Dragon Vertical Hotbox – 5 GPM

This is a very honest review pointing out some deficiencies, but it doesn’t take away from the fact I’m thrilled to now have a hot water machine made from my cold unit. Out of the box, the fit and finish was ok, not super. First issue, the unit is not 17” x 21”, they don’t account for about half the depth of the diesel tank, it’s more like 17” x 25”. I was shoe horning this into the only spot on my trailer and the 4” made a difference, so I had get creative but made it work. I even called PSI to get a drawing which they couldn’t or wouldn’t provide but told me it was 17” x 21”, “but account for a few extra inches”. I assumed this was for heat/safety not the actual overall dimensions. The next minor issue, unless your battery sits directly next to the machine the electrical whip is useless. So I ordered 12/2 cable and rewired it to reach my battery that’s about 4’ away. While rewiring, had to take off the faceplate. It’s held on by self tapping screws, ok not exactly what I expected but the unit is on the lower end price wise. I was surprised to find an unsealed electrical components, I somewhat expected at least IP 65, but it isn’t sealed at all. Ok, again on the cheaper end and there were no claims of an IP rating so perhaps my expectations are too high. Next, the orientation of the fittings was not ideal with my layout, so I went to swap the outlet with the temp sensor and holy crap they must have had the strongest man in the world tighten them! I was also told if I converted my Honda to electric start it would charge the battery that this unit runs off of, while partially true the unit requires an 18A charging system and the retrofits for Honda are 3A at best, I carry my generator with me anyway, but had to purchase another charger as my soft wash charger is only 10A. Got it all wired and plumbed, filled with diesel and my test run was successful. I have not run it for an extensive period but functionally it seems to work perfectly. Overall, I’d probably buy the unit again as I was looking for something budget friendly, but if I could get IP65 or IP67 I’d do it for another $500 because it’s on an open trailer. But otherwise, I’ll stick to 4 star and I recommend if this is in your budget.