Best Water Heater?
- Thread starter SJois
- Start date
-
- Tags
- camping gear
Influencer II
Advocate III
Propane fired tankless on-demand water heaters?
There are several that are pretty much identical in the way they work and look; Triton, Camplux, Ecotouch, etc. I suspect some of them are all made in the same couple factories, then private labeled.
The one I have the most experience with, and have used in my trailer for years, is the Triton. Very happy with it; it has worked flawlessly both for outdoor showers and hot water in my camp kitchen. There are several to choose from here. You can often find them less expensively on a variety of sites, from Camp Chef to RV supply houses.
I'm thinking seriously of putting one on one of my van doors for when I'm away from the trailer and want/need to wash up. You can feed it from a 5gal jerry if need be, hooked up to your propane tank of choice. I saw a vid of one installed on a horse corral fence post hooked up like that.
I've seen some installed, too, in a pelican case mounted to trailers and vehicles.
One thing to watch for with on-demand water heaters is flow rate and needed pressure to operate well. They're not all equal. Here's a page at Camp Chef on the Triton and what you can expect for gals/min at how many degrees increase: Features and Specs. I'm most always solo camping, though have always had more than enough hot water for a good shower, and have never run out of hot water in my camp kitchen.
You learn pretty quick to not just leave it running and how to conserve your supply, whether using the heater or not.
There are several that are pretty much identical in the way they work and look; Triton, Camplux, Ecotouch, etc. I suspect some of them are all made in the same couple factories, then private labeled.
The one I have the most experience with, and have used in my trailer for years, is the Triton. Very happy with it; it has worked flawlessly both for outdoor showers and hot water in my camp kitchen. There are several to choose from here. You can often find them less expensively on a variety of sites, from Camp Chef to RV supply houses.
I'm thinking seriously of putting one on one of my van doors for when I'm away from the trailer and want/need to wash up. You can feed it from a 5gal jerry if need be, hooked up to your propane tank of choice. I saw a vid of one installed on a horse corral fence post hooked up like that.
I've seen some installed, too, in a pelican case mounted to trailers and vehicles.
One thing to watch for with on-demand water heaters is flow rate and needed pressure to operate well. They're not all equal. Here's a page at Camp Chef on the Triton and what you can expect for gals/min at how many degrees increase: Features and Specs. I'm most always solo camping, though have always had more than enough hot water for a good shower, and have never run out of hot water in my camp kitchen.
You learn pretty quick to not just leave it running and how to conserve your supply, whether using the heater or not.
Last edited:
Influencer I
I just heat half the water on the camp stove and then mix that with cold. Nice warm water results and then the $40 Mr. Heater battery powered shower head provides a nice warm shower! Works great for just me. If I had a family, I’d go bigger - though that will never happen:)
Advocate III
- 5,584
- First Name
- Michael
- Last Name
- Rose
- Member #
-
20990
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- W7FSB
- Service Branch
- US ARMY Retired
Off-Road Ranger III
- 13,288
- First Name
- Bjoern
- Last Name
- Eldracher
- Member #
-
20111
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- DO3BE
I also like the simple solutions. Simple, reliable and without much extra weight on board. Therefore, I also use either the method of heating hot water on the stove or fire and mix with cold water if necessary. Then we still have a black water bag for showers. These water bags are available in a very simple version in the camping shops, with their quality I have made rather bad experiences. With Overlanders in Europe very popular, are the water bags, which come from the Swiss army. These are very robust. But be careful, the water can become very hot in it!!!
I like to use the Bougerv on Demand camping hot water heater. It's compact, easy to use, and provides hot water on demand for all your camping needs. With features like adjustable temperature control and a rechargeable battery, it's perfect for outdoor adventures.
Last edited:
Not trying to derail the other water heater leaking thread. Looking at the age of my water heater and it is time to replace it. Handful of questions. Current water heater is a 40gal natural gas. Is there any reason to look into tankless water heaters or just buy something similar to what I currently have? What is a good brand to buy and does anyone have a recommended installer? My gas company does have some rebates depending on how efficient the unit is.
Trail Mechanic II
- 1,500
- First Name
- John
- Last Name
- Ellis
- Member #
-
6385
If you’ll stay in the house for 7+ more years, switch to tankless.
If you’ll move or sell before 7 years, replace like for like.
For my trips, I highly recommend the Camplux Pro Portable Tankless Water Heater. It’s lightweight, easy to set up, and provides a consistent hot water supply, which is perfect for camping. It runs on propane and is quite efficient. Plus, it has multiple safety features like flame failure protection and an anti-freezing system. It’s a bit of an investment but totally worth it for the convenience and reliability it offers on the go.
