DIY Shower

[mike_s]

At the fish camp in Canada I used to go to every year, we used a propane water heater just like you have in a camper (6 gallon) to heat our shower water. It had a very fast recovery and we never ran out of how water.

For water delivery we used two different type pumps. Both sucked water directly out of the lake, which was cleaner than anything we could get here for sure. One pump was a 12v camper pump and a pressure accumulator tank that held about 30-40 gallons. The pump would kick on at about 20psi and kick off at about 40psi. The tank would hold 100psi or more. After several "years of dedicated service" we used a 2 cycle Honda gas pump to just "over pressure" the accumulator tank up to about 100psi. It had a downstream pressure regulator to keep the facuets from being overpressure. We had to run this about 10 minutes a day (or every other day) to fill the water system. Thought I wouldn't have guessed it would work so good, it did.

 

[robpauley]

I have seen a couple of these but have never used any of them. I know you can build a shower stall out of Schedule 40 PVC pipe and use a 40X48 wood pallet as a floor.

http://www.zodi.com/products.html

Just my random thoughts..

 

[ericfine50]

Once you guys come up with a finailzed idea, please post it. This sounds like a great idea for those Shore/Pond/Lake Dives.

Thanks

 

[CuriousRambler]

If you dont put a water valve on it (keep the shower head above the water tank) then you could just use the valve on your scuba tank to put air into the water tank and force the water up the shower head tube (connected near the bottom of course). If the head were just near the top of the water line, then the pressure in the tank would always be limited to the backpressure of the shower head (couple psi at most). That way you dont need any pressure rating. Just shut off the scuba tank when you want the water flow to stop.

You run into trouble when you use a valve on the water side, because now you have lost all means of keeping the pressure near 0. If the scuba tank is on and the valve is closed, you better hope the tank is full of water so it doesnt explode.

The point is to have pressure though. We don't want some lame thing trickling water down, we want 40psi of water spraying down on us. That's why we're trying to incorporate overpressure valves and regulators to keep the pressure within acceptable limits for whatever storage tank we may use.

I've got kind of split opinions now, on the one hand, the soda kegs are probably the easiest, most convenient route thought of so far and is more or less identical to what I had in my mind. But buying transfer tanks and making them work is no fun...:14:

 

[mike_s]

you know... you could always use a heat exchanger with the engine cooling system that goes to the heater. that way you'd have warm water w/o propane, etc. You can buy kits for this.

 

[Hoosier]

I think you guys are overthinking this problem. If you live near a college campus, 15 Gallon beer kegs (made of stainless steel) can be had for a few dollars. Pick yourself up a CO2 style tap, not the pump kind, and it will come with an OPV set to around 70PSI, but you can replace that with an adjustable one. Attach to a scuba tank 1st stage, or adapt a welding type reg to a scuba tank and you should be good to go.

Jake

Jake, it is a great idea. Do you have any pictures?

 

[costi]

I was looking at my nail gun compressor today(actually the regulators on it). It has one regulator that shows how much pressure is in the tank (beer keg)up to 200 pounds. Then off from that it has an overpressure valve that kicks out at 175. The OPV is non adjustable but wouldn't need to be as long as the keg can hold 175? After the overpressure valve there is another regulator that controls how much pressure comes out of the tank (keg) and ends up in the gun(shower head). It has quick disconnect fittings from the last regulator to the air hoses that runs the gun. Couldn't the air line instead hook up to a shower head?
All this having been said, now to get the air into the keg from the scuba tank that we just emptied down to 500# on our previous dive. Note: these are all questions lookng for opinions......they are not solutions yet....i.e. no pictures! he.he. bob

 

[beatrize09]

thanks for the ideas!

 

[nwbrewer]

The amount of pressure the keg can hold should be stamped on the top, or on the side. I think the little 5 gallon soda kegs are rated to ~90 PSI. Not sure on the commercial beer kegs, either the 15 or 7.5 gallon ones would work. Hoosier, I haven't built my own yet, still in development, but is unfortunately sidelined due to home remodeling. It's in the list along with my DIY Divelight.

When I finish I'll be sure and post some pics. If filled with hot water to start with, and wrapped in an old sleeping bag or insulation type bubble wrap, it'll stay warm for quite some time.

Jake

 

[costi]

Thanks, I just ordered the keg (empty)tonight. Just have to pay the 20.00 deposit when it comes in. I'm going with the 15 gal. just because the quarter keg looks a bit too small. Better to have extra water than not enough.
I am clear on how I want to try regulating the air once it is in the tank and coming out the head, but I still haven't sorted out getting it into the tank yet.....safely. It is not like I can just turn the tank on, wait for it to get to pressure, and shut the tank off. The torch regulators would probably work IMO but they might be a bit pricey for my liking. Bob