Shower Secrets

[ZugZug]

Have been reading this thread with interest.

Thinking at this stage I might stick with my current method. Which is about as simple as it gets.

My camp shower is just a bucket with a lid and a scoop. Inside the bucket I keep whatever I need for my shower (to suds up with, and a flannel). I take those out of the bucket, place them on the lid and place on the ground (so it serves as a little table top for my stuff, and they don't get dirty).

That leaves me with the bucket, which I fill with water. Then I take a pot full of water out of the bucket, boil it on the stove, and pour it back into the bucket. That seems to give me the perfect temperature, just about every time. But if it needs a bit more I can always do it again. Takes less than 5 mins.

Anyway, then the scoop is used to tip over myself, I lather up, then the scoop again to rinse.

My 10L shower always seems to leave a few litres at the end, not needed (strictly speaking) but absolutely lovely to up-end directly from the bucket over my head to finish off.

It's the way a lot of people shower in India, but using the hot and cold water tap in the bathroom (at bucket level). I picked it up as a method on a visit there a few years back.

It's amazing how nice a shower method this is. And no issues about pumps, pressure, hoses or anything like that. So long as you have somewhere to boil a pot of water, you're all set

P.S. No doubt this has been mentioned before, but in my quick flick through the thread I couldn't see it, so thought I'd mention it just in case.

[KCStudly]

Zug Zug, Thanks for posting that. I think I like your method best of all, out of all of these. Simple, to the point, and a bucket is required equipment in the main area I plan to visit, so it becomes a multi-tasker.

[Patti]

@zugzug, you and Christina of Tiny Yellow Teardrop think alike. Here are pics of her setup.

http://tinyyellowteardrop.blogspot.com/ ... hower.html

[Wolffarmer]

I been doing this for 3 years next month. I heat up about 2-2.5 gallons of water on my stove to near boiling and put in a 5 gallon plastic bucket and fill with cold water until just warm on my hand and then use an unbreakable coffee cup to dump water on me. I usually use 4 and a bit gallons and dump the rest on me. Give me more exercise dipping water out a cup at a time. Not a bad thing. I probably use more water than most people need to but if you lived in my skin you would also.

Randy

[ZugZug]

Pleased to see I'm not the only one likes this simple approach.

My best tip (and it took me a little while to find one) is to get hold of a plastic jug/scoop that has a hook for a handle, rather than the usual loop handle. I got one from a kitchen place (it's a medium sized measuring jug). That way, when the scoop is being rested (i.e. you're shampooing your hair or whatever), the scoop is waiting nicely hooked over the side of the bucket (from the inside of the bucket). So it never touches the ground and never gets dirty.

And yes the bucket can be multi-tasking. In our current tent camping set-up, it also serves as my coffee table alongside the bed. Still with my shower gear inside it, but the lid on the bucket is perfect to put a cup of tea on, and my kindle overnight or whatever.

In our new camp setup, with our luxe new teardrop, I'm guessing it will be used as a little table in the lounge area (outside the galley) when I'm not using it for showering.

Checked out the tiny yellow teardrop set up too. A bit more involved than mine, but also really good. I don't have a shower tent yet, and generally shower in my bathing costume. But if we were going for an extended stay I might consider doing this as well.

[rowerwet]

After trying the garden sprayer and solar shower my wife decided she likes this the best.
http://zodi.com/hot-showers/hot-tap-with-bag
The only thing to add is a bucket of water, we found the best thing to do is run the shower head back into the bucket until the water is the temp you want, then turn off the gas and take a shower. 5 gallons is enough for both of us to shower and still have some left.
I think the heat exchanger in the zodi is faster, more efficient than boiling water on a stove or fire.
I got a great deal on the zodi $75 on clearance at wallyworld.
We use the side tents on the tear to shower or a pop up changing tent for canoe camping. http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Changing ... B00BXLTPWY.

[the deer farm]

I have the same zodi....bought 2 at a yard sale for 15 bucks for both...lady said one did not work. All it was a loose clamp on hose...the other one was brand new. I use a OUThouse camo hunting blind I picked up another yard sale for 5 bucks...make a great shower stall. These showers are GREAT!!!

[Ron Dickey]

there is a system out there that you carry above you car or trailer. I offers a metal BLACK cylinder with caps at each end a place to put a hand pump and a spigot.
you add pressure and hook a shower to the spigot and you have a shower.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF5EBUPeWOw

this guy offers one that goes around his luggage rack and offers a pull out shower rod to attach curtain to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WxVxPxQKA8

This is another ABS shower put on a vw camper van
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdH52d8GMnA
smart elbow to bring it down for shower hookups.

I would like to make one into a luggage rack so it has a double use for the top of the car.
Just need a hand pump, ABS fittings, a outdoor spigot, a pressure valve, a hand shower, and a shower enclosure.
Fill after you get to camp sit or fill before hand before you go to the beach or even work site.

I have been looking at solar cooking and remember these so I thought I would tell you folks about them.
Ron

[tfunk]

The 5 gallon Cornelius kegs work well. Have a dip tube. One in one out, pressure relief at 35 psi built in, stainless steel. Typically 25$ at a home brew supplier.
I have been using a 10 watt pump. 35 psi @1.2 gpm, hooked it up with 3/8 air and water hose. The high pressure allows me to use less water.

[accrete]

like other's posts...my wife and I chose simplicity.

Pour a kettle of ambient temp water into a ~2 gallon bucket.
Pour a kettle of boiled water into same bucket.

Stir : )

Toss in a hand shower's water-pump in the bucket. Plug in its 12v power cord to an appropriate power supply and enjoy a nice shower.

In our rig it all fits inside this nice shower closet my MacGirlver wifie designed.



open in shower mode (it doubles as our porta-potty area during the day. pictured above the shelf is our shower-version 2.0 garden sprayer...we're now on v3.0 the link above)



Thom

[MidTNJasonF]

The 5 gallon Cornelius kegs work well. Have a dip tube. One in one out, pressure relief at 35 psi built in, stainless steel. Typically 25$ at a home brew supplier.
I have been using a 10 watt pump. 35 psi @1.2 gpm, hooked it up with 3/8 air and water hose. The high pressure allows me to use less water.

I wish you could find them for $25. They are $60 to $75 for ball lock style and about ten bucks cheaper for pin lock fitting kegs.

Supply and demand. The supply is drying up and the demand is growing.

[felixx]

I use baby wipes
They get me clean enough for the 1-2 night trips I do.

that and a can of spray deodorant (we call the can of deodorant an englishman's bath here)

I do have a bottle of hand sanitiser to use before food prep

[grassgd]

I have often thought of trying to use the exhaust gas from my car as a source of heat instead of using a propane stove or propane fired water heater.

Even when a car is cold, the exhaust gas out of the tail pipe becomes hot very quick and could be used to heat water via a simple coiled copper type exchanged stuck on the end of the exhaust pipe.

I have seen people do this with flues from wood burning stoves to get hot water.

Has anyone tried anything like this?

The problem with this might be controlling the water temperature unless you use it to preheat a container of water to the desired temp then disconnect and take a shower. If you try to shower with direct flow through the exhaust heater, you would need some way to control the water temperature.

[Squareback]

Using a 12v water pump pulling water from an 18 gallon marine grade container housed inside a wooden box bolted to the bottom of the camper and sending it to a Triton instahot shower unit. I installed a quick disconnect fitting coming out of the instahot unit and have a shower head and a longer hose with a sprayer attached like what's used at a kitchen sink.

[kudzu]

Have been searching for decent biodegradable shampoo & conditioner. At a minimum, was hoping to find something good enough to use when camping, but really wanted something to use at home as well. Nothing I tried worked well enough that I wanted to use it again, even for camping. Did keep searching though. That's how I came across the idea of using baking soda in place of shampoo & apple cider vinegar (ACV) as a rinse. To my considerable surprise, it works for me. Have used this approach for the last couple weeks & will probably continue. Will likely use my regular, sulfate-free shampoo & conditioner once a week or so. The baking soda & ACV are at least good enough to use on their own for a week or two. That gives me a cheap & easy, biodegradable substitute for shampoo & conditioner. Below is my approach & experience.

It seems most people who use baking soda liked it at first but found it dried out their hair when used long term. I figured it was worth a shot. To my surprise, it works pretty well. Most people seemed to be using a lot more baking soda than what works for my hair. I put a teaspoon of baking soda in a 4 ounce bottle & filled it with water. The baking soda doesn't seem to dissolve so I have to shake it well each time I use it. I applied it by just pouring a very small amount onto my scalp in about 4 spots, top, right, left & back of head. Scrubbed it into my scalp as best I could then rinsed it out well. It got my hair squeaky clean. It was too squeaky, actually. So that's why I used I needed a conditioner or rinse of some sort. I estimate I'm only using less than 1/4 tsp of baking soda each time.

Had used apple cider vinegar on my long-haired dogs before so decided it might be worth a try for my hair. Just happened to have a little 2 oz spray bottle left over from a travel kit. Just poured the ACV into the bottle & sprayed it onto my hair. It didn't take a lot, maybe 1/2 oz or less. Then I rinsed that out & did my hair styling routine as usual. It seems to work well. The only downside is that the vinegar smell lasts for about 30 minutes so. Then I found out that if my hair gets wet again later that day a faint vinegar odor reappears for a few minutes. However, neither of us can detect an odor after that. It's rather surprising.