The best off grid water heater 1.15.13

Every once and while you run across a product worth talking about. For over 8 years we have lived on our research vessel the Cathy G. We are constantly improving the boat to be more energy efficient with less generator time. Last year we decided to switch to an on-demand hot water supply. First we looked at the more commonly purchased on-demand water heaters sold in Anchorage. Most of them required 110V power for ignition. There was one model that generated the power to ignite the burner with a small generator that ran off the water flow. These units were very expensive and had lots of bad reviews, mostly complaining about break downs and the costly repairs. Then I looked up an Italian model I used in the bush years ago. The company had changed hands and the new manufacturer was very proud of their water heater. It would have taken several years to recoup the costs. One thing that was common with all of these water heaters was that the parts were hard to get and they don’t honor the warranty unless a certified installer installed it - so you could not work on it yourself. Well that’s a problem if you live in the bush or on a boat. You need to be able to install and maintain it yourself or have a spare so you can have hot water while you ship out your heater to get repaired. The next water heater I checked out was an Eccotemp. They had one that used a couple of D batteries for the ignition and was supposed to operate with low water pressure. The other thing that attracted me to this water heater was that all the parts were cheap and listed on line. We purchased it through Amazon.com. This heater was a BIG disaster. The Eccotemp hot water heater would not stay lit longer than a few seconds. The company told me to over ride the high temp safety sensor to get it to stay on and it would still not stay lit. Next they said to increase the water flow and pressure. We went from 5.7 gallons per minute to 11 gallons per minute. The water pressure went from 60 psi to 80 psi (more pressure than in most homes in Alaska!) The Eccotemp was still 100% unreliable. It would shut down just after you started your shower and to get the burner started you had to turn on and shut off the water 10 times before it may start again. When it did run you could not turn on the cold water or the burner would shut off. After all was said and done, all the water supply modifications and extra pumps cost many times more than the Eccotemp and we still had no reliable hot water system. We were very disappointed with the company claiming their product is good for ‘off the grid’ use. Obviously they are just using the term ‘off the grid’ as a sales gimmick and of course they wouldn’t take it back. I continued my search for an affordable and reliable on demand water heater that didn’t need electricity and this is when I ran into an advert on Craigslist:

“On-demand 88000btu tankless water heater - endless hot water $349.00”

I called the Ketchikan, Alaska number:  907-617-6286. The owner Mr. Walker Pryor answered and I proceeded to grill him on all the short comings that the Eccotemp had. He pointed out that his water heaters were built with high quality parts and were used by people who truly lived off the grid. Happy with the answers I got from Mr. Pryor, I ordered one. When the water heater arrived in a few days, I switched back to my old 5.7 gpm pump and installed the heater. In my research, I had heard of debris clogging the inlet screen on these types of water heaters so I installed a screen filter, the type used for pressure washers, they are clear and easy to clean. Right off the bat, this machine performed as advertised with no shut downs. You can turn on the cold water at the same time as the hot and the burner keeps going. It also has extra temperature settings for the seasons which I have never seen on any of the other water heaters plus it displays the output water temperature which is very handy. With the standard burner temperature control and water flow valve you can fine tune the water temperature. Since we installed this water heater we have had a large research group on board, numerous hunting groups and many groups of Alaskan boaters stay on board. We have had no problems with this water heater – it performed perfectly - some guests said the water was hotter than their shower at home. The only electricity it uses is 2 D cell batteries and we use a Shurflo 12 volt 5.7 gpm pump. I highly recommend Alaska Tankless Hot Water Heater LLC.

 
Oh and the Eccotemp water heater - I gave it away to a backpacking hostel! I hope you International backpackers enjoy the invigorating and refreshing showers supplied with endless glacier water - but before showering, please familiarize yourself with the treatment for hypothermia.

Matt