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HE, looks to me that after about 40 fires in the box that the galvanising is still fine. The pipes are black with soot, but when you scape it all away the silver galvanising all seems to be there on the pipes? I'd say it's because the heater has never been run dry, and I will strive to never let...

Took the hot tub camping over the school holidays to West Kunderang on the Macleay River in the middle of the Oxley Wild Rivers national park. The idea was for it to be going in the late arvo so the kids could have a hot bath before bed, but after a day or two I ended up having it go all day...

I installed the new gal pipe, and coated the thread with some 'loctite' high temp exhaust sealant, for temps up to 300 degrees. It works perfectly. No leaks, so it's now heating efficiently. It is also heating by thermo-siphon, so no pump needed. I get the fire going, and then fill the tub...

I don't think the amount of water flow will make much difference to heating speed. I already know I can heat 600 litres of water to 40 degrees in two hours by pumping the water though a fire. A big flow of water adds just a few degrees. A small flow adds a lot more temperature. It ends up the...

I think I will try a high temp sealant first. If that's not perfect I'll try that Bob. Haven't done much brazing for a while though. Ta. See ya's.

Looks like if you pay a bit extra you can get a chimney and enclosed fire? That's the way I'd go. Reckon it would heat more efficiently too? They even have the hot pipe going though the flue for that last little bit extra? See ya's.

Not sure about the cities, but around here at least most people 50 years ago or more had a water heater, heated from their slow combustion stoves and using thermo-siphon. They were called 'donkey' heaters for some reason. I vaguely remember them. See ya's.

Ha ha. Yeah your probably right. I'll be at Ag-quip tomorrow, should be there Thursday? See ya's.

Wow! There is a lot of metal in that bucket to heat up before any water would get warm. See ya's.

The thing I've built is for camping. Another aim I've got, and if I can get it to work good, would be to heat an outdoor hot tub/spa at home. I don't really like the idea of paying 10K for a new one, and I am a little bit environmentally conscious. It would take a heap of power to heat and...

Like this?...., And no, that's not me and my friends. I just found it on the net somewhere. See ya's.

I reckon that wouldn't give enough heat. The boiling water will only ever be 100 degrees. You need to have the water being directly heated by fire, at 100s of degrees temp. See ya's.

Yep. Gotcha. We already have a beer keg that we use for hot water. Tip cold water in the top, it goes down a tube to the bottom, and hot comes out the spout at the top. Works great for small amounts of water. As you said though, very inefficient and hopeless for what I'm talking about. Gives...

OK. I know it will take just a few hours when pumped through? Perhaps it will take longer by thermo-siphon? Yep mild steel would be fine. I just bought the gal pipe as that's what I saw in the local rural store. I've been trying to work out how to get it all bended into the right shape to...

I've looked at getting energy out of the flue. Problem with the flue is it's too high. Thermo-siphon will only work if the plumbing is below the water level in the tub. You could get heat out of the flue, but it would have to be pumped. I want to do away with the pump if possible. One less...

The pipes have water in them. I don't see what you are talking about. The fire is going in the bottom of the steel box. There is no floor in my box, but pipes running across the bottom. The beauty of this is that in the morning you lift it up and the ash falls out. See ya's.

There's plenty of thermo-siphon water heaters available on the market. Cost a good few thousand dollars though. This is a dutch tub,.... The problem I see with this design is that smoke and ash would be going everywhere. A bit primitive I reckon. This is a Chofu Wood-Fired...

Copper would be great if you could guarantee the system will always have water flowing through it. However I don't think that will be the case. What about when the firebox is still half full of wood and raging hot, and the tub temperature is getting close to 40 degrees [And your on your sixth...

I wonder what sort of temps that stuff will take? See ya's.

I'm trying to build a camping hot tub. I've done it roughly before, just by a coil of gal pipe in a hot fire and water pumped though with a little electric pump. It's great for the kids to have a nice hot soaking in before bed, and then the adults can get in. All good fun. Takes a few...