Coleman Hot Water On Demand Review

[cnut]

I ended up buying an AquaCube Logic, will be taking it To Moreton Island for a couple of weeks in October and happy to do a review on it when I get back.

Maybe that helps anyone with pre christmas decisions

The reasons I went with the AquaCube Logic were, price, two hot water outlets, water flow can be stopped at the shower rose and the temperature display should make setup a bit easier.

Will let you know more once its done it's first tour of duty

Craig

 

[seawind]

This is my first post to this great forum and I'd like to share the experience of my Coleman. As off road heaven said, I think these units are hit and miss. We have had ours 4 years and only used it a dozen times and the pump packed up due the seals failing. There was no power in the pump lead and I could not find the fuse until I checked this forum. The fuse was blown so I then looked for the problem by putting power directly to the pump and presto.

Coleman said the unit was out of warranty and anyway the pump was considered to be a "consumable"! The warranty says nothing about it being a consumable and I am sure a reasonable person would disagree with them. I told them what I thought of them and ordered a replacement at a cost of over $50. The same day I got a phone call to say they would refund the charge! However after two months no refund. Coleman make some fantastic stuff - its a pity the Australian branch does not respect the brand.

Other than the pump, the unit has been great. The only challenge is that the small gas containers don't like cold mornings - they freeze up. So I generally attach it to the caravan gas tank. I am also going to connect it to the 12v system as described in the forum as there is nothing worse on a cold morning than no gas other than no power.

 

[rainsey]

Yeah I have a Colman unit, infact my second one as the first got replaced under warranty.

I went with the colman as it would give hot water at, I think around the 70degree mark where the cube would not.

My opinion of the Colman is a bit hit and miss. Sometimes the unit is fantastic, other times it can be a cantankerous bugger as it will not heat up.

The shower head has no control.

In hind site, maybe not a good choice, but I have a pathological hatred of Companion products as I have had so many of their kit just fail.

My prefers option is a heat exchanger in the truck.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Isitslippery]

I have one, yes they do have a few faults, sometimes early often a bit later.
I have heard about a lot of them having issues.
Also a lot of ppl with them, no trouble.

You need to inox your pump, or it becomes tight, then the current draw is up, & it's says battery low, then you go & buy a battery & find out no change.
If you run it long enough because of the high current draw the 4amp internal fuse will blow!
I have a heap of 5 amp ( slight upgrade) if you need one, but you will need a new pump at the same time.
They can also have issues with calcium buildup, run clr through as per instructions.
This should help prevent these issues.

Personally I think the shower connection is a waste of time, just put the water into a bucket & use a primus shower pump. The collapsible bags are good!

Let me know if u need a fuse.

 

[seawind]

Coleman

Thanks for the offer of a fuse Isitslippery but I have a supply now. I don't know about putting a bigger one in though. I would hate to think what it would cost to replace the circuit board if that got cooked. The Colman is beautifully made inside but I wonder why the fuse is so hard to get at. And the tight fit for the battery intrigues. Bit of background. When the unit would not start it displayed a recharge light. Although the battery was fully charged a day before I recharged it again but got the same message so I bought a replacement which gave the same error message. Then after a number of attempts to find the problem I got no lights at all as I guess the fuse was saying enough is enough! I bypassed the unit and applied power directly to the pump to isolate the problem.

The pump innards looked cheap and nasty so I looked for a better one. Interestingly this pump is the same unit as is used on the Aqua Cube (?). See photo attached. This pump had only been used to pump water from pristine streams in the Snowy Mountains. Not being able to find a good brand name unit I thought of using a 12 v boat bilge pump. Problem is how to power a 12v pump via a 6 v output. I looked for a 6v relay which would allow a 12v current but could not find one. 6v will trip a 12v relay I have but the contact sounded very weak and not being an electrician I was worried that it might overheat.
Cheers
Charles

 

[Swaggie]

Thanks for the offer of a fuse Isitslippery but I have a supply now. I don't know about putting a bigger one in though. I would hate to think what it would cost to replace the circuit board if that got cooked. The Colman is beautifully made inside but I wonder why the fuse is so hard to get at. And the tight fit for the battery intrigues. Bit of background. When the unit would not start it displayed a recharge light. Although the battery was fully charged a day before I recharged it again but got the same message so I bought a replacement which gave the same error message. Then after a number of attempts to find the problem I got no lights at all as I guess the fuse was saying enough is enough! I bypassed the unit and applied power directly to the pump to isolate the problem.

The pump innards looked cheap and nasty so I looked for a better one. Interestingly this pump is the same unit as is used on the Aqua Cube (?). See photo attached. This pump had only been used to pump water from pristine streams in the Snowy Mountains. Not being able to find a good brand name unit I thought of using a 12 v boat bilge pump. Problem is how to power a 12v pump via a 6 v output. I looked for a 6v relay which would allow a 12v current but could not find one. 6v will trip a 12v relay I have but the contact sounded very weak and not being an electrician I was worried that it might overheat.
Cheers
Charles

That's nasty mate so that pic is the Coleman pump with the black casing that you dip into the water, if it is I must check mine, is it easy to pull apart.....

 

[seawind]

I only pulled it apart as it was obviously cactus. I had tried to lubricate it as per Coleman's advice but this did not work. It was very difficult to get it apart without breaking it and while I did get it apart without damage I doubt if it is designed for this to be done. Whether the water got in via the main or shaft seals I was not able to determine.

 

[Swaggie]

I only pulled it apart as it was obviously cactus. I had tried to lubricate it as per Coleman's advice but this did not work. It was very difficult to get it apart without breaking it and while I did get it apart without damage I doubt if it is designed for this to be done. Whether the water got in via the main or shaft seals I was not able to determine.

Yeah that's what I thought, I wonder if drilling a couple of small holes on either side to get inox etc in there would do the job, then clean the holes and fill with sikaflex etc...

 

[RKN07]

We bought the aqua cube about 3yrs ago and never had any trouble with it,it's just hard to find a constant temp setting..you freeze your bum off waiting for the thermostat to kick back in..

 

[Swaggie]

We bought the aqua cube about 3yrs ago and never had any trouble with it,it's just hard to find a constant temp setting..you freeze your bum off waiting for the thermostat to kick back in..

That's interesting I thought it would be better with digital...

 

[RKN07]

That's interesting I thought it would be better with digital...

It must be the first model coz it's a dial adjustment thermostat not digital

 

[denmar1]

converting coleman water heater to 12v

Hi,jamesgid. have just tried to convert to 12v vehicle battery only used 3 amp
12v to 6v converter would not run it.got recharge light on . what amp converter
did you use.please Regards Denmar1

 

[jandoubleh]

I reckon this is a great backup but wouldnt take it all the time

 

[Swaggie]

I reckon this is a great backup but wouldnt take it all the time

Over the warmer months i camp on rivers, so I use them to swim. I personally like to shower daily, some blokes can go for 4 days plus without one etc

If I think the Rivers will be to cold I take it everytime..

 

[robbie613]

My aquacube

Great to read from peoples experiences with these units.

I've got the first series Aquacube, we chose it over the Coleman because it runs off your typical LPG gas bottles and 12V (cigarette lighter).

It's great for long camping stays - really fast hot drinks, or heating water for dishes. If it doesn't get hot enough, just re-circulate it through again, I think it's like a 40 degree heat gain per cycle

A few times we've had the burner turn off but it auto-ignites again which is nice.

You gotta ensure the pump is always under water or you'll kill it quickly. It's a decent sized unit, and if you're using it for a shower obviously you need to get 20L of clean water from somewhere!

 

[Swaggie]

Great to read from peoples experiences with these units.

I've got the first series Aquacube, we chose it over the Coleman because it runs off your typical LPG gas bottles and 12V (cigarette lighter).e!

Hi Rob

Thanks for the post, the Coleman runs off normal gas bottles also,although you can use the small propane canisters too..

 

[triton man]

thanks swag the review on the Colman hot water on demand unit and all the others comments are really help full thanks.

 

[Swaggie]

thanks swag the review on the Colman hot water on demand unit and all the others comments are really help full thanks.

No worries mate thanks for your reply...

 

[KellyK2]

I tried one of these with the stock five gallon bag. I didn't like two things. One the bag always seems to leak a little and didn't last long. Two, having to finish what you are doing then turn off the knob was a waste of water and not hygienic.

I got a 20 gallon plastic tote and placed the intake hose in it. Acquired a plastic 55 gallon barrel and put a household faucet on it. Refill the tote from the drum. Water source solved.

I placed a waterproof trolling motor foot controller inline between the battery and the unit. All sae connector wired. Turn knob on, nothing happens until you step on trolling motor switch. No touching knob. T-H Marine FCS2DP Trolling Motor Hands Free Foot Control Switch, Black Finish

Rechargeable battery doesn't last very long so I got a 4:1 sae splitter and hooked 4 dual post lantern batteries to the unit. Two lantern batteries will power the unit, but four should last a really long time.
NOCO ISCC2 5-Way SAE Adapter Connector

 

[Swaggie]

Coleman hav stopped spare parts for this model especially the water pump which is usually the cause of most issues apart from the battery which you can buy anywhere , I feel Coleman has lost the plot in this country, I have plenty of there gear, I will not be supporting this Company any longer.... Its a shame but there choice I guess...