Thread: FBH for Camping Shower Hot Water - anyone considered it?

I don't know how matti will go trying to run straight water thru the Webasto as their designed to heat coolant and work with a heat exchanger ... 4.2kw/5.2kw is gonna create lots of steam if it's not designed just right!! ... if he can do it there'd be merit in designing it into a small stand alone box with a water pump, inlet, outlet, exhaust and a 12v supply in, to make it a portable diesel fired hot water system !


Cheers !

Thanks Kev - it looks like you have the Aussie Swag Camper set-up that I came across during my research - [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaT1XXLpqgw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaT1XXLpqgw[/ame]
I would hazard a guess thats a couple of grand as an option?

But at the risk of having this thread thrown into the "Camping" section I will just keep my project limited to having an under-bonnet setup in the Disco 3 much like in the Euro models. (instead of another large box I need to pack in the car ) My thoughts are to simply circulate the contents of a jerry can of cold water through the Thermotop until such time as the jerry can is at "Shower temp". (we then share the contents of the jerry at the central shower station) The thermotop has a circulating pump built-in and I need to experiment with how much "head" it can draw up. I'm thinking of just a couple of quick connects for the 2 x circulation hoses, a bit of priming? and Bob's your Auntie! - but only on Saturday nights - the rest of the week he's your Uncle.

When finished with, it goes into its cool-down cycle, disconnect the hoses and slam the bonnet shut - job done!

I might even design it to work "as designed" by LandRover in the first place - with a bypass valve for the water circuit and a heat-exchanger as Kev has suggested. But the heater in the car seems to warm up quick enough in our climate.

My search for a Thermotop V in Australia has drawn a blank. They are fitted to some VW diesel models but I have a feeling that if the car is not spec'd to Europe it won't have one fitted for the Aussie Domestic market. Ebay (UK sourced) has them for between 1-2 grand new (out of the question) and a few hundred second hand. The search continues, but a few hundred dollars of experimentation is becoming harder to swallow by the day. I am keen to use the Webasto "Thermotop V" as it will line up with all of the holes in the car as designed.
The project recon continues??...

You could always just boil the kettle and add the boiled water to a bucket of cold.

That's what we've been doing for years.

Originally Posted by ytt105

You could always just boil the kettle and add the boiled water to a bucket of cold.

That's what we've been doing for years.

And that's exactly what I have been doing for years too. But it's not the sort of talk that won the war there's usually a big troop of us, so the kettle thing is so "yesterday".

Originally Posted by matti4556

And that's exactly what I have been doing for years too. But it's not the sort of talk that won the war there's usually a big troop of us, so the kettle thing is so "yesterday".

If you want to win with the 'troop' try one of these (Constant Hot Water). We used to call them 'Put n Take' back in the scout troop days.

Hillbilly Camping Gear direct on-line sales of blue steel Camp Ovens, frypans and CookStands

matti ... no, it's a Kimberley Kamper ... 2015 Model Kimberley Classic | Kimberleykampers

The diesel hot water is a std inclusion! ... the tent heater was an option.

Understand not wanting "another" box to have to pack/unpack ... but it appears KK have already made a stand alone diesel/electric HWS ... but the price is freakin' out-of-this-world !!! ... https://www.eco-camper.com/e-shop/po...C4EDHWS-detail ... not a hope !!

Maybe using it as a heat exchanger setup whereby the heat exchanger (or an alternative exchanger) is on the end of the hoses and is immersed into the water to be heated ?? ... but then there's a perm' connection of hoses charged with glycol and a heat exchanger to be stored under the bonnett ... not practical maybe.

I took a closer look at the Webasto manual, and have attached some photo's of the pages which may help you in determining wether this project is gonna be possible or not ... a couple of points I noted ... the recirc' pump apparently CAN be detached from the FBH !! The max turn over rate is around 15l/min open flow (1.5psi delivery pressure actually).

My day job is pumps, and my biggest fear is that the recirc' pump won't be capable of lifting the water to be circulated the 1m approx' required to achieve your outcome (the pump is likley to be a stirrer style impeller - as it's a close loop type system the pump is actually pushing the liquid into it's inlet as it simultaneously push the liquid out). The water vessel could be sat at around the same height as the FBH is installed at to alleviate this concern possibly. Remote mounting the pump may see the issue of the pump not generating sufficient discharge pressure to raise the water to the required height .... or maybe it could be driven using a seperate 12v external pump ...

The Webasto FBH kit includes a seperate lift pump for the diesel supply. It needs to be mounted close to the fuel tank.





The recirc' pump can be remote mounted but needs to be installed so that any air entering the system will purge (meaning the discharge needs to be oriented upwards).



















I have used one of the Hillbilly type water heaters in the past ... need a decent fire ... they work well ... but prior to the kamper we used one of these ... Jimmy's Thunderbox camping toilet • RainMan Camp Shower • Gas Guards • Buy Now and heated it on the wok burner ... but there's normally only two, sometimes three of us ... probably not ideal for a "troop"

Hope the extra phot's help ... I think it's do-able BUT the complexity and cost are gonna be the nail in the coffin ... I think the closest setup would be to use the FBH and a small header tank + heat exchanger AND a seperate 12v pump to recirc' the water in your jerry ... but I'm guessing space under the bonnet will be an issue ??

Good luck with it ... watching with interest !

Thanks for the scans Kev. All good info. I have checked my RAVE manual and it covers the fbh. The fuel pump for the fbh bolts to the chassis in its own special spot around abouts under the passenger seat. The fuel tank on the D3 already has its own pick up pipe for the fbh (yet to be Sussed-out to see if my tank has the plumbing ready to attach to). And yes, the height of my water "tank" will most probably need to be sitting on the bumper bar somehow? Unless I use a 12v pump to assist with the "lift" but that's just complicating the install at this time. There is also an app written so you can start the fbh remotely. Now there's campsite cred just there - start the shower water heater from my camp chair without even putting my beer down. Sure beats cutting firewood and waiting waiting..... Cuppla days..... Beeudiful! Over the years we have tried nearly every concept on the market, but this fbh option has grabbed my attention (being technically minded it's a nice challenge for me)
I also camp with some avid Toyota drivers and I am looking for a great way to introduce a jaw-dropper during the fireside banter cheers Matti

Ooooo ... if the fuel pump mount (and power?) and plumbing are already in place there's half the challenge solved already !! Cool

A small 12v 10l/min or so pump mounted under the bonnet shouldn't be too hard and use it to lift the water from the jerry, push through the FBH and back to the jerry ... solves the FBH circ' pump issue!! ... Then wire it into the 12v supply to the FBH so the "app" fires it all up at the touch of a button.

Now it DOES sound very achievable.

Make sure to take photo's of the Toyo drivers expressions !!

Cheers

Originally Posted by matti4556

Thanks for the scans Kev. All good info. I have checked my RAVE manual and it covers the fbh. The fuel pump for the fbh bolts to the chassis in its own special spot around abouts under the passenger seat. The fuel tank on the D3 already has its own pick up pipe for the fbh (yet to be Sussed-out to see if my tank has the plumbing ready to attach to).

Did you ever find out if the pump mount and pickup are there in the Aussie Disco's ? I'm thinking of fitting a Webasto to heat the car on cold mornings.