Camplux Tankless Water Heater, 5.28 GPM Outdoor Propane Camping Gas Water Heater, 20L, BW528, White

This is the extra capacity tankless water heater from Camplux that is intended for use in a remote environment where there are no utilities available, such as electricity. Commonly used as an outside wash station it is equipped to be conveniently hung on a fence or mounted outside a structure that serves as a shower stall. In the second instance the CPVC hose that is provided may be a little shorter than what is necessary, and the plastic quick disconnect will probably leak anyway. If available for others to use, be ready for complaints about the shutoff button on the shower head being too difficult to slide if installed without an additional inline shutoff valve. If planning to use it in a more permanent manner then don't plan on getting it set up entirely in one day or without taking a trip down to the local Home Depot to check for a better shower head and hose, and maybe pick up some additional pipe, adapters, and valves that will all contribute to its operational versatility.After discovering one cold winter day that I was without hot water I decided it was time to upgrade my electric water heater to a more reliable system that uses propane instead. Never using one of these previously, I picked this camping unit just to see how an instant heating system would work for me. Overall I found it to be very reliable and it does everything that the documentation for it says. In the process I learned all the ins and outs about how to set up one of these systems properly, all the while keeping my original hot water tank and shower system fully usable, even finding some ways to improve it as well.The logic behind the operation of a tankless water heater may not be so obvious at first, but eventually it does make some sense the more you work with it. In contrast to a conventional shower with separate hot and cold water valves, the tankless system works best by simply heating water to a comfortable temperature with no mixing required. Since proper operation of the system is dependent upon the flow of water, then it makes sense that mounting a valve in the supply line and another one in the hot water line and locating both of them readily available inside the shower stall will help eliminate the necessity to run outside in the middle of a shower just to find out why you are not getting heated water. The current temperature does have some influence over the settings, but once the best settings are found, that should eliminate any need for making any initial settings every time the shower is used. That is, unless others are also using the shower and then mayhem can be expected.In preparation for using the shower for the first time, all the valves on the unit were set to their minimum values and the top switch set to FULL (for 100% heating). It ignited properly the first time I tested it, providing ample hot water rather quickly. After some playing with the adjustments I decided that 37 degrees C (as shown on the unit) should be comfortable for starters, and was now really confident that my first shower would work without a hitch. Wrong! Jumped into the shower later that day and it wouldn't light. So right then and there I discovered the one big CON related to tankless water heaters: adjusting the settings is not quite as easy as adjusting the hot and cold water valves of a conventional shower! So now that I was pressed to get my new shower operational before freezing to death, I switched it from FULL to the ECO setting, and wouldn't you know it fired right up. But then the water temp needed to be raised back up, so I adjusted the flow of water down a little more using the inline valve I had the good sense to install earlier that day. After that initial shower it has worked perfectly ever since and have never needed to make any further adjustments.Since then I have also installed a water line to my kitchen sink, which was my intention for purchasing the larger capacity 10L unit anyway. I would also recommend that accessory water valves be installed in both the water inlet and hot water outlet lines as they will provide even better control. If you just need a reliable unit for a shower, then the 5L unit should be adequate and costs only half the price of this one. I have solar heat during the warmer months of the year, so this unit will only see limited service during the winter, and that should allow it to provide several winters of excellent service. No doubt it will eventually wear out, so when it does, my next unit will be an indoor permanently installed system with all the bells and whistles.

So so SO awesome!! I installed this on my deluxe homemade shower on my trailer. I call it the shower cabana. My friends and I went to Moab,UT and camped for a week. It was so dusty and windy a few days it was unspeakably nice to take a shower before bed and go to sleep clean! Made putting on sunscreen and getting dusty bearable knowing I could take it all off at the end of the night. I performed some tests on water temperature rise and flow and short answer, buy this unit and don't look back. Read on for details...I live in Colorado and it was snowing when I fired up the Camplux for the first time. The tap water from my house was measured at 40°F or about 4°C. I fired up the water heater in summer mode in the water went to 100°F or 38°C in about 10 seconds! That is a warm hot tub temperature. It would have warmed up a little more if I didn't run out of water first. The water output from the shower was just as good as any at your house! For this first test the water flow was set to MIN and the temp to MAX on summer mode. ( testing the unit found that on summer mode 60% of the burners light and switching to winter mode lights them all. You can see this looking into the view window on the front. Also see my video review for more info.). I hooked up a full BBQ propane 20lb tank and took about 40 showers with it the week we were all camping. The propane feels 3/4 full still. Amazing. Some wanted hotter water than 100F / 38C so I switched to winter mode and turned the temp almost all the way down. NOTE: There is a big delay, about 6 seconds between adjustment and the temperature of the water coming out of the shower head. Be careful. It gets HOT fast!!!When I first turned up the temp to winter mode the water digital readout shot to 55°C or 133°F before I got it turned down. I got so hot so fast it Almost burned my hand! After using this heater I have you doubt I could take freezing cold water and take a comfortable shower. I'm glad I got the bigger unit as you can always turn the temperature down but you can never make it hotter than the maximum.I have read some reviews on trouble with the battery box, but so far mine has been trouble free. I spent a couple hours routing the plumbing and getting everything just so before my test. The one major thing I did I got from one of the reviews on Amazon and that is to put a 90° All valve on the water intake line just prior to the heater. This is the easiest way to turn the heater on and off and I highly recommend it. Getting this heater up and running was so easy. Once all the plumbing and gas connections were complete, I fliped the toggle switch underneath to on, hit the switch for the water pump electricity, and the propane fired right up. It worked the first time, and every time there after flawlessly. I recommend the flow jet RV water pump. It's One of the recommended water pumps when you look at the heater on Amazon. Or just do a search for flow jet water pump. It should run you about $45. It's perfectly matched for this heater. The gallons per minute on the water pump are about equal to the 2.6 gallons per minute of the heater at 50 PSI. Just to make sure you get an in-line water strainer for the system.