Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great if you have a water source., November 17, 2004
I used this heater last summer, for washing dishes, and showers while boat camping. Heater works off a propane canister, so have extras of those. Pump depends on a small battery that has its own compartment. I carried a spare battery out of caution, but didn't need it on my longest trip of three nights with three people. I would guess 6-7 short showers were taken, along with washing dishes and hand washings during meal prep.
Easy to use. Variable temp. control, from cold to scalding just like a water tap at home, (though a much lower pressure) The water gets hot very quickly.
Instructions say not to use lake or stream water. I decided that applies if you are going to use the heater for cooking or drinking water. Since I use mine only for dish-washing/hand-wahing/showering, I ignored this instruction. There is an attachment for hooking to a garden hose, but I didn't get this as I don't camp where potable water is avialable. If you camp with kids, once it is used with non-potable water, I stongly recommend that you make sure they understand that they are not to drink water from the tap.
I found that a large three gallon collapsable bucket was much handier than the collapable container supplied.
As I remember, I purchased the shower attachment seperately. After our first camp trip with the heater, I replaced the hose on the shower attachment with a longer piece of plastic tubing bought at the hardware store, as the original tube was too short to work well. This was real easy to do and not very expensive and I would recommend it if you are more than four feet tall and want to use the heater for showers.
This is unit is not for pack-backing. But it you car camp or boat camp away from hot water and like the luxury of running hot water, this is a great unit. Not that heavy and and no bigger than a small cooler.
I have a Zodi which I used before I got this. The Zodi does a good job of heating water and is somewhat lighter and more compact. I like the Coleman better however. The swing-out spout on the Coleman may look like a gimmick, but if your are washing dishes over a dishpan it realy is an advantage. The instant on/off feature of the Coleman is a also great advantage
especially when showering. You can rinse off, shut off the water, soap up and turn on the water for a final rinse with just a turn of a dial. Since even three gallons of water goes fast, the ease of shutting off the unit "in between" is very handy. With the Zodi the best approach I found was to put the shower-head in the water supply "in between." This works, but it means the burner is continuing to run, using fuel, and if your are not quick, the water can get hotter than you may want. (Shuting off the Zodi means you have to get out the lighter or matches to relight, which can be a pain if you are wet and soapy.) With the Colman's built in igniter, a simple turn of the dial gets every thing going again. By the way, so far the igniter has worked as flawlessly as the one on the gas range top at home. You turn the dial, you hear a little "swoosh" as the burner comes on, and you have hot water.
I also bought the carry case which I recommend.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Now I'm spoiled..., April 15, 2006
I have been surviving camping quite well for 4 yrs. by heating water on a high-powered propane stove and using a battery-powered shower head for bathing. Then one day I looked at a Zodi water heater and started researching what was available. All I can say is the Coleman Hot Water On Demand is slick and that's the one I chose. The way the spout tucks away into the handle along with the quick response by just turning a dial is simply jaw-dropping. Even water for a cup of coffee can be had by holding the dial temporarily at its hottest setting. The last couple of years I have been looking for some shortcuts so that I have time for some additional activities, and this is ia milestone. No more doing dishes and showers late at night because I wasn't around enough to heat water earlier. I can make quicker camping set-ups by using this device. I can even give my horse warm baths after he's done working. I'll probably get through half a year on one propane bottle and battery charge. One thing did happen: I first purchased a unit that failed to charge properly even after a long period of time (the green light would only come on if I used the DC adapter - even after that was green, if I plugged in the AC adapter, it would go back to red - maybe a bad AC adapter?). This was probably just a fluke, and I ended up returning it -- the second unit was fully charged within 10 minutes! I have to be careful since rechargeable units and I don't always get along. I think this device will make my most favorites list along with my LED, remote-controlled lantern. The people I camp with have sophisticated trailers and I've been keeping up very well even though my trailer is smaller and "primitive". Since they don't let their hot-water heaters run all the time, they have to wait about half an hour until their water heater gets up to speed before they can take a shower. I won't tell them if you don't that I have hot water in 5 seconds! It will probably be noticed, though, when I show up all spiffy in a fraction of what it used to take.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Beware before buying this heater, January 24, 2009
I was very satisfied with this heater when I first purchased it. It is easy to use, produces both cold and hot flow with adjustable heat, has a built-in kitchen-sink like tap plus an optional shower head, uses either it's own pump or a hose as water supply, and can be adapted to larger propane tanks if desired. It's only minor downside is that it is rather large and heavy compared to other camping hot water heaters.
Unfortunately, the heater stopped working less than a year and a half after I purchased it. Nothing would turn on, neither heater nor pump, and the only response I got from it was a yellow low battery light when I plugged in the AC charger.
When I called Coleman I was advised that the rechargeable battery was faulty. However, they also told me that the batteries were out of stock and would not be available for another two months.
When I called back in two months, I was told that the batteries were still out of stock and that I should call back again in another THREE MONTHS. I was offered no other options or advice.
Rather than wait another three months--with no assurance that the batteries would be available then--I did some research on the internet and discovered that I could obtain the same type of battery from Batteries Plus. I purchased one of these batteries and left my old Coleman battery at the store for disposal. Unfortunately, the new battery made no difference. This time I used a voltmeter and confirmed that the new battery was indeed fully changed and putting out the correct voltage. It is unfortunate I did not make this check with the original battery instead of accepting the diagnosis of the Coleman representative.
The heater is still broken, and I am left pondering whether or not it will be worth my while to ship it to Coleman for repair at my own expense. I enjoyed the heater very much while it was working, but I would not buy another. Despite its many excellent features, the heater's short life and terrible product support make it poor value given its considerable price tag.
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