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Camping Showers

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Camping Showers

Postby bulls in transit » Mon Oct 02, 2017 9:17 am

Has anyone on here any experience of the £30-50 hanging solar powered camping showers?
Are they worthwhile,or just space/money takers?
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Re: Camping Showers

Postby mistericeman » Mon Oct 02, 2017 9:24 am

Ok IF it's very sunny OR you tip a kettle full of warm water in with the cold...
I've given up and am in the process of plumbing in a, plate heat exchanger to the heater circuit to give us hot water after the engine has been running with water from a stream or bucket etc...
Temp controlled via the heater control on the dash and an on board pump with pressure switch.
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Re: Camping Showers

Postby Beaker » Mon Oct 02, 2017 2:11 pm

Have a read of this:

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-solar-camp-shower/#forward

Interesting that the winner only costs £18.

I've been looking at these as well after seeing one used on by some surfers last year. Looked a good idea and was suprised how warm it got. Obviously they are a bit crap if it's cloudy and cold!

They told me two tips - don't leave them hanging up any longer than necessary to avoid straining the seams in the fabric (so only hang it up while you are showering with it), and to leave it laying on your bonnet or roof to heat up better.

My wife showed me the Nemo foot pump pressurised ones ones ages ago and keeps reminding me about them. Expensive, but I've just started seeing Chinese knockoffs for around £35-£40 on eBay.
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Re: Camping Showers

Postby bulls in transit » Mon Oct 02, 2017 9:40 pm

Thanks for replies,informative,and with Beaker's link(nice one) even cheaper,hoping sun will be enough,planning on following it south into Portugal come the winter here in Galicia
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Re: Camping Showers

Postby Beaker » Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:45 am

Winter in Portugal - sounds like a plan!

Here's a link for one of those Helios copies made for Brunner - should be a decent as Brunner sell some good camping kit. It's half the price of the Helios original.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Brunner-S ... 2548.l4275

These look like great way to get mud, sand and assorted crap off of boots, clothes and gear as well as for showering. My shoulders are shagged - lifting a 5 gallon bag of water up to hang on the back door or off a tree branch is difficult for me, so I'd favour on of these over the gravity fed versions.
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Re: Camping Showers

Postby ceurieusneus » Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:31 pm

5 gallon? 15 liter? how big is the water tank in the Transit? :?
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Re: Camping Showers

Postby Beaker » Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:47 pm

ceurieusneus wrote:5 gallon? 15 liter? how big is the water tank in the Transit? :?


If you look at the article in the link, many of the gravity fed shower bags are five gallons (about 22 litres and therefore 22 kg in weight), and you need to lift them up above head height. My shoulders are permanently f%&ked so really difficult for me.

The foot pump pressurised ones are around 11-15 litres amd don't need lifting off the ground.

My water containers in my van are 16 litres each, which is the most I can comfortably carry with hurting myself.
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Re: Camping Showers

Postby bulls in transit » Tue Oct 03, 2017 10:54 pm

Similar in my van(2x20ltr jerrycans),but wasn't looking at tanks in van to fill shower though,more find/fill near or at pitchsite when req.,could even possibly loose one jerrycan and its traveling weight if solar shower proves ok,wouldn't have the water usage from tanks for washing,less traveling weight the better in a 68 1.7 V4
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Re: Camping Showers

Postby Beaker » Wed Oct 04, 2017 9:36 am

bulls in transit wrote:Similar in my van(2x20ltr jerrycans),but wasn't looking at tanks in van to fill shower though,more find/fill near or at pitchsite when req.,could even possibly loose one jerrycan and its traveling weight if solar shower proves ok,wouldn't have the water usage from tanks for washing,less traveling weight the better in a 68 1.7 V4


Yeah, that's my thoughts exactly - having one of these means you don't have to use your limited supplies of drinking water for showering. As you say, with one of these solar showers, you can fill it when you are able to and then use it when you want to.

My van is only a SWB so I don't really have the room for more water anyway, and I can't afford the money to install bigger under-floor tanks and/or water heating systems. My water heating system is a kettle on the stove. :)


If you do have enough heated water to spare, you could just fill your sink or a bucket with hot water and use one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Outdoor-Campi ... 0005.m1851
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Re: Camping Showers

Postby ceurieusneus » Fri Oct 06, 2017 5:32 pm

Beaker wrote:
ceurieusneus wrote:5 gallon? 15 liter? how big is the water tank in the Transit? :?


If you look at the article in the link, many of the gravity fed shower bags are five gallons (about 22 litres and therefore 22 kg in weight), and you need to lift them up above head height. My shoulders are permanently f%&ked so really difficult for me.

The foot pump pressurised ones are around 11-15 litres amd don't need lifting off the ground.

My water containers in my van are 16 litres each, which is the most I can comfortably carry with hurting myself.


Sorry, Beaker
I was not aiming on the pressurized system that seems OK, I am close to 70, so I do not want to lift 5 gallons of water, over my head for a shower to.
What I wanted to point is, I assume probably nobody with a transit camper can take many 5 gallon showers from his water tank.
Sorry to have put you on the wrong foot. :oops:
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Re: Camping Showers

Postby Beaker » Fri Oct 06, 2017 10:08 pm

Believe me, no offence was taken at all mate. :D

I did understand what you were saying there - I was just tying to say that these seemed like a good way to carry extra washing water without having to use your drinking water.

So apologies from me if you thought I was biting back at you.
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