Solar Shower

Here is a little project I took on last time up at Camp May. While our camper has a bathroom with a shower head, it is little larger than the toilet itself and not really practical. I decided I would try a solar shower. If you ever perused a camping or boating catalog, then you know what I am talking about. It is nothing more than a heavy duty black plastic bag that can hold about five gallons of water, and has some sort of simple shower head. The bag is filled with water, left out in the sun for a few hours, then suspended overhead to make for a simple warm shower.

I invested $8 at Wal-Mart one weekend to find out how well it worked. Surprisingly enough, it did make hot water after a couple hours in the sun, and the water runs for about 9 minutes. Heartened by this experiment, I set about making a decent outdoor shower area for the camp.



The first step was to find a suitable place with conveniently placed trees. I am not too worried about drainage. Even after one all night thunderstorm, our lot was drained and dry by mid morning, as if it had not rained at all. That is one advantage of the rocky soil and steep terrain. I tied a rope between two trees, with another hanging down to hold the shower bag.



It would not do to stand on the ground while showering. We are not barbarians after all. I picked up the this piece of flagstone at the home improvement store. Sure, the hill I am standing on is made of the stuff, but it is well worth the $12 for an already dug up and squared piece. I first laid the stone in place so that I could mark where I would dig.



I dug down just a couple inches, past the shallow roots, before hitting the rocky stuff. I back filled with sand and leveled it.



Well, not really level, but evened. I wanted some slope so the water would drain off the stone and in to the ground. I found this handy little bubble level in the camper.



Once the stone was set, I made a border with stones I gathered around the vicinity. I think it looks sufficiently rustic.



Here are the solar shower bags heating up in the morning. The tree canopy over the camp is too thick too heat any one spot for hours. I put the bags out on the road, where the sun is pretty brutal.



Here is the shower hanging in place. I tied a steel hook to the end of the vertical rope to hang the bag by its handle. I would like to figure out some sort of clever pulley system, but that is a project for later.



For the sake of modesty, this enclosure completes the outdoor shower. It is one of those tent structures that folds up to the shape of a pizza, and instantly unfolds to shape when you toss it in the air.