Date:         Fri, 27 Jul 2007 10:31:19 -0700
Reply-To:     neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Anybody use one of these?
Comments: To: Tom Buese <tombuese@comcast.net>
In-Reply-To:  <5F0201FB-ACCF-4DC2-B251-0814C5CB1912@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

hey that's a smart idea. I imagine the black "curtains" are important
for collecting heat.

But my question is:

How many listers have found sponge baths IN van w/drop sheet and tub, effective?

Not looking for details, (really. i'm sure listers don't need to know)
just effectivness say on 1-10 scale and feasibility.

If one used a multipurpose small (black??) tub and small drop sheet,
one could bath indoors, then put tub out and let the sun do its' job.
Depending on surroundings. i.e. a tub of grey water sitting around the
site may be unattractive.

Too bad there isn't a setup to use some kind of solar oven device to
burn off grey water faster.

Ideas?

Neil.

On 7/21/07, Tom Buese <tombuese@comcast.net> wrote:
> At Burning Man, I made a solar evaporative gray water collector for
> my shower.  Shower enclosure w/o roof covering, suitably sized black
> plastic shower pan to catch shower water, & let the water evaporate.
> W/ the black plastic, mucho sun, it evaporates fairly quickly.  My
> shower stall was soon beseiged w/ requests for use, & many volks used
> it daily, so I opened the sides from 10-noon daily to allow faster
> evaporation.  I made a 3' x 3' wood base to stand in the water so you
> wouldn't be, but you can do this w/ stock little stands available at
> Camping stores, etc.
>
>
> YMMV,
>
> Tom B-alias "Showerman"
>
>
> On Jul 21, 2007, at 10:06 AM, Michael Elliott wrote:
>
> > David Kao typed:
> >> Please do not start a war on this.
> >
> > I second that.
> >
> >> It is really simple, do as much as we can to take care of the gray
> >> water.
> >
> > It wasn't so very long ago that campers routinely took dumps behind
> > trees and tossed their garbage down ravines. Fortunately for us
> > developed campgrounds provide toilets and dumpsters so we don't
> > have to
> > deal with the former occupants' messes, and campers in undeveloped
> > areas
> > are a little more educated about proper disposal of waste.
> >
> > By the same token, if gray water from dish washing or showers
> > becomes a
> > significant problem more and more camp locations will regulate against
> > spilling gray water just as we are expected not to deposit poop or
> > strew
> > garbage about. Bottling gray water and hauling it out would be a
> > hassle,
> > but the last place we camped at (Highland Lakes) had no trash
> > pickup and
> > we were required to haul our own trash out. The price of using the
> > place.
> >
> > If a place to deposit gray water is provided, then the dish wash gray
> > water is easy to deal with by using a container under the sink
> > drain or
> > a picnic table rinse tub, and dumping it into the provided receptacle.
> > Shower gray water is a bit more difficult, as it down at ground level
> > and harder to pick up and shift.
> >
> > If no dump place is available -- and we've never stayed at a place
> > where
> > there was one -- Mrs Squirrel and I try to dispose of our gray
> > water in
> > various random directions away from camp, never the same place twice,
> > and spill it slowly to avoid eroding or disturbing the forest floor
> > (leaves, needles, twigs, etc.).*
> >
> > The best thing that we (and all of us) can do is use mild soaps and
> > take
> > care not to leave a mess behind so whoever moves in after us or has to
> > clean up after us doesn't find themselves looking at a soggy mud
> > patch.
> >
> > ----------
> >
> > * I don't know if dispersed dumping is any better than dumping it
> > all in
> > the same place. It might look better to our eyes from our great
> > height,
> > but soaps and detergents probably kill lots of little multi- or
> > no-legged critters that were otherwise minding their own business
> > before
> > The Downpour, so spreading the chemical-laden water about may be
> > spreading the devastation of the smaller guys. I dunno. My guess is
> > that
> > a thin but wide spread of gray water is more destructive at their
> > level
> > than a dump pit used year after year, but it has less apparent
> > effect at
> > our level.
> >
> > --
> > 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
>


--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia.

http://web.mac.com/tubaneil