Wasting water waiting for hot water???
While waiting for hot water to reach the faucet, I seem to waste a lot of precious water when I'm boondocking. Has anyone installed an undersink, propane, on demand hot water heater? Or some other ...
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I have a rear kitchen 5th wheel with the water heater at the very back of the trailer.
I had the undercarriage of my trailer open to do some other work.
While it was open I run a water line from the front of my 5th wheel to the rear where my water heater is.
Then I installed a small 12 volt pump similar to this one water pump at the front of the trailer.
The pump is controlled by a temperature switch and I used an ordinary water heater adjustable switch like most home electric water heaters use.
The inlet to the pump is a T connection at the hot water line as close to the end of the hot water to the front of the trailer. Just before the pump a check valve is required to prevent back flow.
The outlet of the pump goes to the cold water inlet of the water heater via the line I had previously installed and a T at the water heater.
I also installed a switch in the pump 12 volt line so I can turn the system off when not using the trailer.
Now I have almost instant hot water at the shower and sink at the front of my trailer.
If you do not want to install the extra water line you can have the pump go to the cold water at the front of the trailer. The down side is the cold water will be hot until the line is purged from the water tank. In retrospect this would not be a problem in my case as all of the water used in the front of my trailer is for washing or bathing. If the cold water is hot to warm it is not a problem. The toilet will also have hot water but that should not be a problem either.
I had the undercarriage of my trailer open to do some other work.
While it was open I run a water line from the front of my 5th wheel to the rear where my water heater is.
Then I installed a small 12 volt pump similar to this one water pump at the front of the trailer.
The pump is controlled by a temperature switch and I used an ordinary water heater adjustable switch like most home electric water heaters use.
The inlet to the pump is a T connection at the hot water line as close to the end of the hot water to the front of the trailer. Just before the pump a check valve is required to prevent back flow.
The outlet of the pump goes to the cold water inlet of the water heater via the line I had previously installed and a T at the water heater.
I also installed a switch in the pump 12 volt line so I can turn the system off when not using the trailer.
Now I have almost instant hot water at the shower and sink at the front of my trailer.
If you do not want to install the extra water line you can have the pump go to the cold water at the front of the trailer. The down side is the cold water will be hot until the line is purged from the water tank. In retrospect this would not be a problem in my case as all of the water used in the front of my trailer is for washing or bathing. If the cold water is hot to warm it is not a problem. The toilet will also have hot water but that should not be a problem either.
