Can I co-locate a diesel heater with a gas hot water system?

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Originally Posted by Tins

I hear you!



I have two gas stoves, one in and one out. I like to cook on a fire or coals, but putting the kettle on, well....

I don't have hot water though. Decisions, decisions.

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Well I'm going to have a very good Truma gas HWS available soon. Dismantling all the fittings and accessories from the written-off camper, the only thing that is not already present in the replacement camper is the diesel heater. We'd never had hot water before when camping, used the thing heaps!

Speaking of putting the kettle on, I was camping with a mate in January, him in his Travelander and me in the Trayon. I put the kettle on then went outside, got distracted, sat down by the river, turned around a while later and spotted billows of smoke coming out of the Trayon!!! One of those folding silicone kettles, nothing left but the stainless steel base! Funny that there was no smell afterwards from the smoke that filled the camper.

Tins I installed one of those combined air and water heaters in the slideon I'm refurbishing, they work well and are a copy of the Truma combi.
Has both diesel and 240v operation for air and water and and can operate either on its own or both together.
Much more compact than the Webasto Thermotop system I installed in the Oka 13 years ago and without the complexity of the glycol loop too. Might have to install one in the Oka as it would save space and weight.

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Originally Posted by oka374

Tins I installed one of those combined air and water heaters in the slideon I'm refurbishing, they work well and are a copy of the Truma combi.
Has both diesel and 240v operation for air and water and and can operate either on its own or both together.
Much more compact than the Webasto Thermotop system I installed in the Oka 13 years ago and without the complexity of the glycol loop too. Might have to install one in the Oka as it would save space and weight.

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Thanks Peter. #74 is moving closer to the front burner, slowly. That looks like a better solution than a double system to me. I think I'd like to delete the gas bottle altogether. Not sure about indoor cooking, maybe induction. I had #74 parked in Qld for a bit, and found that someone had loosened the regulator and opened the tap just a bit. Empty bottle was inconvenient, but the potential for nastiness was more than I like. I could put the bottle behind locked doors but I think it's time.

Sorry, POD, but maybe this is not thread hijacking, but of interest....

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Originally Posted by POD

Speaking of putting the kettle on, I was camping with a mate in January, him in his Travelander and me in the Trayon. I put the kettle on then went outside, got distracted, sat down by the river, turned around a while later and spotted billows of smoke coming out of the Trayon!!! One of those folding silicone kettles, nothing left but the stainless steel base! Funny that there was no smell afterwards from the smoke that filled the camper.

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You must really have wanted a new camper! Couldn't burn it down so attacked a tree!

John we've never had gas in the Oka, right from the start, diesel cooktop, diesel HWS and central heating. Normal 240v 1L, 1000 w cordless electric jug, toaster, breadmaker, single induction cooktop, microwave and coffee machine. 240v is supplied by a Xantrex 1800w pass through PSW inverter, we mostly free camp and rarely connect to mains power even when it's available on the odd occasion we stay in a caravan corrall.
Started out with 480ah of AGM's but when the Winston LFP cells became available changed over to 400ah of lithiums as they weighed 80kgs less and had a much better usage cycle.
The batteries have always been charged solely by solar, initially by just over 650w but that too was upgraded to the current 1100w.
There is the capability to charge from the Oka's alternator but I've never used it other than to test to see if it works.
The Winston batteries are now approaching 13 years old and the capacity test done two years ago showed better than new and they wouldn't have changed much if at all in the meantime.
We are finding as time goes on that most cooking is done on the induction especially in warm weather as the diesel cooktop does tend to heat the interior. The diesel cooktop is great for long cooking jobslike stews, roasts in the camp oven etc and in cold weather where it assists in cabin heating.
Like John sorry for hijacking the thread a bit.
Peter

Hmm.. Hadn't considered a diesel cooktop. #74 currently has a gas four burner and oven setup. I neither like it nor need it. I won't say I haven't used it though. But I prefer to cook outside when poss. There is a gas camping stove built in out there, but it can go too. Perhaps I'd better join the RV show circuit for ideas.

Combined diesel heater and HWS would be good but couldn't find any cheap chinese units - surely they exist ?
I wonder how wrapping some copper tube around a cheap heater would work ?

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Originally Posted by loanrangie

Combined diesel heater and HWS would be good but couldn't find any cheap chinese units - surely they exist ?

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You would think so. Closest I've found on the forty thieves mob is a diesel parking heater that also works as a block heater to prevent coolant freezing. Might be adaptable I guess..

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Originally Posted by loanrangie

I wonder how wrapping some copper tube around a cheap heater would work ?

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Interesting thought. Off to ewetoob I go. If it can be done someone will have. Or maybe you should patent it, Nick.

Another rabbit hole.... Heck, I already have a German diesel heater in the OKA which is quite capable of forcing me outside if I set it too high. But this is all interesting. Diesel cooktops and hws. The cooktop one is great as I don't have the batts to run an induction one. Going to have to choose at some point.