Basically, I bought a 12V water pump and attached it to a cigarette lighter power plug. I use the pump to pump water from a 5 gallon storage tank to a hand-held shower head. The idea is that I fill the tank with hot water from my bathtub before I head out surfing, I put the tank and pump in my car trunk, and, after I'm done surfing, I plug in the pump and shower off with the water from the tank. By the time I'm done surfing, the water should have cooled to a pleasant temperature.
I've tested the electrical work and full system test to come soon!
Here's a pic of the work area while I was putting it together:
Update 3/12/2011:
Surf shower v1.5. The water system test was a success! The pump has quick-connect plugs to which you attach the hoses. Mechanically, they are rather fragile. To protect the quick connects, I've mounted the pump inside a rubbermaid tub and used electric conduit clamps padded with a bit of neoprene to guide the hoses so that the hoses can flex and move around without straining the connectors. I also mounted a lighted power switch on the other side of the tub. I used a copy of the disappointing 'The World is Flat' book as a backstop for the drill and cutting board for the neoprene.
Update 7/12/2011:
I've been using the shower regularly after surfing and it works wonderfully. The 5-gallon tank has turned out to be a good size. Most full-flow shower heads flow at a rate of 2 to 2.5 gallons-per-minute. So a 5-gallon tank (which weighs 40 pounds, when full) will last a bit over 2 minutes of continuous usage. I find that by turning off the water switch on the shower head while I soap, I end up using about 3 to 4 gallons of water, and usually have plenty left over at the end.
Here's the final setup:
The water flows out of the resevoir, through the strainer (the black circular device attached to the tube), to the pump, then from the pump to the hand-held shower head. There is a lighted rocker switch mounted on the right side of the tub.
Nice little setup Josh, I'm thinking of doing something similar myself for Winter surfing. Did you find you lost a lot of heat in the tank over a number of hours? Cheers, Leigh
ReplyDeleteHi Leigh,
ReplyDeleteThe heat stayed well - if I put hot water in the tank before I drove out surfing, it was actually a bit too warm 3 hours later. I was thinking that if it lost too much heat, I'd wrap the tank in a blanket or neoprene or something, but it doesn't seem to be an issue.
Cheers,
Josh
Saniflo Macerator
ReplyDeleteThe post is actually the freshest on this laudable subject.I find that by turning off the water switch on the shower head while I soap, I end up using about 3 to 4 gallons of water, and usually have plenty left over at the end.