DIY solar shower?

So I have been contemplating this for a while. Started with the PVC pipe idea. Quickly learned that with 4 inch pipe, I would need 10 feet to get about 6.5 gallons of water. Not sure if I will even need that much, but family of 4, I figured more is better, especially when we are way off grid and can't refill. Looked at the Road Shower, and thought, that was cool, but very expensive. I think I have a good DIY alternative that beats the PVC pipe idea.

Just wanted to run this thought by everyone to see if I am crazy.

I was thinking of using a spare air compressor tank. It is already outfitted with a schrader valve fill and a pressure gauge. Plus it's rated for up to 125 psi (way above what I think I will need). The tank comes with a drain plug at the bottom. I assume it is a 1/4 NPT. I could use a 1/4 to 1/2 NPT adapter and attach a standard garden hose bib. Only issue would be filling the tank with water. But I think I can just pull off the hose bib assembly and fill with a funnel.

I know that compressor tanks accumulate water over time and you are advised to drain them after each use. My intention would be to drain and let dry after each camp trip to avoid internal rusting. Hoping that 3-6 days full of water won't cause too much damage.

Thoughts?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-Mul...VAtVkCh2P0wqWEAkYByABEgIkVPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

$9 TEKTON 4734 1/2" NPT Female by 1/4" Male Reducer

https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-4734-...ocphy=9031536&hvtargid=pla-568656141773&psc=1

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Homewer...VS77ACh33tAe2EAQYAiABEgJurPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Doubt youll ever have a bursting issue due to rust, given it wont be at very high pressures ever again (maybe a bit of rust in your shower..)

Bigger thing to consider in my mind is surface area to volume ratio. Takes a lot of energy to warm a small amount of water. So in a solar shower, only the surface exposed to the sun gets warm. Have you considered two or three shorter lengths of PVC next to each other with fittings to plumb them together? Will be a slightly higher cost to plumb and vent all of them together, but I would think the performance hot water wise would be superior.

 

Damn. You’re right. I didn’t consider the surface area and heating of the water. Maybe I can devise another heating method.

 

So you wanna use an air tank as a water tank. Sure it would work but would take for ever to heat because of the surface area as mentioned above.

Storing a water tank in the bed and using a propane tankless water heater would be an option.

$170 Propane Portable Water Heater, GASLAND Outdoors BS158 1.58GPM 6L Tankless Gas Water Heater, On Demand Hot Water Heater, RV Camping Water Heater, Overheating Protection, Easy to Install

https://www.amazon.com/Gasland-1-58...qid=1582689600&sprefix=propane+camp+sh&sr=8-3



My 4” ABS diy solar shower is roughly 5ft long and I can get 3 quick showers out of it. It holds roughly 3.3ish gallons of water.

It’s easy enough to refill on the road. Ive filled it up with both spring water and crick water multiple times.

I carry a collapsible 3 gallon jug I used to get water from the ground to up on the shell roof. You could do a small 12v pump too if you wanted.

Only downside of this is you have to be near a water source.

 

If you’re not near a water source then you’d probably have to ration your water use anyway. Good way to teach the kids how to shower without having the water running the entire time. Wet, turn it off to lather up, then rinse. I like the idea of lower level storage volume with a low flow pump to circulate it for heating and get it up to a smaller gravity fed hot water tank.

 

A steel tank will rust inside eventually. Then you will be taking a shower with rusty water. If it weren't for the surface area argument, I would say go with an aluminum air tank.

 

For your ABS pipe are you using schedule 40 or 80 pipe. My local hardware store only carries dwv pipe and says it’s not for pressure applications. What pressure are you pressuring to?

 

Schedule 80 is heavier and has a smaller ID than schedule 40 (thus less capacity). You don't need much pressure for a shower so no need for the heavier schedule 80. On the home built versions that I've actually seen, the people were just using a bicycle pump to add a couple of pounds of pressure, nothing crazy.

Any of the big box stores should carry PVC as should any plumbing supply places. Note that it's definitely heavier than dwv or the much more expensive aluminum professionally made versions.

Another thing to note is that PVC should be painted to protect against UV.

 

Mines 4” ABS DVW. It has a 30psi pop off on it.

I was skeptical at first until I used it.

4” ABS DVW will hold 30psi no issue. I connect my compressor to it and just let the compressor run when I use it.

It’ll pressurize then pop off. If you don’t run the compressor while using it, there’s not enough pressure.

 

https://flic.kr/p/2fQ3s85

Not sure if the link will work copying from the Flickr app to here

 

Nice. How do you like it so far? How long is your pipe and how do you feel about the volume of water you get out of it?

 

Thanks dude. I can't seem to find 4" diameter PVC at local box chains. Plumbing supply stores have it, but it's expensive, like over $100 for a 10 foot length, compared to $20 for the ABS DWV

 

Also, I have one of my scuba tanks I carry with me to air up my tires. Was thinking I could use that for the shower as well. Good idea with the pop off valve.

 

5’ 4” DVW.

It works well for what I need. It holds like 3.4g of water. I can usually get 2 good rinses outta it.

Spray off real quick. Then turn off the water. Soap up. Turn it back on and rinse off.

It’s easy enough to fill on the road too if you wanna a use more water.

On a sunny 60* ambient air temp day, I’ve measured the water temp in the upper 70*s. Over summer, I’ve measured the water temp in excess of 110 quite a few times. It definitely works as long as there is a some sun.


You could probably run a regulator off the tank to the shower to control the pressure that way.

I use the pop off just because I connect the compressor and let it run the whole time. My air system is an open system so there’s no tank, it’s just compressor to hose