Pump GPM for a dishes sprayer/camp shower?

[monkeyodeath]

I've decided that my next camping project is to bring a little water pressure into my life.

My initial thought is to use one of the many available 12v diaphragm pumps to pull water from a Scepter can into a sprayer head.

Main use would be washing dishes and gear, but it would also be nice to be able to use it to shower off trail grime.

I see tons of 12v diaphragm pumps available, many with auto on/off and variable pressure.

My main question is, how much flow should I be looking for? 1GPM? 2GPM? More?

 

[NatersXJ6]

Depending on where you live, you will probably find your household shower flows 1-3 gpm. You really don’t need much if you have good pressure (30-ish psi). Time how long it takes to fill a bucket with your garden hose and judge from there.

 

[WVI]

What about using a small RV pump?

 

[J!m]

I used a boat demand pump in Africa and recycled it into the Defender.

I was able to get two showers and two shaves out of a5-gallon can that lived on the back door for solar heating all day. Nice hot water when we made camp each night.

The defender set up uses a heat exchanger and a fixed 11-gallon tank but it can flow more water than needed.

Key is to have the shower head (or other point of use) be the critical orifice so the pump is never struggling to meet demand. If the pump is working hard, the flow will pulsate/oscillate up and down.