Camp Water Heater

Going to moose camp without a camp water heater is just not a good idea. Moose camp or camping in general produces stinky people and you need hot water for cleanup.

One thing I wouldn't go to a remote moose camp with is a source for hot water a method to have continuous hot water available, kind of like having access your hot water tank back home.
When I first began hunting we used a metal bucket with a lid over the fire to heat water.

This is an alright method of heating water but someone always has to tend it (evaporation), it gets too hot to use (boils) for showers, dishes etc.

Many years later I spotted an ad in an outdoor magazine for a method to heat water in a campfire and have water storage in a cooler.

It consists of a probe that you insert into the fire (basically a loop) with two 10 foot hoses running from it that you run to your cooler.

One hose has a primer bulb on it (same as your outboard motor it doubles as a check valve) that you use to prime the hose. It works just like a coffee percolator, if you leave the probe in the fire long enough you can actually boil water in your cooler.

The trick to this method is your cooler must be elevated about 3 feet above the fire, a picnic table works well for this.

The downside to one of these types of heaters is the safety aspect. Lets say you use a 50 liter cooler? That is 50 liters of potentially scalding water that could burn someone. As long as you are careful (especially if there are children about), put you cooler on a secure table.

Go to bed at night and wake up with hot water waiting for you in the morning... how nice is that?

I bought one of these probes and have used it for about 20 years, unfortunately the pipe has cracked and we are looking for a replacement.

The guys who made this water heater are no longer producing it so I plan to repair/replace it myself.

Remote moose camps do produce one thing... a bunch of stinky guys! Some sort of water heater to heat water for showers is a must. With our method of heating the water away from the fire we still have no control over temp.
We still have to pour the water into a shower bag and hoist it up. Wouldn't it be nice to have a water heater for a shower that has a pump and temperature control?

Where to Get a Camp Water Heater?

We made a new one to replace the aged camp water heater. I have written a more detailed description over on the endless hot water for camp page.

We actually sell these heaters now!

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