Outdoor shower

[czechsonofagun]

Last year I made me an outdoor shower, well water only. It is very basic, just soldered 1/2" copper pipes that can stand on their own and a cedar platform. Also secondary spigot 16" from the ground for feet washing.

The first year I just had it behind the vineyard, used it only at night and mooned the moon

This year I have a private screen from outdoor fabric and use it at least twice a day, there is nothing, short of swim in the river, better after working outside on hot day.

Do you have/use outdoor shower?

 

[BrianDT]

Is this water heated at all?

On a hot day I can see where it would be refreshing, but also very cold if its well water?

I like the idea of the shower outdoors but something like they have at the campgrounds where they have wood enclosures. That would allow you to clean up from a days work without bringing in grease and mud through the home.

 

[Localmotion]

Here a lot of people have outdoor "pool" showers, and many are heated by the sun. The simple design is a water pipe which curls up and down the stem of the shower 4-5 times before reaching the shower head - the pipe is covered by a black metal box, which allows the water to heat from the sun. Downside is that on a hot day, the water can be too hot to use for a few minutes!

 

[czechsonofagun]

The water comes from frost free hydrant via a hose. Sometimes yes, as Localmotion says, the water is scolding coming out

I take shower before going to work at 5-6 AM and yes, it is cold but still enjoyable. Being brutal to yourself really wakes you up in the morning :thumbsup:

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Back in the olden days I signed on with a harvest crew to cut wheat. We cut a lot of wheat up in Kansas, and the farmer had rigged up a 55 gallon barrel with a shower head for us to use. I am not a cold blooded person, and it gets pretty cold up in Kansas, even in July. We like to froze our rears of (at least I did) using that thing, but it's all we had. The least he could have done was to paint it black to warm it up a bit. We all slept in an old school bus that had been rigged with bunks...bad idea; we stayed up all night telling jokes. Didn't get a lot of sleep...Ah, the good old days!

 

[JRobyn]

I could really easily put an outdoor shower under my deck off the back of the house. It would be on the concrete apron coming out of the garage doors, and there's nothing back there but woods. It is still a ways down my priority list, but you are inspiring me to raise it just a bit!

 

[keegs]

It's on my bucket list.. The wife's been after me to put one in for 32 years... :laughing:

 

[TripleR]

Growing up, we just hung the garden hose over the clothesline after we finally got running water. When I was hauling hay, we just stopped at a drainage ditch, stripped down and jumped in.

 

[brin]

The water comes from frost free hydrant via a hose. Sometimes yes, as Localmotion says, the water is scolding coming out

I take shower before going to work at 5-6 AM and yes, it is cold but still enjoyable. Being brutal to yourself really wakes you up in the morning :thumbsup:

OK Prokop - I guess we will be seeing more of you on YouTube or somewhere...remember the satellites, drones etc. out there....:laughing:

 

[Lady Tonka]

We cobbled together something similar to this, from stumbling onto this website:

tinygogo: April 2009

I've been amazed how well it works in a climate that's certainly not known for being a "hotbed" of solar applications. Even on cloudy days (about nine months a year), we have lots of warm water.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Those big Rubbermaid storage units make an excellent impromptu shower!

 

[Old Retired Cop]

We were without power for 2 weeks a few years ago due to an ice storm. Had to heat a pot of water on the propane stove to take a sponge bath. When the neighbor finally was able to get his well going, and he also had a propane water heater, That was the most refreshing treat in the world. This month I plan on buying a portable propane fired point of demand heater from Orscheln Farm and Home. Costs about $125.00 plus I'll buy an additional 40# tank. If we lose power again, I'll hook the water heater up outside my bathroom and run the included shower head in thru the window. We power the well by a portable generator and have wood heat.

 

[tcreeley]

Years ago in March the pump gave out. I was desperate for a shower so I went to the lake and jumped in. It was cold- the ice was about 10' away. When I came out I felt like I had iciles falling off me. It did the job! Refreshing.

 

[Jstpssng]

This time of year if I want to go somepkace after work I'll often throw a 5 gallon bucket in the pickuo bed and park in the sun. It waems up nicely, and using a quart bottle as a showerhead I can park on an obscure sideroad and clean uo.

 

[boggen]

have been tempted many times, to tear hole into side of house, right into the bathroom. and put a exterior door there. it gets old quickly, having to strip almost all the way down, right at the door, just so you can get through house and not make a grease / mud streak behind you.

choice between jumping into the lake during summer. or turning the cold water from well on myself via garden house. will choose normally warmer water in lake.

though now that i think about it. *wishing he did not cut down the 1600 gallon tank to turn it into a dog pool / kiddie pool.....*

 

[not2old]

Years ago in March the pump gave out. I was desperate for a shower so I went to the lake and jumped in. It was cold- the ice was about 10' away. When I came out I felt like I had iciles falling off me. It did the job! Refreshing.

Make sure they are really icicles before breaking them off!

 

[Aging TOO Fast]

This month I plan on buying a portable propane fired point of demand heater from Orscheln Farm and Home. Costs about $125.00 plus I'll buy an additional 40# tank. .

What is the brand and model number for the water heater. I could not find it searching their website.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I know jeepers, or offroading nuts, build their own camping showers by pumping water through jeep radiator. Old jeep radiators, like from a CJ, have transmission cooling snake built in on the bottom, but stick shift has no use for it.
It is much less water than normal shower of course, the tubing is smaller, but it is amazing how little water you need when you really need to get clean and nothing better is out there

 

[Western]

Back when our kids where young (5-8) we had to use a make shift shower in the back yard, seems I miss calculated the "bathroom remodel" completion time by about a week Kids loved it, but the wife was not impressed.

 

[JamesHW]

At our farm the pond (now empty awaiting restoration) is mainly spring fed, so would always be chilly even in the middle of summer. My dad liked to take a dip in the morning and would awake me to accompany him. I remember the first time I jumped in. He described it as being like a film where the person jumps in and then it is reversed and he springs out. After a few times I got to like it.

Can't wait until I am living up there full time and the dam is rebuilt!