On showers, pump failures, and body odors

JackW

Explorer
Here's a preliminary look at my set-up:

Flat plate style heat exchanger mounted under the hood and plumbed into the heater lines.

Pump and filter built into a Pelican 1400 case with quick disconnect couplings for the water lines - note I'll have both hot and cold water output.

I'll have a utility type shower head with mixing valve (that flat plate exchanger may be too efficient) that I'll clamp to some sort of base or somewhere on the Land Rover - that part is still in design review.
 

articulate

Expedition Leader
So your plan is to connect the pump as you need it, rather than hard mount it? I hope that works out for you. That should prolong the pump. Is this because you don't want it to take up space full time?
 

JackW

Explorer
Lack of space in the engine compartment was one reason - I have an onboard air compressor already mounted under the passenger seat and dual batteries under the drivers seat. I was running out of places where I could mount the pump and not have it where it could be submerged in a mud puddle during an excursion.

This will greatly simplify the plumbing as well - there will be a couple of high flow quick disconnects at the heat exchanger so all I will need to do is open the hood, plug on two lines and plug in the pump box to the powerport. The box will sit on the ground next to the shower tent. I think all of the shower parts will fit in the Pelican case and the shower tent bag so the whole setup won't take up much room.

I'm waiting on a few plumbing pieces that I've ordered from Grainger and McMaster Carr - everything should be here by Monday so by mid-week I'm hoping to be able to give it it's first trial. I'll probably have around $450 tied up in this setup - it's gotten more elaborate than I originally planned - a condition known as Engineer's Disease.......
 

BIGdaddy

Expedition Leader
articulate said:
***
I know what you are thinking: a 12-volt-powered shower on a truck adds complexity to the vehicle, bro! Why mess with it? When a failure such as this happens, it's a pain . . . yet there is a huge benefit to taking a shower that everyone of us can appreciate:



water_pump3.jpg


mark, you crack me up...:xxrotflma ... nice write-up
 
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JackW

Explorer
I finished up my pump box this evening - it's a Shurflo 2.4 gal/min unit with a filter and all stainless pipe in a Pelican 1400 case. I've got a weatherproof power port and a waterproof toggle switch incorporated in the case

I'm working out how I want to support the shower head - I'm mocking up a system using some aluminum extrusion I had lying around. I'll figure out a way to slide it over a stake I can dive in the ground before I set up the Paha Que shower tent I picked up off ebay for $51. For those really remote camp sites I can just clamp it to my front bumper as shown.
 

Andrew Walcker

Mod Emeritus
JackW said:
I finished up my pump box this evening - it's a Shurflo 2.4 gal/min unit with a filter and all stainless pipe in a Pelican 1400 case. I've got a weatherproof power port and a waterproof toggle switch incorporated in the case

I'm working out how I want to support the shower head - I'm mocking up a system using some aluminum extrusion I had lying around. I'll figure out a way to slide it over a stake I can dive in the ground before I set up the Paha Que shower tent I picked up off ebay for $51. For those really remote camp sites I can just clamp it to my front bumper as shown.

Very nice set-up with the Peli case! Were did you source your heat exchanger from?
 

JackW

Explorer
Andrew Walcker said:
Very nice set-up with the Peli case! Were did you source your heat exchanger from?

I bought it off Ebay for around $60 about a year ago...it's a sixteen plate unit about 8" x 3" x 2".
 

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