CAMPLUX Portable Propane Water Heater - 2.64GPM, 3.3GPM Pump & Pipe Strainer, 68,000 BTU for Camping & Off-Grid Cabins

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.

I use this to heat my 18' circular intex pool, completely in violation of this item's warranty. Works great! I'm able to add a degree or more per hour to the pool even on medium-low heat. The 2gpm model would probably be more than enough. Each tank of propane can heat the pool about 5-6 degrees. That means this thing goes through propane _very_ quickly. You'd better be dedicated to the idea of paying to heat your pool. I'm going to try getting my tanks filled at uhaul. Mine does not seem to have a 20-minute shutoff. I've run it for hours at a time. If it did, simply interrupting the flow of water for a second or two is all that's needed, from what I gather. It came with adapters that let me hook up garden hoses to both the input and the output. The adapters are marked "3/4 NPT". This is a lie. They are most definitely 3/4 GHT which is not the same! The female adapter is a total PITA to use because it doesn't rotate freely like a normal garden hose female connector. Do yourself a favor and buy hose ends and make a 1ft length of hose. You can easily screw that into the female adapter and then use its free-rotating female connector to connect to the rest of the hose. I use a water transfer pump that I bought here on Amazon. It has two male garden hose connectors on it. It runs when plugged in, so I plugged it into a WiFi power outlet so that I can turn it on from my phone. The water heater is a glorified length of hose. As soon as the pump starts the flow of water through it, it kicks on, starts its fire, and heats the water passing through it. You control the temperature with two knobs: one that controls the water flow rate and one that controls the flame height. A third knob switches between "eco" and "full" mode. Full mode turns on an additional section of flames on the sides (in addition to the center flame which is always on). I keep it on eco and keep the flame medium to low, on the theory that I want the water to take away at much of the heat as possible. I want as like as possible if the heat to escape out the side or up the exhaust. The water comes out at around 100F. I attached a filter to the intake hose. Otherwise, leaves get sucked in and clog up the little filter screen that comes with this heater. All in all, works great. We'll see if the salty, chlorinated water causes corrosion or buildup that destroys this heater's ability to heat water...

I purchased this product last June (kept clean and dry in the box) and just tried installing it at my vacation place. It looks like it would be great if it worked but it doesn't switch on. There appears to be no manual on line and no customer support contact. I've verified that I have two fresh batteries correctly inserted (one + facing up and the other reversed). Turn the switch on and the display doesn't light up. When water at 40+ psi is hooked up it comes out cold. If Camplux is reading this, please help! Update - After I posted this review their customer service reached out right away and even called me. The rep made suggestions for things to try later, since I wasn't at my vacation place where the unit is. I got it working by setting water to minimum and heat to maximum. I'm not sure why it didn't work before. I'm revising my review to four stars instead of five since it should work on all settings, and it would be easy for the company to have a simple web site with their contact info. Otherwise than that it looks like a great product. I'll update when I've had more chance to use it Second update - it would only work when set on maximum and then shut off. Once I could test it properly it was officially out of warranty but they were kind enough to send a replacement water pressure sensor at no charge. I replaced the part and now it works great. Nice to have a temperature dial for the water temp. It has great powerful flow (with a new shower head I bought, the original was leaky). Third update two years later - the unit comes on and then shuts off, just as before. It would appear that the water replacement pressure sensor has also gone bad. My original customer service contacts no longer reply to email. Camplux now has a web site with a way supposedly to contact customer service, but no one from the company has responded in five business days. Disappointed. Fourth update - Customer service was willing to send another sensor, which I replaced. It doesn't work. I give them some credit for trying to help even when the unit was out of warranty initially, but now they've refused to help further. The unit was bad on arrival and the replacement part also went bad. Bottom line is that this is not a reliable product.

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.

This Camplux on-demand water heater is surprisingly working, and working quite well. Once you mess with ALL of the MANY MANY variables available, and you figure out a good system that works, this little guy really does the job. I am using the Camplux to heat hot water that goes to a real outdoor shower, with a mixing valve. This Camplux does NOT like to be used like this, because when you change the quantity of water flowing thorough the Camplux, it messes with the variables and you'll end up with a somewhat misbehaving hot water heater. The Camplux will work best if you perfectly dial it in to make the perfect temperature hot water that does NOT need to be mixed with cold water. It's a very simple device and when used simply for the purpose it was designed for, it can really work very nicely. It uses very little Propane. If you do not have enough water pressure, though, it just won't work. I am using this system with a homemade Spring, and the Camplux won't work unless I am running a pressure pump to add pressure to the water. The small amount of water pressure my Spring offers does not allow the Camplux to function properly, so I added a SHURflo pump to my system https://www.amazon.com/SHURflo-Industrial-Pump-Model-2088-594-154/dp/B0001FAA5Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469186717&sr=8-1&keywords=shurflo+pump and with this in place, it works great! I don't really know or understand the "Winter" and "Summer" settings, but I do know that at night here in Vermont, I have to run this Camplux on Winter mode since it gets down into the 50s and 60s at night. Summer mode will not produce hot enough water under these circumstances. During the day, when the sun is out and it's in the 80s and 90s, I have the Capmlux on the Summer setting and it works better when the outdoor temps are warmer. I'd like for there to be a feature where the digital temp readout could be in Fahrenheit rather than Celcius, but it's not a deal-breaker, just an inconvenience. Overall, I'd say I am very impressed with this hot water heater.

This instant water heater isn't exactly the most portable. It is about half my body size. But for functionality it is tops! It can handle very high water pressures and it heats the water far beyond temperatures that I would ever use. Great backup outdoor shower. It took a little bit of wangling to figure out how I was going to mount it, especially when it throws off a good amount of heat, but a good heat rated drywall painted with ultra high temperature spray paint took care of that problem quickly. I purchased some gas pipe and had it threaded to make a bracket that I drilled and bolted through to make it semi portable. But it is portable with an SUV or a pickup truck, this product isn't for the tiny car for sure as you'll take up your whole hatch back trunk with just it. It's really big. It isn't that heavy surprisingly though. All the items worked as specified. The product worked better than I was expecting. I have pumped some serious water pressure through it, and it has always kept up, heating the water like a champ. Not sure of the exact ratings, you'll have to read the information closely, but I seem to remember buying it because it was rated for more than 100psi, and I figured if it can handle that kind of water pressure than it can handle almost any homes water pressure. I have it hooked to propane, but I'm sure if you wanted to run it with natural gas, it could easily be converted as well. Furthermore I put all quick release / attachment water attachments on it, that you can purchase at any home depot or lowes, and it is quick to hook up and quick to disconnect and take down. Decent all around base camp or outdoor shower for the avid outdoors types. I would recommend this product for sure. It is probably more consistent than my own house water heater for constant temperature. The amount of lead in the pipe system is of course the only concern, but if your like me and not the type to worry about that kind of thing, than this product is for you!

3-Star Review Title: Decent unit but runs way too hot — Not ideal for southern states I bought the Camplux Tankless Water Heater, 5.28 GPM Outdoor Propane model BW528 hoping for reliable hot water while camping or for outdoor use. The build quality seems solid, it lights quickly, and the flow rate is good when it works. Setup was straightforward, and it’s relatively compact for a 20L unit. Unfortunately, the temperature control is a major disappointment. With incoming cold water temperatures between 68–72°F (very common here in central Florida), the output water easily climbs over 104°F and feels scalding. Even with the temperature dial turned down, I can’t get a comfortable shower temperature without constantly mixing in extra cold water or turning the unit on and off. It gets too hot too fast and stays there, which makes it frustrating and borderline unsafe for regular shower use. This seems to be a design limitation for warmer climates. In southern states where groundwater and incoming water is already relatively warm, this model struggles to deliver usable (not burning hot) water. It might perform better in colder northern regions where the incoming water starts much cooler. I’m giving it 3 stars because it does produce hot water and works for basic needs if you’re careful, but the lack of better temperature modulation is a big downside for the price. If you live in the South, I would look for a different model with more precise temperature control or a built-in mixer valve. Would not recommend this specific model for Florida, Texas, or other warm southern states.

What a great product. Very solidly built. Works perfectly. For the first time in a year I had all the hot water I needed and was able to take a long hot shower under the stars.

We bought the tank and it did not work so we called thd manufacture and they were very helpfull we trouble shoot the problem and came to the conclusion that the tank was defective

Man, this thing heats water up! Very easy to install and heats the water so hot you have to be really careful with it. We use this in our outside shower at our bed-and-breakfast and it works very very well. It uses very little propane so it is really economical to run.

Received it on time, a great little unit, I am using it to heat an outdoor shower which is located beside my double-decker bus which I rent out....I hooked the unit up to the shower I installed and to a basin in the outdoor shower and it works great, naturally, you cant be having a shower and running the hot water tap at the same time and my water pressure is a little low so if someone is running the cold tap on the bus and you turn on the shower outside it won't activate the burner....its important to note that the unit isn't sold for what I am doing but it works well for me....in fact ive ordered a pump to increase the pressure so this should help greately for my needs....so far so good and I'm happy...

Super Produkt! Toller Service bei Rückfragen! Alles Bestens!

Utilisé pour un usage quotidien en camping/ chantier à trois , nous utilisons ce chauffe eau au minimum de ses capacités. Excellent produit , eau chaude à 40 degrés en moins de dix secondes , débit comparable à une douche d’habitation . Je recommande sans réserve .