet hose, we have never had a problem.

I cannot speak for Bart's pumps as I already had a pump when we purchased the HotTap, and every pump is made for different applications, but you will normally find a good quality 12v pump will pump to 10mtrs head (at sea level) and many of the 4 chamber pumps are pretty safe to run dry for a "short" period of time while it manages to self prime.


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[KingBilly]

Bart, quick question.  Can your heater be plumbed up to the kitchen tap?  You know, used for washing up and left until it is needed again.  Or do you need to switch it on at the actual unit each time you need hot water?

Thanks
KB

[barrel01]

Bart, quick question.  Can your heater be plumbed up to the kitchen tap?  You know, used for washing up and left until it is needed again.  Or do you need to switch it on at the actual unit each time you need hot water?

Thanks
KB

KB I have one and you just connect it the once and turn the gas on to it then it is all automatic from there.  Whenever you turn the tap on it fires up.



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[Fizzie]

KB I have one and you just connect it the once and turn the gas on to it then it is all automatic from there.  Whenever you turn the tap on it fires up.

Agree, as long as you don't mind leaving the gas turned on at the bottle?

If you don't, it would only be a matter of opening the gas tap then turn your kitchen hot water tap on!

[KingBilly]

Agree, as long as you don't mind leaving the gas turned on at the bottle?

If you don't, it would only be a matter of opening the gas tap then turn your kitchen hot water tap on!

Would there be an issue with leaving the gas bottle turned on?

KB

[scott oz]

Hi Bart,

Seriously thinking (July/Aug) of going for your Hottap after reading all nine pages of this thread.

As you said in one post it's good if whatever you are carrying does at least two functions.

Water quanty is an issue for me as the Jayco Swan only carries 80 Lts and I don't really wish to put a second tank in.

I saw you investigating a 18Lt/min pump and I think I read your pumps give mains pressure?? So question is would your pump have enough pressure to use with a reverse osmosis unit. My thinking is to use the pump for both the hot water and if needed switch it to pump water through a reverse osmosis unit into the Swan's 80 Ltr tank.

What do you think?

[Fizzie]

Would there be an issue with leaving the gas bottle turned on?

KB

KB

Probably your own call on that one! 

Does say in the manual to turn the cylinder off when finished but I'm guessing that's a general gas safety warning?

We turn our's off at the bottle, but we only use it for showers or to fill a tub for washing dishes via the shower nozzle - we don't have hot water plumbed to the sink.

Bart will probably be along soon to give his comment!

Graeme

[scott oz]

KB

Probably your own call on that one! 

Does say in the manual to turn the cylinder off when finished but I'm guessing that's a general gas safety warning?

We turn our's off at the bottle, but we only use it for showers or to fill a tub for washing dishes via the shower nozzle - we don't have hot water plumbed to the sink.

Bart will probably be along soon to give his comment!

Graeme

My problem would be turning the gas off at the bottle would turn the gas of to my fridge while on gas. As thinking a off valve before the hottap? At lease this is what I'm planning.

[Bart@Joolca]

@ Barrabart

Great question.

The FLOTAP6 pump, like myminirocks stated, is the type of pump that is best placed closest to the water source. It is self-priming to 1.8m, vertical. This means that it can suck up water, from dry, if it is at a maximum of 1.8m directly above the water source.

To better answer your question I can give you a bit more information based on my personal experience and based on conversations I have with customers who have a very similar set up to what you mentioned - feel free to PM me/ call up for a bit of a chat over the phone.

Basically, you want to set the pump within a couple of metres from the river/ creek and then have your outlet line running into the HOTTAP. Ideally, you would also have a decent suction filter to keep debris from getting sucked/ stuck in the pump itself, and from getting up to the HOTTAP. The HOTTAP actually has a small mesh screen tucked about 10mm inside the water inlet which will catch a lot of the gunk that may make its way in. As a side note, for anyone who is using a similar set up, if you find that your water flow is barely noticeable between 'Max' and 'Min' I suggest having a look at this filter as it could potentially be a bit blocked up.

I have tested 20m of hose from my pump to the HOTTAP, up a small incline (2-3m), and the system worked very well. One of our online videos actually uses this set up and it has been pretty convenient for a lot of people as it saves drinking water for more useful applications.

The FLOTAP6 has 60PSI of pressure, so, it packs a decent kick. This is one of the reasons why it is able to push water along an inclined path and still supply the HOTTAP with enough flow and pressure to ensure it works across the full range of flow. In saying this, for very long distances and crazy inclines you'd be better with a larger flow pump. Lets assume a 40PSI pressure setting, something along the lines of 12/17LPM. The longer the distance the more pressure losses you experience within the system. So, you'd grab larger inner diameter hosing (less restrictive) and even if you lost half of your flow and pressure within the system (leaks, frictional losses in hose, etc.) you would still have enough to power up the HOTTAP.

Excuse the long reply, thought I'd put in what information I thought was useful for anyone else thinking of a similar set up. Any additions welcome to this post !

[Bart@Joolca]

@ myminirocks

Awesome kit! Running for that long and only needed a short, 20min recharge is very convenient and means less time mucking around. Plus, it keeps things in order and saves the pump/ battery from getting a bit messy. So many cool ideas on this thread!

@ KingBilly

Like barrel01 mentioned, the system will be completely automatic (depending on gas situation) and the HOTTAP will start heating up the water as soon as it senses water flow. Any open/ close valve will do the trick here, so, you could exchange the shower head for your tap and have no issue at all. An idea may be to fit a T-piece on the water outlet (on the HOTTAP) and run one line to your tap and the other to your shower. You'd only be able to use one appliance at a time, but this would make things a bit smoother.

In terms of leaving the gas on or off, I'd leave it off. Like Fizzie said, it is really down to how you want to do things here. Let me give you a couple points as to why I recommend leaving it off:

- It is safer. I'm always one to make sure the gas is turned off when I'm done with the HOTTAP, or my BBQ, or any other gas appliance. It doesn't take long to turn it off and I don't want to take any risks. I'm not saying anything will happen, but I think it is better safe than sorry.

- Let's say a fitting blows within your set up and water starts flowing through the unit, engaging the burners - you'd run out of water and gas in this situation. I also turn off power to my pump for this reason. If I know I won't be needing hot water for a while then everything is off.

@ scott oz

We once had 12LPM and 18LPM pumps with 40PSI, so, these were not operating at mains pressure. I can't recall the pumps I may have been referring to unfortunately. Our FLOTAP6 is at 60PSI, but this still would not be enough for your reverse osmosis unit. In saying this, I suggest using a different pump for your reverse osmosis system (not using the same one for HOTTAP) as the high pressure may lead to hose swelling and fittings blowing. Even though I do believe it is beneficial to take items that have more than one use, this situation is a bit trickier.

With the gas side of things, an idea might be to look into something like this: http://www.joolca.com.au/couple-set

The female end attaches to the outlet side of your gas hose and the male end attaches to the HOTTAP. When you disconnect the gas line from the unit, the female end stops the flow of gas when not connected to the male end.

[scott oz]

Bart,

Thanks for the advice not what I was hoping for but was expected.

Will still be looking to get a hottap in July Aug.

Love the snap fitting. When you disconnect do you have to have the bottle turned off or does the female fitting stop the gas flow?

[myminirocks]

Hey Scott Oz. I'm assuming you are using the reverse Osmosis for filtering drinking water?

Have you seen the B.E.S.T inline water filters?

Whilst I haven't had personal experience with them (yet) I believe that have a very minor hit on the water flow.

Also I would (I am) setting up a Best filter on a seperate hose line to only one tap for drinking because there is no need having perfect drinking quality filtered water to shower/wash up with.

It's like I always shake my head when we flush the toilet with potable water.... Crazy!

[tourer77]

Hi Bart, I need a replacement shower head for an existing H/W unit i have (it's not a Joocla), can you supply as a separate part.  Also I'd be after 2 of the LPG quick connect couplings, cheers.

[landbarge]

PM sent. Brilliant piece of kit.

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[The punter]

PM sent re shower head

[tourer77]

PM sent re shower head

Hey punter, haven't received any PMs, could you re-send, thx

[mule]

  Receaved my delivery . have to get out and use it. Thanks for the great serves .

[The punter]

Hey punter, haven't received any PMs, could you re-send, thx

Sorry meant to say to Bart!

[neilo1]

Just wanted to say thanks to Bart and the Joolca team. I recently purchased a HOTTAP and Bart was very helpful throughout and provided great service. 

[MrEMan]

PM sent last Sunday with no reply  Anyone heard from Bart in the last week?

Regards

[The punter]

Yes and he sent a replacement for a shower head in two days!

Great service thanks