help with shower install on Raptor engine

[996scott]

So i need a little help planning out a shower install on my 2021 Craze. I've done it on my older boats but with the closed loop cooling i'm trying to figure out what's the best way to do this. As far as getting the hot water hooked up i can't tap into the engine because it's a closed loop so is my best bet tapping into a water line coming after the heat exchanger? I would assume this is where the hottest water is? In this picture at the top of the heat exchanger there are 2 lines that come off and go to both side of the engine into the manifolds and then out the exhaust. This seems to be the best spot to attach the hot water line that goes to the shower. I'm i right on this? I'm guessing the water won't be as hot as getting it straight off the engine block like in my old boats, but is this my best option? Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks.

[sandm]

I'd stop by marine products and chat up one of the mechanics. surely they have seen them on other boats and might have some tips/tricks to install.

and another good reason to visit a boat shop to look at boat porn :)

[jnr4817]

If these are plumbed for the heater, would you not use the same 2 places for the shower?

[SONIC]

I haven't done it but I have read from people who have that the water doesn't get past lukewarm at idle in the heat exchanger.
I think the only effective way to do it is with a water to water heat exchanger hooked into the heater/coolant loop.

like this: https://www.ebay.com/i/292492300999?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28

You would run this inline with the heater if you have one or in place of it if not.
Hot engine coolant will circulate through it and there's a separate path for your shower water to flow through in contact with the coolant so it gets hot on the way through.

If you don't have a heater you will need a coolant circulation pump as well.
Heatercraft has them or something like this would work as well. I'm using this one for my heater currently:

https://www.hodgesmarine.com/joh10-24504-03-johnson-pump-cm30p71--12v--circulation-pump.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAtqL-BRC0ARIsAF4K3WGmojTDU0FANQIPJ38RZtAVVPFIh8JaO5Dh1k RzoKeg-HhBh7Fp4IsaAgg1EALw_wcB

[SONIC]

If these are plumbed for the heater, would you not use the same 2 places for the shower?

Because the heater runs off of engine coolant not raw water.
So unless you want an antifreeze shower it doesn't work that way :D

[996scott]

thanks for the input guys, i do have a heater Sonic. So am i correct in thinking that i would still tap in after the heat exchanger(oem) and that would go to the extra heat exchanger? That extra heat exchanger would also be hooked to the heater line, thus the water coming off the hose after the oem heat exchanger would then be heated up even more in the extra heat exchanger?

[SONIC]

thanks for the input guys, i do have a heater Sonic. So am i correct in thinking that i would still tap in after the heat exchanger(oem) and that would go to the extra heat exchanger? That extra heat exchanger would also be hooked to the heater line, thus the water coming off the hose after the oem heat exchanger would then be heated up even more in the extra heat exchanger?

I think that would be the best bet yes! liquid-liquid are only as effective as the amount of contact area. I don't know how big of one you would need to boost the water to the correct temp.

[996scott]

ok, makes sense. 1 more question if you don't mind. So my thought is that in order for that extra heat exchanger to work, the hot coolant that comes out of the engine would have to be moving/flowing through the hose/heat exchanger, meaning that the heater would have to be turned on. If the heater isn't turned on then there isn't any hot coolant to warm up the water going to the shower. In my mind it seems like if i add the extra heat exchanger then i would have to have the heater turned on when running the shower to get the shower hot. Does that make sense?

[996scott]

I'd stop by marine products and chat up one of the mechanics. surely they have seen them on other boats and might have some tips/tricks to install.

and another good reason to visit a boat shop to look at boat porn :)

Yea that's a great idea, hadn't thought of it but i will swing by tomorrow to see what they say and satisfy my porn addiction haha.

[jnr4817]

Understand now.

[SONIC]

ok, makes sense. 1 more question if you don't mind. So my thought is that in order for that extra heat exchanger to work, the hot coolant that comes out of the engine would have to be moving/flowing through the hose/heat exchanger, meaning that the heater would have to be turned on. If the heater isn't turned on then there isn't any hot coolant to warm up the water going to the shower. In my mind it seems like if i add the extra heat exchanger then i would have to have the heater turned on when running the shower to get the shower hot. Does that make sense?

Your circulation pump for the heater is always on with the engine on (it's tied to the fuel pump circuit) so when you turn on the heater the only thing you're turning on is the blower fan.
The coolant is running through it all the time in a constant loop when the engine is running.
The shower setup would be the same, coolant always flowing through the heat exchanger but no hot water until you turn on the shower pump.

Something that just occurred to me is that that first burst of water when turned on will have been sitting in the exchanger so it will be quite hot (engine temp most likely).

May not be a great idea afterall, i'd hate for a kid to turn it on and get blasted with a seconds worth of 160 degree water.

[996scott]

Thanks again Sonic, i always assumed that the pump for the heater only turned on when you flipped the switch. So the pump is always running, circulating the coolant up to the heater core and turning the heater on just starts the blower. good to know.

As far as the water being too hot i don't think that would be too much of an issue. that hot water has to go up to the mixing valve where you control how much hot and cold is mixed and then it goes to the pump and then out to the shower nozzle.

I did stop by my dealer this morning and talked to the mechanic and he said that he thought that the water coming out after the heat exchanger is pretty hot, not just warm. I think i will go ahead and get things installed and see how it works. If the water isn't hot enough i will then look into adding another heat exchanger.

I will update in the spring when i get back out on the water.

[UNSTUCK]

I think thats your best bet. I would steer clear from trying to heat any water with the coolant going to the heater. Chances are if you want warm shower water someone else wants warm air blowing on them. Running cold water through a heat exchanger will cool the hot coolant right down. So your heater will blow cold air.

[larry_arizona]

Looks like these work on open or closed cooling systems.

https://heatercraft.com/products/flush-mount-shower-system?variant=4076466864159

Tap hot water from after your raw water heat exchanger and cold water closer to the intake side of raw water.

This would leave your in boat heater fully functioning.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[996scott]

yea, that's the one i have. I've had that one on 2 other boats and they work great.

Unstuck, that's a good point i didn't think about. Heater is usually running if it's cold enough to need the shower. I'm pretty sure the hot water coming after the heat exchanger will be hot enough. I'll hook it up and give it a try and update later on.

[SONIC]

Keep us updated on the install, I am curious.
As I said I haven't done it just read from multiple folks on the Bu forum that it doesn't get hot enough to be useful.
Would definitely simplify things if it just worked!

[UNSTUCK]

Me too. I'd like one, but never made the effort because of poor results from those that have tried.