I was going to buy one of those battery powered camping showers but they all seemed to have issues so I bought this and made my own. It is killa. The water pressure is fantastic. The shower is pretty close to my home shower in terms of water pressure.
I bought this pump (it comes with two hose clamps), a Home Depot bucket with lid, 10 feet of 1/2 inch reinforced vinyl hose (clear vinyl hose is cheaper but only has working pressure of 20 psi), a kes shutoff valve (has to shut water off completely to work properly otherwise the pump will stutter/keep coming on and shutting off immediately to keep up water pressure), 10 feet of Landscape wire 16/2 AWG, an in line rocker switch (I put the switch in just in case of a temporary leak so I could shut off the pump) from Lowe's. I used a set of alligator clamps which are fused (had these from Yuasa battery maintainer (but you can buy them separately on Amazon). I drilled a 3/4 inch hole in the lid (near the edge of the lid). I used a Forstner bit so it cut a nice neat hole (but spade bit would work as well) so that the suction hose can go through to the bottom of the bucket. Lid will keep debris out of the shower water as well as hold the pump. I screwed the pump to the lid. To make the wire harness to clip to my truck battery (you might be able to use cigarette lighter/accessory plug but those might be too wimpy so I didn't want to chance it. I decided to go straight to the battery for power. I used a hand held shower head I already had which had a 5 foot hose adding length to the roughly 8 feet of reinforced vinyl output hose (cut off about 2 feet for the suction hose). I read that people had trouble keeping this reinforced vinyl hose from leaking even cranking on the hose clamps. I used a heat gun on low 600 watts to heat up (not burn) the hose before slipping it on the hose barbs then clamped it down while it was still warm. It seals really well when it has been heated so it's soft. No issues with leaking. I think it must form fit around the barbs because it still spins but doesn't leak at all. You will hear it if there are any leaks. The pump will make quite a racket shutting on and off. It reminds me of anti-lock brakes when they go off. It is pretty quiet when working properly.
I bought several adapters for the shower head end of the hose. I bought 3/8" hose barb to 1/2" MIP (male straight pipe thread). The hand held shower hose has it's own gasket and screws on to this fitting. To be able to use a regular garden hose nozzle for washing vehicle, dogs, etc., you can get either 1/2" FIP to 3/4" garden hose adaptor to attach to the end of the reinforced vinyl hose (might need Teflon tape to seal these threads) or if you want to just remove the hand held shower head (which has its own gasket) you can use a 1/2" MIP (threads into the hand held shower hose) to 3/4" garden hose. This would give you longer hose and no possibility of needing to use Teflon tape every time you attach a hose nozzle adapter.
I soldered and sealed the wire connections with Marine heatshrink (it has epoxy glue which melts and makes completely waterproof seal. If you look closely at the close up of the wire connections you can see the epoxy glue oozing out around the wires) all the wire connections. I could have soldered the alligator clamp assembly directly to the Landscape wire but I want to be able to use the alligator clamps for battery tenders if I need them. I guess I could also attach the ring assembly for a battery tender directly to my battery so I could just plug the flat 2 pin connector directly to my battery but then it would only work with my truck. With the alligator clips I can hook them to any 12 volt battery.
I think just to be safe I will get an inline filter to go in the suction line in the bucket in case debris happens to get in there somehow. My plan is to keep bucket full of cold water, leaving it out in the sun tosee if sun warms it at all but remove a big pot of water and boil it, pouring it back into the bucket, for showering. The pump can handle water temperatures up to 140 degrees F.
I have been using solar showers but even with pretty good sun, showering is an all day affair and rarely did I get more than a tepid shower if I was lucky. This will always provide a hot shower. FYI you really can't put boiling water in a solar shower. All in all I think this will be a better solution for car camping.
I already used it to wash a scooter. It's still too cold to bring the hose out and leave it out. This was much easier. Filled the bucket in the shower with warm water, attached to a battery, and it couldn't have been simpler. 5 gallons of water was plenty.
I don't know why this couldn't be used with a 12 volt transformer (as long it puts out more than 5 amps) for a temporary shower if there are plumbing issues. The pump draws 5 amps and produces 80-85 psi outputting 1 gallon a minute (no Hollywood showers). I am glad I didn't send a baby to buy the beer. I was going to get a 35 psi pump. This one puts out the perfect water pressure.
| Manufacturer | bayite |
|---|---|
| Part Number | XX328 |
| Item Weight | 14.1 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 8 x 3 x 4 inches |
| Country of Origin | China |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color | Black |
| Style | 12V DC Sprayer Pump |
| Material | Plastic |
| Power Source | 12V DC |
| Voltage | 12 Volts (DC) |
| Flow Rate | 4.5 Liters Per Minute |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Warranty Description | 1-Year Warranty from purchase date. FREE replacement or full refund. |
