# Solar shower



## gridok (May 9, 2009)

I just thought of buying one of those solar showers to use in the motorhome and maybe keeping a couple filled with water you can get them for about £8 and i just wondered what other members thought of the idea just to eak out the water tank as my tank is very small only 47 litres.I also carry 3 25 liter containers which i bought from Halfords for £11 each which now gives me a total capacity of 122 liters which is more like it.We love wild camping and we like to keep clean and fresh and with 4 children i would welcome any tips from members        Thank you for taking the time to read.


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## nichodia (May 9, 2009)

I have one of the solar showers, after lying in the sun all day it is barely tepid..it only takes the chill off the water..not really worth bothering with. I use 2 x 5 litre flasks, everytime I boil the kettle the remainder goes in the flask. Come showertime I mix the flasks with cold water and use a seperate pump to operate the shower (if you know what I mean) 12v shower complete with pump £9.99 from maplins..it works for me!
Di


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## gridok (May 10, 2009)

Nichodia tell me more about this shower from maplins ,how does the set up work??


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## nichodia (May 10, 2009)

it is a portable 12v shower, submersible pump on one end, shower head on the other, powered by cigarette lighter (with an in line waterproof switch). I dump the contents from my hot water flasks in a square storage tub (on the wheel arch in the toilet) pop in the pump and switch it on.

12V Car Shower > Maplin


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## pam (May 10, 2009)

we use two solar showers when abroad and find them great --warm too---prob not enough heat in britain though !!!!


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## mark e (May 10, 2009)

i leave mine in the sun all day,then use if needed to give the dog a rinse


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## runnach (May 10, 2009)

mark e said:


> i leave mine in the sun all day,then use if needed to give the dog a rinse



Never need an excuse to cleanse the hound 

On my return from France, vet asked tablet or needle ? ......mmm 

there was only ever one option 

A bit of payback for those embarrassing moments..like nicking bbq tucker etc 

You are kind warming the water first 

Channa


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## Chrissy (May 11, 2009)

*Maybe this summer*

Hi there, my opinion is that they do not heat the water above tepid - as expressed by others - the sun really does not generally have the strength in this country, only on the very hotest of days - however, as this summer is forecast to be a scorcher you never know - perhaps a thick black bin liner over a normal water carrier might do as well with no extra expense - me, I'm buying at Maplins


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## Annie_H (May 11, 2009)

Used our solar shower in France a couple of summers ago before we got our permanent shower plumbed in - and after just a few hours in the sun it was _hot_.  I can well imagine it won't work quite so well in the UK though!

It did leak a wee bit too, but if you're storing it over the shower tray that shouldn't be much of a problem.


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## nigel54 (May 11, 2009)

I had to go onto a job in Bradford today, the Nova estate. Noticed a place called Price Pounder. Well, always on the look-out for a bargain, I popped in. Solar showers £4-20p; don,t get excited. Very basic, leave in the sun, then hang it up. Yes, it,s gravity no pump or battery neccessary,It would probably be OK.


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## GARY ENGLISH (May 11, 2009)

*gridok*

We use them when in france use to leave them on roof of van while on the beach.Have a look at argos they use to be the cheapest.


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## bigG (Aug 28, 2009)

Have used Solar Showers on many occasions, even if the sun is not too strong it will take the nip out of the water. Either top it up with a kettle full of hot for your shower or, if your windscreen is in the sun use a large green Sprite plastic bottle and lie it down inside your windscreen. It will heat up very quickly and will give you sufficient hot water for a quick strip wash.


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## Chrissy (Aug 28, 2009)

*Brill*



bigG said:


> if your windscreen is in the sun use a large green Sprite plastic bottle and lie it down inside your windscreen. It will heat up very quickly and will give you sufficient hot water for a quick strip wash.



I love this idea  thanks.

I'm going out to by sprite now 

c u l8r

Chrissy


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## bigboack (Aug 31, 2009)

Chrissy said:


> I love this idea  thanks.
> 
> I'm going out to by sprite now
> 
> ...


 why not use Rola cola from 19p a bottle instead of sprite at 99p a bottle or there abouts, after all its the bottle your after unless sprite has some magical washing agent in it.


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## ajs (Aug 31, 2009)

Originally Posted by *bigG* 


_



			if your windscreen is in the sun use a large green Sprite plastic bottle and lie it down inside your windscreen. It will heat up very quickly and will give you *sufficient hot water for a quick strip wash*.
		
Click to expand...

_ 


Chrissy said:


> I love this idea  thanks.
> 
> I'm going out to by sprite now
> 
> ...


 

.. btw wissy..big G is ionly 2ft 6" tall 

regards
aj


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## Chrissy (Aug 31, 2009)

*Not sprite*



ajs said:


> Originally Posted by *bigG*
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Tee hee hee - you make me laugh  again and again 

But I did go to Lidl and bought two  of their 1.5l bottles of fizzy water for 26p each - also in the same kind of green bottle so I should have enough with that to have a quick wash  

The sprite is £1.56 per bottle at t'asda  

Fanks 
Chrissy


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## ajs (Aug 31, 2009)

Chrissy said:


> Tee hee hee - you make me laugh  again and again
> 
> But I did go to Lidl and bought two  of their 1.5l bottles so I should have enough with that to have a quick wash
> 
> Chrissy


 

Oh... you must be 5ft then...._gadsir..i'd make a good detective _

regards 
aj


_btw... i have the soap and sponge _


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## maingate (Aug 31, 2009)

ajs said:


> Oh... you must be 5ft then...._gadsir..i'd make a good detective _
> 
> regards
> aj
> ...


AJ has to look around for a Fire Hydrant.

Good job he does`nt bathe very often or there would be a chronic water shortage!


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## ajs (Aug 31, 2009)

maingate said:


> AJ has to look around for a Fire Hydrant.
> 
> Good job he does`nt bathe very often or there would be a chronic water shortage!


 
steadyon dear chap... i'll have you know i had a shower earlier this year 
.. _fire service came out te burt out car so i got init _
i'll be as fresh as a daisy till next may now 

regards
aj


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## zipnolan (Aug 31, 2009)

*showering in the van*

its a good idea.... just make yourself wet-turn off- lather up -switch water back on to rinse !! its surprising how much water this saves, you can shower with less than a litre.


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## maingate (Aug 31, 2009)

zipnolan said:


> its a good idea.... just make yourself wet-turn off- lather up -switch water back on to rinse !! its surprising how much water this saves, you can shower with less than a litre.


For the benefit of AJ, I am being serious now.

In my last van, Elddis Autoquest 120, I found it much more efficient to not use the shower as such. I bought a 40p plastic jug from Asda, filled upthe sink, used the jug to get wet and then lathered up. The jug was used to rinse off again. 

If I had done a self build, the first thing I would have done was to make the shower more water efficient and more reliable for temperature.


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## ajs (Sep 2, 2009)

maingate said:


> For the benefit of AJ, I am being serious now.
> 
> In my last van, Elddis Autoquest 120, I found it much more efficient to not use the shower as such. I bought a 40p plastic jug from Asda, filled upthe sink, used the jug to get wet and then lathered up. The jug was used to rinse off again.
> 
> .


 

5 gallon jug was it....

 regards 
aj


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## maingate (Sep 2, 2009)

ajs said:


> 5 gallon jug was it....
> 
> regards
> aj


What are you doing, creeping about at 2.27 am?

There will be some Lead missing off a Church roof somewhere.

Not a nice way to fund your wilding.


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## italiano (Sep 3, 2009)

*solar shower*

I have had one for years, and although i go along with what has been said already re, water temperature, it also depends as  to where you are, i use mine all the time we are abroad, especially in the south of France where we do a bit of wild camping by the beach, i found it to get rather hot by late pm. its just right to get rid of sand and (sweat) and i fill a container with rest of it,and use it to wash plates after our meal By the way we were in L'Estartit for the month of may, and it did get rather hot i could not use it.


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## frogdude (Sep 12, 2009)

I used a solar shower in Africa a few years ago, and even after a full day in the heat of the Sahara it still wasnt warm enough for my liking!


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## Kontiki (Sep 12, 2009)

We stick our solar shower on the dashboard, on a sunny day the water is too hot to use without adding cold water . We have 2 of these solar showers, one we bought when we lived in the USA we got around 1990 & one we got a year ago. On one it says to have the black side face down & the other says to have the black side face up


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## Deleted member 4850 (Sep 12, 2009)

Kontiki said:


> ...On one it says to have the black side face down & the other says to have the black side face up



...had to read that last bit twice, then realised it said 'black' ...not 'back'   Thought for a mo there was some houdini stuff going on in the shower!


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## ntvinh986 (Oct 21, 2009)

gridok said:


> I just thought of buying one of those solar showers to use in the motorhome and maybe keeping a couple filled with water you can get them for about £8 and i just wondered what other members thought of the idea just to eak out the water tank as my tank is very small only 47 litres.I also carry 3 25 liter containers which i bought from Halfords for £11 each which now gives me a total capacity of 122 liters which is more like it.We love wild camping and we like to keep clean and fresh and with 4 children i would welcome any tips from members        Thank you for taking the time to read.




Many thanks to ur post. I love it.


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## maingate (Oct 21, 2009)

Whatever you use, whether plastic or metal, it has to be black to absorb the heat. Preferably matt black.

We used a 45 gallon drum and fitted a float valve when working in remote locations. It gave enough warm water for a few good showers. If you are in a hot climate, you are better off showering later on as the heat dies down and you do not want hot water which will make you start sweating again.

I really like the tip on here about the plastic bottle on the dashboard. I might try that one.


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## tan-all-over (Oct 21, 2009)

*Showers*

We have a solar shower and find it very good (we don't use the shower in the motorhome) but the only thing about solar showers is getting the thing up high. We use the ladder on the back to hang it from. After going to the motorhome show at Malvern we bought a "Aqua fresh" shower made by Convoy that has its own pump and shower head, which just plugs in using the cigar socket. We also bought a water carrier on wheels.......yes I know, sounds like we are going caravaning .........but it carries 30 ltrs and makes for a better shower. this will double up to fill the motorhome without the need to move.
 Then thought it might be fun to be inventive and bought a clothes line adjustable prop (£2) and fitted the shower head to that with clips. Then a soap dish 
(50p) and fitted it about half way down. We have one of those screw in sockets that you screw into the ground so can put the prop into that.  Ready for that great summer we will get in 2010 (fingers crossed). Hope all this is not boreing but love thinking of making things and keeping the wife happy.


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## Kontiki (Oct 21, 2009)

We got one of the portable electric showers when they had them on sale in Maplins. Haven't tried it for real yet but it seems to work fine from a bucket & the shower head fits in the one already fitted in the van. So we will be able to have a proper shower using the water heated up in the solar shower.


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## vwalan (Oct 22, 2009)

we used a pump up weed killer bottle with a shower head atachment (new of course). they used to be soldwith a big plastic bag with a firm base to use as shower room . use akettle of hot n one of cold mix. use tizer bottles on dash they were black. .also seen a shallow water tank fixed to roof of camper .with a filla and the exit had shower head .be carefull as i have known them get really hot. cheers alan


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## frostybow (Oct 22, 2009)

we had one hanging from our ladder when wildcamping it fell of in middle of night i flew out of bed booted dog out of door {well she has to earn her keep} followed by me with baseball bat after scaring away solar shower i went back to sleep the dog is still not happy with me ?


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## tan-all-over (Oct 22, 2009)

frostybow said:


> we had one hanging from our ladder when wildcamping it fell of in middle of night i flew out of bed booted dog out of door {well she has to earn her keep} followed by me with baseball bat after scaring away solar shower i went back to sleep the dog is still not happy with me ?



I had to smile at that Frostybow. reminds me of the time the wind down legs where not down and the feet where rocking in the wind one night. could have sworn somebody was creeping around with the little knocks and bumps. Kept looking out most of the night (well the wife's a right wimp, would'ent go and check) in the morning realised what it was.


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## Jacques le foot (Oct 22, 2009)

autoquest...love youre description of the shower & fittings..you are folks after my own heart......I'm always looking for 'inovative' ideas...I'm always 'making' and 'mending' 
Jackie


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## n8rbos (Oct 22, 2009)

above all folks don't forget the good old wet wipes!


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## Ian Jenner (Oct 23, 2009)

hi we are lucky to live in south of spain.from april to october our solar water container on m`home roof is too hot for hands. but in uk in july it only got lukewarm.sorry you dont get so much sun!


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