Has anyone seen a long-term review of one of these homebrew recirculating showers? It sounds like a great system, but literally all the soap residue and dirt you wash off yourself will be deposited in the filtration system... I wonder how much effort that is to clean / flush / manage?
Recirculating Showers?
- Thread starter Ramdough
- Start date
Regcabguy
Oil eater.
When that hot water hits,don't pee. I've been using a Reunel 2-gallon garden sprayer for 30 yrs. Extended the hose and shortened the wand. Heat the water with coffee pot boiling until perfect and start spraying, 2 gallons= 4 showers. The atomizer nozzle slows water usage.
Does that recirculate the waste water?
joeblack5
Active member
We use a recirculating shower.
Originally we installed filters but the pump I used did not provide enough pressure to push thru the filters. The turbine pump was also sensitive to ingestion of hair and such.
The heating was done with an inexpensive heated shower head.
We are a family of four with a dog.
I made the shower pan so that water collects in a low spot and tig welded a ss cooking pan in the shower pan that collects the water. In the bottom is a normal sink drain with a rubber stopper.
The pump sits in the pan and pushes the water to the shower head. The shower head heats the water. About 2800 watt it needs to keep the temp hot..
We like long warm showers, for me it relaxes my back.
We dump 1/2 gallon water in the pan, start the pump, plug the showerhead in and wait 5 min. Sometimes we start with warm water if we had a campfire.
We shower 10 - 20 min with little soap. Then drain the water and refill with clean water to rinse of.. the next person will start with the rinse water of the last person and so on.
We were on the road for 5 months and link the heated shower to the solar production of the solar panels.
Never got an indication of being sick.
The kids are instructed to not drink the water and attempt to keep it out of their mouth.
That being said. This is not for everybody..
Someone on another site mentioned the phrase " the residential experience"
I really like long showers to reduce my stuff back and this is the only way to do it.
The potential diseases are real but when you live on the road, eat unfamiliar food at unfamiliar places then there are many more things to get sick from.
The idea that one can maintain perfect hygiene while camping with limited resources is not very feasible.
Now I have expanded the system with a heat exchanger to our webasto tsl17, a uv filter and modified the shower pan so that water drains back even under extreme angle of the vehicle.
We added a thermovalve that attempt to stabilize the shower temperature independed on the heat delivered by the heat exchanger.
Johan
Originally we installed filters but the pump I used did not provide enough pressure to push thru the filters. The turbine pump was also sensitive to ingestion of hair and such.
The heating was done with an inexpensive heated shower head.
We are a family of four with a dog.
I made the shower pan so that water collects in a low spot and tig welded a ss cooking pan in the shower pan that collects the water. In the bottom is a normal sink drain with a rubber stopper.
The pump sits in the pan and pushes the water to the shower head. The shower head heats the water. About 2800 watt it needs to keep the temp hot..
We like long warm showers, for me it relaxes my back.
We dump 1/2 gallon water in the pan, start the pump, plug the showerhead in and wait 5 min. Sometimes we start with warm water if we had a campfire.
We shower 10 - 20 min with little soap. Then drain the water and refill with clean water to rinse of.. the next person will start with the rinse water of the last person and so on.
We were on the road for 5 months and link the heated shower to the solar production of the solar panels.
Never got an indication of being sick.
The kids are instructed to not drink the water and attempt to keep it out of their mouth.
That being said. This is not for everybody..
Someone on another site mentioned the phrase " the residential experience"
I really like long showers to reduce my stuff back and this is the only way to do it.
The potential diseases are real but when you live on the road, eat unfamiliar food at unfamiliar places then there are many more things to get sick from.
The idea that one can maintain perfect hygiene while camping with limited resources is not very feasible.
Now I have expanded the system with a heat exchanger to our webasto tsl17, a uv filter and modified the shower pan so that water drains back even under extreme angle of the vehicle.
We added a thermovalve that attempt to stabilize the shower temperature independed on the heat delivered by the heat exchanger.
Johan
DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
Given how much water some recirculating showers seem to take for cleaning, etc., this is actually quite clever. A more powerful pump and a coarser filter might work as well.
Got a link on the magic showerhead?
Ramdough
Adventurer
Thanks for the real life report. Do you ha e any pictures?
Thanks
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
joeblack5
Active member
Sorry, no real good documentation pics.
Regarding my shower adventures:
some of my discussion details on another forum.
page 9 post 177 and on
page 15 post 281
Then a very vague pic of the pan that I welded in the floor pan.
page 7 post 12
some more discussion but no pics.
this is the one we use... heated shower head fleabay
Johan
altogether sorry that i have not good pictures or can not find them back
Regarding my shower adventures:
some of my discussion details on another forum.
Not a skoolie - Page 9 - School Bus Conversion Resources
Originally Posted by Brewerbob Hey wait a minute, the CSX line near the gf's house has all kinds of rail road ties they just replaced. A couple of those and a chainsaw... hmmm. Best ask someone before
www.skoolie.net
page 9 post 177 and on
page 15 post 281
Then a very vague pic of the pan that I welded in the floor pan.
Dory transit a new start. - Page 7 - School Bus Conversion Resources
Come on folks. You never changed the rubber? ... Hehe. I for sure had thought that the old guys over here had changed tires on rims by hand? This tire is slightly oddball size. So it is unlikely that
www.skoolie.net
some more discussion but no pics.
Dory transits cross country - Page 13 - School Bus Conversion Resources
Sorry Matthew.. Yes you. Like the way you write things and had hoped to see your take on the misery these thousands and thousands of cows go thru while they are waiting for their demise in the
www.skoolie.net
this is the one we use... heated shower head fleabay
5400W 110V Electric Shower Head Tankless Instant Hot Heating Water Heater Bath | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 5400W 110V Electric Shower Head Tankless Instant Hot Heating Water Heater Bath at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
Johan
altogether sorry that i have not good pictures or can not find them back
DirtWhiskey
Western Dirt Rat
Sorry, no real good documentation pics.
Regarding my shower adventures:
some of my discussion details on another forum.
Not a skoolie - Page 9 - School Bus Conversion Resources
Originally Posted by Brewerbob Hey wait a minute, the CSX line near the gf's house has all kinds of rail road ties they just replaced. A couple of those and a chainsaw... hmmm. Best ask someone beforewww.skoolie.net
page 9 post 177 and on
page 15 post 281
Then a very vague pic of the pan that I welded in the floor pan.
page 7 post 12Dory transit a new start. - Page 7 - School Bus Conversion Resources
Come on folks. You never changed the rubber? ... Hehe. I for sure had thought that the old guys over here had changed tires on rims by hand? This tire is slightly oddball size. So it is unlikely thatwww.skoolie.net
some more discussion but no pics.
Dory transits cross country - Page 13 - School Bus Conversion Resources
Sorry Matthew.. Yes you. Like the way you write things and had hoped to see your take on the misery these thousands and thousands of cows go thru while they are waiting for their demise in thewww.skoolie.net
this is the one we use... heated shower head fleabay
5400W 110V Electric Shower Head Tankless Instant Hot Heating Water Heater Bath | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 5400W 110V Electric Shower Head Tankless Instant Hot Heating Water Heater Bath at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
Johan
altogether sorry that i have not good pictures or can not find them back
Thanks for this. Do you just run the shower head through a large inverter?
What about a hybrid system? First thing wash your body quickly and drain that water into the grey tank. Next, extend your shower / relaxation time with a simplified recirculating system with a single course filter and eventually drain that water into the grey tank or ground (If drained to a bucket I'm sure there would be some thirsty plants near by). Maybe that would burn 2-3 gallons for a long shower instead of 7 or 10 and you start with fresh water each time.
christopher p weinberger
Member
220v shower heads are common in developing countries. The fun starts when you’re standing naked shivering next to the running water in a very dubious poorly lit concrete shower stall and when you flip on the heated head the lights ALWAYS dim from load. High pucker factor going under the water.
FYI in many of those places you would love to have your own recirculating shower water. IMHO everyone is overthinking how clean your water needs to be to shower. 10 years experience of straight sand filtered river water for showers. Rule is simple, keep your mouth closed when you shower. Wash mouth with filtered water. Most of the developed world could you a good boost in immunity anyway.
FYI in many of those places you would love to have your own recirculating shower water. IMHO everyone is overthinking how clean your water needs to be to shower. 10 years experience of straight sand filtered river water for showers. Rule is simple, keep your mouth closed when you shower. Wash mouth with filtered water. Most of the developed world could you a good boost in immunity anyway.
joeblack5
Active member
Sorry busy with other stuff.... Yes thru a 3000 watt pure sine wave.... Indeed the heated shower element adds a bit of stress.
For that reason I do not ground my inverter..so the 120 volt neutral is floating relative to vehicle chassis.. not code compliant by most standards but an isolated return is no return is no current us no shock.
To reduce electrical power consumption I now have made a tube in tube heat exchanger that is connected to the webasto coolant heater.
Johan
I plan on having a recirculating shower in my build. I have a unique idea that I think will work. I'd have to bench test it to be sure, but my idea is to have the grey water drain return to the filter line via a second pump. So, essentially two pumps, one pumping from the drain, and the other from the freshwater tank with each going through one way valves to the filters. Then the output from the filters goes to the shower head, but a pressure valve opens to send excess water back to the tank. This keeps the water in the tank always clean, so you are storing soapy dirty water in the tank. Also, Like Joe said, it will greatly reduce the energy needs for the instant on electric water heater because a large percentage of the warm shower water will be immediately recycled rather than returning to the tank and having to warm the entire tank.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
As a former drinking water county lab tech. My first thought was wow a new golden shower system ???.
I worked with water testing lab stuff. The really interesting stuff was always private well water we treated it like bio hazard waste, given more often than not we cultured some super nasty stuff from those water samples.
Soooo
A grey tank at room temp or better yet warmer temps possibly filled with marginal water sources and enroute a dirty body of two or three? Yep I’m seeing it.. Yeah filter system and maybe a chlorine treatment system gets you back to a water like substance that doesn’t contain live bio hazard level organics. Hey who has the box of baby wipes? Yeah I think I’d go wipes or occasional hotel room for a shower lol.
But thats just me and my former (oh geeze thats nasty stuff) water lab experience. No thanks
But yeah really curious if anyone tries this?
I worked with water testing lab stuff. The really interesting stuff was always private well water we treated it like bio hazard waste, given more often than not we cultured some super nasty stuff from those water samples.
Soooo
A grey tank at room temp or better yet warmer temps possibly filled with marginal water sources and enroute a dirty body of two or three? Yep I’m seeing it.. Yeah filter system and maybe a chlorine treatment system gets you back to a water like substance that doesn’t contain live bio hazard level organics. Hey who has the box of baby wipes? Yeah I think I’d go wipes or occasional hotel room for a shower lol.
But thats just me and my former (oh geeze thats nasty stuff) water lab experience. No thanks
But yeah really curious if anyone tries this?