Best Water Heater For Van Conversion - Camco Kuuma Coolant & Electric Free Hot Water in Promaster
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- čas přidán 9. 09. 2024
- I started off using a commonly used electric hot water heater in our Ram Promaster Van conversion, but soon realized it was not a very good option since there is no easy way to drain it without taking it out of the van. For a little more I was able to get free hot water without using any electricity while driving. I'll show you how in this video. The products used in this video can be purchased below (Amazon Paid Links)
Kuuma 6 Gallon Water Heater amzn.to/3UrWRbT
50 feet 5/8 Heater Hose amzn.to/3haxOvB
Hose Clamp Assortment amzn.to/3hekAOv
5/8 Shut Off Valve 2 Pack amzn.to/3NIZRhV
Permatex High Temp Sealant amzn.to/3T7Ibhd
Mopar Coolant (2 req) amzn.to/3UcIJ6D
Brass Tee (2 req) amzn.to/3WvciBT
My Website / Blog: jackofallmaste...
Disclaimer:
The information, demonstration and any content contained in this video is for entertainment and informational purposes only. We make no warranty, express or implied, regarding the effectiveness or safety of the contents of this video. In no way should the contents of the video, including the tools used, be repeated or tried by anyone. Viewers should only seek the help of a trained professional located at a licensed auto repair shop for any fix, modification, alteration, or any change to their vehicle. We shall not be liable for any injury, damage, or loss to any person or property that may result from use of the tools, equipment, or any content contained in this video. In addition, there is no way to guarantee that the video is not altered or modified or is not in the final form submitted by us and therefore, we do not warrant that the video is unaltered or not modified. The links on this video to products are for informational purposes only and in no way are an endorsement of the safety or effectiveness of the particular product. Viewers understand that anything contained in this video or linked to or from this video is the sole responsibility of the viewer and in no way provides an express or implied warranty as to the safety or effectiveness of any linked tool, product, or video. Therefore, viewer agrees to release, waive, and discharge us or anyone affiliated with us, from any and all liability, claims, demands, actions, and causes of action whatsoever arising out of or related to any loss, damage, or injury, including death, that may be sustained by the viewer, or to any property belonging to viewer, regardless of whether the loss is linked to the use of the contents of this video, or otherwise and regardless of whether such liability arises in tort, contract, strict liability, or otherwise, to the fullest extent allowed by law.
That's pretty awesome. A little tip is you can hook an old heater core from a vehicle (looks like a little radiator) to the exhaust of a Chinese diesel heater and heat up a large container of water quite quickly, or cook on it. Some off gridders might appreciate the tip. I used an old steam radiator from a home heating system and that 200 lb cast iron heated up to 400 degrees near where the exhaust inlet from the diesel heater connected. It was hot enough to cook many burgers and hotdogs in a pan, helped to heat my garage, heated 10 gallons of water to 180 degrees, and was basically free waste energy that usually gets dumped into the atmosphere. You can also do the same exact thing with a generator and the cast iron radiator acts as the most effective muffler imaginable as a side benefit.
My son is I nstalling this in my Promster today along with a Tetravan shower - thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge.
Your video is much appreciated. After looking at all the other popular options, your find on this water heater is a great solution. Great job illustrating your install as well. Thank you for your time putting this video together.
Great video, I am planning to add one of these to our build.
You do a great job on explaining everything step you take 👍
Mr Jack Master... Your info here is GREATLY APPRECIATED... Not only did you provide a link to the same unit at a lower price...
You also explained it to a AVG Intel guy like me...
This item isn't label comprehensively that it is also heater through the coolant system.... If you red the title.. description and specs... It does state heat exchanger...but for what...what alternative method..
I am not the only simpleton having this dilemma... Others are too.
I will send this link to the rest of the clan.. we all have older class b RVs that only heat off of propane.....
THANK YOU
Very interesting. Just what I’m looking for. Infrared temperature guns are not extremely accurate because of emissivity issues. A contact thermometer works well for testing liquids (water and air). A good digital cooking thermometer also works well.
Thanks for putting this together, much appreciated
Thank you for posting such a detailed video. I was contemplating a similar water heater, but was reluctant to try the install myself. Your video is helpful in showing great detail & I think I can do this!
Awesome build I shell be doing the same! 👍🏼
great walk through on setting this up. I, too, have the bosch and wish I had found this earlier. I am curious like others if the system has a built in method for managing the water temperature. Surely it does? A thermostatic valve is good for managing the temp of the water on the way out, but what does it do to keep the water from getting to 220 in the vessel?
Humble Roads recommends using a “heat exchange” element in the engine compartment to avoid any issues with the vehicle breaking down should the glycol lines become damaged underneath. I think this would help nullify any warranty concerns, as well.
I am not familiar with a heat exchanger like that, but if money and space is no consideration that should be ok. Buses have used coolant powered heaters for ever. The risk of damaging a line is small and thats why I added shut off valves.
“Heat exchange element”What?
I thought a heat exchanger is to heat the air
These Kuuma are great if you already have Rear AC\Heat in your van.. As all the hoses are right there..Just remove the cover and route the hose into the unit. Then back to the rear heater inlet...You're done..
Freakin' brilliant! Thanks...
Really informative video. Thanks
Great job
Excellent instructions, thanks! I’m almost done. Not sure if I will replace the plastic draining valve or not. Maybe it’s better to have it as the weak link if it ever freezes. Also I tried to remove it but it’s quite tight and I was afraid to break it
It's glued in with some sealant. Just need a large crescent wrench and it will go. The problem with it for me was it's made to hook to a garden hose, which will probably just leak. I wanted a more finished , easy to drain solution. But it won't hurt to leave it.
@@JackofAllMasterofNone I have been able to remove the plastic valve! Thanks again!
Thanks for the clear video. Now that you have had it for a while, can you comment on how you are liking it? I agree with the earlier comment that 115 degrees doesn't seem very hot relative to the coolant line. Did you find that it heats up more after driving a few hours? And can you comment on the tank's insulation: how long does the water stay hot after coming to temp?
We recently drove home from a camping trip roughly an hour away. We hadn't used any hot water while camping since it was only 1 night. 3 hours after I got home (the van was turned off the whole time) I decided I would go take a shower and see how the hot water worked. I took a 15 minute shower and never did turn the hot water up. I'm very pleased with this unit so far. We never turned on the power to it. That was just from driving home using the coolant to heat the water.
Great idea.
I think so too!
Have had mine in my promaster for almost a month now. This is so wonderful - I love it!
No leaks … however, when I put coolant a bit over the MAX line and I noticed about a teaspoon of coolant on my van floor.
I wiped it up and did not leak again until about a week later when I topped up the coolant in the engine again a little over max line and got tiny amount of coolant on van floor.
I am assuming it is real important NOT to top up coolant over max line??
Thanks again for the great. Idea!
There should be no coolant on the floor in the van even if it's over the max line. I would tighten the clamps on the hoses at the water heater. One of them is probably leaking slightly probably went hot.
Thanks! Saved me a ton of time and money! Well done!
Can you link to the upgrade drain valve?
I just used a expansion pex compatible ball valve. It's only good if you have the expansion pex tool. You can use any ball valve, like a shark bite or whatever works.
amzn.to/3ZYUvnn
Very well done installation video. Do you know if the 120-volt heating element can be directly replaced with a 48-volt element? Does it look like the screw-in type you see on household water heaters?
Be careful. The point-of-use electric heaters have temperature control. I assume the Kumma has a thermostat on the electric side. Any control on the engine loop? Engine runs 200F so coolant gets pretty hot, and maybe your hot water on a longer trip.
How is that setup working? I was curious why you chose to T the hoses and not reroute or loop the whole system. Thanks for the video. 😊
T What hoses ? The coolant lines? It's because you want to be able to shut them off if a leak were to develop in the back somewhere. With the valves you can shut off the whole rear system, which effectively puts the system back to stock. Also, you want your heater to work. If all the heat was sent to the tank first th heater would take forever to heat up in the cold weather.
Hi, does it affect the heat to the cabin? I find that when cold the cabin heater struggle to keep the cabin worm, therefore I would consider taking heat from the main pipes?
What about circulation?
What's your take on that? Apart from getting t's big enough for main hoses.
I went with a ISOTemp and love it. This looks just as good and much cheaper. Did you add a mixing valve to manage the max water temp? Seems like it would be scalding hot without one (~220f).
I did not use a mixing valve. It has not got that hot at all. But maybe with children involved it would be a good idea. The max water temp I've seen has been around 115 degrees F
That seems cold. The coolant from your engine should be around 200° so i would guess the water in the heater should get close to that. I agree with Mike that a thermostatic mixer would almost be required for this type of application. Does the manual specify any of this. Expected water temp? Plumbing a mixer? Just curious as I’m looking to maybe add a heater that has the ability to be heated via the engine coolant.
Can I run that water with just the element and not install the coolant for now? Or the coolant lines has to be installed to operate the water heater? If I can just run the element to heat the water, do I need to plugged the coolant in and out line or leave it alone? Thanks so much
Mikesbiking - can you share which isotemp you got? I was looking to purchase one of those real soon…
Have you run you ISO on 12v to heat the water ? I am likely going this route due to the mixing valve, I am leaning towards trying on just Electrical heat to see. My thought is if I heat during the day when I have sun I can heat the water and it should remain warm for several hours. As long as I shower at night I am okay. I am curious about how much power it uses to heat the tank. Odds are if I am someplace cold and cloudy I will not need AC so using the battery power to heat should not be an issue.
Great video ! I'm installing the same one in a couple of days. Nice to see how you did it. I read somewhere that you might need a thermostatic valve to avoid getting burned. How hot the water is after a couple hour drive ?
Water is fine but you do have to be aware that it will be hotter on engine coolant than electric so you just need to use more cold water. You can put in a thermostatic valve if you are worried about it.
Great video!
Assuming you run this in the winter, wouldn't this be a little worse off (wait longer for the engine to heat up)?
Well it also uses electricity if necessary just like the Bosch unit and althought it takes slightly more time for the engine to warm up in the winter, there is still plenty of waste engine heat to heat the coolant
I’ve been using a commercial version of this hot water system in a carpet cleaning van mount.
My question is I’ve got a thermostat on the heating system because the tank can get very very hot, dangerously. What safety system has this heater got ? I noticed the over flow out let
Be interested in update how it goes because it be a very reliable source of heat as long you have a safety thermostat
I don't believe it has any inherent built in safety device, besides a pressure relief valve. Thats why I mention to use an external cold water mixing valve if it is a concern. So far, we have not had any problems at all and the temperature has not been too hot. I say this with the understanding that children will not be using this water system. If so, I do recommend a thermostatic mixing valve be installed.
I think I still prefer the Elgena Boiler. It does the same thing, but is also available in 12V and 24V. So no need for running an inverter.
I'll have to check that out
Delivery times are a bit on the long side… also plumbing is not super easy. I believe Pundmann and Tigerexped/Combiboil are also offering similar 12V/24V options.
It’s such a good setup! With sufficient solar you can have unlimited warm water…
I, m bit unclear. What makes coolant go to the calorifier rather than trough the heater core? Does heater core has a valve? I thought coolant always runs trough the heater core all the time and we have a hot air just by engaging the blower.
That is correct It goes through both all the time
@@JackofAllMasterofNone Thank you for clarification.
👍
Wondering how much heat comes off the heater tank and the hoses in the garage, especially since that's under your bed, and also, when I do this, I suspect my dog might be wanting to sleep or hang out back there. On the subject of excess heat.. maybe you should run the hose across your greywater tank, and it might be enough to keep it from freezing in the winter?
It's insulated very well. I haven't noticed any heat coming off of it honestly.
I assumed you'd just splice the entire heater loop into one hose instead of t connections in 2 hoses, would that not work? Seems like t connections would interfere with the coolant loop.
No. You want to be able to bypass or shut off the loop to the rear in case of a leak. And also, water/coolant takes the path of least resistance, but also flows to the back at a slower rate. What this means is that you still have good heat from your dash heater but also still get hot water in the back. If you just ran the loop to the back first you would have very poor performance out of your van heater.
Why not use on-demand water heaters for vans?
You can. Would have to be propane. So as long as you are good with adding propane to the mix, it's a good way to go.
What sort of insulation do you have in the floor? Have you ran into any heat problems with the area that the coolant hose passes through the floor?
In this van we used polystyrene insulation. In the video I show how you use a PVC pipe to pass the hoses through. No problems with heat
Have you had the van out since the water heater install? If so, how is it performing? How has the power consumption been? How long does the hot water last with just the coolant lines? Great vid thanks!
I have had it out only 1 time. The water completely heated up on a 40 minute drive that included a 10 minute stop in the middle with the van off. I haven't even used it on electricity yet, except to try it out and make sure it worked. It would last indefinitely with the coolant, but you would have to run the engine. The coolant heating method is actually hotter than the electric element.
@@JackofAllMasterofNoneIs there anything that keeps the water in the tank from getting too hot to shower in a long bf drive?
Great video, my Bosch 12 volt took a crap in my promaster conversion. Looiking into install this very unit wondering, everytime you want hot water you will need to drive the van? (may be a dumb question)
It also has an electric element and plugs in just like the Bosch unit. So when you are camped and not running the engine you can use 120vac instead.
Don’t you need an expansion tank on the hot water line somewhere?
No
Awesome video, do you know if those heater need some extra maintenance besides emptying the water when not using ? Like changing the cathode regularly or something ?
They are aluminum and there is no anode rod. Usually only porcelain lined steel tanks have them.
Great, thx for the answer ! So no "regular" maintenance to speak of expect winterization ?
As an additional question, why are you using T connectors for your circuit going to the water heater instead of having the whole thing on a single circuit with no T connection, making it "just" longer. Is it "just" to be able to close the water heater coolant circuit ? Sorry if this is a naive question. @@JackofAllMasterofNone
Yes it is a bypass for when you winterize your van or camper. You do not want to pump antifreeze into the water heater so it is necessary to bypass it and then drain it.
Did you insulate your hoses and pipes like you would your hot water lines in a house?
No
Thank you for the information - Question, the hose do you have a link to has complaints in the feedback about not being marked heat resistant and not being what the seller claimed - are you still recommending this hose or a different one? Thanks!
Absolutely recommend it. It's just rebranded Gates hose. It's heater hose and I have used it not only on this van conversion but also when I added a heater to my Honda side by side and just recently in my Camaro. There is no problem at all.
how much drain on the battery does it take to heat your water ? I am curious if during the day while you have sun can you heat water , you will have solar to offset the power consumption. Will the water remain warm for a few hours allow for a warm shower?
I haven't really measured it but we usually let it run for about an hour and that is enough to completely heat the water on electricity.
Where did you buy your fresh water tank? Only found one source for over the wheel well and I know there must be somebody cheaper.
We bought the upgraded 36 gal NWConversions wheel Well tank from Agile Off Road van suppliers - tank is same size as their 32 gal, but upgraded… when they rounded the wheel well angles, it added 4 more gallons :)
Yes it’s more $$ than the basic rectangular ones, but it will fit our build better, too :)
Preparing to hook it up soon!
@@MindBodyMuse Thank you - I have same tank and appreciate you sharing your experience.
How long does the heater retain the hot water after you shut the engine off?
We had hot water still the following morning for washing hands.
I am planning on doing the same thing on my van, someone has mentioned to me not to use Brass Valves or fittings because the coolant can become acidic and attack the metal? does that make sense to you?
Coolant only becomes acidic after it is bad and too old. Brass is only a problem when in direct contact with aluminum, which can cause some electrolysis, but these brass shut offs are not touching any aluminum, they are suspended in the hoses. They will work fine.
I was going to use one but when i spock to the ford dealer he said it may void my warranty
Of course they did. But that's not true. It may void the warranty if you blow the engine up because of it. But that's not going to happen. You think Ford doesn't warranty upfitted campers and ambulances and such? Google Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
@@JackofAllMasterofNoneHow do they manage to void the warranty on salvage title vehicles?
Does this drain a bunch of power? I have 400 amp hours.
It pulls about 1450 watts AC while running on electric and takes about 30 minutes to heat up. That's about 130amp draw on the battery bank. So if my math is correct it would hit the batteries for around 40ah, which is why it's best to use the engine coolant heating method when possible and the electric element when on shore power
@JackofAllMasterofNone thanks. Do you know if you could modify this to a 12v heating element to reduce the draw? Thats a bunch of power to use up, and while i would mostly use the engine.
Do you need a expansion tank for this setup like SureCal’s?
We did not use one and never had any problems.
Thanks for your reply.
Brother, buy an impact your life will change
Impact?
@@JackofAllMasterofNone impact drill instead of a power drill that you were using in this video an impact drill has more torque and drives screws in faster and deeper
USE A FITTING AND COMPRESSED AIR!
I don’t like the possibility that aluminium could get into the water 🤔
I wouldn’t want aluminum in my hot water!
Why not?
@@JackofAllMasterofNone you can do your own research here on CZcams if you don’t want any chance of aluminum (especially heated) in your water or food. But thanks for making this video good instructions
It’s not a HOT water heater
I know. It's a "water heater" 🤣