Solar Showers

[blindgeekuk]

We're away in our antique caravan (mid 80's 5 berth we got second hand and did up), which is so old it doesn't have a bathroom. The missus has picked up a solar shower from Go-Outdoors because they were on offer, but I was wondering if anyone has any tips for using them - would bunging it on the caravan roof be the best idea etc.

[beefcrisps]

Your best bet is to boil up a kettle then add that to some cool water rather than wait for it to actually heat by the sun. That way its hot when you want it to be and can be used straight away.

[happybonzo]

I've used one of the Solar Shower things for years. The water temperature will take the skin off your back providing the sun shines, of course :). I've always used them with any self build motorhomes that I've done just to save on gas

What I have seen though was a 5 litre black water container that was insulated on 5 sides. The side that was facing uppermost to the sun had an air gap and a plastic sheet (approx. 2 mm thick) over it. The blokey who had it couldn't remember where he bought it from but had had it for years. It was far more efficent than my "boil in the bag" type solar shower thing

[TreeCamper]

They are great. We usually put them flat on the bonnet or roof of the car while we are doing other things if you have been for a drive the bonnet will still be warm and kick start the operation. Don't fill them completely then if too hot you can add a bit more cold water, it will also heat quicker. If you have a small kids paddling pool or dinghy you can have a good suds up sat down with it hung in a tree or tie it too your roof rack if no trees around. Then just stand up to rinse off. They are good too for just washing your hands or rinsing stuff off around camp. If we are near a creek we just use that for showering no need to use potable water. Always allow the water in the tube to pass through first before the water from the main bag comes online as it can be super hot on a sunny day and burn your skin. These solar showers are very handy. Have fun.

[suggy]

What we progressed to was..

Buy a plastic storage box with lid, paint the outside of it black and leave it in the sun.

Get one of these..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Automotive-RS1-Portable-Shower/dp/B000V1UALM

:happy-clapping:

[Hathor]

I'll second Suggy on that.

I used one when reconstructing a cottage. Heated up some water, put it in a bucket and washed the grime off. Indispensable.

[blindgeekuk]

Thanks for the responses folks. The solar shower I've got is a 20 litre one. I put about 10 litre of cold water in it, and man handled it onto the caravan roof. We then spent about 3 hours at the nearby beach. It got about 2 hours of decent sun on it, and had barely warmed up. I added about 2 litres of boiling water from the caravans kettle, and it was warm enough to use.

It worked a lot better than I expected, strong enough flow to get the sand off and I used less than half the water in it doing so

Main problems I had - no trees nearby to hang it from, no where on the caravan to hang it from, getting it onto the caravan roof wasn't easy

[happybonzo]

Thanks for the responses folks. The solar shower I've got is a 20 litre one. I put about 10 litre of cold water in it, and man handled it onto the caravan roof. We then spent about 3 hours at the nearby beach. It got about 2 hours of decent sun on it, and had barely warmed up. I added about 2 litres of boiling water from the caravans kettle, and it was warm enough to use.

It worked a lot better than I expected, strong enough flow to get the sand off and I used less than half the water in it doing so

Main problems I had - no trees nearby to hang it from, no where on the caravan to hang it from, getting it onto the caravan roof wasn't easy

Even in Greek Islands, 3 hours is not really enough to get a solar shower up to lobster boiling temperatures. It does need to be 6 hours in my experience

As "SUGGY" suggested, get one of THESE (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Automotive-RS1-Portable-Shower/dp/B000V1UALM)

[blindgeekuk]

Those portable electric showers were already on our caravan shopping list, nice to know amazon stock them as well though

[Richie]

In direct sun mine was hot at around 3 hours. I also have the 12v shower and a 12v heating element that can be dropped into the solar shower for an additional heat blast.
I use these with an 88ah leisure battery which has a solar charger attached too.
Not for the backpacker but I've used it when near the car for a weeks ( or longer) camp.

I used it at the Great Dorset Steam fair this year and it worked a treat.

[nilo52]

They work great in California, but then again most solar powerd things do. :cool: