Need ideas for Camping Hot Shower

K

kilimats

Observer
So I've ordered a Whale GP1652 submersible water pump after seeing this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzulTqm1sz0, i'll use it to drive the shower head at high pressure (i read bad reviews about other shower kit out there delivering poor pressure)

also got a 12V DC Rechargeable Li-po Battery on ebay for like $35 shipped, that will drive the pump easy for 8 hours

My next step is to find a compact product to heat up a water tank. I saw the ZODI stuff but they don't have a 12v all in one kit (theirs use D cell crap), do you guys can recommend something else ?

I guess i could boil half the tank water first in a pot and then mixing the water but i would rather have a compact product to easily reach perfect temperature and simplifying the whole heating process

EDIT: how about using a Flexible Copper Pipe filled with OIL and sealed, one end of the tube stays above the camping stove and the other end goes in spiral in the water tank ? has anyone done that ? no idea on how the pipe could be sealed though :smilies27

DHW-Types-Indirect.jpg


or what about a [URL="http://www.amazon.com/NORPRO-559-Immersion-Warming-Liquids/dp/B000I8VE68/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1327463650&sr=1-2-catcorr[/URL] connected to a $80 DC 12V 15000mAh Large capacity Ebay Battery? will it be hot enough and will it heat up a few gallons to shower temp within an hour ? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DC-12V-1...tteries_SM&hash=item231855e179#ht_4246wt_1396

31J1I57wS9L._SL500_AA300_.jpg


or maybe a more powerfull heater as seen here: http://www.hydrogenappliances.com/hotwater.html

or maybe this adjustable heater : http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-Water-He...ltDomain_0&hash=item1c20c75cda#ht_2591wt_1396
 
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K

kilimats

Observer
97discosd said:
Plate heat exchanger hooked to your cooling system is a popular way of going
Click to expand...

thanks for sharing, i saw that online too but my car is a diesel so it takes quite a bit of time to reach high temps. I would rather use electricity instead of wasting expensive diesel
 
K

kilimats

Observer
I think i will order the ZODI single burner and replace the pump and battery with what i ordered. I can then recirculate the water until a comfortable temp is achieved. Then using a quick hose Male/female connector plug, I can unplug the pump from the zodi heater and plug it directly to the shower head to achieve FULL pressure by not having the water pass through the ZODI heating elements.

What do you guys think ?

the 12v heater pipe i posted above apparently will take hours for a few gallons tank to reach appropriate temp, i'm not that patient ^^
 
D

downhill

Adventurer
This may not be your cup of tea, but I built my shower from a heavy duty Chapin garden sprayer like this one:
http://www.google.com/products/cata...X&ei=vsogT6uUA43YiQKx5LD0Bw&ved=0CIkBEPMCMAM#
I think mine might be 4 gallon though. I bought a commercial pistol type spray wand and cut it down to just a hand piece. I put on a longer hose. I heat water on the stove and pour it in, pump it up, and I can get a great shower. The high pressure fine spray uses far less water to get you clean, and less fuel to heat. I can actualy shower with just 2 gallons of water, 3 gallons is a luxury shower. The black steel heats itself if left in the sun. Since it retains the adjustable nozzle, I have also used it for washing my dogs and for washing mud off my truck. It has traveled many miles with me and seen tons of use. Not much to go wrong with it. No power required.
 
K

kilimats

Observer
^ that is a great alternative agreed, I actually own a ZODI EXTREME which looks exactly like your setup, I am trying to get away from the manual pump because with my extreme i have to pump every 30 seconds to maintains a somewhat OK pressure, very big drawback imo. How many time do you need to pump yours ?

also my zodi extreme is 3 gallons, if i stop the shower everytime i soap i can be done after using 2.5 gallons, a luxirious shower would require at least 5 gallons imo to leave the water streaming while soaping. Also a women would need way more than that to wash her hair, i'll probably go with this 8 gallons tank (hopefully we can both shower normally without refilling): http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Products-Hydroller-Wheeled-Container/dp/B001QC78GK
 
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D

downhill

Adventurer
If I put 3 gallons in the tank there is enough air volume that one pumping will do it. Seriously. Of course, the chapin is a serious sprayer. It has an all metal pump and can make a bunch of pressure. The high pressure washes tough things like hair very fast. Much faster than just having falling water. It's like a low power pressure washer. It only takes 4 gallons to wash one of my dogs, and getting the shampoo out of all that fur is tough. I designed and built it because I couldn't find anything remotely as good. I wish I had a pic, but a bunch of my stuff is in storage for the winter.
 
K

kilimats

Observer
^ yes one pumping is enough with the ZODI as well when full but as soon as you start using water, it decrease slowly and reach a poor pressure level after 30 seconds only forcing you to pump some more, very frustrating ESPECIALLY for the wife as you can imagine ahha

anyways, it's a great MANUAL setup for sure
 
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