Open Source On-Demand Water Heater

Here we show a simple method for building an on-demand water heater.

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Category:

Education

Tags:

• open
• source
• on-demand
• water
• heater

[Intoxified1]

I live in one of the biggest RVs they make but it lacks a washer and dryer. So, I added a storage shed onto my deck for a laundry room. The RV only has a 20 gallon water heater so Im looking for a small on demand heater for doing the wash. Does anyone see a safe way of using this kind of setup for my application?

[screwityourselfer]

i think maybe an expansion tank may be in order as well

[screwityourselfer]

you can get the elements for less than 20 bux at lowes or home depot. as far as the safety of this, i would seal the terminals with non-conductive sealant (not sure but maybe rtv would work), and if its plugged into a gfci, i dont see a problem. what kind of gpm of hot water are we talking with this setup? you can get elements with high wattage ratings, but of course, the power used will be high. i may set about building a LPG version.

[ElementCabinet]

Where did you get the element from?

[jeffery19677]

@realjoefriday Good explanation of a better way to do this. Sharing knowledge is what its all about.

[jeffery19677]

@realjoefriday I am a professional pipewelder. Welding is safe on galvanized material as long as you don't breathe the fumes. It will give you flue-like symptoms if you weld it all day. That little bit of cutting and welding won't even give you symptoms if you DID breathe the fumes during the manufacture of this heater. BTW, why do you have to insult someone who is trying to learn and share that knowledge with you? I find it very rude. You should apologize.

[realjoefriday]

Oh yeah -- and another thing -- that pipe that you're torching and welding on is galvanized -- YOU DON'T TORCH OR WELD GALVANIZED STEEL.

Torching and welding on galvanized steel emits a gas WHICH IS DEADLY.

Move back in with your parents. You shouldn't be allowed anywhere near tools.

[realjoefriday]

ELECTRICAL TERMINALS EXPOSED TO THE USER? NO ELECTRICAL GROUNDING?

ARE YOU F#@%ING SERIOUS??

This is one of the most irresponsible videos I've seen on YouTube. This design is absolutely horrible. Forget the fact that the mechanical part of it is ridiculous. (A tee should have been used at the electrical end and a reducer on the other)

THIS WILL GET SOMEONE KILLED. Go look up the news stories and lawsuits over this EXACT SAME MORONIC SETUP killing dozens of US soldiers in Iraq.

[85rocco]

You made that a lot more complicated, a lot more work and a lot more failure prone than it needed to be.

[davidoski2]

Won't it be dangerous? I mean in case of short circuit.