Joolca Hottap Review After 2-Years
After more than 2-years of using the Joolca Hottap Version 1, we thought it was time to share our unbiased non-sponsored thoughts in this gear review story.
Hot showers no matter where you are travelling are a luxury. It can be the difference for choosing to not go camping with the family or limiting where you might be able to go. Not having to worry about where there might be facilities when planning a trip does give you far more flexibility with where you can explore. Once you have become accustomed to such a luxury, it does make it hard to travel without hot water on tap.
Our Drifta Camper Trailer DOT373
When we purchased our Australian made Drifta Offroad Tourer, DOT373, having a good shower setup was one of our key requirements.
As we watched the evolution of the Drifta camper trailers over many years, we were sold on the shower setup Drifta finished with before they stopped making these trailers. Drifta did plenty of real-world testing and decided the Joolca Hottap was the best gas hot water system for their camper trailer. After more than 2-years of using our camper trailer DOT373, we must agree. Our experience has been predominantly positive, with a few minor issues that are easily solved. We discuss all of these in our Joolca Hottap review below.
Joolca Hottap Version 1 Review
Joolca has since moved to a newer model of the Hottap being the Version 2. We have not used the Joolca Hottap Version 2, but we do have a family member and a good friend that both use the newer version, and their experiences are like ours with the older model, predominantly positive. My brother uses the Joolca Hottap Version 2 Nomad Kit which is a fantastic kit if you are not going to mount the hot water system in your setup. This kit comes with everything you need for a free-standing hot water system and all packs away into the stand and sink which convert to a storage box. The Nomad Kit also comes with a pump and two stage water filter that allows you to draw water from any water source, like a river, stream, or bucket.
Joolca Hottap Specs
The only real copy and paste we do in our gear review posts is the high-level specifications of a product, for the Joolca Hottap these are the advertised specs:
- Flow Rate – 2.5 – 6 litres per minute
- Max Temperature – 50 degrees Celsius
- Min Water Pressure Required – 70 kPa
- Max Water Pressure – 900 kPa *
- 9kg Gas Bottle Run Time (maximum temp) – 15 hours
- 9kg Gas Bottle Run Time (lowest temp) – 45 hours
- Weight of Unit – 4.2 kgs
- Power – 2 x D-cell batteries
- Shower Hose Length – 5 metres
* The average mains water pressure in Australia is 500 kPa. We have tested the Joolca Hottap on mains water and it works perfectly.
How the Joolca Hottap Hot Water System Works
The Joolca Hottap hot water system requires gas to heat the water. It is powered by two D-cell batteries however, you will need a 12V pump which will require its own power source. The batteries provide power to the Joolca Hottap gas ignitor and small LED digital display. The new Version 2 has a few different options that will affect what you need to get the Joolca Hottap working. We only have the Joolca Hottap unit, shower hose, and shower head. You are now able to purchase a complete kit that comes with a pump, wash up basin, and a whole lot more. Depending on your setup, there are three different options when purchasing the Joolca Hottap. Have a look at their website if you are interested to see these different options.
Our Joolca Hottap in our camper trailer is mounted to the inside of the front right toolbox door. When setting up the shower, we connect the supplied gas hose to our gas bottle, which has a quick connect fitting to easily connect to the Joolca Hottap unit. We then run a short hose from our Shurflo 12V pump to the cold inlet hose connection on the Joolca. We then connect the supplied Joolca shower hose and head to the hot water output on the Joolca Hottap unit. The cold inlet and hot outlet hose connectors are colour coded for easy reference. With cold being blue and hot being red. We then run the shower hose to our Quick Pitch shower ensuite that swings out on a bracket from the trailer. Drifta made a custom aluminium bracket that sits on top of the shower ensuite allowing you to fix the Joolca shower head to it. We finally turn on the gas and pump and we are ready to have a nice hot shower.
The Joolca Hottap Version 1 unit has slightly different temperature and flow rate controls than the new Version 2. The controls in the two version do the same thing, they just look different. There is a red dial that allows you to set the water temperature from not very hot to extremely hot. There is a blue dial that allows you to control the flow rate of the water and the temperature. How this works is that the higher the flow of cold water the lower the temperature and vice versa. So, if you like an extremely hot shower at say 50 degrees Celsius, as Shayne does, you would have the hot dial set to the maximum temperature and the cold-water flow at the lowest. A lower flow rate of cold water allows the gas heater more time to heat the water. One thing to note here, is that the temperature of the water in your tank plays a big part. If it is winter and your water is extremely cold, the Joolca Hottap will need to work harder to heat the water. The same can be said for the opposite. If it is 40 plus degrees outside and your tank water is 30 plus degrees, you will want the hot temperature setting to be set low as the Joolca Hottap will heat the water extremely quickly. It will take a few uses to work out how best to use the temperature and water flow controls to get the desired water temperature. But once you work out the best settings for yourself, it is extremely easy going forward.
To turn the shower on and off is extremely easy with the Joolca Hottap shower head. With our older Version 1, you simply twist the shower head to turn on and choose a particular shower head flow setting. With the new Version 2, there is a button on the hose that turns the shower on or off. Having control of the shower from the shower head does make life a whole lot easier as you do not need to leave your shower tent to turn the shower on or off.
How We Save Water
Having hot showers is fantastic, but the downside is the amount of water you need to carry and how much water you can use when showering. There are a few things we have learned over the last few years about how best to conserve water when using the Joolca Hottap.
Our first recommendation is to use the Joolca Hottap as follows. Do not leave the shower running the whole time you are having a shower. This is obviously going to use a significant amount of water. With the Joolca Hottap using between 2.5 to 6 litres of water per minute, you can see how in a few minutes you can drain a large amount of water from your supply. We simply turn the shower on and wet ourselves. We then turn the shower off and soap up. Once we are all soaped up, we grab the shower head, turn the shower back on and rinse ourselves off. By using the shower this way, we use anywhere between 8 to 10 litres of water per shower. This is still a lot of water especially when there are two or more of you having a shower. So be extremely careful as your water supply can be gone in a very short space of time.
Our second recommendation is to buy a garden hose flow meter. You can pick these up from Bunnings or any other hardware store in the garden hose fittings section. These flow metres do not make any reference to what temperatures they can handle, but we have tested one for a long period of time and had no issues with 50-degree Celsius water running through it. Simply connect the flow meter to the hose connection before the shower head hose. The flow meter will start to calculate water usage as soon as water starts to flow through it. It will give you a reading after each use and store your total usage. This is great especially when you first start using the Joolca Hottap, as it gives you a clear indication of your water usage on different temperature settings and how you are using it. After a few camping trips you will then get a real good idea of the best way to use the shower to conserve as much water as possible. You can even make it a competition if you have kids to see who can get the lowest number.
The flow meter is another great idea for helping you plan a trip. You will have a good idea of how much water you use per shower and can then plan on how much water you need to carry when travelling remotely, as well as work out when you will need to refill your tanks. This makes it much easier to plan on the best spots to replenish your water supplies.
Pump Is Important
Another important thing to consider with the Joolca Hottap is the 12V pump you will be using in your setup. The pump plays an important role in how well the Joolca Hottap will function. If your pump has poor pressure, the Joolca Hottap will not work as well as it can. We have tested this on mains water pressure and playing with how open we have the tap adjusting the water flow. Low water pressure will cause the Joolca Hottap ignitor to not fire and therefore not work. Intermittent water pressure will cause similar issues. Therefore, it is imperative that you use a good quality 12V pump with an output pressure well above the minimum water pressure requirement of 70 kPa.
Our Drifta camper trailer DOT373, uses a Shurflo 12V pump that has an output pressure greater than 200 kPa. As a result, we never have an issue with the Joolca Hottap ignitor firing or intermittent water pressure. If purchasing one of the new Joolca Hottap Version 2 kits that includes a pump, you will have no issues as the pump will have the right specifications for the intended use.
What We Love About the Joolca Hottap Hot Water System
As we highlighted in the introduction to our Joolca Hottap review post, we have not had many issues at all with this hot water system. Overall, we are extremely satisfied with the Joolca Hottap and would recommend this unit to anyone that wants a good camping hot water system.
Consistent Hot Water Temperature
The biggest benefit we have found with the Joolca Hottap is how well it maintains temperature. Temperatures only ever fluctuate between 2-3 degrees, so once you have found the desired temperature for your shower, you are guaranteed to have a comfortable shower. As we highlighted above, having a good 12V pump does play an important role for this to happen. If we used an inferior pump that did not have good and consistent pressure, we would have problems. In comparison, we have a mate that had the Smarttek Black hot water system who consistently had issues with maintaining temperatures. One moment it was perfect and the next you were getting burnt. As a result, they threw this out and replaced it with the Joolca Hottap. They have never had issues since.
Quick Setup & Quality Hoses
Another benefit with the Joolca Hottap is it is extremely east to setup. You only need to connect three hoses and you are good to go. We find we have our shower setup and ready to use in a matter of minutes. The supplied shower head and hose are great. Being 5-metres long it does provide you with plenty of flexibility in where you can setup your shower tent. This is great if you want to setup up your shower tent away from your 4WD or camper trailer so that you keep that area as dry as possible. It does also allow you to use the shower head for things other than a shower, like rinsing off your dog, or washing your toddler in a tub nearby. Being able to turn the water on and off from the shower head (with the old version) or the hose (with the new version) does make life a lot easier as you never need to leave your shower tent when having a shower. The final benefit with the hoses provided are the overall quality of them. They are well made, easy to roll up, and will last for a long period of time.
Greater Flexibility with Camp Spots & Lightweight
Having the Joolca Hottap in our camper trailer provides us with far more flexibility when camping and touring. We are never concerned about whether there are any facilities and can camp anywhere. Being completely self-sufficient is fantastic and we would highly recommend it. The final positive we would like to highlight is the size and weight of the Joolca Hottap. The unit on its own is not that big giving you plenty of flexibility with where you can mount or store the unit. Weighing in at just over 4kgs, it is not a heavy unit which is great for any setup as weight minimisation is paramount.
Issues With the Joolca Hottap
This section of our Joolca Hottap review is going to be rather short. We have not had many issues at all with the Joolca Hottap. The only real problem we have had with this hot water system is the unit not receiving any power to fire the ignitor and LED digital display. This is not an issue with the Joolca Hottap unit, rather where we have the unit fitted in our camper trailer. The toolbox where we have this mounted does at times get small amounts of dust ingress. We have tried our hardest to reduce this as much as possible, but small amounts of dust can still find its way in. What we found is that dust can get between the battery terminals and the Joolca unit causing the ignitor to not fire. This issue is easily fixed by removing the battery pack and blowing any dust out of the unit.
Joolca Hottap Is a Great Camping Hot Water System
From our experience you will not go wrong with the Joolca Hottap hot water system for your camping setup. The Joolca Hottap is extremely well made, easy to setup, and maintains constant hot water temperatures. If you do want that little bit of luxury when camping, then having the Joolca Hottap hot water system will provide that for you. We never need to worry about where we are camping as we are fully self-sufficient and can camp anywhere. When you are on the road for long periods of time, knowing you can have a nice hot shower after a long hard day of driving does make it just a little bit better.
We hope you have enjoyed our review of the Joolca Hottap hot water system in our camping setup. This is not a sponsored post, it is an unbiased review of our experience over the last 2-years with our Joolca Hottap. If you want more information on the Joolca Hottap, visit the Joolca website here.
To read our other gear reviews you can find them here. To keep up to date on our future stories, join the 4WD Adventurer Community here. For more regular updates follow us on Instagram.
Thanks for reading.
The thoughts of Peter.
05/01/2024 @ 3:00 AM
How you ever used the pump from a water source like a lake? I wonder how clean the water would feel. That would be ideal not to have to tote water around if you can plan your trips around water sources.
08/01/2024 @ 8:30 AM
G’day Mike,
I have not used our pump setup in our trailer to do this, even though we can. I would only probably do this with our setup if we had no other choice, mainly due to potential contamination of our trailer plumbing.
If we had the Joolca kit that comes with its own pump then that would be a different story. My brother who uses the kit has used external water sources with no issues. The kit has a filter on it for such uses. Being it is a standalone unit, there is no issues with contaminating drinking water as there would be with our trailer setup.
Cheers,
Peter
14/10/2023 @ 10:04 PM
Nice review mate. I will get one soon with the pump ????
The ol Coleman finally bit the dust ..????
26/10/2023 @ 9:30 AM
G’day Swaggie,
Thanks for reading and feedback mate.
My brother users the kit that comes with the pump and he loves it. Packs away nicely, works a treat, and he hasn’t had any issues with that kit. Overall, a great portable hot water system for camping.
Cheers,
Peter
12/10/2022 @ 11:32 AM
Hi Peter, what Shurflo is your pump? Have the same setup and when we run the joocla temp up max, water pressure low, we get the pump caviation (pump ive got is a Shurflo 4009) which has a bypass
Further, turning off the std joocla shower fawcet doesnt turn the pump off. We have to turn the inline tap off for it to cut out.
Cheers kris
14/10/2022 @ 2:01 PM
G’day Kris,
Thanks for the message mate.
We have the same Shurflo pump, the 4009. Luckily, we have not had any issues with ours at all. Pressure is always good. Even when temp is set to max and pressure low, there are no issues. Also, turning off the Joolca turns the pump off. Once the shower is off, we still turn the inline tap off or the pump off. But it does switch off straight away using the showerhead. At the rear of the trailer, when the pump is turned on, there has been the occassion where we have had a small amount of air and bubbles for a very short period of time, but I have just assumed that this was caused by the distance the water is travelling from the front (where the pump is located) to the rear and the likelihood of air in the line. Once it has been run once at the rear, it does not occur again, until another trip. But no issues up front with the Joolca.
When you say you have the same setup, do you mean the same pump and Joolca setup, or also, the same DOT setup? If it is not the same trailer setup, it might be something to do with the overall plumbing, but I am no expert here at all, as this was all done by Drifta when they built the trailer. When you look at the pumbing setup in our photos above in this post, there is nothing special here either. Just a hose that runs to both 80 litre tanks, and then the hose that we connect to the cold inlet on the Joolca.
Sorry mate, have not been much help at all. Might be worth having someone with experience with 12V water pumps to take a look at it.
Cheers,
Peter
29/02/2024 @ 10:39 AM
Hi Peter,
Wondering if you are still using the Joolca setup and how it has worked since this review two years ago?
29/02/2024 @ 12:27 PM
G’day Ann-Marie,
Yes we are still using our Joolca in our trailer setup. Still works a treat, have not had any issues as yet. I can say the same for a good mate who has the newer model for the last couple of years, and they also have had no issues. They replaced their Smartek one for the Joolca as they had issues with the Smartek. My brother still uses the kit that all packs away in itself, and he has been using that version for at least two years with no issues.
I actually went on a weekend camp with a mate last weekend. It was extremely hot, he brought along his Joolca pump and the handheld showerhead. We camped both nights beside rivers and used the Joolca pump and showerhead to have a cool shower in the evening. Was quite nice having that with us.
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
Peter
27/05/2022 @ 1:32 PM
Love the rear seat conversion to storage idea, can I purchase already made somewhere?
30/05/2022 @ 8:44 AM
G’day Brian,
Thanks mate. This was a one off custom job done for us by our mate Rick at Svnty Offroad. It might be something that he will do in the future as he has had many requests since we posted about ours. However, I am not sure when that might be. From what I have been told there is a bit more involved in making an off the shelf product as everyone has different rear drawer setups. So I believe he is trying to work out how best to deal with this.
Cheers,
Peter