Yurt Camp Shower

[Jafo]

So after a bit of trial and error, I finally got a working shower up at camp. For those of you who don't know, my yurt is located up in the Adirondack Park in upstate NY, far off the grid. The one thing I never liked was the lack of a shower. I had to hike to a rather cold river to bathe. That is fine for hot summer days, but no so much for the winter, spring and fall or when the river is too high or low.

After quite a bit of research, I ordered a 12 volt pump that had some good reviews and an outdoor tankless water heater that also came highly recommended.

It took a bit of tinkering to get all the fittings right. I did most of that while I was home and near a hardware store and then once I was ready, I brought it up to camp and connected it to a 12v marine battery. You can see the shower in the video below. This is just my proof of concept and I plan on making a more permanent setup. I just wanted to make sure everything worked right before doing that.

The shower worked GREAT. The water was so hot, I had to turn it down about half way on the dial. The water pressure was fantastic. It's equal to, if not exceeding the pressure I have at home. I would estimate between 35-45 PSI. I love how the heater only turns on when it detects water running. I also love how the pump shuts off if you turn off the shower head.

One thing should be noted, when I tried this out at home, I plugged it into the spigot from my house that is municipal water. The water was not as hot as it is up at camp. The water at home starts out much colder, whereas the water I have at camp is sitting in a 300 gallon water tote which basically preheats the water because it is sitting in the sun.

Anyway, just thought I would share.

[KenB]

Originally Posted by Jafo

...You can see the shower in the video below.

Video missing?

Know of any electric models that could be ran from batteries/solar?

Thanks.

[Jafo]

Hmm, I see the video fine? The electric pump I linked to is 12V and runs off a battery.

[MT Rod]

Sorry Jafo,

I don't see video either. I am not sure how you can check it.

Years ago (2004 - 2005?) I had a little portable shower that ran on 4 D-cell batteries and a propane cannister that screwed in the bottom.

We used it a lot doing horse camping. Carry it with a canvas bucket to pump water out of, and don't run out of battery, water, or propane, and you were doing great. The whole set up was maybe 5 to 8 pounds. It is all packed in a 3 gallon plastic bucket in storage back in Montana.

I don' t remember the company name, but I bet if you looked around on ebay you would find lots of options there.

They are sure making some fun and convenient toys for big boys these days.

Rod
rodyurtlocker.com

[Jafo]

You don't see the first post in this thread like this?

[MT Rod]

I have not tried posting any pics here before, so this may not work:

[IMG]C:\Users\Rod\Desktop/yurtforum.jpg[/IMG]

If this comes through, this is what I see.

Rod
rodyurtlocker.com

[MT Rod]

I didn't do something right, but you can see it anyway...

And it takes about 50 seconds for the first page of thread to load.

Rod
rodyurtlocker.com

[djspn]

Thanks Jafo, great post.
I have been able to see the video since you first posted. Ubuntu, Firefox.
I see that it is blockable w Adblock Plus.

[KenB]

Originally Posted by Jafo

Hmm, I see the video fine? The electric pump I linked to is 12V and runs off a battery.

I meant an electric water heater not the pump.
After looking a bit, it looks like an electric model might not be feasible since they require a lot of power (6kW+)!


I've tried with Firefox and IE and see the same as MT Rod posted a pic of.
I just tried with my iPhone and I see the video, so maybe it's my firewall at work blocking the video.

[Jafo]

There was definitely a DNS issue going on with the video streaming provider. This should be fixed when your DNS updates (ISP by ISP).

Electric heat is very power intensive. I just don't think it would be practical to use it to heat water on the fly. However, I have been thinking about making up some sort of alternative water

heating

source, or at least a pre-heater. So far I haven't found anything very practical or cost effective. Right now, my water tank is above ground and does absorb some heat from the sun. I suppose painting it black might help it absorb more.