Water heater question

[Sick4gold]

I've been seriously considering a tankless propane water heater.
How many GPMs should I shoot for?
Anything to watch for when purchasing?
Any that are recommended?

Most heaters have a garden hose attachment, any reason why I couldn't run it off the dredge flusher port?

 

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[G1sammons]

I've been seriously considering a tankless propane water heater. How many GPMs should I shoot for? Anything to watch for when purchasing? Any that are recommended? Most heaters have a garden hose attachment, any reason why I couldn't run it off the dredge flusher port?

I use a triton camp shower heater..
Not sure of the gpm or anything like that...
Works great easy to setup and use ..no burns... Just a steady temp ,,you can adjust the flow and temp...
Also there's a screen on the inlet side . You will need to remove that with a drill or something ..
You will need to use a blaster nozzle attachment like in my pic or it won't have enough pressure to activate ..
Hmmmm what els cost 120 on amazon hmmmm use 2d batteries hmmmmmm any other questions?

I welded a 3/4 pipe at the same angle as a pickup for the heater...

 

[2cmorau]

lots of ideas

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/dredging-hi-banking/389413-dredge-heater-plans.html
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/dredging-hi-banking/326311-dredge-heater.html

 

[Hoser John]

ZODI sells them at walmart for under a $100-then hook up to a 5 gallon tank instead of a tiny one. Then no mixer needed as pump provided and not utilizing the head pressure from your pump through a heat exchanger which gets MUCH hotter when dredge is slowed down-hence your buns burn welded shut-John

 

[G1sammons]

Those custom made exhaust heaters are very dangerous .. Many people have been surprised with a blast of steam ... Then a trip to the er ...
Plus if you go buy all the materials it's cheaper to buy one of the camp,showers .. There simple easy cheap and have safety features built in so they don't roast your rear .there no way you should consider building one of the exhaust heaters .. There's just no good reason to take the chance to begin with...

 

[Rawhide]

Thank you for posting the picture of the dredge. This is part of the business I haven't explored as we have very little water here. Im considering travel if need be. But I have too many irons in the fire for such a expense. You are a lucky man.

 

[Sick4gold]

Any ideas on how to have continuous warm water with the zodi other than just 5 gallons? Seems like I would run out of warm water pretty quick

Also any idea how long one of those small propane tanks would last ?

 

[omnicron]

G had said in another thread that a 5 gallon tank of propane will last about 20 hours with his heater.

Sick, I would guess you could modify the Zodi to run continuously. Anything is possible, sometimes you just have to do the research.
As for the tankless water heater...I personally hate the idea of having to carry 2-3 extra tanks of propane for a extended trip in the mountains.
Check out this video. At 1.50 they go over a water heater and I do believe this is the design to use. I'm going to build this as soon as I get my dredge built.

 

[G1sammons]

After some reading up I don't plan to build my own. John, I have actually seen the ZODI at bass pro, cute little unit but I was afraid it wouldn't put out enough water or heat- never seen one in action The box and instructions are lacking so I tried to research it a little online but can't find much info there either. I see that it has its own pump which is nice. It has a tank that you can recirculate to produce hotter and hotter water but I don't understand how it works. I thought it was just a heater with pipes that run water, I don't understand the tank aspect other then to recirculate if that makes sense. You recommended I get a 5 gallon tank instead of the little tank but does that mean that I only have 5 gallons of hot water? Hope this makes sense

You need to be careful and Reed about the unit your gona buy some of these cap'n shower heaters have a automatic shut down after 15 min or so and if you get one like that you have to order a spice all control box so that it doesn't do that...
Other wise you have to restart it a lot.. I don't know about the zodi or if triton has changed there's but when it bought mine it didn't have the automatic shut off.

 

[Hoser John]

In frigid alaskan water 20 hours sounds right but down here in the lower 48 longer water is warmer. My bud Tom A. used to get many more hours BUT your quality of wetsuit makes a HUGE difference as haven't needed to use my heater in years due to newer wetsuits with closed cell foam as much more warmer even in the frigid SF American by Coloma running in snowmelt. Requires a few more pounds of lead to keep you in place but less lines down to deal with is a god send...John

 

[2cmorau]

Hey G1
your right i know a lot of people that have beeen burned by these exhaust heaters
they also seem to be the ones that cut corners and have a lot of downtime on motors, hose leaks and the like
my heaters work well for me been around a longtime, and the copper which is best but don't last but a couple of seasons
thing is like moist peoples cars, dredging is the same
good day happy hunting

Those custom made exhaust heaters are very dangerous .. Many people have been surprised with a blast of steam ... Then a trip to the er ... Plus if you go buy all the materials it's cheaper to buy one of the camp,showers .. There simple easy cheap and have safety features built in so they don't roast your rear .there no way you should consider building one of the exhaust heaters .. There's just no good reason to take the chance to begin with...

 

[G1sammons]

Hey G1 your right i know a lot of people that have beeen burned by these exhaust heaters they also seem to be the ones that cut corners and have a lot of downtime on motors, hose leaks and the like my heaters work well for me been around a longtime, and the copper which is best but don't last but a couple of seasons thing is like moist peoples cars, dredging is the same good day happy hunting

Think your wrong .most of the dredgers who use heaters are the fellas who have been around awhile and pretty serous dredgers the problem stems from kinked hoses there no safety features built into any of these... There nothing to regulate when something gos wrong ... Mine got me from a kinked hose I got cold started to head back to see what's wrong and bam .. They cost more to build than to buy one ! So why gamble ... Personally my decision came from the idea of putting my son on it or a friend ... It's one thing to hurt yourself but another to get someone els .. Iv used some that work ok they have always gotten warm then cool then warm.. Every one I have used has done that. Also you have to run your dredge for a bit to get warm . You you decide you need more throttle you have to adjust your heater . You back it back to a idle and your heat is gone ... They are a huge pain in the arse even when they work right .. At least compared to the one I use .
I have almost instant heat ! With in 1 minute even at a idle .. Nothing changes on it regardless of what I'm doing with my throttle .
Or my dredges if ya kink a hose it shuts itself off and when you get the kink fixed it turn back on and with no hot blast...

Besides when I go dredge there a lot of other things to worry about than getting smoked by your heater...

 

[2cmorau]

i have had no problems with mine
it's the operator, nuff said

 

[G1sammons]

i have had no problems with mine it's the operator, nuff said

it always is!
And was my fault when I kinked the hose .. But it's such a high price to pay too spend more money to begin with ....

 

[2cmorau]

some like-em big and fat, i like mine slim and trim, this setup is for the honda 6.5 hp,
the Petcock is the top of the unit and where i mount the muffler, the long hose connets to the pump and has a screen, short hose goes to the mixer, then to the diver i tape my lines together
whats the petcock for, when the motor is running i open it to just a small drip, so if the footvalue does catch air it's got a place to go, i build my own cuz i have seen the effects of others, knock on wood, i have been using this for many seasoins ( when we was dredgin)and never been disappointed

 

[Sick4gold]

Again I will not be making my own. Kudos to anyone that has but with me Murphy's Law always applies.
I think maybe making your own is for a more experienced dredger, for me the possibility of getting burned and the thing I worry about most is burning exhaust valves is not worth trying to save a few bucks.
I think my dredge motor is too small to produce adequate heat anyways.

This was not a thread about building your own heater as there is already plenty of those but instead advise on purchasing one. Strongly looking at the Zodi and wondering if anyone has one. Also wondering if there's any others specifically I should consider and most of all I need a temperature I should be looking to achieve and a GPM I should shoot for.
Thanks for the input so far

 

[G1sammons]

Again I will not be making my own. Kudos to anyone that has but with me Murphy's Law always applies. I think maybe making your own is for a more experienced dredger, for me the possibility of getting burned and the thing I worry about most is burning exhaust valves is not worth trying to save a few bucks. I think my dredge motor is too small to produce adequate heat anyways. This was not a thread about building your own heater as there is already plenty of those but instead advise on purchasing one. Strongly looking at the Zodi and wondering if anyone has one. Also wondering if there's any others specifically I should consider and most of all I need a temperature I should be looking to achieve and a GPM I should shoot for. Thanks for the input so far

the zodi looks like a manual lite and go unit. I believe it will work . But it also has no flow info .
It does say it will go up to 100 deg . Which is good enough.. The price I'm seeing online are a lot higher than what I payed on amazon for the triton Also the triton does 1.5 gpm not sure on the temp but it works for me I'd guess its right close to.100 also.
I keep my temp turned up most of the way . And water flow also it just blows it into your gloves and boots which is good .
Need some way to get,it in,my hood .
Any how there's no info I can find on using the zodi that way . It does not appear to have a control unit like the triton does.
Which may be good as long as there is some sort of overheating protection ..
One problem you may have with a triton is you need 25 psi to make the auto lite work .. So you have to have something like a blaster nozzle to achieve that kind of pressure and flow .. The hose port on my pump would not do it ...
The zodi may not have that as it uses a small battery powered pump that I'm sure doesn't make that kind of pressure ..
I'll stop in wallyworld and see if they carry them check it out so,e more

 

[omnicron]

Once again, I do not personally like that fact that you have to carry around 20+ pound bottles of propane. I did the math and 1 - 16oz propane bottle will last 10 minutes so you would have to have several hundred for a weekend and stop every 10 minutes to change it out. If your on a lighter dredge, the weight of the tank and unit will cause problems.

Here's my take on this discussion. If you have a no-kink line for your air, then why cheap out and not put one on your heater? IF your to cheap to do that then I guess you deserve to get burned! Not trying to be a ass just speaking the truth. Sure you may have to adjust your valve everytime you stop or start, but a little thinking would solve that problem. You put a simple shuttle valve right on your person at the hose. IF you slow down, stop or anything else, shuttle the valve and it will dump outside your suit. Or pull the hose out. In my case where I'll be dredging a week at a time, I would have to have 3 tanks @ $45 a tank, plus the heater @ $115, refill on the tanks@ $23 each....with exhaust heater.. free heat...2 less things to carry creekside..(priceless).

 

[G1sammons]

Once again, I do not personally like that fact that you have to carry around 20+ pound bottles of propane. I did the math and 1 - 16oz propane bottle will last 10 minutes so you would have to have several hundred for a weekend and stop every 10 minutes to change it out. If your on a lighter dredge, the weight of the tank and unit will cause problems. Here's my take on this discussion. If you have a no-kink line for your air, then why cheap out and not put one on your heater? IF your to cheap to do that then I guess you deserve to get burned! Not trying to be a ass just speaking the truth. Sure you may have to adjust your valve everytime you stop or start, but a little thinking would solve that problem. You put a simple shuttle valve right on your person at the hose. IF you slow down, stop or anything else, shuttle the valve and it will dump outside your suit. Or pull the hose out. In my case where I'll be dredging a week at a time, I would have to have 3 tanks @ $45 a tank, plus the heater @ $115, refill on the tanks@ $23 each....with exhaust heater.. free heat...2 less things to carry creekside..(priceless).

.. There have been many dredgers with a lot more experience than you and I put together who have put in the hospital because of exhaust heaters ..many of them have used there heater for several years with no problems until something went wrong ... First off hot anything softens rubber hose which allow lines to kink easer .Second : things go wrong on every style heater including the propane heaters the difference is when something fails on a unit with no zero safety features You can easily get burnt .. On the propane heaters have safety shut down built in and while it is possible it's not likely . I don't have a kink free hose on my air line .. They kink sometimes and I have to back up,. And if you have nothing els to do but pay attention to your water flo you Probally be fine .but when I'm down there I'm busy working and don't always notice when the water shuts down .. 3 rd not all of us are traveling 400 miles into the woods with a6" dredge on our back so carrying the bottle from the truck to the dredge is not a problem at least for me ... I drive my dredge up and down the river with a small out board motor so the added weight on the motor has no effect ... Now :there's no doubt you can make a exhaust heater work ! That was never the argument... My pointe was there dangerous .. Meaning if your using one you had better pay some attention to it and know it the best ya can ... Because if you don't your likly going to get burnt.... Cost wise Playing the game the way you do the math isn't equal because you didn't factor the cost of a welder ,welding wire , shielding gas , copper pipe or a can to put it in ect ... While you may have these things laying around . The man whom started this tread may not so it could easly cost him 1500 to build a exhaust heater for him... And if you just factor the cost of raw materials into both than 90 bucks for a zodi win by a long shot

 

[G1sammons]

Notice the angle ! Lay it over as much as you can ! Fit it by cutting it on a chop saw at the angle it's gona be welded with a slight v to the center of the3/4 pipe so that it fits the contour of the 2" while layed over . Mark the 2" where your gona weld the 3/4 pipe onto it .. Drill ya a hole and hog with a die grinder or drill .. to the oblong shape that's created by the 3/4 piece being angled or just inside your marks ..Weld it up ... Bam you have a blaster nozzle attachment ...