Shower Improvement

[stumphugger]

I went to a gathering of chainsaw afficianados last weekend. I had a very nice camping spot. After running my saw a bit, I needed to clean up. So, I heated up water, put the Zodi battery operated shower suction end in the water, and pushed the button. Nothing happened. I was just about to reclothe and put in new batteries when I noticed that the showerhead worked at waist level, but didn't have the power to push the water up higher. So, I made do.

I guess I will need to build a stout bucket holder so there will be more help from gravity.

I have forgotton the formula for drops in water pressure as one pumps it up a hill through firehose. I did find myself thinking about pump relays....(wildland fire memories) and pumping it up to a portatank where another pump would pump it on up....ENOUGH!

So, I shall be pondering a contraption to hold the five gallon bucket at more of an elevation. There's no way I'll trust the little hook on the shower tent.

[pete42]

If I remember correctly 32 feet is max the old "pitcher pumps" would lift.

would a sump pump work for you?

nice looking outfit by the way.

pete

[Artificer]

Its roughly 2 feet/psi head pressure.

Since the info from Zodi says "The powerful water pump delivers great water pressure" I would assume you should be able to have enough pressure to spray at head height.

Some things to consider:
how fresh are the batteries? old batteries will not pump much.
Is the screen/handset plugged?
Is it worn out? how much have you used it, or did you run it dry?

You shouldn't have to have an elevated water source with the unit, but I've never used one.

Michael

[Pyrofish]

0.4 psi per foot of elevation is what you lose no matter the size.

The trailer I just bough used was a lawn trailer. The guy had mounted a water keg holder about 6' off the ground on the front and I was going to take it off. My brother convinced me to keep it, and now I'm thinking a 10 gallon water keg would make a nice gravity fed shower

[doitright]

I also have the same setup as you down the the wally world shower tent. but have found at times the pump works good and then at times it dose not. Dose not matter if the batteries are new or not. I think the pump is the down fall. If you find a pump that works better please post.

[TheresaD]

I just bought the zodi water pump shower recently. We used it a couple weekends ago for the first time and I was extremely impressed with the pressure we got from it. It was much better than some campground showers I've used. We used one of those folding roll top aluminum tables to put the 5 gal bucket on so that we could hang the shower head from a corner bracket of a firstup shelter. I would estimate that the shower head was at about the 6' level. This set up worked great and we didn't notice a drop in the pressure until we were almost completely out of water. I have long thick hair and the pressure was plenty strong enough for me to get out all the shampoo with no trouble or extra effort at all. I'm guessing that having the bucket on the table and therefore bringing the pump up higher probably helped.

[stumphugger]

Yes. I was also impressed with the pressure when I had it on a table here at home. I have a little fold up end table that might work. We might have warmer temps--60s today so maybe I'll play with water and experiment.

[mskobier]

Stumphugger,
I've had my ZODI for several years. I have never had an issue with it not having enough head to push the water out of the nozzel. I have a small (approx 1.5gal) short squat propane tank that I attach a manifold pipe to and attach the burner unit to the top of that. It gives me a nice stable platform for the burner. I set a 5 gallon bucket at the base and drop the pump into it. So the pump has to pump up approx 4-5 ft, then through the hose and up another 1-2 ft to head level. Again, I have never had a problem with it doing its job. I also change out the batteries at the start of the camping season. I rerely have to replace them during the season. I would guess that your batteries were weak and the pump was not generating full pressure. no mine, weak batteries give me low flow, so I know when to change them out.

Mitch

[2bits]

Not to divert the thread... but I wish we had campsites like that down here.... That is beautiful...

[stumphugger]

Not to divert the thread... but I wish we had campsites like that down here.... That is beautiful...

That is somebody's big yard. It is next to the McKenzie River in Oregon, and the river was running full tilt, but not muddy. They'd done more landscaping work and it was beautiful.

We've had a chainsaw get together there two years in a row. It is a place that is kind of in the middle of where everybody lives. 250 miles for me.

Having the shower, poor as it was, really made things nicer. I had been ripping a chunk of wood to make a Scandihoovian candle and instead of chips flying, it was fine sawdust.

[rebapuck]

Instead if carring another table with you, why not just set the shower tent next to your tailgate.

[Yota Bill]

if your going to go through the work of making something to hand a bucket higher to get the pump to work, why not just make it taller yet, hang the bucket overhead, plumb a shower head out of the bottom, and get rid of the pump all togethor?

[Engineer Guy]

I recycled items to make a decent siphon Shower while building our new House.

I put heated Water into a Utility Bucket. I tied a Rope to the Handle and ran that through a Pulley to hoist the Bucket. The Pulley was on a separate Rope. You can throw that over a Limb with a Rock tied on and secure it separately. Then, the Water Bucket can be pulled up via the 'easy' Pulley, rather than over a Limb with friction. I keep plenty of Carabiners around. Quick Rope knots and Carabiners allow for a secure 'fixed' Shower setup and Bucket height if you're going to be in one spot for a while.

I used a 10' RV-quality Water Hose and tied it up to the Handle Rope to secure it so that it stayed in the Bucket bottom. The Shower Head was a Handle-type Garden 'Gun'. They have a little Brass screw so that you can fix how far it turns on - and the Water pattern - when you pull the Handle. This allows directing Water at you, and not in some useless, wide spray, while also allowing full turn off when the 'Gun' Handle is released.

The Bucket hoisted >3' over my Head provided plenty of siphon flow. I always thought one of those insulated, orange Water Buckets seen on Contractor Trucks would be a neat way to hold hot Water.

I like Shur-Flo RV Pumps for powered setups. Gravity + a siphon works 100% of time w/o Batteries.

[stumphugger]

I found out if I put it on a little camping table, I have enough pressure.
The little table is waist high and won't be any problem to take along.