Triton Hot Water On Demand

[TygerCub]

I finally bit the bullet and ordered the Triton HWOD unit from Amazon. Over 70+ reviews and the only complaints I could see were the unit cutting due to lack of pressure, and the pilot light blowing out in a breeze.


Has anyone else installed one of these (or a similar camp shower unit) on their bus? If so, what did you think?

[ol trunt]

Hi TC, glad to see someone else try one of these. Although it will be a while before I install my " Ecotemp" in my bus, I have played with it a bit to see just how well it worked.It is absolutely great if you open up the flow--lots of hot water. However, if you stop the flow to "soap up etc" you will get a COLD surprise when you turn the water back on. For safety reasons I guess, the burner on these things turns off when it "thinks" there is no water resulting in a blast of cold water burrrr. Despite the tittering from the kids next door, I tried various fixes for the problem ( I was by the way Spedo clad --someone has to wear them!). The result of this "scientific study" was that I plan to use an electric solenoid valve to re circulate the water to the pump while the hot water is running to trick the heater (heater has a temp set so the thing will not blow up ). Let us know what you come up with---There's more than one way to skin a cat! UH OH!I have two GREAT cats so I better watch my language!

[TygerCub]

That recirculation trick sounds like an excellent idea and I'm debating using it myself. Here's a video on YouTube that I saw this weekend that had me thinking about that very thing.

Complete Camp Shower System w/ Coleman Hot Water On Demand

He mentions the "3 way bypass valve" at about the 1:20 mark. His demo is very good too.

I looked at the Coleman first, but read too many complaints of "shoddy workmanship" to actually buy it. Instead, the Triton had the best reviews. I do have a 2.8 gpm shurflo pump and a small pressure tank to help keep the flow consistent, so I hope that is enough. If it isn't I may buy a bigger pump and use the shurflow as a backup.

[lornaschinske]

Use shorter lines from heater to shower or use handheld to direct the "cold" water into a bucket or down the drain.Alternative is take a normal shower and don't turn off the water. I think, if the water coming into the water heater is too warm, the burners will not kick on. That is my understanding.

[SeanF]

The return valve is a pretty cool idea.

Personally I let the water run when soaping up, except for the times when I was way off the grid and had to conserve. Then I shut it off and dealt with the cold water slug by shrieking like a little girl!

It's true that the water recirculation would conserve water, but wouldn't it also be wasting the fuel used to heat the recirculated water? I guess everything is a tradeoff.

[TygerCub]

Originally Posted by SeanF

It's true that the water recirculation would conserve water, but wouldn't it also be wasting the fuel used to heat the recirculated water?

I would think the "wasted" propane would be the vastly lesser of the two evils. After all, propane is relatively easy to come by, while good potable water can be a hit or miss prospect (especially in the desert).