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what's the best way to build a small outdoor shower in a wood?
 Started by  rollnick
 2 Mar 2009, 6:45 AM


I have this small semi-anchient woodland, plenty firewood, a shelter (a large yurt built into a quarry cliff face), and a wood-fired stove inside the shelter.
 
How can I either build or buy a shower outdoors that at least uses some of the heat from the wood fired stove (assuming that in Wales its not sunny enough to use solely energy from the sun).
 
I'd be really grateful for any bright ideas.
 
Many thanks.
daveg
daveg
This is a bigger question than you think. You will need to add a back boiler to your stove that is connected to a (pref insulated) tank that is quite high up, perhaps in an adjacent tree. then fill the tank with water and heat/gravity will do the rest. Your shower can then run from gravity but you will need to ensure that the tank is kept automatically filled with water for safety sake.
 
rollnick (Guest)
Thanks DavieyG, for that idea.
 
It sounds too complex for our needs - occasional weeks in a woodland.
 
There must be a simpler way?
 
Steve
 
GBP-Keith
Take a look at these portable solar showers. Do a google search 'portable showers' for other ideas.
 
http://www.virginmedia.com/digital/galleries/festivalsurvival.php?ssid=13

 
DEREKALC
You didn't say whether hot or cold was required but just to add to the fun of it why build a shower, just stand out in the rain, here in the U.K. it rains most weeks.
 
Derek
 
cloudy_thoughts
cloudy_thoughts
Al fresco showering in Wales - you are brave!
 
Depending on the type of rock available in your quarry, you could use the stove to heat a large rock, then drop it in the header tank (assuming is metal, not plastic). That should heat enough water to get a decent shower. You might need to experiment with size of rock and timings - both heating the rock(s) and how long to leave it in the water to get the best heat for the shower.
 
It would be fun experimenting with a friend to help Wink

 
hobogirl (Guest)
Just google How to build outdoor showers or lookup outdoor solar water heating/showers, etc. They all have really cheap, easy to build suggestions. I am going to just use black plastic hose hooked to my outdoor faucet on one end . fill it up and disconnect hose, and on the other end connect to a two-way faucet, with short piece of hose hooked to a sprayer on one side and the garden hose on the other side to adjust heat of water. You can also hook black pipe into old water heater painted black for extra storage. I didn't say it looked pretty, just cheap!!
 
GBP-Keith
Not in the woods but perhaps could be!:
 
Commuter cyclists with no washing facilities at their place of
work are coming up with increasingly imaginative ways of getting
clean after their morning ride, the most extreme of which being a
shower they build themselves, according to the Environmental
Transport Association.
 
The DIY shower uses items that are readily available on the high
street, costs around £50, and once assembled transforms a standard
loo into a fully-functioning hot water shower. Once finished with,
the shower can be packed away in less than a minute.
 
http://www.eta.co.uk/node/12176
 

   
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