Simple Hot Water Shower System for Vanlife
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ย. 2024
- How to implement a Simple Hot Water Shower System in your van or RV. To see the writeup including a full parts list, please ourkaravan.com...
Parts list:
See write-up here: ourkaravan.com...
Or direct links:
Hot water heater: amzn.to/379qMQI
Shower head with pause: amzn.to/2O8XUO0 (this looks to be included now)
Quick connect hose: amzn.to/2AHVWRx
Water Pump: amzn.to/421Gd7P
1" barbed adapter: amzn.to/3iJK4PZ
Teflon tape: amzn.to/31YwNxd
Drinking water hose: amzn.to/324IC53
Quick connect adapters: amzn.to/3gEZDXh
Water pump switch: amzn.to/2ZQezev
Wire for pump: amzn.to/2VZvUk8
Wiring connectors: amzn.to/3gK6ZZP
Gas regulator hose: amzn.to/2Do8ePY (this looks to be included now)
20lb to 1lb propane adapter: amzn.to/31Y8Gyz
Note: This video contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated. Please know we only promote products we actually use and believe in.
Website: ourkaravan.com
Instagram: our.karavan
#diysprinter #hotwater #vanshower
Hi all, we get a lot of questions on how this performs at high altitude. Please know that most of these hot water heaters are not recommended for use over 2,000 ft elevation. This is one uses higher quality internal parts that allow it to perform well at altitude. Read all about it here: ourkaravan.com/simple-hot-wat... We have used ours several times in the mountains of Colorado at over 10,000 ft and has performed great. Thanks for following along!
Any idea how long a 1 pound propane tank will last for one person if they took quick 1 quick shower like this everyday? Get wet, turn off shower, soap up, rinse off.
@@joeblow1942 Hi, I'm not completely sure since we use the same propane canister to cook on our propane stove. I'm going to take a guess that it will last about ten showers. I use the method you described--get wet, soap up, rinse off, then repeat with hair.
It’s factory, I haven’t done anything underneath
I've watched a lot of vanlife videos and I don't think I've ever seen one with 2 water tanks - that's brilliant! It makes perfect sense but most people just use one tank. This is great, nice setup.
It works great for us. The two 5-gallon jerry cans inside allow us to clean and dry them out, ensuring they are clean for drinking water. They are also easy to fill while on the road and can't freeze because they are inside. Having the shower water outside saves space, balances the weight in the van and if it's frozen, we probably wouldn't be showering outside. Thanks for the comment!
Very tidy. Well thought out.
Thanks George!
Compliments from George = Priceless!
Hey brother,
Its perfect and easy way, i think you need 2 things
1. To use accumulater to get a good pressure and get rid of the pump sound
2. To protect the pump with something or a box to protect it from mud and any dirt or rocks may hit it
Its an easy job for you brother..
Keep the good work.
My regards and love for tour little angel.
God bless you both
I’m not sure why but Shurflo says specifically on their website not to use accumulators with their 4-diaphragms pumps. I’d like to know why, but I have to say I have the same pump for my sink water system with no accumulator and it’s great. Thanks and take care!
the research, the techincal reasons... man. Your channel is miiiiiles ahead of any other "van liiiifeeeee!!!11" channels out there. I'll be buying whatever hot water heater you found. Your judgement is impeccable.
Ha, thanks! Some of our systems are complicated and high quality and others are budget and functional. Sometimes simpler is better.
People are smart. Well done!
thank you!
Super cool setup. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Creative way to an outside water tank. I use the same camp hot water shower, but I like to heat up the whole water tank. I have a 20 gallons tank and it would take about 20 minutes to heater up. The water would stay at a good shower level for 4 hours, and up to 9 hours warm room temp with outside temp around 40 degrees. My tank is inside the van so yours might differ. I do it this way because I get warm water at the sink to use and not just wasted on showering alone.
Sounds good, thanks for sharing!
Great solution. Well designed and executed, as usual.
Many thanks John!
I like the mount idea, going to add this to my van. Awesome idea and great video!!
Awesome! Thank you!
Great set-up, job, and video.
Thank you!!
hey! great video! since the video is a few years old, I would love to hear if you had any issues with the water pump being installed under the car. I am in an area with solid amount of snow and salt during winter time and am wondering if that would be an issue
Brilliant
Ken, Another excellent video as always. Your van is looking so close to being 100% done. Not sure what you have left to do? Looks beautiful! Thank you!
I’m in complete denial of that Don. If I run out of things to upgrade or add I might have to start over! Thank you, I always appreciate your positive support.
Saw you at Humble Road. Dude, you are superman. I love this. So Smart. We have some videos you would like check us out
Thank you, I will definitely stop in. Take care!
would you be able to have that all mounted up somewhere and just use it when you need it or is there a reason you took it all apart and put it under the sink?
You could mount it somewhere as long as it had adequate ventilation for the hot exhaust gases that leave the unit. I didn’t like the aesthetic of it permanently mounted but you certainly could.
@@ourkaravan do you think you could mount it up on the roof (not sure if it needs to be sitting up right or fine to lay sideways). I've got my road shower up on the roof but am looking for a way to get it warmer since the solar heat of the black pipe cools down rather quick
Whats going to keep all of that from freezing?
Absolutely nothing. That’s why we have a separate water system inside for everything else. This is an outdoor shower and if it’s frozen, you probably wouldn’t be outside showering anyway.
ourkaravan I have destroyed those sureflo pump diaphragms in freezing weather. I would for sure winterize it if there is a chance.
Good to know, thank you!
Gratis video as allways, one question is the water heater rated for indoor use? Meaning i can used with the doors closed.
Sort of. It has an oxygen sensor that will shut the unit down if the oxygen content in the room is dropping, but it puts out a fairly significant amount of heat, so it should be very well ventilated.
What I didn’t see you and you never showed is your fuel source for the shower and how you use that and where you keep it
The fuel source is that 1-lb propane bottle that is sitting in the cubby of the rear door. The LP hose simply goes between the propane bottle and the LP input on the heater.
at 5:20, what lights do you have mounted in the rear door next to the speaker? do you find them useful?
Hi Dan,
I use these: amzn.to/2JBO2Mx
The lights are super helpful and can be used in three ways. If the rear doors are closed and you need a bunch of light in the back, turn them on. With the doors open 90 degrees they light up the area right behind the van for loading and when you swing the doors around 270 degrees they light up camp. The latter is why I have them tilted from level--the tilt allows the light to spread toward the front.
If you weren't aware I have a store where every product used in the van is listed. Go to ourkaravan.com and click on store in the upper bar.
I hope that helps! -Ken
Just need no more than a gallon of water for quick rinse hygiene. Gas is not my first choice, what we old you suggest in terms of electric tankless heaters?
There are several electric ones out that that will work but they are power hungry and the tempering valves , mixing valves and winterizing plumbing take up an awful lot of space. That’s why I went gas in this case
You mentioned the curtain, but I'm curious how you implemented that. Just magnets?
Correct, I’m using high strength magnets to hold the curtain to the inside of the doors
Is it possible to have the inside the van I want to build a actual shower and use something like this inside during the cold months and kids
Technically I think you can but you have to give it plenty of space to vent. It releases a lot of heat out the top.
Cool setup, but how do you have the gas installed
It’s simply a 3’ bbq regulator hose attached between the propane inlet of the furnace and a 1 lb propane bottle via an adapter.
Hi Ken. I love your multi-tank approach. This plumbing looks similar to your galley system. Why did you decide to go with a separate pump for your shower? Why not use one pump to draw water from your scepter tanks OR your passenger side (shower) tank? Also, can your Thermomate water heater be used to for shower and galley? Are you expecting to use the sink and shower simultaneously? Otherwise, is there an issue with pressure/compatibility/cleanliness that I'm missing? I'm looking at a similar setup where I have internal water tanks and an external tank, but I would prefer to have one pump and one water heater for shower and/or galley. Any insight you can provide would be helpful. Thank you for all that you have provided.
Hi, the biggest reason for going with two pumps was to simplify the install. Using the same pump would have required drilling holes in the floor and passing water lines in and out. With my existing setup it all stays outside. And since I used the same pump as the galley, if a pump dies I can swap one for the other.
I haven't found that I need hot water at the sink. If I did, it would be really easy (and efficient) to use my electric kettle, which brings water to a boil in just over 1 minute. The propane units aren't really meant to be used in enclosed spaces. They produce a lot of heat that is vented out the top and back.
I had considered other types of units but the space required to implement them would have meant giving up a lot of storage. Hope that helps explain my reasoning!
Any special reason why you installed the pump outside? Would it work if I put it up in the van near the rest of my water setup?
Yes, it’s definitely desirable to have the pump near your source. I mounted mine outside because my tank is outside, as is the external shower hookup. I didn’t see much point in bringing water inside when the intended use is outside. I hope that helps!
nice
What water pump did you use the link won’t work
The link has been updated: amzn.to/421Gd7P
I have a hot water system in my merc sprinter that only heats when the car motor has been running for about 30 minutes.Could this also be heated by gas? I have a gas cooker
This hot water heater is heated by LP gas. I'm using the 1-lb propane bottles but of course any propane supply can be used.
Should’ve used ABS pipe….. pvc isn’t something you want to get in your mouth or let alone be showering with it… cpvc is okay to drink out of and use for potable water..
PVC is more flexible for chassis routing, it can withstand higher temperatures and is less brittle.
You briefly mentioned the exhaust from the water heater. How significant is the exhaust? Would the roof fan vent it out well enough? Or would you recommend finding another option for a permeant, indoor shower setup?
Hard-mounting inside would be dicey. It does have an oxygen depravation sensor (which is good) for running in enclosed spaces, but you would have to be very diligent about providing enough ventilation and ensure whatever is behind it is well shielded from the heat. The heat is fairly significant.
Do you know if the heat that exhausts from the water heater is toxic?
Hmm, it will be combusted air so maybe? The main thing is the burner will be consuming oxygen in the van so it’s not a good idea to run it in a well sealed and enclosed space. This unit does have an oxygen deprivation sensor that will apparently turn the burner off if it senses low oxygen, but be careful.
How dlhave you set up the removable gas connection for this?
Cheers
Right now the gas line screws to both the propane bottle (through an adapter) and also screws to the propane feed on the heater. For the latter they do make quick disconnects. With the frequency I’m using it I haven’t found that necessary
Where are you drawing your propane from?
1-lb gas bottle via adapter! No propane in this van otherwise.
@@ourkaravan how long does a 1lb tank last?
That’s a good question. I tend to use the bottles for the shower and for outside cooking, so I haven’t been able to approximate the use yet. I’m going to take a wild guess and say 10-12 showers, but it could be more or less.
@@ourkaravan Where is the 1 pound propane bottle located? I don’t see it anywhere in the video. 5:16
It’s in the factory rear door pocket immediately below the rear window. You can see it in the video now that you know what to look for.
Love all of your videos. What's your opinion on a recirculating shower system? (I know you've looked into them)
My only nit is every one of my TH-cam ads lately has been from The Epoch Times, a Falun Gong operation.
I think recirculating makes a lot of sense. It might require significantly more setup time when used outside the van as seen here, or maybe it’s not as complicated as I think.
Sorry about the ads. I don’t have any control over their contents.
@@ourkaravan I know regarding the ads, just curious.
FWIW, I've been using 8020 in my van build (thanks to you and humble road), got me through burning man last year (9 nights in the desert) It's like lumber but more accurate and less flammable. :P
@@ourkaravan regarding burning man: one thing I did do was re-paint the van adding this ceramic additive from a NASA spin-off. It effectively reflects > 99% of infra-red. My 20's son was able to sleep comfortably until noon without air conditioning. It doesn't seem necessary for your use just sharing.
Is this paint on the outside, or an inside ceramic like I used?
@@ourkaravan It's on the outside. It was shockingly effective given it was in pretty much direct sunlight in the desert every day. I did it as a "test," meaning to ensure it could be easily removed I mixed it into "Plasti-Dip" in case it didn't work out. It makes the outside of the van feel a little gritty, like worn sand-paper.
how has the propane water heater been holding up?
Great. Some of the other brands don't work well at higher elevations. I've used this one successfully at over 10,000 feet. I have an article here that discusses why I believe this is the heater to get over the other options: ourkaravan.com/simple-hot-water-system/
-Ken
Seems complicated and an effort to shower. Why not the 2.5 gallon Bosch water heater? Fits under your sink.
Biggest reason is I wanted on-demand, but also the Electrical draw was a consideration and my inverter can’t run the Bosch.
@@ourkaravan
About 1450 watts upon start up and 700 watts once you draw down a gallon or so. What did you do for cold water while showering?
My inverter is 1,000w. I haven’t had any shower system until now.
@@chrissubleski200 That's an insane amount of power! I would rather spend my accumulated solar energy from my solar panels on something else .
I don't want to plug in wall power, i don't want to buy a stinky gasoline generator and i don't have the money to buy a solar system and battery bank that can cope with this huge power draw.
O, and i don't want to heat up a water container when you're probably not going to use that today, or all of it..
Also, when 2 persons take a shower, the second person may find herself showering in cold water..
So, this heater is a nice option.. :-)
Can these be used indoors?
Technically it can but I would proceed very carefully. It needs to be well vented and a lot of heat comes out of the top when it's running.
is the water pump connected to the sink and the shower?
Hi, no. I have two separate water pumps in this van....one pump is located below the sink where the portable water containers reside and the pump for the shower system is under the van. It was just easier that way...
@@ourkaravan thanks
why not just buy a small rv?
This fits our needs so much better. We get close to 25 miles per gallon, the van is as easy to drive as a minivan, it has enough clearance to go offroad, the build quality is WAY higher than any RV, the rear seating is actually safe (unlike U.S. production RVs) and has strong resale value.
@@ourkaravan thanks for the reply good to know
If you have hot water why heat it? Most water heaters are cold water heaters not hot water heaters. :)
I’m confused, I only have hot water via this heater.
Pump is badly places spray from tyres and road Ingres done it myself
Still going strong. That said, I would build a splash shield if I lived in the rust belt.
Z