Winter is Here, I Want Warm Water Outside

[rockmeupto125]

Why hot water outside?  Quick oatmeal? Special effects with steam?

 

Lots of uses, but in our case, the greatest concern is washing New York State brine and salt off the vehicles so they don't look like standard New York State vehicles, without turning hands and fingers into frozen nubs. Although I'm in Pennsylvania, travel through NY is inevitable for work and shopping. 

 

 

So I put my beleaguered mind to work.  I've considered several options, starting with a hose running from the drain on my natural gas water heater to installing a dedicated outdoor water heater. But having a couple excellent experiences with instant water heaters, I thought I'd investigate that option.  Can they heat outside? How to power? How many connections and how to run them?  So many choices. 

 

Well, my database is slim, so to get data, have to try something.  Amazon offered up an 18 liter per minute instant hot water heater powered by a tank of propane and lit off by a couple of D batteries, so that's simple. On sale, too, although this week with Black Friday sales it is $7 cheaper.  A couple days later an obscenely oversized box shows up on my doorstep. So large, in fact, that I was concerned to open it, as the heater I ordered was less than 1/4 the size of this box in actual dimensions.  No worries though, standard Amazon packaging with an item accompanied by a 3 square foot piece of crumpled brown paper in a great big box. 

 

It took a couple days to plan this out and go through my stockpile of supplies.  I shrewdly checked the size of the connections before ordering, and cleverly also ordered the adapters to be able to connect to a garden hose.

 

The big day came, all assemblies were thought out and it was warm enough outside to attempt the experiment. Supplies and tools were gathered and the plan was explained to all to ensure their cooperation in the effort. All except one. Part of the assembly involved removing the hose from the existing hose bit, and dissimilar metals being what they are, these two devices were reluctant to relinquish their mutual grip, and a de-stucking device was employed in the form of an 18" pipe wrench.  Although capable of generating significant torque, the nature of a pipe wrench is that it is non-selective and merely targets the weakest portion of an assembly, which unfortunately in this case was the corroded copper pipe feeding the hose bib. Fortunately this breach of containment was both readily identifiable and locatable as the gush of water from behind the siding of the house immediately caught my attention.  Only 10 or so gallons of oxidane were lost to the basement floor before emergency shutdown procedures could be initiated.  It (the basement) has seen much worse. 

 (to be continued)

[Zero Knievel]

How cold is it outside?  You could just run a hose from the hot water tap closest to where you are working.  I've done this for washing the bike, and it does better than hand washing with a bucket of hot soap water.  I could do the same with the pressure washer if I wanted to.  You do need a tap with a threaded end for to the hose to attach.

[SwampNut]

14 minutes ago, rockmeupto125 said:

standard Amazon packaging with an item accompanied by a 3 square foot piece of crumpled brown paper in a great big box. 

 

I was just musing on this yesterday.  I ordered something fluffy and soft.  It was in a box.  Which Amazon put in another box, and "protected" it with said crumpled paper.  Though in this case they barely put in any crumpling effort and it was mostly just paper.  Luckily, my fluffy soft item was still fluffy and soft, not broken.

 

16 minutes ago, rockmeupto125 said:

dissimilar metals being what they are, these two devices were reluctant to relinquish their mutual grip

 

Use teflon tape on all garden hose fittings.  Thank me later.

 

[rockmeupto125]

Zero...Not steady freezing yet, just overnight. There's no hot tap anywhere near close, and I've have to leave doors open for a hose.  Be careful putting hot water through a pressure washer.  Cool source water is what cools the pump, hot water may tend to tighten the clearances a bit too much for sustained operation. 

 

Swamp...We routinely get absurd Amazon packaging that is typically small item, large box, and a wisp of brown paper in the same ratio as dryer sheets.  The hose in question was not intended to stay connected for over a year, it just happened that way (whoops). 

 

Now, in continuation......

 

So off to the store to see what we can find.  It's 15 inches from the outside wall to an accessible point inside, and the longest silcock I can find is 14 inches. The newish basement window framing is very much in the way as the silcock OD is much larger than the 1/2 copper that was there previously, and it's hard for me to stand on a milk crate right now to try to reach all this silliness.  I managed to gouge away enough of the 2x4 window framing to allow the new silcock to pass, and I was able to thread and tighten the sharkbite adapter over the top of frame without having to see it. Once that was done, I cut the old supply line back, jammed the second sharkbite coupling over that and connected the two with some blue pex while the silcock was pushed in from the outside by my best helper. Now we're in business, open the supply valve and it's all good except for the leak. From the threaded coupling. Over the window. 

 

Sigh. 

 

Water off, pop the coupling, unscrew the threaded piece, load it up with teflon and put it back together. This time with help outside holding with a wrench and a dangerously high step inside so I can mad tighten this coupling with a swing of about 15 degrees in the space between the basement window and the floor joist. Got it tight enough so the wrench wouldn't hold outside, pushed the valve back in, reconnected the pex, turned the water back on, and behold....no leak.  Just (ahem) condensation.  And it's going to stay like that. 

 

NOW back to the heater.  I neglected to mention that when I got the adapters for the hose connection, I got the right sizes, but for one I needed female, not male. But I picked up another adapter when I bought the fixin' stuff and I even got new washers..because.   So got the water connections made, propane connection tight, and fresh batteries in the igniter.  Seemed to flow pretty good.  Turned the heater on, the burner started with a fwoosh, and lo there came hot water after a bit. 

 

So I needed to keep an eye on the temp, still finding the adjustment sweet spot, and it definitely does not flow enough for a good wash, but it is warm and the wash is done by hand, so that's a win. 

 

So here's my thoughts in regard to weak pressure, as the heater circuit is constricted. From the supply line, a Y adapter that goes to A)the heater and B)a control valve, then another Y adapter joining the control valve and heater circuits.   Increase the temp from the heater.  The entire flow from the heater goes into the outflow circuit. Then adjust the control valve to increase the flow rate into the outflow circuit, modulate the temperature and total flow rate.  Sound like a plan?

 

 

 

Hands are warm, truck is clean.

 

 

[SwampNut]

2 minutes ago, rockmeupto125 said:

The hose in question was not intended to stay connected for over a year, it just happened that way (whoops). 

 

Yesterday I did the yearly maintenance on the vacuum cleaner for the first time, and learned that it's five years and six days old.  It needs a brush motor, and had a five year warranty.

 

[rockmeupto125]

ARRRRGHH!

 

[Zero Knievel]

2 hours ago, rockmeupto125 said:

Zero...Not steady freezing yet, just overnight. There's no hot tap anywhere near close, and I've have to leave doors open for a hose.  Be careful putting hot water through a pressure washer.  Cool source water is what cools the pump, hot water may tend to tighten the clearances a bit too much for sustained operation. 

 

Good to know, but for what time I'm using it for, might not be something to worry about.  I'm soaping down and rinsing a car, not the whole house.

 

2 hours ago, rockmeupto125 said:

So off to the store to see what we can find.  It's 15 inches from the outside wall to an accessible point inside, and the longest silcock I can find is 14 inches.

 

Odd thought, but in that case (too late now I'm sure), if a freeze-proof silcock won't fit, could you not run a standard pipe with a supply cut off indoors and a drain valve before the faucet outside so you can dump any water so the exposed line won't freeze?

 

2 hours ago, rockmeupto125 said:

So here's my thoughts in regard to weak pressure, as the heater circuit is constricted. From the supply line, a Y adapter that goes to A)the heater and B)a control valve, then another Y adapter joining the control valve and heater circuits.   Increase the temp from the heater.  The entire flow from the heater goes into the outflow circuit. Then adjust the control valve to increase the flow rate into the outflow circuit, modulate the temperature and total flow rate.  Sound like a plan?

 

Don't know what system you're using, but I would expect a propane water heater to self regulate based on flow rate...which should be controlled by the pressure going in and the draw going out.  Just set the desired temperature and turn on.

 

2 hours ago, rockmeupto125 said:

 

New truck?  Nice.  

[rockmeupto125]

I could put a drain in, but who wants the extra work when I do use the water a few times over the winter?

 

Simple "instant" water heater is just tubing over a flame. There's a pressure/flow switch that allows the burner to fire if there is pressure, and turn off if there is not. There's a thermostat to turn the heater off if the exiting water is too warm, and on if it is too cold.  There's no regulation of flow, that's managed by the user with a valve. So if your target temp is 130F, but you have the hot water valve open full blast and the water can only get up to 110F, that's what you get. 

 

Yeah, it's nice. 

[jon haney]

Joe, doesn't that heater need to vent its flue gases somewhere outside?

I know you're not going to run it long, but I would hate for something to happen to you or your helper.

Edited November 24, 2025 by jon haney

[XXitanium]

No chance of power failure and freezing lines or pumps?

 

...orderly shutdown procedure, blowing out the lines?

[superhawk996]

21 hours ago, rockmeupto125 said:

So here's my thoughts in regard to weak pressure, as the heater circuit is constricted. From the supply line, a Y adapter that goes to A)the heater and B)a control valve, then another Y adapter joining the control valve and heater circuits.   Increase the temp from the heater.  The entire flow from the heater goes into the outflow circuit. Then adjust the control valve to increase the flow rate into the outflow circuit, modulate the temperature and total flow rate.  Sound like a plan?

Should work.  A garden hose might not handle the heat so you probably want to use something else on the hotter side of the Y.

 

When I first started reading I thought you were trying to assemble some kind of under-washing rig, I've never considered needing hot water for car washing.  I'd probably get one of those spinning sprinklers and drag it across the underside to help get salt out of stuff.  The smarter/easier solution is to ship the truck here for the season, I'll send you photos of it becoming increasingly dustier as it's doing dry and salt-free stuff.

 

Is that truck brand new or only new to you?  And hosing it down with Fluid Film or similar before it gets salty will help.  You have plenty of free protectant on hand, used motor oil, so that's an option.

[rockmeupto125]

33 minutes ago, superhawk996 said:

 I'll send you photos of it becoming increasingly dustier as it's doing dry and salt-free stuff.

 

 

LOL. 

 

Got this with the heater. 

 

 

New to me. It's been zeibarted, looks like new. 

[SwampNut]

I thought of you this morning as I was changing out a hose that was leaking.

 

Teflon tape meant that this fitting, so old that it had corroded through from the inside and was spraying, came off with two fingers.  

 

 

 

It was 48 degrees, fucking retarded cold.  But the water was kinda ok.  I think the warmer ground makes it come out warmer than the air.

 

And nice truck.

 

[Zero Knievel]

1 hour ago, SwampNut said:

Teflon tape meant that this fitting, so old that it had corroded through from the inside and was spraying, came off with two fingers.  

 

If you quickly get them on ice, the ER can sew them back on.  

[blackhawkxx]

13 hours ago, superhawk996 said:

You have plenty of free protectant on hand, used motor oil, so that's an option.

I did that one year.  I thought I was going to get crap at work parking near my office because when it rained, there were rainbows everywhere on the ground coming out from my truck.  I switched to Fluid Film from then on.