Shower Temps???

Hi Ivan

When I installed the Twine I was hoping for the same as you are - when the engine temperature had reached normal operating level I expected the shower to be at full temp. It just doesn't happen. I find that I need about 1300-1400 rpm to heat the water properly. I think its related to flow rate of the engine's water pump. It needs just a little more than idle to properly circulate the coolant.

The other thing you can try is to partially close the valve on the shower head. This will cause the water to travel slower through the heat exchanger and get warmer. Saves water too.

Is that a Nissan you are driving? They tend to run a bit cooler than the tojo hence your issue. I have the longer exchanger in my 4.2 tdi and it has to run at 12 -1400 rpm to heat the water. We are drawing it out of high country rivers though!

cheers

Mine works off idle. 4.5 Petrol Patrol , McPauls HE (glind identical).

I actually struggle with mine , because it gets too hot. I have a Ti patrol , so dfoesn't have a slide heater , only climate control. Makes minute adjustment impossible.

What I'm about to do , as recommended by a couple of others , is to run the HE on a seperate hose circuit , by using "T's" in the heater line , and then fit a slide heater control valve , from a Falcon or Dunnydore. This allows better adjustment , and also adjustment without getting into the vehicle. (I have seen one where it can be adjusted from within the shower tent itself , long cable).

I would also guess that further adjustment could be obtained by using both heater controls , vehicle and remote ones .

Mine in a GU 4.2D runs very hot at just above idle, this is after the engine is run for 3 - 5 min, with the heater control up high its to hot for me, so have to run it about halfway.

The other way is to re-circ your watre through a bucket till it warms up then have the shower.

I had a shower in one of these fandangle things, it was hooked up to a 79 series cruiser with a 4.2EFI TD in it. It was bloody dangerous I reckon, really hot, and it was only idling...

What about these electric ones, are they any good? It just seems like a lot of hassel to me all these bloody hoses and mechanical adjustments, not to mention having the engine going, taping into your cooling system (just asking for more chance of a failure) etc etc.
Am I mad? or am I making any sense? Also I've seen the 12v jobbies for as low as $19, what's the major difference?? (there must be some, because there is such a large price difference).

I had a twine in my TD jack and it will be going in my new TD prado soon. I found that if I ran the engine for a while it would run at idle for a few minutes but it quickly took all the heat out of the engine and went cold, to have a stable warm shower I needed about 2k to 2.5K rpm. Up in alpine country I would have to run it at up to 3k, when camped in one remote place for a week with 8 people showering once a day you definatley notice the fuel but hey all luxuries come at a price.
You basically have 4 variables, fresh water temp, fresh water flow, engine temp and engine coolant flow, some of these you have very little or no control over but thats basically all you can adjust to achieve the perfect shower.
Tim

Hi Ivan

I've got a home made shower fitted to my GU 3LTD Patrol and I found that it reaches Bloody hot after idling motor for about 6min. I found that the temperature can be controlled somewhat by increasing or decreasing the heater control in the cab.

Mike

Re: Twine shower temps - also worth consideration is the type and length of hose you are running from the heat exchanger to the shower head. Met a guy recently who complained of cold showers - he was running the shower hose for about 5 meters and it was clear thin plastic.

I have a Twine in the Pathy and run it at about 1,500 rpm which gives a hot shower.

Ivan,
My experiences (with the Twine) are similar to others. As far as I'm concerned, the biggest factor is the temperature of the input water. If you're using water out of a stream in the high country (or anywhere else for that matter), if it is real bloody cold, the only option is to recirculate it for 5 to 10 minutes. Stick your hand in the bucket and the temp will be slightly warmer. But lift the shower head out of the water and spray it onto your hand and it should be just about right.
I have a Patrol 4.2 TD and usually hand throttle it up to about 1100rpm.
I couldn't begin to imagine running my motor @ 2500 to 3000 rpm like one of the other blokes said. My biggest sin is forgetting to turn the heater control full on and then wondering why the water isn't getting hot!!! (silly ol' fart!!) LOL

Ivan, Hi ,,, How long is the standard barrel length of the Twine??

You have installed it correctly, so the heater water and water to be heated run opposite directions through the exchanger?

I prefer the circulate and heat idea, so you can have a shower without the motor running.

But I have insulated the exchanger, the delivery hose for hot water, modified the inside of my glind unit, and it gets hot enough on the first pass, but if you turn the water on and off, you have to wait for it to cool before using it again with the tap on the hand piece.

Easier to stop start with same temp water from bucket.

HI Ivan, This is a subject that comes up every now and again and always has a mile of replies, mostly negative. I think this is so because it has so many variables. As someone said above that there is engine coolant temp, engine water pump flow, fresh water flow rate and fresh water in temp. If you test it at home in the winter, the water from the tap could be as low as 10 deg C. In the summer it could be as high as 20 deg C from the same tap. I have done that exact test, so the figures are correct. Helton tested their shower with incoming fresh water at 20 deg C, so 10 deg C freshwater coming in to the exchanger will make the shower head temp 10 deg C lower, probably too cold to use. Also if you bought a Twine pump, i think its about 12 litres a minute, if you are using it at that rate , there is no way the exchanger will cope with that. 4 litres a minute is probably maximum, thats enough to shower under. So i think you will have these things into consideration, maybe collect your own data and make a decision on which way you are going to go. Also , you can cut both car heater hoses and insert tee pieces into the cut ends and bypass the cars heater tap, run the water directly to the exchanger.In reply to your question about finding the Holy Grail, It is possible to run at idle, I have a spare, all copper 3" diameter similar to the Twine but much shorter (240mm), it has the added advantage of female BSP fitting on the diameter instead of the end so it is much more compact and you can choose the fittings you want and at any angle you need, if you use M/F elbows on the coolant connections. I tested it on a Hilux petrol and it outputs 48 deg C at idle, 3.75 litre per minute through the shower head. I was short of time so i didnt get readings at higher revs . I'm not too far away from you, i am happy to lend it to you, if you have the time to compare it. You have a petrol engine so it will output similar readings.
It will mount in your Twine brackets so there is not too much mucking around. B est regards Michael

Guys,
use a baby-arse-wipe (Huggies or similar) every day to wash face, arm-pits, then bum (in that order). On special days use the billy heated to desired temp to pour over head for shampoo, then the other bits. If you pass a shower - use it.