Found this Aquah 11gal Marine Water Heater by Johnson Pump (http://baymarinesupply.com/store/aquah-marine-water-heater-11-gallon-stainless-steel.html) on the site Don listed as a source for the Nova Kool refrigerator.
Thinking this might be a way to increase the capacity of our 6 gallon Atwood propane water heater. I could plumb it in front of the Atwood and use it instead of the Atwood electric mode. I could just remove the wiring for the Atwood electric and use it with the AquaH. That way I could use the existing switch to turn it on or off. Would effectively increase available hot water from 6 gallons to 17 gallons. I pretty sure I have room in my water pump bay to install it.
Anyone see any issues with doing this. Good idea/Bad idea?
see ya
ken
Interesting idea Ken! Looking at the manual for it, it appears to have an engine coolant loop for heating wile underway... I found the pdf manual on a different website and here is a link to it for those who might stumble upon this thread later....
Aqua H Marine Water Heaters | Johnson Pump - Marine | Product Detail (http://www.spx.com/en/johnson-pump-marine/pd-marine-water-heaters/)
http://www.spx.com/assets/pdf/IB-912_AquaH.pdf (http://www.spx.com/assets/pdf/IB-912_AquaH.pdf)
Don
Checked the dimensions again and the 11 gallon won't fit but the 8 gallon would.
Thanks for the link Don.
see ya
ken
Ken,
I installed a 10 gal residential "point-of-use" water heater that I purchased from Home Depot.
Point Of Use - Water Heaters - Plumbing at The Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbqo7/h_d2/Navigation?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051)
It had to go in the storage bay next to the Atwood. I put it in when we first moved to Boise in January 2011 and were full-timing in the coach. I just recently pulled it out since we haven't really needed it lately, so no pictures. They make wall mount ones that would mount to the bulkhead nicely but I choose a traditional cylinder shaped unit. I wired a chord to it so it just plugs into the basement outlet. I plumbed it in front of the Atwood so when we boon-dock propane functionality is unchanged. I used braided lines that pass through the access hole in bulkhead.
@John Thanks for the tip. Those certainly have better prices!
see ya
ken
Interesting, but the market for it must be Europe as the heating element is 220-volts. Selling in the US market requires 120-volt heating element. Dry camping requires generator to heat water.
@Berry per the link I posted it's 110v.
My plan is to supplement the propane heater not replace so dry camping I'd just use propane. JohnFitz's idea to use a point-of-use water heater is probably a better idea and is much cheaper. Home Depot has a 6+ gallon for less then $200. That would double my water capacity.
I measured my bay again yesterday and it's much tighter than I thought. I'd have to mount in my large bay where it would interfere with my joey bed. So I don't think it's going to happen. Might work for someone else though.
see ya
ken
I'm puzzled by the need for more capacity to heat fresh water. We seem to have no need for additional hot water capacity. We have the OEM three way water heater and have never run short of hot water if any of the three modes was functional. Even in subfreezing weather, we've not run short of hot water. We always operate from the fresh water tank and refill as necessary. The 100 gallons of fresh water lasts us about four or five days if we don't leave valves and switches set for automatic fill.
Different styles have different demands on resources. Our differences make life interesting indeed!
JD,
Both Ken and I have 6 gallon water heaters. I believe you have a 10 gallon. I think that 4 gallons makes a big difference.
Another possible alternative is the new Girard Tankless water heater. Is anyone familiar with this one? www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-6YQUuVyqM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-6YQUuVyqM#)
RV Tankless Water Heater from Girard - PPL Motor Homes (http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-water-heaters/rv-tankless-water-heater.htm)
Jerry
^.^d Ah! That would make a difference.
I'm a bit slow to understand until you get out the BIG crayons to draw a picture for me. It certainly seemed like I had a big water heater the day I broke off the plastic drain plug while trying to snug it up to stop the leak. Corollary: Keep a spare plastic drain plug and plan to change out the plug more than once every fifteen years.