Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 01:13:44 +0000
Reply-To: Trvlr2001@COMCAST.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "John C..." <Trvlr2001@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Hot showers/vans.
You can actually squeek out a bath with a 1 gallon milk jug.
Done it many a time.
Colder the better !!!
I chant "damn that's Hot" !!!
:o)
JC...
-------------- Original message --------------
From: Troy Delnicki <colorworks@GCI.NET>
> Hi Mike:
>
> >We used to do the solar shower thing, and I've also been known to use
> >public or fee showers on the road. For in-camp showering I've got a nice
> >little rig that I'm using these days. I have a Zodi Hot Tap shower
> >heater which sits atop your normal 1lb bottle of propane. It has a
> >submersible pump and a battery pack. The pump sits in the water
> >reservoir. With the pump started, the heater lit, and the nozzle in the
> >reservoir, hot water recirculates through the heater and it warms up
> >quickly. Can easily get too hot for me.
>
> Yes, I am familiar with these little contraptions, and they work almost
> identically to the Coleman hot water on demand. The Coleman has a battery
> that can be charged either via a 120 volt or a 12 volt plug-in (I also
> have a spare battery, but it's good for up to 40 gallons) within about
> five seconds (no kidding) the water is at 100°. It will actually put out
> 160° water, but at a much lower flow rate. The one drawback to this system
> is the rise or temperature increase differential the unit is capable of. I
> like to camp close to rivers here in Alaska, and the water is COLD, like
> 40°, maybe 50° if you're lucky. Combine that with a long hose, and the
> flow rate goes way way down. It appears the Zodi has a dual burner/bottle
> system that may overcome this. see:
> http://www.hotcampshowers.com/products51784.html
> Not sure of the range in terms of hose length and pressure. I guess this
> is not a problem if you stick with a 5 gallon reservoir bag. The Coleman
> delivery tends to get kind of sporadic sucking up/delivering the last
> gallon, as it uses a collapsible bag, although I guess this could easily
> be remedied by going to a bucket. More stuff to carry
>
> These are a couple of reasons I was looking at a vehicle mounted system,
> not to mention the space they take up. The Zodi does appear to be smaller
> than the Coleman. Do you happen to have any dimensions?
>
>
> >The idea is to pick up the nozzle to wet yourself, then return it to the
> >reservoir when soaping, then pick it back up and rinse off. This
> >conserves water, but I don't like showering one-handed so I mount the
> >nozzle on one of Zodi's Shower Poles, which lets a fellow use both hands
> >for soaping and scrubbing and rinsing, and I put a 3-way valve in the
> >line feeding the nozzle so that when water from the nozzle is not needed
> >the water is diverted back into the reservoir.
>
> If you divert the water, I'm assuming that's heated water, and would think
> it would get too hot if it recirculates? I guess you could turn the
> temperature down, but can you turn it down enough? When I tried doing this
> with my Coleman, the water simply got too hot.
> >
> >For privacy we use one of these:
> >
> >http://www.campausa.com/shower_enclosure.htm
> >
> >and the heater sits outside for safety. There is an opening in one wall
> >near the floor for the hoses. It sets up and breaks down quickly. If
> >there is wind it has tie points for guy lines. It has stood up to some
> >strong wind gusts w/o damage. It has a snap-in floor but I dislike
> >standing in the muddy soapy puddle (just fussy, I guess) so a Cabela's
> >Shower Deck
> >
> >http://tinyurl.com/34c8b4
> >
> >provides a nice floor and a handy carrying case for shower items.
> >
> >The whole thing breaks down into three small packages: the hardshell
> >water reservoir carries the heater, pump, hoses, and battery pack. Its
> >lid snaps off and becomes a base for the propane bottle. The shower pole
> >goes into the enclosure's storage bag, and the little shower deck closes
> >up fairly small.
> >
> >--
> >Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> >71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
> >84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> >74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
> >KG6RCR
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