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mojo43
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# Posted: 6 Jun 2021 05:28pm
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It was a hot day today and I took a shower with my L5 and the water was scorching at min setting and full output. Has anyone else ran into this problem?
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FishHog
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# Posted: 6 Jun 2021 05:43pm
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Well if your supply water is already warm it’s certainly possible that a pass through the burner makes it too warm
Maybe just use cold water if it’s that hot
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paulz
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# Posted: 6 Jun 2021 06:12pm
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Would turning down the knob on the propane tank work?
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Brettny
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# Posted: 6 Jun 2021 06:39pm
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All these things have a min/max temp rise. Do you have a ball vale or gate valve on the water inlet? This really let's me rough tune mine and then the knobs on the unit are used to fine tune. Mine is an iHeat brand and has winter/summer modes, basicly high flame and low flame along with gas and water adjustments.
On a day line today I think I would be showing with no heat at all.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 6 Jun 2021 08:53pm - Edited by: gcrank1
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You cant fine tune the propane cylinder knob.
The cylinder high pressure is reduced through the typical fixed regulator. As the cylinder depletes the regulator maintains the reduced pressure until the cylinder is pretty much empty. If you wanted to be able to adjust the regulator you get an adjustable model, as is used on the big burner 'turkey fryers', etc.
But (a BIG but...) the burner on these water heaters is not made for a big increase in flame! The adjustable regulator one would try to find would be one that Max'es out at the fixed reg pressure thus letting you decrease the burner but not increase it.
Fwiw, when we ran an L5 at home (while I re-did our only bathroom) on the back deck, fed by a water hose, we fine tuned the output water temp by the water volume; ie, on full at the outside spigot to hose and adjusted at the spigot I mounted by the L5. Faster water flow through means not as much time to pick up btu's/temp rise.
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mojo43
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2021 08:27am
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Ya it doesn't look like I can fine tune the propane input nor the water supply unfortunately. Really too bad that it is coming out this hot.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2021 09:16am - Edited by: gcrank1
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Couple of ideas that just jumped into my head, NO experience doing such):
Wonder if you can make a metal 'sliding shield' over the burner tube(?) to close off a bit of it from igniting? That would cut the btu's to the water tubes = less temp rise.
If that works it would likely need to be removable for the colder months of use.
Perhaps a 'safer' way to moderate the output temp would be a 'mixing valve'?
Lets say you 'tee' off the input water line which is pressurized. Part of the water diverts as 'cold' to one side of the mixing valve, the other goes to the L5 as is now.
The output from the L5 is the hot to the other side of the mixing valve which runs to your shower head.
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jhp
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2021 09:35am
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Quoting: gcrank1 we fine tuned the output water temp by the water volume
This is how I run mine. I almost always run at the lowest pressure setting on the L5, if the water gets a bit too warm even on the min setting, I just bump the pressure a notch and that reduces the temp enough.
Short of that you'd need to plumb a new cold line from your water pump, and the hot output from the L5 to a real shower assembly (instead of the handheld) with a mixing valve and let the shower valve do the work for you.
Then you'd turn on the hot handle all the way and add just a little bit of cold handle to cool it down a bit. I'd recommend buying a two valve shower assembly, or just make up your own with parts.
A single handle with a "mixing ball" valve might not work right since (I think) you'd want the L5 hot water side on full open all the time or else it may shut down the burner.
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snobdds
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2021 12:09pm
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I find it best to use the instant hot waters like a normal house hot water. I plumb in the shower with a hot and a cold input. The hot water is put to full hot and it is cooled down by the dedicated cold side of the plumbing. Then it dosen't matter how you set the heater, it's always on full heat.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2021 02:24pm
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The instructions on these on demand heaters specifically say not to use on a mixing valve.
If the shower is to hot you need to add more volume of water...or get a shower head that supplies more water.
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snobdds
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2021 02:29pm
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Quoting: Brettny The instructions on these on demand heaters specifically say not to use on a mixing valve.
If you don't have a dedicated cold water supply.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2021 03:09pm
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Its 2 separate valves for hot or cold then?
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snobdds
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2021 04:07pm
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I assume your referring to using the ecotemp as one valve, where the hot and cold are metered at the unit and then again at the mixing valve where again it tries to moderate the temp.
I have found for best results, to eliminate trying to meter the hot and cold at the unit, and instead move the metering point to the mixing valve with a dedicated cold line. Like a traditional house. Adjust the ecotemp to the maximum temp setting and run a dedicated hot line to each fixture. Then also run a dedicated cold line to each fixture. Let the fixture be the mixing valve.
People are use to adjusting the faucet or shower valve to get the ideal temp, not the unit.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2021 04:23pm
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Quoting: Brettny If the shower is to hot you need to add more volume of water...or get a shower head that supplies more water.
This could be your issue, are you using a low flow shower head that isn't allowing enough flow to run through the heater when your water supply is already on the warm side?
Or a higher flow pump could increase your flow.
I'm still surprised this is an issue unless your water supply is quite warm to begin with. I've run mine where my water coming in is 80deg, and still with low temp setting and high flow setting it was fine for a shower.
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mojo43
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2021 04:26pm
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Thanks for all of the replies... I am off grid so I am using a battery operated pump. I guess it doesn't have sufficient flow and the source is from a rain barrel so warm, but not 80 degrees.
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paulz
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# Posted: 8 Jun 2021 12:09am
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There are internal water adjustment screws on the L5. Not sure if or how they would help your situation but here's the how to
https://support.eccotemp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019638834-How-to-do-a-Water-Pressur e-Adjustment
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Brettny
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# Posted: 8 Jun 2021 07:05am
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Quoting: mojo43 Thanks for all of the replies... I am off grid so I am using a battery operated pump. I guess it doesn't have sufficient flow and the source is from a rain barrel so warm, but not 80 degrees.
How many GPM are you getting out of your shower head?
We use to run ours off a 2.9gpm 12v pump. Now we are useing a gravity system with 20ft of drop. I have overcame the low pressure by useing 1in poly supply line and 3/4in garden hose to supply the water heater. We also use a big rainfall style shower head, this helps spread the water out on your body a bit.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 8 Jun 2021 07:18am - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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When did this company change the dials?
There used to be a summer/winter setting that would give one more control over the heat settings.
Your water flow is to slow, as mentioned above. This happens on our tank when fall comes and we switch the tank to winter. The flow from the shower head has less water pressure because it takes longer to heat the water.
We use a RV pump powered by a Yeti solar generator. Our water in a 250 gallon tank, filled with water from the lake. We have a on demand heater which has the summer/winter setting. I noticed on Amazon that dial is gone on many of the on demand systems.
We also have a big rainfall shower head.
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mojo43
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# Posted: 8 Jun 2021 05:10pm
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Quoting: Brettny How many GPM are you getting out of your shower head? We use to run ours off a 2.9gpm 12v pump. Now we are useing a gravity system with 20ft of drop. I have overcame the low pressure by useing 1in poly supply line and 3/4in garden hose to supply the water heater. We also use a big rainfall style shower head, this helps spread the water out on your body a bit.
I haven't tested it, but probably not a lot. Maybe if I raised the water supply that would help. I also love the idea of a rain fall head. Thanks for the suggestions.
Quoting: paulz There are internal water adjustment screws on the L5. Not sure if or how they would help your situation but here's the how to
Interesting. The link is broken, but I will google for it. Hopefully the adjustment screws could help.
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