CAMPLUX ENJOY OUTDOOR LIFEBD158 1.58GPM Outdoor Propane Tankless Gas Water Heater

Simple setup, easy operation and I'm happy with this purchase. Produces plenty of hot water for an outside shower.

========================================UPDATE: Stopped working completely. RETURNED.========================================The overall design is pretty good for what the water heater is designed to do, the feature set is nice, the build quality appears to be reasonable, and delivery was quick. That's the good. Now the bad:- Starting the water heater is very unreliable, and does not usually start the first try. It is supposed to be automatic - if there is gas pressure and the water starts flowing, the flame is supposed to ignite and the water heats up. I leave the unit hooked up to water and gas, but in an unpressured state - gas and water hoses are empty, with no pressure. With the hand shower valve closed, I open the propane tank valve, and the quick turn water supply value. When I open the hand shower valve, the water flows and unit should spark a few times to ignite the flame. Usually it does not. It might do it after closing and reopening the hand shower valve. I turn the gas and water supply off, purge the water pressure by opening and closing the hand shower valve, then retry the startup sequence all over again. It sometimes takes 3-4 cycles before it starts. Once it starts, it may flame out again and require recycling, but if you leave it going without lifting the hand shower for 10-15 seconds, it usually stays on. The water temperature takes about 30 seconds to get near operating temperature anyway, so holding it pointed downwards for a little is no big deal. The previous Basecamp model was notoriously aggravating for shutting down when lifting the hand shower higher (lifting the hand shower caused the flow rate to go down.) I suspect the unit puts a heavy load on the 2 D batteries, but new batteries don't make any difference. I don't know what the battery life is yet, though.- Temperature control is very unsteady. There are two controls that affect the water temperature - water flow and fuel flow. The water is coldest at high water and low fuel flow, and hottest at low water and high fuel flow. Its a little awkward, but easy to get used to. There's a digital display of the water temperature, which seems to be reasonably accurate. Since the unit should start automatically when gas pressure is present and the ware starts flowing, it seems reasonable, that once the water and gas flow adjustments have been set to your desired temperature, you should be able to set it and forget it. Not exactly. The temperature increase is relative to the incoming water temperature, so on a colder day, the exit temperature is less. Not a big deal, and a slight tweak of either the water or gas flow should get you back to your desired water temperature. The problem is that minor adjustments can result in major temperature fluctuations, to the point of scalding hot water!!! Steady state temperature fluctuations usually range from 4-8 degrees, and a drop can fool you into thinking the flame has gone out, so I'm always looking to see the temperature reading. Temperature stability is annoying, but less aggravating than startup reliability.- Adjustable hand shower spray pattern is not adjustable. There is a two-position lever on the hand shower that in theory switches between two patterns. It did this once for sure the very first time the water was on, but every since that one time, there is very little noticeable difference when switching. You can sometimes see that water is flowing differently when switching patterns, but other than the first time, there is no difference in the feel between the two patterns. The inner pattern affects the flow rate, and the water temperature goes up, so changing patterns means pointing the hand shower away from you to avoid burns in case the temperature fluctuates too much. The outer pattern is supposed to be a ring of fine water jets and the inner pattern looks like it might supposed to be a higher flow of bigger streams at lower pressure, but the temperature changes suggest the outer pattern of fine jets produces a high flow (and lower temperature). Occasionally I try to switch and see if the pattern might change, but aside from the temperature change, the pattern change isn't noticeable.- Hand shower patterns can be painful. I usually use the outer spray pattern of fine jets because it has higher overall water flow than the inner pattern of larger streams. The jets are very fine and feel like needles, particularly on sensitive skin (e.g. that parts that you usually want to wash when you take a shower.) Ideally you would think that lowering the water flow control would decrease the pressure and pain of the water jets, but no ... it seems to affect only the water temperature. I have not found combination of water flow and hand shower pattern that eliminates the needle jet problem. I will tray the non-adjustable Basecamp hand shower, though, because the hose fitting looks standard. (A regular household hand shower may have too high a flow rate to allow the heater to raise the water temperature to the desired level, but I won't know unless I try swapping.)So, overall, the unit is better than my previous Basecamp model with higher flow rates, higher water temperatures, and less sensitivity to flow changes with hand shower height, but the unit is not free of its own frustrations and aggravations.Would I buy it again? Maybe.

The CAMPLUX 1.58GPM exceeded our expectations! It was pretty easy to install. Just make sure you tighten the hoses on. I was very concerned about the 1.58 GPM, and wasnt sure how hard the flow/pressure would be. It is Amazing!!We installed this near our Swim Spa, and now the kids dont have to use the cold hose water to rinse off or shower off after a swim. We usually have it about 100-104.I have a 25 foot expendable hose, which might be smaller inside that normal hose, so maybe that helps with the water pressure. Also we have had 4 kids rinse off for about 2 -3 minutes each, its really continuous hot water!also i wasnt sure if the pilot light would run / burn propane 24/7. Its doesnt. It kicks on once it senses water pressure by pressing the Open on the hand held shower head.It take about 10-12 seconds to go from cold to about 100' so really fast to get a HOT Shower!Its so portable, i imagine just bringing this with an extra propane tank camping and being able to shower anywhere i can get water.I am going to build a nicer shower area for this. But just wanted to say we have had this about a month, and no worries!

This heater works well, but takes time to set up. I installed two screws into the front of my camper. Install them with some silicone and put silicone around for a good seal. I then got a washer hose set (red and blue colored, at Home Depot) and some 1/4 turn valves that go into 1/2" PEX line. I then put the valves into the cold and hot water drain points. I turned the valves off to my old 6 gallon Suburban water heater. I hooked up the hoses to the unit and then to the valves. I have two propane tanks and use one just for the shower. Easy hook up there. I found the best thing is have the hot set at the temp you want and leave it. The hot is full on or full off.I first tried having the water really hot then adding cold to make it the right temp, but that method caused the flow to slow, and it kicked the heater off. I found the best way was to turn the flow knob to high, and the fire knob to low. While the hot water is running dial the fire knob it in to the desired temp which is 39 to 40 because this unit reads *C not *F. So, when you shower just turn on the hot and shower. No fiddling with the cold to make it the right temp. It works great. The only thing is you have to dial it in every time you camp. The supply water temp makes a difference. If you don't do your own RV/camper work and go to the dealer for everything, I do not recommend you buy this heater. It will drive you nuts. But the endless hot water is worth it.

I've had another brand of these water heaters before but the tank burst during the winter.So far this one is fine, but I do have issues with trying to set the temperature. It does get hot but then goes cold. It might just be getting the controls correct so not really faulting it yet.Otherwise ok.Will have to remember to bring this one in during the winter.