http://picasaweb.google.com/richkoerner/VanagonShower?authkey=Gv1sRgCLy895SWoseFBg&feat=directlink
and got several replies, some positive, others think it's too much
hassle. Well, I just completed a 4,500 mile roadtrip myself. To the
northern tip of Vancouver Island and back; even spent one night with the
Wet Westys at Catherine Creek in Eastern Oregon. And used the "Vanagon
Indoor Shower" setup on numerous occasions. McDonalds, Starbucks, Rest
Stop, Truck Stop, boondocks....all were good. A hot shower after a
long day on the road turns things around in a good way. Also, great for
the "morning after"....when I left Catherine Creek, I took a shower on
the main street in Union, Oregon (Jim Arnott, don't tell the locals!!)
And, can be built with simple parts. Reliable, it works....but, my next
improvement is to make a "swing away" shower arm/nozzle with built-in
on/off switch. My goal is to be able to park, shut the curtains, and
have a hot shower indoors with less effort (not that it was too much
effort, but I made the hose and on/off switch a little too short, also
the hose sometimes gets squashed under the seat if I don't pay
attention) meaning like 2 minutes. So some minor fine tuning...but, I
would not leave home without it...for sure.
Rich
San Diego
--- On Tue, 9/14/10, Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
From: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: novel solar shower spotted
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010, 5:29 PM
The factory version (www.roadshower.com) linked to in the Samba posting
has a pressure relief valve possibly for expansion when hot? but I can't
imagine that the thing would get so hot from sitting in the sun that
pressure could be a problem. Pressure is, in fact, desirable: the
factory piece has a Schrader valve on it so it can be pressurized,
either from a CO2 cartridge or a tire pump.
But the factory version is not just a hunk of black PVC pipe: according
to the web site,
"Road Shower uses the renewable energy of the sun. The sun enters the
clear chamber and heats the black surface on the inside which heats the
water. The clear chamber is critical for heating the water....the water
will not heat up much if you used just a black pipe. The water
temperature rises 6-8 degrees per hour on a warm sunny day. If your
water starts at 60 degrees, it should be 90+ degrees in about 5-6 hours.
On a hot sunny day the water can exceed 100 degrees. If you fill the
Road Shower in the morning, it should be warm by mid afternoon. It heats
up while you are driving down the highway, 4 wheeling, or parked
somewhere in the sun. The Road Shower does not heat water as well if the
outside temperature is below 70 degrees and/or the sun is low in the
sky, or during cloudy days."
Still and all, I think something like that would be pretty handy.
That said, I like the idea of using engine heat to heat a tank of water
for showering, but unless someone has some handy kit to sell, I think
building one out of spare parts found in the basement might be
difficult.
--
Rocky J Squirrel
On Sun, 2010-09-12 at 18:24 -0700, Alistair Bell wrote:
> On second look, I wonder about pressure increase in tube when water
> heating, not a big concern I think. Oh and you need a vent to allow
> good water flow...
>
>
> No way will you get me storing my rods outside of the van :) Awing
> poles yes.
>
> alistair
>
>
>
>
> On 12-Sep-10, at 6:04 PM, Don Hanson wrote:
>
> I bet that works fine. Looks to me like a person could configure
> something
> like for double duty, also. Carrying fishing rods? Store your awning
> poles? Then when you got somewhere for a day or two and had the
> other stuff
> out, just fill it with water.
> Don Hanson
>
> On Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 5:14 PM, BenT Syncro <syncro@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Here's the unbroken link:
> >
> >
> >
> > http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?
> > t=431812&sid=4e2da8cfea50e637aed82cf668a0b313
> >
> >
> > BenT
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 4:43 PM, Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:
> >> On the samba
> >> http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?
> >> t=431812&sid=4e2da8cfea50e637aed82cf668a0b313
> >>
> >> It has its merits.
> >>
> >> alistair
> >
