Water

Adjusting the gas and water dials will let you control the temperature of the water coming out of your HOTTAP. 

Sections in this article:

• Adjust the gas dial
• Adjust the water dial
• How do I get the hottest water?
• How do I see the temperature of the water?

Read on or watch this video. [2 min]

Note: the video mentions the max heat output is 30C. The actual max heat is 35C!

Adjusting the gas and water dial to adjust the temperature

The HOTTAP has the ability to adjust the gas and water flow.

Adjusting the gas

• Setting the gas dial to minimum gives less heat. 

The minimum setting means there is less gas, which produces a smaller flame. And a small flame results in less heat.

• Setting the gas dial to maximum gives more heat. 

The maximum setting means there is more gas, which produces a larger flame. And a larger flame results in more heat. 

Tip: If you want the highest heat from the unit, set the gas dial to maximum.

Adjusting the water

• Setting the water dial to minimum gives more heat. 

The minimum setting means the water is flowing slower—or, 2.5 LPM. The slower the water, the more time it spends picking up heat. The hotter it gets. 

• Setting the water dial to maximum gives less heat.

The maximum setting means the water is flowing faster—or, 6 LPM. The faster the water, the less time it spends picking up heat. The 'less hot' it gets. 

Tip: If you want the highest heat from the unit, set the water dial to minimum.

How do I get the hottest water?

To get the hottest water, set gas to maximum and water to minimum. This gives you a 35C rise in temperature, from your input water. 

How do I see what temperature of the water?

You can view the temperature of the water coming out of the unit by using the monitor.

The HOTTAP needs to be used with mains water, a pump, or another pressurised water source. The HOTTAP unit itself does not have the ability to draw water from a source.

The HOTTAP needs a pressurised water source in order to work. Basically, you need to be 'pushing' water into the HOTTAP, in order for it to turn on. 

Well, you still need batteries and gas: and you can find more info here.

What does this mean

The HOTTAP needs a way to turn on and off automatically. This way you don't need to stand near the unit and keep flicking a switch. To do this, the HOTTAP has a way of sensing water flow. And so that it runs safely and smoothly, it needs a minimum amount of water flow (otherwise it would be on all the time).

The HOTTAP needs a minimum of 6 litres/min and 10 PSI to work on the maximum flow setting. The maximum flow setting is having the water dial set to max, where we have the most water flow.

Imagine having a crowd of people leaving an empty room, through one walkway. We need to have 6 people walking out of the room at one time—this is the water flow. And we can't just have them walk, oh no, we need them to jog. So we give them a little nudge—this is the water pressure. 

And there you go, we have enough water flow and pressure.

Thankfully, we have a few ways of doing this.

Which water supplies will work

All of these will work.

The Joolca FLOTAP pump

Of course. This is how the setup looks.

A pressure pump with 6 litres/ min and 10 PSI to work on all the water flows.

• Just like the room analogy. If we only have a 4 litre/ min pump—or only 4 people leaving the room at a time—well since 4 is less than 6, we can't use the max water setting. Although, we can still turn the HOTTAP on. We'll only be able to use the middle setting. Any higher and the unit will turn off. 
• Read more about pumps here.
• Will my existing pump work?

A garden tap

• If you're using council mains (in a domestic area), all good. 
• If you're on an off-grid property and have your own 'local' water supply, this should work. Although, if you have a super high flow pump (eg. 50+ litres/ min) and super low pressure (less than 10PSI), this could be an issue. It's like now trying to push 50 people at a time out of that same 6 person walkway. People will stumble and fall. And after all the havoc, you might only have a handful of people leaving at a time. And with not enough force. If you have issues with this setup, we recommend another pump. 

Gravity-fed or header tank

More info here.

When it comes to pumping water there is a vast amount of options available to choose from however you need to be certain of the requirements in your system otherwise you are likely to find that the particular pump you have is not fit for purpose.

The Joolca branded pump is specifically designed to be used with the HOTTAP, however if you have your own pump or have a use case with the Joolca pump won't suit, that is perfectly fine. 

General Specifications Required: 

When it comes to the HOTTAP Hot water system the ideal specifications for the pump are that it flows at least 6 litres per minute and no more than 12. You are also looking for a pressure level around 60 PSI. Meeting these operating ranges will ensure optimal operation from the HOTTAP system.

Main types of pumps you may come across are:

Centrifugal water pumps:

These style of pumps generally consist of one or more impellers typically driven electrically. You will find Bilge pumps fall under this category. These style of pumps are not suitable for the HOTTAP due to their nature of providing high water flow rates but low water pressure. We have found from past experience that generally these will not have the required water pressure to activate the pressure switch in the HOTTAP.

Positive displacement pumps (AKA Pressure Pumps):

PD pumps do not have impellers, instead, they consist of either rotating or reciprocating parts and generate high pressure to push the water along the system. These style of pumps will generally provide lower flow rates than centrifugal style pumps however provide much higher water pressure. These style of pumps are ideal for the HOTTAP system and as long as the specifications are within 6-12 litres per minute and around 60 PSI it will be perfect for the HOTTAP system. 

The Joolca FLOTAP has been extensively engineered and tested to push water over a long distance so you will easily be able to push water over 20-30 metres.

 

Although the pump is also able to pull water due to its specific design it is much better at pushing hence if you are pulling water expect around 1.8m pulling vertically and around 5 metres depending on angle of slope.

 

As you can see from the above the best way to set the pump up is close to your water source and lead the longer hose all the way to the camp site. This will allow you to fully appreciate the systems capability and truly enjoy that hot shower in the bush!

If you have a camper trailer with an onboard water tank, you may already have a pressure pump onboard. If you do have a pump, make sure it can provide anywhere from 6-12 LPM (litres per minute) and you'll be fine.

Then it's a matter of connecting your existing pump to the HOTTAP and you're good to go!

If you don't have a pump however, then you're best bet is to get the HOTTAP OUTING, which includes a 12V pump kit to be able to take water from the tank and push it through the HOTTAP.

You won't be able to just connect the HOTTAP to the water tank, as gravity won't provide enough pressure to get water flowing properly through the HOTTAP - that's why you always need pressurised water - either water from a garden tap at home, or a 12V pump if you're free camping. 

 

The HOTTAP requires a minimum of 10PSI and 6LPM to operate across the full flow range.

You’ll find that a lot of pressure pumps will have a pressure setting of at least 40PSI. So, the important thing to focus on is the flow rate.

If you use a lower flow pump (e.g. 4.3LPM) you will be able to use the HOTTAP on the minimum flow setting, but, the unit will cut out as you increase the water dial toward maximum. This is due to the unit requiring more water than what is being supplied.

 

You can definitely use a gravity system at home to run the HOTTAP however please be mindful that you will require a specific set of conditions in order to meet adequate operation of the system.

 You'll need 10PSI minimum to open up the pressure switch on the inside of the unit and you'll need 6LPM flow rate as well.

 Usually we find that with gravity systems (this is assuming a tank 10-15m above the shower on the side of a hill) has enough pressure to fire up the HOTTAP on the lowest flow setting, but then once you try to adjust the dial to anything more than 1/4 water flow, the unit will cut out.

 This is because there isn't enough water flow and pressure to keep that pressure switch inside the unit opened up, so it closes up and the system shuts down.

 If the tank you're talking about is anything less than 10m above the shower, then you'll run into issues. If you're not running through the HOTTAP than gravity fed shower is OK, it's just when you want to connect to the HOTTAP you'll need to make sure you have enough pressure/water flow.

 Reason for that is the size of the burners are designed for a certain water flow/pressure. If the water flow comes in at a much lower flow rate, then the water will heat up very very quickly way beyond the safety cut-off of 50C (basically it'll be useless as you can't have a shower).

From past experiences we have found in many cases it is easier to obtain a pump to enjoy the system to its full potential.