Propane hot water heater for shower

[simon43]

Whilst shopping in the new Thai Watsadu DIY store in Phuket, I noticed that they sold a propane gas water heater for use as a shower water heater. The price was about 5,000 baht.

Does anyone have experience of using this type of water heater for a bathroom shower?

I ask because I am building a small bed & breakfast (B& (hotel project #4!) in Phuket, and the electricity supply is rather 'weak' in that locality.. (It's 3-phase, but typically runs around 190 volts since ex #2 used most of the power for her nearby hotel!

If I install an electric instant water heater in my guest rooms, I am sure that I will have some electricity supply problems, since these heaters typically have a power consumption of 3500 or 4500 watts.

Many years ago in the UK, I lived in the countryside and used a propane-powered gas stove in the kitchen. The single gas bottle lasted about 2 years! So I'm keen to know if it's a practical solution to install propane-powered bathroom water heaters.

Simon

[holeyman1]

With the current 2 wire electricals instead of the standard 3 wire ones..

If I were to make a decision, I'd go with the gas option since I wouldnt want anyone to get electrocuted while having a shower!!!

[JDGRUEN]

I have experience with propane water heaters here in the States... I just sold my home where I had a standard propane water heater - large central heater. It performed well for many many years. I recently bought a used motor home (RV) and it has a small capacity self- igniting (12V DC) system. It works great even though my RV is 14 years old. I can only imagine that newer technology water heaters that you are considering using would work even better than mine. My unit is not considered a flash heater ... it comes on regularly during the day. If you decide to use such a system in your units - just be sure you get a sufficient capacity. I am not sure how you plan on stowing or remoting the propane tanks - for eazy access and change out ... Or are you going to use a central tank?

One thing you may want to do is use a solar assist. It can easily be done by extending the cold water intake piping into the water heater. Run the extra length of pipe or flexible pex tubing to the outside wall or roof and make a coil - route it back to the cold water intake on the heater.... Paint the coil black and the hot water produced on most days will cause the propane heater to not come on much at all.

There is a ton of information on solar water heating on youtube - not to mention google