Water heaters and LPG

I'm converting a 2013 170 WB Sprinter and the fine folks on this forum [electrical/solar thread] shattered my future hopes and dreams of an all-electric water heating / cooking system with a cold dose of reality and math.

So now I'm researching LPG based water heating and cooking options.

1. I understand that I'll need to build a propane tank holding box with floor ventilation such that any unintentional leakage of LPG can escape from below. Is this correct? Is it necessary?
https://faroutride.com/propane-system/#2-_Vented_Propane_Locker

2. I understand that some LPG water heaters are "vent-free" and can be installed indoors without connected ventilation. e.g. this Excel model: https://www.amazon.com/TANKLESS-PRESSURE-STARTUP-VENTFREE-PROPANE/dp/B01D7M7CT4

Is this safety claim to be trusted?

Do you have experience with this or other similar products that you would recommend?

LPG tanks mounted outside don’t require venting, most commercially built RVs have tanks mounted outside. I have seen internally mounted tanks in EU, always in bottom vented sealed cabinets but not in NA in commercial RVs unless on boats.

Internet comments are good but if life would depend on it, like with ventless heaters, than I would advise to be careful. Best way to get a good answer would be see if any commercially built RVs use vent free heaters and I very much doubt it, liability would be too high. Mounting a ventless water heater on rear door and run it with open door would be very safe.

LPG is used in most of RVs, there are NA made devices, there is Propex and Malaga from UK, all are vented units.

Visiting an RV dealership and study how LPG is used in trailers or motorhomes could help you a lot.

Thank you George. I searched the forum archives and this post of your's made me chuckle:

GeorgeRa said:

I really don't understand what is the difference between ventless or vented LPG water heaters, perhaps one has exhaust duct connection and one doesn’t. All of them need oxygen and need to vent combustion product - CO2, H2O, and possibly CO. Even if there is no CO you still don't want to heat you van with XXk BTUs exhaust gas.

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I'll look at vented -with duct- options too.

It is also against the rules to mount a propane tank on the rear exterior of the vehicle. You can get an under body tank, Manchester is a major manufacturer. A simple out of the box solution for external tanks is the VW Westfalia set up from Go Westy or Bus Depot;
https://www.gowesty.com/product/lp-tank/2447/lpg-tank-with-regulator-
or
https://www.busdepot.com/253070601d

Cheaper to make a simple sealed and vented cabinet for standard 20lb BBQ tanks. Google around on "DIY propane locker" for boats or rv's. The Seattle library system has lots of great boat repair and mod books. Multiple threads on this forum...

I would not sleep well with an unvented heater. It's sort of an oxymoron anyway since you would need to have the windows open to vent the H2O vapor and CO from combustion. Your van has a 100 liter diesel tank. Why not use that to heat your van? An Espar or if the budget is tight a Chinese clone is great solution. Do your homework on the Chinese knock offs, some people swear by them but they are knock offs...

Whatever you chose, safety equipment should include smoke, CO and LP detectors and a fire extinguisher.

I have an underslung LPG tank and fittings which are from GASIT UK. No need to store your gas inside, there's plenty pot DIY kits out there.

Mickyfin said:

I have an underslung LPG tank and fittings which are from GASIT UK. No need to store your gas inside, there's plenty pot DIY kits out there.

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Hi Mickyfin, I've literally just spent four hours today mulling over the various options and researching the possibilities and am very strongly leaning towards the 20Lit GasIT underslung tank.

I'm hoping to be able to get away with only one hole through the floor for the gas to come into the van.

There are very few videos of installation of these systems and nothing I've found so far that shows the mounting of the 'new' easyfit tanks.

I'm curious to know which tank you chose and, if it's not too much trouble, to ask if you would be happy to share some pictures of how you've mounted and positioned yours.

Strangely, the very next thing I stared researching having decided to have that much gas, was a cheap and small scale installation just to be able to have hot water for hand wash and washing up (my previous solution being to warm some water in a kettle and pour it into the sink)

That brought me to portable shower heaters, and made this thread stand out for me!

Would love to hear people's opinions and experiences with both of these things

My 2007 Great West RV on a 2006 T1N chassis uses a Manchester 6813 tank. Those seem very popular. It has an optional remote sender for a remote gauge. It's been plenty of Propane for hot water, heat, cooking and even some genset time for a week.

It seems they fabricated L brackets and attached them with two bolts to the chassis and the tank, replacing the L brackets that come with the tank that only have one bolt on each side connected to the chassis. There are some extra guard plates too. It's mounted on the passenger side just ahead of the rear spring shackle. It's hard to take pictures, hope these give you the idea. Note that a lot of the pictures of this tank you find on the internet are not of the correct tank.

Regards,

Mark

Do you want hot water for a sink or warm water for a shower? Big difference in hardware. I only need warm water for a shower. Have not had any problem washing dishes with cold water. Warm 100 degree water for a shower is obtained with a Sous Vide cooking water heater.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showpost.php?p=718054&postcount=159

Purchased a 5# propane tank that I was going to mount inside in a box. That was discarded when I found our local Sports Basement sporting goods store sells 1 # refillables and will trade an empty cylinder for a full one without cost. Now carry four 1 # refillables in a gasketed plastic ammo box from Cabela's. One advantage of the 1 # cylinders is the ability to easily move the portable two burner propane stove out of the van for cooking. Use a Camp Chef Ranger II stove with 17,000 btu burners.

https://www.campchef.com/camp-stoves/mountain-series-stoves/ranger-ii-two-burner-stove.html

sparkplug said:

Hi Mickyfin, I've literally just spent four hours today mulling over the various options and researching the possibilities and am very strongly leaning towards the 20Lit GasIT underslung tank.

I'm hoping to be able to get away with only one hole through the floor for the gas to come into the van.

There are very few videos of installation of these systems and nothing I've found so far that shows the mounting of the 'new' easyfit tanks.

I'm curious to know which tank you chose and, if it's not too much trouble, to ask if you would be happy to share some pictures of how you've mounted and positioned yours.

Strangely, the very next thing I stared researching having decided to have that much gas, was a cheap and small scale installation just to be able to have hot water for hand wash and washing up (my previous solution being to warm some water in a kettle and pour it into the sink)

That brought me to portable shower heaters, and made this thread stand out for me!

Would love to hear people's opinions and experiences with both of these things

Click to expand...

i got the 20l easy fit kit with additional BBQ plug in and all related parts, shall be fitting soon once I have mounted my water tanks. I will be sure to photograph the installation.

Thanks Micky - it sounds like you're doing the same as I'm thinking of doing so I would really appreciate anything you can share that can help me.

@Graphite Dave - to be honest I was originally looking at putting a small bottle inside the van just for cooking but space inside is at a premium and I decided that I would sacrifice bottle space for an oven and grill, so the bottle had to be moved outside the vehicle. The knock on effect is that I'm going to end up with about twice the capacity of gas that I'm going to actually need for my cooking requirements and was considering what luxuries this could bring me. Hot water seemed like a good one, but I don't want to carry much water or get into complex systems. I don't plan on having a shower. From what I've seen available on the market I think this is going to be a dead end as the cost and disadvantages for just hand wash use seem to outweigh the benefits. I can warm a kettle and use that. Sometimes keeping it simple is best!

I'm in two minds about having the BBQ plug in - but I might install some kind of external utility point 'just because' while I'm doing the fitting. Much easier to do right from the start than to have to go back and add it later if I change my mind. I'm thinking a Y connector from the regulator with one end going into the van and the other running to a quick disconnect with shutoff valve such as this one

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51vsqGmM-WL._SX425_.jpg

about $12-$15 rather than $60 for one of those bullfinch ones. I'm happy to be told if there's any safety or performance reason why my suggestion isn't a good one but from what I can make out you're really mainly paying for a prettier mounting plate.

I would also welcome any opinions on using copper pipe v flexible thermoplastic pipe, especially for pipework which will be on the outside of the vehicle.

I used the same propane quick disconnect on my van to feed my portable campfire pit and BBQ. I installed a shutoff valve just upstream of the disconnect as the disconnect could potentially leak over time.

I also used high pressure braided stainless propane hose available on Amazon in 10 ft lengths upstream of the pressure regulator and a 12’ low pressure propane hose to feed the campfire pit also available on Amazon.




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