Coleman Hot Water on Demand

Jiml,

Model No is #2300-700

That is just the Hot Water Unit. Shower attachment is extra and costs $20.

Coleman Aust contact no is 02 8762 5000

Web is www.colemanaustralia.com.au

Cheers

Vince,

Where is local. My prices are Brisbane. Also don't forget the base price does not include a shower or gas bottle $20 and $7 respectively.

Fittings for them to run from the standard Australian gas bottle are not yet available. So you have to buy the disposable $7 for 480 grams. Very expensive gas. Only gives about 40 minutes of use.

Ours lasted 8 days with two showers per day, daily washing up and two laundries. So, a $1 day for the sheer convenience esp shower. Worth ever cent.

Also had to charge the battery during the camp. No probs, just plugged it in while the solar panels were charging the CT battery. Comes with two chargers, 240 and 12 volt cig lighter plug in. Worked a treat.

Buy an additional Coleman 19 litre (5 US Gallon) collapsible water bag at the same time ( $17.) The unit comes with one. I already had a 10 litre one and found having the two bags was worth it. The pump screws into the top of the bag. Only fit a Coleman brand, so don't let the store try to sell you a Coleman knock off. Been down that road. They don't fit.

PS. The pump is self priming and can be just dropped into a bucket. You don't need the Coleman bag at all. In fact the manual shows it being dropped into an esky as an alternative!!.

Cheers

Magnus

The Coleman shower head is pretty p poor, but you need the clip on the end to plug it in. I got a mate in the US to send me the conversion gas hose and the adaptor to use my Flojet 12v pressure pump. The POL gas hoses and the pressure adaptor will be available in 5 weeks in Aus.
Using those Coleman throw away gas bottles is damned expensive and a rip off. Some camping shops locally are selling them at $9.95 while KMart is only $6.95. You can buy an adaptor from the US to refill them and some fill in the US ten times. They are not supposed to be refilled but everybody does in the US.
Coleman's price fixing never works if you are a good shopper. Coleman have stopped selling to stores because they discounted Coleman gear and sold it on the net.
I got a cheap plastic shower head from the local plumbing supplies store that only uses 4.5 litres a min and is better than the Coleman shower head.

Brett

Not brilliant, but as we were staying in a park with no water, it was more than enough. 2 showers about 10 litres of water and enough flow to get wet all over and shampoo hair. In fact just right compared to other units I have used where you had to turn water off while shampooing or soaping up so as not to waste it as flow was too strong!!.

Ended up standing the unit on an old stove stand I took along for just that purpose as I had experimented at home. Also bought some tubing and made up my own length before we went to get right height. Just reach through the shower tent flap and turn on unit and you are away. Almost instant hot water, about 2 or so second delay.

In camp, I stood the water on 2 hobby boxes to reduce head and it all worked fine.

Mind you it took about 5 days to get the height and head and shower tube length right. Should have experimented more at home.!!

Warranty is lifetime limited. That of course doesn't mean much. The limited has conditions re wear and tear etc as usual. I suspect that if it went bung after a year, Coleman would say tough bikkies. No facts to base that opinion on, just gut feel re Coleman. I like their products but not their attitude which in my opinion leaves a whole lot to be desired.

The US does not have gas bottles smaller than 20kg. Hence all their gear uses disposable bottles, which of course are dirt cheap there and available anywhere.

Coleman have had to get a special hose to fit the unit gas intake (where the disposable bottle goes) with a POL fitting at the bottle end. (That in itself is a pain as most bottles below 5 Kg are 3/8 LH.) So, have to use an adapter I suppose if I want to make use of my current stock of gas bottles.

There is just nothing available here that will fit. I know a good machinist would knock one up in 30 minutes, but that is not the point. At retail level we are still waiting.

Cheers

Magnus

David,

Did you replace the Coleman pump? Sounds like it. Also any name to that shower head you got from the plumbing store?

Do you still get water hot enough at 4.5 litres min.

Cheers

Magnus

David,

Just checked my unit. Flow is 4.4 litres minute. Dug around in my parts bin and found a domestic shower head and tried it. Much better flow than either the Coleman head or another head I was using.

So that bit is answered.

I looked at the Shuffle units that self prime and pump 4 litre / minute. $109 thank you. ! Ugh.

Will stick with the Coleman Pump and the shower head I found in my parts bin.

Will definitely be getting the gas fitting.

Thanks for the input re the shower head.

Cheers

Magnus

Magnus thanks for the imformitive reply. I'm currently using a 12V shower from jaycar, it takes about 3 min to empty a 9L bucket so sounds like the coleman has a bit more flow, would be nice to be able to adjust flow for the times you have unlimited supply.The jaycar pump looks exactly the same as the Primus shower I figure the pressure adapter you can use for connecting up to a water supply probably limits the flow to the same as the supplied pump???

David,
did you get an increase in flow with the flojet pump and pressure adapter?

Brett,

snip snip "I figure the pressure adapter you can use for connecting up to a water supply probably limits the flow to the same as the supplied pump??? "

Sorry Brett, I don't understand what you mean there. The Coleman unit just has a pump that either sits in a tub of water or is screwed into the supplied Coleman collapsible water bag.

I was using 12 volt showers also. The last one I had used so much water you had to turn it off while soaping or shampooing or there was none left to rinse. It died from rust after 2 camps!!

Cheers

Magnus

Magnus the adaptor limits the pressure not the flow
you get more water with the pressure adaptor over the pump
the shower head is a no name brand
has smaller holes and sprays with more force
the best way to shower with minimum water is to have a bowl you put warm water and some soap, sponge and wash yourself all over and then rinse

David,

Thanks for that. I take it the adaptor for limiting the pressure came from your mate in the States??

Haven't seen it as an option on the Coleman Web Site. So, is it a Coleman unit?

I think I fixed the shower head issue with a unit I had here at home. Am getting heaps better spread of water from the head.

Magnus

Magnus they will be available in Aus in 5 weeks
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=2300-511&categoryid=2200

Ahhhh,

Thanks for that. A nice addition for some circumstances. Now I undertand how you have used it with the 12 volt pump as well.

Cheers

Magnus

You won't have to hold off for long. Ray's has 20% of sale about every three weeks.

Truckster,

The placticy look was an initial concern for me too. I put a lot of faith in the Coleman brand. Have a number of their products and it was their past quality that I relied on.

Nothing broken after one camp and a fair bit of experimenting at home both before and after. Still, not the sort of unit you would want to be rough with. I braced up an old folding stove stand (Coleman of course) to use with it just to make sure the stove stand wouldn't fall over with the Hot Water unit on it.. Means I have to bolt the stand together in camp, but once done it is rock solid as opposed to being a bit wobbly like most folding stove stands. That worked well.

I bought the carry bag as well and that bulks it up a fair bit. Takes up almost as much room as a small fridge. Fortunately I have a new bigger camper trailer than my old one so I haven't filled it up with sundry junk yet and so there was room for the Coleman!!

If you can get one at the mentioned Ray's sale price, they are well worth the price.

Cheers

Magnus