The Not Quite On-Board Shower thread....

[robert j. yates]

....as the title says...I have a shower tied into my Jeeps' heater circuit but not all of it is mounted on the Jeep. In having lunch with Andrew today...he thought it was an interesting idea so I decided to post it up for consideration.

Originally, I had bought a complete kit which is designed to mount the heat exchanger, pump, hoses and switch on the Jeep. During the build up of my 4.0, I was looking around under the hood with the engine out and tried to determine if there was a better way as I didn't want all of that bulk under my hood all of the time. As such.....take 1 heat exchanger mounted on some home-made cross struts along with an export TJ (RHD) heater hose.......

 

[robert j. yates]

...1 ammo box, a couple of quick disconnects and a Sureflo RV pump and some hoses and you end up with a portable shower without junking up your engine bay.

 

[Lynn]

Pretty nifty. Do you have room in the box for the hoses?

Depending on the air compressor I eventually get, I was thinking of mounting it in an ammo box. However, I was planning on mounting it upside-down on the inside of the removable lid. Obviously, to use the compressor I would open and remove the lid, then set it on the ground.

If I set up a shower like yours, except mount the pump on the lid (as I was planning with the air compressor), do you think there would be enough room for the quick-connects to stay on the pump, and not have to run them through holes in the box?

 

[robert j. yates]

I guess that would all depend on the ammo box lynn....I had *thought* about mounting the pump to the lid as well but this worked out a little better for me. I store my hoses in a Craftsman duffle along with some spare parts for the shower as there is not enough room in the ammo box for everything. I could have found a bigger box but I have found that dividing things up into smaller boxes while harder to manage is easier to pack.

Between the parts that came in the shower kit and the stuff I had lying about in my garage, I didn't have to make 1 trip to the hardware store and simply had to use the chop saw to cut the supplied bracket down so I could mount the pump in the ammo box.

Speaking of air compressors and ammo boxes.....I have you covered there as well LOL

I had the QAII left over from a previous use on my Jeep so I built this for my daughters XJ so that she too had a source of on-board air. The hose that I am using will in this case, fit inside the box with the QAII.

 

[Lynn]

Speaking of air compressors and ammo boxes.....I have you covered there as well LOL ...

Glad to know it's a tried-and-true idea!

Still think I'll mount it on the lid so as to get better air circulation (cooling) while it's running.

Thanks!

 

[adventureduo]

Good idea. I like it. Very clean, very simple. I missed out on your lunch! I was down at John Wayne picking someone up at the airport dang it.

 

[Andrew Walcker]

Robert, too clean! That is a great idea and well executed! :clapsmile

Hmmmmmmm, I think I know of a nice Zodi that will be for sale soon.....

Dave, your on next time for lunch!

 

[TeriAnn]

Hmmmmmmm, I think I know of a nice Zodi that will be for sale soon.....

Put me in cue for the used Zodi. I don't want to add anything more to my engine bay.

 

[robert j. yates]

Thats the whole point.....you really aren't adding anything other than the heat exchanger to the engine bay. I did not have good luck with my Zodi at all and its for sale if you think it will work for you.

Edit....checked out your site Teriann and its pretty damn interesting

 

[TeriAnn]

Thats the whole point.....you really aren't adding anything other than the heat exchanger to the engine bay. I did not have good luck with my Zodi at all and its for sale if you think it will work for you.
Edit....checked out your site Teriann and its pretty damn interesting

Which model Zodi do you have and what problems have you had with it?

All I really need is a way to quickly heat water. I have a good 12V water pump and shower line/head. I just have to wait a half hour or more to heat my largest pot of water before showering.

Thanks, I've put a lot of work into the web site over the last 10 years. Unfortunately a lot of it needs updating.

 

[robert j. yates]

Which model Zodi do you have and what problems have you had with it?

All I really need is a way to quickly heat water. I have a good 12V water pump and shower line/head. I just have to wait a half hour or more to heat my largest pot of water before showering.

Thanks, I've put a lot of work into the web site over the last 10 years. Unfortunately a lot of it needs updating.

I'm not sure exactly what model I have as its in my storage locker. I've used it only twice and had the same issue both times....I had to sit in a camp chair to use it as the pump was underpowered for me standing. I guess I could have rigged in a better pump but that would irritate me to no end given that I paid $125 for it. It heated the water just fine....just wouldn't pump it. $50 plus shipping and its yours.

As for your site...I don't know that much about Rovers (a few friends have them and I have done a little wrenching) so I didn't notice any lack of upgrading. I simply found your build to be pretty cool. I am a *reformed* rockcrawler and that stuff frankly is all about tube bending, welding and big axles so these kinds of builds (such as yours) are really fascinating to me. Very purpose driven but in a far different direction.

 

[robert j. yates]

I know a wet-wet heat exchanger is neato & all....

but couldn't you just run a few tight curls of copper pipe around your exhaust downpipe and pump the water through that?

Agreed but given that I am using a stock heater hose,how would that be any less complicated much less easier to get to?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I know a wet-wet heat exchanger is neato & all....

but couldn't you just run a few tight curls of copper pipe around your exhaust downpipe and pump the water through that?

While it would be a fraction of the cost, it would also be a fraction of the efficiency. A tube in shell heat exchanger really is ideal for this type of setup... And really, it takes well under an hour to install a tube/shell exchanger in most setups.

 

[kcowyo]

All I really need is a way to quickly heat water. I have a good 12V water pump and shower line/head. I just have to wait a half hour or more to heat my largest pot of water before showering.

What about just purchasing the stove-stand from Zodi?

The Zodi stove still takes awhile (10-15mins...?) to heat up 2 gallons of water, but it's collapsable and could be used for additional cooking duties if necessary. Coleman fuel bottles are sold everywhere, they're fairly cheap, lightweight and easy to store. Plus this would free up a stovetop burner so you could be cooking dinner inside, while your shower water is being heated up right out your back door.

 

[robert]

Neat idea, I'm just cheap I guess- I boil some water, dump it in a bucket with cooler water then drop my Coleman shower pump in it and go to town.
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-827b500t-Battery-Powered-Shower/dp/B0009PUT0C/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-1906280-4321546?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1191727096&sr=8-1

My brother uses a metal pump sprayer that he cut the wand down on. He sticks the whole thing over the fire till it warms up them uses it.