As a country of exciting outdoor adventures, one of the issues when out in the wild is how to keep water or food hot, especially in winter, but a recent Omani innovation addresses this challenge and therefore will definitely bring joy to campers when they are out and about during winter.
“Hotbox is first of its kind device in the world. Two patents have been registered globally for the device.
“Early this year we have released Hotbox-Mini which is the solution for many campers who have a specific requirement with less volume and the same advantages’’, Sulaiman al Habsi said, Chief Technology Officer at Aphcarios company.
Hotbox, as he explained, “is a smart water heater for cars that utilise the energy from the car’s engine wasted heat to heat a water source. It serves as a solution for having access to hot water in remote locations during family outings and adventure trips.”
Common ways to heat water during trips are slow and bad for the environment, so the company comes with Hotbox to make your trip much better and easier.
“Camper use burning wood, carryout gas cylinders or use an electrical heater that is powered by cars battery to heat a water source. All methods are inconvenient, slow and bad for the environment. The hotbox utilises the wasted heat of the engine to do that. It is very convenient for the users since it is controlled through a mobile phone’’, he pointed out.
Several features make Hotbox products a reliable choice for the consumer. The idea, as he mentioned, is to use the car’s engine as a basis for heating, which is achieved by circulating water from the internal water tank in the car, towards the heat exchanger in the engine compartment, and then back again into the tank as hot water.
The operation, as he added, is simple, as all you need is to download the dedicated Hotbox application on your smartphone that connects to the Hotbox device using Bluetooth. With the application installed, as he shared, you’re able to adjust the water temperature, observe the water level in the water tank, and switch between multiple modes such as shower, heating, and refilling the water tank.
With all these features, “Our customers can enjoy on-demand hot water to take a shower at the water temperature of their choice or to wash the dishes and the car itself. And the beauty of the device is that it requires no batteries, no gas, or solar panel equipment needed to operate and heat the water, it simply utilises the heat that is naturally created by a running engine, which otherwise would be heat wasted’’, he pointed out.
The hotbox contains a high-pressure water pump, water valves, sensors and a smart controller board. The device is controlled via a smartphone application or through manual switches. Hotbox has five smart modes; Heating Mode will take the water from the internal tank and bass it through the heat exchanger. The hot water will be returned to the tank. The Hotbox will keep circulating the water until the target temperature is reached’’, he shared.
In the Shower Mode, as he pointed out, the hotbox will take the heated water from the internal tank and pump it through one of the external ports. A shower head with different spaying patterns is provided in the kit.
If you would like to use Tank Filling mode, you need to connect an external water source such as reverse, home water tab or water containers to the Hotbox through one of the external ports. “The Hotbox pumps the water from the water source to the internal tank. This is useful for customers who have internal takes that are not easily accessible for a manual refill. The Hotbox has a flow sensor that can calculate the water volume and stop the fill when the tank is full. The tank volume must be set into the mobile app when the tank is empty or when it is filled’’, he mentioned.
While in the External Tank Mode, the hotbox can take water from any external water source and heat it on the go without consuming water from the internal tank.
External Tank Heating System is the fifth mode. “This mode works exactly like the external tank except the water pumped out will be returned to the external tank. This feature is helpful if you need to heat water for others, heating water in water containers or heating water tanks in a cattle ranch’’, he said.
The hotbox is installed inside the customer’s SUVs and there is nothing to worry about. “It is very safe, and it does not interfere with the car’s normal operation. On the contrary, the hotbox can help cool down cars with overheating issues. Everything that is needed to install the hotbox is provided for the customer in the package. The mobile app is available in Apple’s App Store, Google Play Store and Huawei’s App Gallery. The App is regularly maintained and updated.
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