12 volt shower

ino where you are coming from there Karen...

each time i head out i fix/service mine but lost my patience last time & chucked it ... replacee it with a twine hws... the twine system is known to develop a leak at the hose so switched it off and went back to a kettle canvass & rose...
sometimes, but just for the pose, i fire up the twine

Hi Karen,
I too have been having the same issue went thru two this year. I have ordered a pump from Bias marine (Stirling Hwy) it has a built in pressure switch and is self priming good for up to 11lt a minute I will use a shower rose off my one of my old ones. The pump is $100.

Hi yu Karen,
When we first started camping we purchased a bilge pump from a marine dealer, clamped a piece of hose to it, plus a shower head.
Lengthened the wiring and put a cigarette lighter on the end.
The pump goes into a bucket of water the lighter into the socket in the vehicle, or into a battery pack, and away you go.
Generally find that about 10-15 litres is enough for two.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Baz

Hi Karen

Go buy yourself a $25 or $30 dollar Bilge Pump "12 volt" drop it into a 20 litre drum of water, hook it up to a battery and go from there hope this helps a little.

Kirks

Just buy yourself a Coleman Hotwater Unit and be done with it...Wait till they come on special....

That will fix your issues...

try one of thees www.2daloo.com/camp_shower.htm have been around for a while kevin

Hi Karen, We have tried most showers including our current Coleman but here is the answer. Believe me this is the best and least expensive. Buy a $20 12 volt turbo shower off Evil bay or go into Jaycar. We have two square buckets I fill one with about 12 ltrs of water to the temp SWMBO wants. You drop the 12 volt motor end into the bucket & push the on/off button....presto shower at the heat you want NO dialing up temps or complaints it is to hot/cold & I am out of water. The bucket with YOUR water is in the shower with you so you can see how much you have/have not used & there is a stop go switch near the shower head to increase/decrease/stop the flow of water. We use the power from the vehicle/van or a 12volt battery pack. We had a 12 volt outlet (external) connected to the side of the van for any ext operation of 12 volt. I also unscrew the shower head placing the clean shower motor into my 20 ltr water containers & pump the clean drinking water into my van's water inlet. This saves lifting heavy water containers & the wife thinks it's great. We use this when bush camping obviously NOT in parks. We have had one of these yellow shower units for about 7 years & has never let us down. If the impaller gets jamed just undo one screw, wash the plastic blades & spry with CRC or WD40. The unit came in a carry bag with lead for cigarette plug or aligator clips to clip on to battery terminals.Well worth the $$$$ IMHO

Hi Karen

Like you we got fed up with buying 12v showers and took the simple way out ( no - not showering) by buying a solar shower bag, an extension tent pole and making a hook to hang the bag.

Remove plug from one end of tent pole and attach tent pole to bumper bar or other device, hang bag on hook, slide tent pole up to required height and presto you're away. In our case I extended the shower hose so that it fitted into our shower tent through the back window.

No moving parts and hot water from the sun.

John

G'day Karen,
Looks like we have all had the same problem with the pump seizing. I bought a 12v bilge pump from a yacht shop and cut the old pump off then used the original switch and shower head. You can connect the wires by soldering, or use screw or crrimp connectors.
The problem with a bilge pump is they don't pump up to enough of a head height if it is too small a capacity.
The USA made 800 us gallon per hr I found was perfect for the job. I have used a similar pump outside in the garden for 25 years so it is reliable.
I know Jaycar sell Chinese copies of these red& white coloured pumps but I don't know about the reliability. Could be worth a try.
I use this setup for camping, and also in my caravan shower when I am saving my drinking water from the tanks,

Cheers,
Bill

Thanks for your help Explore Oz team and members. I now have plenty of options to investigate. I think the hubby may upgrade us to the vehicle shower option.

Hi Karen,

Over the years I have used a 10l garden spray unit,with a shower head attached.

Now days,I use a portable gas hot water system.

I first saw it on campertrailers.org,and purchases it. It's a Mercury HW60
cost at the time was $400 +del to WA.

From Rod's Country Camping gear 0418 423 610.

Cheers

Ann

We use one of these:

pressure pump

with an normal shower rose and an in line tap. It is plugged into a small 7AH battery that lasts a whole trip.

We also use it for transferring water and running water in to our mains tap in the van when bush camped.

Cheers

Pete

i bought a bcf one off my sister, got blocked up with sand all the time, so i modified the rose, by making the holes larger on the rose. works everytime.

Lots of info so far.Just would like to hear from folk with a vehicle based system-Twine etc?Pros and cons?
Considering one.
Thanks,
Mary

Hi Karen, My wife hates free camping, but I have convinced her by having a portable toilet and tent, plus a 12 volt camp shower and tent (yep I have two!) She is really pleased with both and is quite happy if I boil the kettle and put it in a 15 litre container, temp is just right and she uses about 5 litres (the gas stove is on or fire alight so there is no extra effort.) We have had the $25 shower for 12 months so before Karijini I will replace the pump with a bilge pump for reliability (unhappy wife is unhappy camping). You would think that bilge pumps are reliable as you would not want to be sinking in a boat and the pump will not start!The cost of the Glind/twine system and the added dramas of starting the car and adjusting the temp just seems so expensive and unnecessary compared to the bilge pump system.

Cheers

Mark