Eccotemp Propane Water Heater for Outdoor Showers and Heating a Spa

**** 12-17-19: I have an update on how to install and use this propane water heater, with helpful tips.  This Eccotemp L5 water heater is EXTREMELY fussy and I have finally, after several hours of testing, hopefully figured out how to make it stay on consistently.  I do NOT recommend Eccotemp as a company.  See my more recent blog post for the tips and the problems that I encountered with the company and my unit ****

I discovered this product on Amazon, along with a very helpful review.  It's pretty great.  It's made for providing hot water on demand for showering when camping or otherwise outdoors.  I am using it to heat an outdoor spa with propane gas rather than using electricity, which is a huge cost savings here in California.  A disclaimer: the instructions for this propane water heater state that one should NOT use this heater for a spa.

Here's the product description:

Eccotemp L5 1.5 GPM Portable 37,500 BTU Liquid Propane Outdoor Tankless
Water Heater
https://www.eccotemp.com/eccotemp-l5-portable-outdoor-tankless-water-heater/

Eccotemp L5 Portable Tankless Water Heater
Simply attach a garden hose and a 20-pound (lb.) propane tank and you
are guaranteed to enjoy the luxury of hot water anywhere. The Eccotemp
L5 Portable Outdoor Tankless Water Heater is the original and
best-selling portable water heater on the market today. You get instant,
endless hot water wherever you are. The Eccotemp L5 is perfect for
campsites, cabins or simply around the house. Wash your car, wash your
boat, take a hot shower, or even wash your horse and the Eccotemp L5
will help make daily tasks much easier. This model includes an
electronic ignition powered by 2 "D" cell batteries making it great for
off grid or any location where electricity is not readily available. The
ideal operating range for the L5 is 20~80 PSI with a 1.5 GPM flow. It is
compatible with 12-volt pumps and works perfectly with our EccoFlo Pump
& Strainer.

Here's the review from Amazon (thanks, reviewer!):
Update: living in California and running the spa 24/7 @ 104 degrees, it
has been costing me upwards of $130.00 a month in electricity. I monitored it's consumption using a kill-a-watt.
So I put together a propane powered water heating system and it heats
the spa at about 1 degree every 2 or 3 minutes so it only takes about an
hour or two to get it up to 104 and costs me pennies. I've attached some
photos of it (without the propane tank inside the container). Now I just
flick the switch on the front, an LED turns on, pump stars up, heater
automatically fires up and the spa starts heating. Couldn't be easier.
And now I don't need to run the filter all the time either. Much nicer.
In case anyone is interested here is the parts list, all purchased from
Amazon except for the 20lb propane and hoses I got at Home Depot all
hoses are 3/4" clear so they are barely noticeable going into the spa:

Eccotemp L5 Portable Tankless Water Heater
Flojet 2.9 GPM pump
Kastar LCD AC Adapter 12V 6A
Bond 67635 Tank Hideaway
30 Amp 12 Volt LED ON-OFF Rocker Switch
20 lb. propane tank


Here's my experience.
I put together the Ecotemp propane water heater with Flojet pump to heat my spa with propane.  It works well but I still have to fix a small leak.

I believe that plumbing and keeping water from leaking, in general, is among the most deceptively simple tasks known to man!  No matter how many Youtube videos, how simple the job seems, water will still leak if I do my own plumbing tasks!  Always!  And we are all living on the edge -- I was eating breakfast in my house one morning, and boom! the pipe under the kitchen sink just burst like that, no warning.  If I had not been there and shut the house water down within seconds, the house would have had all kinds of water damage!  This kind of blowout could happen to anyone at any time in any house, building, etc!  My wife's father had this happen in his house a few years ago.  She and her sister were in his house when a pipe burst.  Even though they were there, water destroyed the wood floor and carpet (mold problems!) and it took weeks to repair and thousands of dollars!  We are all living on the edge!

OK, so this Ecotemp water heater has an inlet for H2O and an outlet.  The outlet works fine.  It came with a shower hose metal thing and I just took off the shower head.  Easy.  No leak, there's a washer on the inside of the connector.

The Flojet pump is awesome and is a well-known brand.  The Flojet pump takes water from hot tub and pumps it into propane heater.  It came with some fittings.  The plastic barbed fittings work great, they have O-rings on the sides and they slide into the Flojet easily, and accept 1/2" vinyl tubing.  No leaks, easy installation.

However, the inlet pipe on the water heater is a male 1/2" garden hose thread.  I put a garden hose with a 1/2" to 3/4" adapter on there, and it worked fine but the adapter on the Flojet pump leaked (as did the adapter end at first, until I realized the hose connector was too short, and had to buy a new hose!).   I spent hours of troubleshooting on this simple effing thing!

I've tried various adapters and hope that I found the proper adapter (not at my local hardware store):
Hose Nippel (sic)- Barb Hose Fitting 1/2" Female Brass Half inch for Repair - Garden Hose Thread - 12 mm Wide
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PV9K6S4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
***update 12-11-19: this adapter does not work -- the barb fitting was 3/8", not 1/2".
I recommend this instead:
ATITOWEL 5PCS 12mm Barb Brass Hose Fitting, Connector - G 1/2" Female Pipe Fit For 1/2" Hose ID
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SRPP4DB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The barb fitting on these adapters fit my 1/2" ID vinyl hose but was just a bit too small.  This meant that the vinyl hose slid on easily, but I needed to crank down the hose clamp as tight as it would go, so the vinyl hose connection to the barb would not leak.

BTW, don't ever give your email or phone when shopping on the Eccotemp website!  I left the item in there and bought their unit from Home Depot.  Their website sucked, would not apply a coupon, etc.  I went through checkout and gave up.  Then salesmen from Eccotemp emailed me twice asking why I left the item in the shopping cart.  I finally wrote them back and asked them to stop bothering me.  Then someone from the company CALLED ME on my phone and left another message!  That's borderline stalking! You have been forewarned.

Bose Hearphones -- Tips on Using These Good Hearing-Assisting Devices

Anyone who knows me knows that I am very hard-of-hearing.  It's a real disability, and few people recognize it as such or understand the problems that it creates.  The social isolation of not being able to hear is huge, and most people (especially in public) don't realize that you can't hear them.  They think that you are stupid, or that you are rude in ignoring them.

I've worn hearing aides for the past 30 years, but usually only for certain social situations.  All my previous hearing aides were only good in one-on-one conversations in quiet rooms.  They were useless in any kind of restaurant or party setting.

I have had about four pairs over the  years, and the audiologists kept saying "This model is great, it is so small that  no one will know you are wearing a hearing aide."  They had it all wrong, every one of them.  I'd tell them that I was not vain and would prefer having a large trumpet that I could point to whomever I wanted to hear.

So like many people, I'd rarely use the old hearing aides, and when a time came up where I needed to use them, I'd open the case, take them out, put in a battery, and 50% of the time, the battery would be dead because I used it a month ago and they die so quickly when exposed to air.  Also, the manufacturers say that the batteries will die even if you seal them back up -- but in my experience, that is not true.  So I will seal the batteries up, 50% of the time they will work.  Most of the time I just give up and don't even put the hearing aides in.

My hearing has gotten worse in the past five years, or maybe it's because I don't talk to people much these days.

Helpfully, in the past few years, the FDA has allowed companies like Bose (who make great headphones for audiophiles and music lovers) to make "hearing-assisted devices."  These are hearing aides, but they are not allowed to call them that.  It's a very good thing.

I have been using a pair of Bose Hearphones for the past two years, and they are great!  I can actually socialize and talk to people in restaurants and parties now.  The below are some notes and tips on using the Bose Hearphones that I've learned over these past two years.


I plan on using the Bose over my existing hearing aides.  They seem far easier to have around and to keep charged up.  I did prefer adjusting the volume using my phone -- you can do the volume and directionality adjustments on the headset, but it is confusing and somewhat difficult to do since the controls are on a short cord to your ear, too short to see with your eyes.  My phone matched up instantly with the Hearphones every time I turned the Hearphones on.  The app is really easy to use.  Just volume, treble/base control, and you choose the directionality.  That's about it.  Nothing to it.


I don't think that the Bose Hearphones will be a game-changer or change your life, but they will certainly help in social situations.  Hopefully we'll use them more just because they are easier to charge and handle, and have better directionality.  They don't cost that much more than other Bose products and offer noise cancellation (I think, seemed to do it for me) and the ability to listen to music from a bluetooth device like a phone.  Oh, my Samsung Note 4 phone was made in 2014, and I bought it refurbished for $150.  I am sure that your phone will work with the Bose app, but if it doesn't, getting a used or refurbished phone that is fairly recent can be incredibly cheap these days.  

Here's a link to the product page:
https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/wellness/conversation_enhancing_headphones/hearphones.html

I recommend these Hearphones highly, and I use mine a lot more than my "real" hearing aides.  I like them because they are fairly large, I can get them up and running on my ears fairly quickly, and they keep a charge for a long time (6 hours?  longer?).  I can charge them using any phone charger since they charge using a standard micro USB cable and any phone charger.  I like earbuds (some folks do not).
I don't have to fuss with small batteries and small devices.  I don't really like the part that fits around the neck, but that's because I have no neck, or a very thick one.  I generally only use them in social situations and phone calls.  They have been great for situations like dinner with family anf friends. I've put them on once in a while just to hear the birds sing in the morning.  I don't wear them for more than a few hours at a time.

You can buy Hearphones from Bose online and return in 30 days at their cost.  You can see them in person at a Bose store, but maybe not a Bose factory outlet.

Only thing I don't like is that they don't sync up to my phone every time (in the past, I've figured a solution to the problem by just sticking to the same phone and not switching phones).  I rarely actually mess with my phone and sometimes just use the manual controls to control volume, which can be difficult to figure out.  In fact, I use them this way now mostly: I set them up with my phone (volume 60, front direction) and after that just put them on and off without using my phone.  I do usually have the same phone nearby because if the Hearphones don't sense the phone nearby they will say all kinds of annoying things over and over.  They work GREAT when I talk on the phone.  They also can serve as noise cancelling headphones and to let me listen to music with noise cancelling working.

I just learned something about bluetooth headphones/earbuds recently.  If you sync a pair of headphones (particularly these) to one device, then it's a real pain (perhaps impossible) to try to sync those headphones to another device.  I have a pair of Klipsch earbuds, minimal directions etc -- sync'd them to a Dell laptop.  Tried to then sync to a MacBook Air.  Could not.  Read instructions, tried over and over with the power button crap, blue light blinking.  Could NOT sync until I went to the Dell laptop and disconnected the Klipsch headphones from the Dell laptop.  Only then could I sync to the MB Air -- and it was easy.

Bluetooth headphones supposedly can go into a mode where they will reset their partnership with one device and will sync with another device -- but in practice I've found that may be impossible -- it is FAR easier to disconnect from the original device and then sync to another device.  Some bluetooth headphones can sync to two devices or more at once, but these do NOT seem to.

I think that happened with a pair of Hearphones that I gave my dad. We had huge problems trying to get them to sync to his phone, but I think it was because we switched phones.  I've heard that these don't sync well with iPhones.  I use an Android Google Pixel. I keep that Pixel phone with me for everything, and I particularly don't try switching the Hearphones from one phone to another.

With my dad, he used them once, then the dang Hearphones did not sync to his phone, and he never tried again.  I tried showing him the manual controls but no joy.  With old folks, if it is not dead simple, they won't use it.  Show it once, if it doesn't work for them once, that's end of story.

My suggestion: Get the Hearphones, set up on your main phone with the Bose app, dead simple -- just choose volume and direction.  Then keep it that way.  When  you turn the Hearphones on, be sure that your original phone is on and nearby -- that way the Hearphones will be happy.  Most of the time you won't need to fuss with the phone settings or the manual control settings on the Hearphones.  However, both the phone app and the manual controls are actually pretty simple and easy to use -- it just takes some practice, getting used to the device.

Thanks, Woot! This is Just GREAT Customer Service!

I bought some batteries and a charger from Woot about 10 days ago.  They dropped the price yesterday.  I actually did notice it  but figured I had bought too soon.  

Then I got the email below.  I did not even have to ask, and they gave me back the difference in price.  

Now THAT is GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.  THANKS, WOOT!!!

no-reply@woot.com via amazonses.com	2:33 PM (1 hour ago)
to temp1

	Dear photoagent101, Haveth thy noticedest thath- WOW, that's hard to do! How did Shakespeare manage it? Look, let's skip all that flowery corporate talk and get right to the point: you're getting some money back today. That's right! Hooray! The long version is that you recently bought the Tenergy Arlo Batteries 4-Pk w/ Fast Charger and, after you did, we dropped the price. And that's not fair to you, is it? You would have waited if only you knew! And we agree. And that's why we're making it right. You'll be seeing $10 (per quantity ordered) on your credit card very soon. We're sorry for the hassle, but we think you might forgive us just this once, right? After all, you just scored an even BETTER deal than you were expecting! Welp, that about covers it. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above, please contact us at support@woot.com. Prithee, anon, adieu, Verona, Your sweet admirers at Woot.com     ORDER DETAILS   Order Date:November 8, 2019 Order Number:#xxxxxx Additional Charges and Refunds Additional Refunds ($10.00)     Order Items:     Tenergy Arlo Batteries 4-Pk w/ Fast Charger $29.99 Sold on Electronics.Woot Condition: New Style: 4 Pack Batteries and Charger Quantity: 1 Subtotal: $29.99       Is all that information correct? If not, please contact Woot Customer Service via our Support Page immediately. Make sure you tell us your Woot username and order number - we'll need to know those things to help you.

Too Many Choices Make People Unhappy

I just want to buy a ChuckIt ball launcher.  Just like the dozen I've bought over the past  years for my slobbering mutts.  Today, when looking on Amazon for a replacement, I was confronted with too many different ChuckIt versions to count.  This is mindboggling!  Why is it that every time I want to buy something now, I have to spend hours researching the different variations?  Online shopping is NOT the solution to everything.

For future reference for myself and others, I've been getting the Classic 26M, medium 2.5" ball, which fits standard tennis balls.

Why People NEVER Change Their Password

One of my friends sent me this humorous post.  It's spot on.

This is a script of the interaction I had with my PC the last time I tried to change my Windows password:

 

 

 

WINDOWS:

Please enter your new password.

 

USER:

Cabbage

 

WINDOWS:

Sorry, the password must be more than 8 characters.

 

USER:

Boiled cabbage

 

WINDOWS:

Sorry, the password must contain 1 numerical character.

 

USER:

1 boiled cabbage

 

WINDOWS:

Sorry, the password cannot have blank spaces

 

USER:

50damnboiledcabbages

 

WINDOWS:

Sorry, the password must contain at least one upper case character

 

USER:

50DAMNboiledcabbages

 

WINDOWS:

Sorry the password cannot use more than one upper case character consecutively.

 

USER:

50damnBoiledCabbagesShovedUpYourAssIfYouDon'tGiveMeAccessNow !

 

WINDOWS:

Sorry, the password cannot contain punctuation.

 

USER:

ReallyPissedOff50DamnBoiledCabbagesShovedUpYourAssIfYouDontGiveMeAccessNow

 

WINDOWS:

Sorry, that password is already in use.

Email Settings for Amcrest IP Surveillance Cameras

I have several Amcrest IP cameras that I use for surveillance of my homes.  They've been pretty dependable, and were the first good IP cameras that came out when I first started using them (they were first named Foscam cameras, and I started using them over 10 years ago before all the newer IP/surveillance cameras came out).  I have a 10-year old or older Foscam in one storage facility that sends me email alerts and video over a Freedompop hotspot (cell data) connection, which has been pretty nice.  If  you don't  know what Freedompop is, don't worry -- they just got sold to tello or some other cell phone MVNO.

The cameras have been pretty reliable, and one great thing is that I can use them without knowing all the details of my router's IP address.  I no longer have to set port forwarding on my router.  In one remote area where I have a garage, I have a TP-Link WISP router that takes a Comcast wifi hotspot signal (I have a Comcast account at home) and creates its own wifi network in the garage.  I have an Amcrest camera set up there and its worked well.  I can watch the network feed live if I want to through the amcrestview.com portal, and it's set up to detect motion and send me email alerts.  It has all kinds of features but the technical support is not good at all, nor are the web and phone app interfaces.

About a month ago, my Amcrest cameras stopped sending email alerts.  I spent a couple of hours troubleshooting them and trying to find a solution.  The Amcrest forums suck, they seem old and don't have information.  So here's a solution that I found today (by chatting with an Amcrest salesman on their website).  I'm posting the solutions here on my blog for other Amcrest users.

Why doesn't Amcrest have a web page or forum that describes email settings that WORK?!

Gmail: Sending emails using a Gmail account no longer seems to work, as of about June 1, 2019.
GMX: I've never been able to get my gmx email account to work.
AOL: I used to be able to use an AOL account for Amcrest email alerts, but that stopped about four years ago.  AOL also stopped allowing folks to forward emails from their account, which made me stop using my AOL account (for another reason, which I can't remember).

Comcast: Sending emails using a Comcast account does work.  You have to have a Comcast account.  Use SSL and port 465.

Here's what the Amcrest chat person wrote.  His instructions worked but he left out one important goddamn item.

"please create a Yahoo account and go to the Account Info > Account Security > Generate Password

"Please use the same app password (make sure you use the spaces after each 4 characters) that is generated in your email settings and check if you are still facing this issue.  [I did not need to do this and just used my usual Yahoo email password]

SMTP: smtp.mail.yahoo.com
Authentication: TLS
Port: 587
Username: ********@yahoo.com
Password: (The App password)
Sender: ********@yahoo.com
Recipient: ********@gmail.com"

Well, the above did not work for me at first.  The Amcrest rep left out this important item:

Go to Yahoo email security settings and
Allow apps that use less secure sign in in your new yahoo account.
go to the Account Info > Account Security > Allow apps that use less secure sign in

Check the slider in the box to allow this.  

Yahoo states: Some non-Yahoo apps and devices use less secure sign-in technology, which could leave your account vulnerable. You can turn off access (which we recommend) or choose to use them despite the risks.

This finally worked!  

Great Stuff: Sea Foam, Peristaltic (Dosing) Pumps, Diaphragm Pumps

I have some tool-related items to relate to my readers.

1.  Sea Foam: this stuff really works.  I have an old Craftsman lawn mower here.  In storage for 9 years.  I did all the right things when storing -- put in Stabil fuel stabilizer, ran the motor dry, etc.  I took it out last year to try to run it, no can do.  There's almost nothing more frustrating than yanking and yanking that damn starter cord on lawnmowers, outboard engines, etc; and the engines not starting.

I then heard about Sea Foam.  I put this stuff in the lawn mower carburetor, along with fresh premium gas (no ethanol, no can find in CA); and I am not kidding, this lawn mower started up on the first pull.  I let the engine go off and tried yanking the starter cord again, it would not start until I sprayed Sea Foam in there.  I then ran it for ten minutes and was able to start it without Sea Foam, with gas soaking the air filter, and about three starts with Sea Foam.

There's two kinds of Sea Foam:
Sea Foam SF-16 Motor Treatment: this goes in gas and cleans engines; stabilizes stored fuel for up to two years



Sea Foam SS14 Cleaner and Lube - spray this in carburetors, helps engines start up



2.  When you are trying to pour gas into a mower or elsewhere, don't you ALWAYS spill the gas everywhere?  I bought a 1-gallon can of WD-40 recently and tried to transfer that stuff from the old-style metal can into smaller spray bottles.  It was impossible.  That stuff spilled everywhere; it was an incredible waste.  I tried everything: funnels, something to screw onto the spout, etc.  It was maddening.  The can was one of those metal things that never pour well and were designed in the 1950s.

I did some research, consulted my friend Dr. Dale Stokes, and bought a peristaltic (dosing) pump from Amazon for about $9.  It took a bit of time to find the right wires and connectors to connect this to a 12-volt battery (a car battery will be fine; I used a 6-pack of AA NiMh batteries in a holder; and later a 12V battery from an old burglar alarm) and the proper sized tubing.  It works great and results in little waste.  I used the dosing pump today to get the old gas out of the lawnmower and putting in fresh gas from my gas can.  No more mess.

Peristaltic (dosing) pumps are designed to take fluids out and put them in a container in small, controlled doses.  You can take the tubing right out of the pump and replace it; the fluids don't go into the pump.  Therefore you can use different tubing for different fluids with no contamination.  Because the fluid stays in the tubing, I believe this pump will work fine with low-viscosity fluids like WD-40 and gasoline.  However, please do your research before using this with any flammable liquids, and ensure that you have all proper safety procedures in place.  WARNING: do your research before using this with any flammable liquids, and ensure that you have all proper safety procedures in place.

I bought a Gikfun peristaltic pump at Amazon.  It accepts vinyl tubing that is 1/8" inner diameter (ID).  It looks like it will work with standard aquarium tubing which is 1/4" ID, but it did not work for me!



3.  In a similar vein, I bought a diaphragm pump to pump out the remaining water at the bottom of a hot tub when draining the tub.  This diaphragm pump was under $10 at Amazon, required some vinyl tubing of the right size, and a 12V power source.  I use the diaphragm pump to get rid of the very last amount of water remaining in my hot tub when I am draining the tub.  With a diaphragm pump, the fluid being pumped actually enters the pump, so different fluids can mix if you use the same pump, even if you change out the vinyl tubing.  Because the fluid goes into the pump seals and valves, do not use this pump with low-viscosity or flammable fluids like WD-40 and gasoline.  This pump states that it is to be used only with water.

I bought a Gikfun diaphragm pump from Amazon.  5/16" or 1/4" inner diameter (ID) vinyl tubing will fit this pump just fine.  I mistakenly bought 3/16" IUD tubing and made it fit by heating it up in a cup of hot water.  Microwaved hot water in a pyrex measuring cup has done all kinds of good things for me recently.  I've used it to get a garden hose pliable enough to fit a hose mender adapter; and to get the top off of a store-bought pepper bottle so I could re-use the bottle and pepper grinder on the top.