HOT WATER at your BOL/remote camp

[Jmac00]

I have a remote cabin in the Adirondacks. You can only get there by boat (or ATV/SLED in the winter when the lake freezes over) and there is no power.

We bought the place in 2009 and for two years we used a 4000 watt Lister II diesel generator to power the place. The stove and fridge are run on propane. I started adding solar panels in 2012. I bought three Harbor Freight 45 Watt kit for $149 each and added two 6v golf cart batteries and a 10amp charge controller and a 1500watt inverter to power the water pump and the lights. But we still had to run the Lister to heat a 40gal water heater with ONE 2500watt heating element. which took about 2 hours to 2½ hours to bring up to temperature, depending on the lake water temps.

The solar thing worked out really well. So we got serious about solar and I dumped the HF panels and I got four panels off Amazon totaling 606 watts, I purchased a Morningstar 45amp charge controller but I retained the 1500 watt inverter and I added two more 6v golf cart batteries (four 6v batteries in a series/parallel circuit putting out 12v )

But we still had the electric water heater issue. Enter the Tankless 202 water heater. NO POWER NECESSARY

in 2014 we bought this thing. it runs on TWO *D*-cell batteries and propane. Thats it. We have endless hot water in just a few minutes. You will note, there is a large sheet metal backing. This sheet metal backing is ONLY THERE TO PREVENT MICE from nesting in the heater. which for the first few months was an issue. Mice can crawl up wood siding. A few time we fire this up and smoke and mice came running out. and it's a huge PITA to take apart and clean, so I came up with the idea that mice can't grip metal. this has worked great. One more thing. We can go for 6 to 8 (three day) weekends on one 20lb LPG tank. That includes cleaning dishes and showers.
Please take note. I HAVE NO FINANCIAL interest in promoting this heater. I do not get anything from Tankless. Im simply letting you preppers know that there is an affordable way to get hot water at a remote location even if you have no power. ( I think my original cost was $259)

 

[cgrutt]

That's great, I esp. like the solar panels. I replaced a hot water heater in my FIL's camper last spring. It was small, maybe 5-7 gal and ran on propane available at any camper store. I think it was also about $250. Just throwing out as another option if anybody is looking for ideas.

 

[Jmac00]

I should mention, you CAN NOT install the 202 indoors. It must be mounted OUTSIDE. I read that the 202 was originally used by farmers, they would put a 20lb LPG tank on a two-wheeled cart and strap the 202 above it and run a hose to it (presumably from the barn) so they can wash their equipment down with hot water in the yard?

 

[Jmac00]

That's great, I esp. like the solar panels. I replaced a hot water heater in my FIL's camper last spring. It was small, maybe 5-7 gal and ran on propane available at any camper store. I think it was also about $250. Just throwing out as another option if anybody is looking for ideas.

I can give you more info on going solar if you want.

 

[cgrutt]

I was just looking at solar panels today but I'm looking at portable ones for HAM radio.

 

[MadScientist]

Nice place man. Seems like you are sitting pretty.

Was looking at property in the Adirondacks yesterday, some pretty cheap land up there, but more than likely I'm gonna hold off. Goal is to move back to Northern New England. Less populated and I'm more familiar with the terrain. In certain areas I know where to forage with high consistency, I know the rivers better up there, ect.
Kinda rough from a prepping perspective because disaster could happen at any minute and having a BOL now is very important. But holding out will free me up to have a more successful BOL in the near future. It's a tough call.

 

[Jackalope]

Another alternative are the various Zodi heaters. Some of the models use one pound propane bottles, or an adapter for the 20 lb. tanks. The one that I used had a 12 VDC bilge pump. They're not supposed to be used indoors either, but I used one for about 5 years in my shower, just powering it with my solar system, and the water source was a 5 gallon bucket, as I didn't have running water. During the warm months roof water was diverted to an elevated tank, and I simply filled 5 gallon buckets for domestic use. In the winter snow and ice were melted for household water, including water for a clothes washing machine. Once I got married, a traditional well and pump were hastily installed.

As a side note, solar electric systems shouldn't be used for resistive heating, unless you have a 3kw system or larger, with an appropriately sized battery bank. I designed and installed a system for a Ranger outpost, and after a couple of years there were several incidents where the batteries were depleted. It turns out some personnel had brought in a toaster, the toaster would quickly draw down the batteries. Just because an inverter will give you 120 volts doesn't mean that there's an infinite amount of power available. Gas appliances should be used for all heating loads.