From: John De Armond Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.camping Subject: Re: Camping showers Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 17:07:04 -0400 Frank Schmidt wrote: > > Hi ! I am wanting to go camping this summer as the price of gas is, I am > afraid going be too high to drive on a traveling vacation. Camping is a > wonderful way to spend time and enjoy a low cost time in the outback. > I am looking at camping showers, the propane ones , like Zodi's. Does anyone > have any experience with this product? Does it work? I would like a model I > can attach to a car battery. Is there any problem with the water runoff > (Gray water) in campgrounds. I heard it is not allowed in many places. both > private and state parks. Would appreciate any comments This outfit http://www.cumberlandgeneral.com Has one of the neatest portable heated showers I've seen. The core piece is a heat exchanger made by placing two pieces of stainless steel exhaust pipe inside one another and welding the ends. The space between the pipes is the water jacket. A nipple is welded on the top to receive a low flow shower head. At the bottom is a control valve and some flex hose leading to a small 12 volt bilge pump. Sticking in the bottom is a propane burner that either attaches to a camping tank or via a hose to a larger tank. There is a spiral draft deflector just like the one in a household gas water heater in the rest of the length of pipe. The heat exchanger is supported vertically by a light weight collapsible tripod. There is a plastic bypass tube that leads from the water supply to the shower head that is used to bypass cold water around the heat exchanger to temper the water for comfort. This unit doesn't seem to be on their web site but it was in their store when I was there a few weeks ago. I found it to be a bit overpriced (like everything else there) at about $400 but it is so simple that one could easily build one. Even if you can't weld, an exhaust shop could do the simple tube welds. Everything else is off-the-hardware-store-shelf and bolt-together. The other camp showers you find on the net seem to work but what I like about this unit is that it is tall enough to stand upright under the shower. This inflatable shower stall would work well with it: http://www.bivouacbuddy.com/ As far as wash water, well, er, I make sure I camp where no one can see me and shower late at night. What busybodies can't see they can't bitch about. John |