Help required for making an outdoor fuel operated shower

larneylee · Post by **larneylee** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:22 am

Hello,
I am originally from South Africa but at present I am living in the UK. About 12 years ago in SA, I saw an outdoor shower that a person had made which was fantastic and I always regretted having not bought one. I am in search of ideas from people out there who may be able to assist me with my enquiry. This particular shower was fueled by parafin which heated the water and somehow managed to push the heated water to a shower head. As far as I remember there was no pump or battery used to operate the shower plus he had an option to use LPG gas as an alternative to the parafin. I am a keen camper and would love to make such a design, however I am lacking that vital knowledge etc to get it functional. I hope there is someone out there who may be able to shed some light on the subject for me or even has some pictures or even links to site.
Thanks very much.
Lee

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 7:09 am

Coleman camping on the net sales a very good one. (see water heater)

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 11:53 am

The Coleman model works amazingly well. BUT... you have to follow the directions as written or you'll easily burn out the core, the hose or both leaving the unit worthless.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 1:24 pm

I'm told you can use a steel bug sprayer (new) and heat it on a stove and the nozzle makes it very efficient.
The plastic would work without heating if it is warm enough.
It must be one that has not had toxins in it.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 8:21 am

I know it's not exactly what you're looking for, but for the last couple of years we've used a new plastic garden sprayer for our shower. Turns it into an interactive sort of thing. Last year I painted it black to absorb heat during the day. Worked very well and packs away with minimal space.

ETA: that is we bought it new and continued to use it... not bought a new one every year

Apollonaris Zeus · Post by **Apollonaris Zeus** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 9:11 am

You can use this thread for Q&As.

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=8623

we try to recycle disscussion threads that have already been created instead of created duplicates.

It's all been done before!

AIIZ

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 9:24 am

Garden sprayer coast a bit over the top.. So you would expect to use it a few years..Truth is they fail sooner than expected..If you buy an extra sprayer and take it along just in case..You will be much happier is the first one fails..Or you may gift the extra one to a new friend on the playa..I carry all sorts of extra stuf..WHo knows when some one will need a pancake turner

Post by **AntiM** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 9:27 am

Our sprayers are going on six years, one for washing, one for mister system on the bike.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:40 am

RL makes a decent sprayer.
I recommend one with a brass nozzle.
You can buy rebuild kits for them too.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 12:48 pm

Suggest you mind how hot the water gets inside of your sprayer..If the water gets to hot it can warp and ruin the pump.. If I were to sun heat the water, I would first remove te pump,sun heat the water, cool it the bath temperture then reinsert the pump.

Post by **AntiM** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:09 pm

We bath with ambient temp water so haven't had the issue.

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:18 pm

Based on your description you could design and build a shower. You could boil water in a lower reservoir and let the steam travel through condensing coils then out a spout. You either have to do some heat transfer calculations or play with the design a bit to get a comfortable temperature. You could also put some valves to close off parts of the condensing coils so you could have some control over the temperature. Also a variable pressure regulator on your reservoir could give you some control.

What kind of flow and duration did the shower you see have? Also how large of a flame was created? I'd assume that'd be based on the wick size.

I love the idea. Would be great to convert mine into something like this, using a parabolic dish to heat the reservoir.

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:21 pm

I don't know if such a thing exists, but you could have bi-metal controlled valves that open at a certain temperate, allowing the steam/condensate to travel through more condensing coils, giving it automatic temperature control.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:38 pm

There are rv design hot water tanks around ten gallons.
You can also use instantaneous style heaters.
You don't need much water temperature during the day though.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:39 pm

While condensing some pear juice. we run a very low out put side.. About a gallon in three hours..The cooling coil was run through a 25 gallon barrel..The cooling water had to be repaced with cold water every 1-1/2 hours.. From that experience, I would guess the coil cooling water would would be about right for shower.

ps we run 8 gallon of "juice" from 50 gallon pear juice.. At that rate it would knock your shoes off..

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:47 pm

How about a 55 gallon steel drum left in the sun all day and insulated at night?
If you put a clear acrylic lid on it, it should work better.
Heating water is one solar system that does work.

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:16 pm

Sometimes a gravity fed system works out pretty well. The only real challenge is if you have a large tank or cistern such as a 55 gallon drum you need to insure that the platform is a sturdy one.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:25 pm

I wouldn't try to do gravity fed out there unless the platform is already going up for something else.
You can pump water through a collector if you wish to increase efficiency.
Direct sun may be plenty though.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:46 pm

I think 2006 was a cool year as far as playa tempertures go..

I want to build a shower stall this year.. I'm going to stick with the black bags.. I'm going to use a reflective back ground for the bags..Also build the shower stall to hold then while they heat..I have a small pump to fill the bags and add cool water if needed..The bags will go up to 40 pounds.. There a bitch handel..So will leave them in place once set up..