Water saver for shower.

Thank you for your service. You’re an Army dad, I’m sure you’ve heard of Navy showers!

You could always install a recirculating pump with either a thermostatic control switch or a manual switch near the shower to circulate hot water back to the water heater through the cold lines which would give you relatively instant hot water when you open the shower faucet. Dave Rypma did a pretty good design for the Alfa See Ya, Founder,and Gold motorhomes.

It's called ShowerMiser made by Aqua View. Link:

https://www.rvupgradestore.com/Brushed-Nickel-RV-SHOWERMISER-Unit-p/smb001.htm

If you google Shower Miser you'll find several videos on U Tube.

That's it. I knew somebody had the info. Thank you very much...

You might find that this device makes very little difference.

For my RV the hot water supply line to the shower is about 5' from the hot water tank and that line holds approximately 0.03 gallons. There are two procedures I have found to really cut back on water use for a shower. I only use the HW heater when taking a shower so before taking a shower I run the heater the correct amount for the temperature of hot water I want. I can usually tell within a couple of minutes how long to run the heater and I can check the temperature at my sink faucet which is only about 2-3' from the HW tank.

Next, of course, is to take a Navy style shower. Wet down with a trickle of water, soap up and then rinse with a gentle spray. After years of doing this, I can take a shower with a total of very close to exactly 1 gallon. My wife needs an additional third or half gallon to be sure her hair is well rinsed.

We too take Navy showers, but that initial "lead" of water is COLD! Right now we are catching it in a bucket, if we remember. At that, it is a pain. Who has this and does it really halp?

and swap out your shower valves for this handy device



shower valve

Most of my camping friends have added this after seeing how well it worked for us. It does a fantastic job of holding the temperature AND quick and easy on/off and flow control with the Navy showers.

I wish we had thought of this when we remodeled our S&B showers.

ReneeG wrote:
We too take Navy showers, but that initial "lead" of water is COLD! Right now we are catching it in a bucket, if we remember. At that, it is a pain. Who has this and does it really halp?

Again for my situation the amount of water I need to waste getting the hot from the tank to the faucet is very small. Perhaps you have much 1/2" instead of 3/8" supply lines and a long distance from the tank. I am curious, how much water are you catching?

BTW, I maintain a clean FW tank suitable for brushing teeth, drinking after a Brita, and kitchen uses. I am not sure I would want to recycle HW back into the FW tank. After years of use, I am having difficulty keeping the HW clean. I have had issues with odors and mineral deposits even after a vinegar soak. I already spend enough effort on water conservation. Rather than recycle, I would even prefer to carry an extra gallon or two of water in a jug.

JimK-NY wrote:

ReneeG wrote:
We too take Navy showers, but that initial "lead" of water is COLD! Right now we are catching it in a bucket, if we remember. At that, it is a pain. Who has this and does it really halp?

Again for my situation the amount of water I need to waste getting the hot from the tank to the faucet is very small. Perhaps you have much 1/2" instead of 3/8" supply lines and a long distance from the tank. I am curious, how much water are you catching?

BTW, I maintain a clean FW tank suitable for brushing teeth, drinking after a Brita, and kitchen uses. I am not sure I would want to recycle HW back into the FW tank. After years of use, I am having difficulty keeping the HW clean. I have had issues with odors and mineral deposits even after a vinegar soak. I already spend enough effort on water conservation. Rather than recycle, I would even prefer to carry an extra gallon or two of water in a jug.

Our tank is directly below our shower. We easily collect a gallon before the water gets hot.

ReneeG wrote:


Our tank is directly below our shower. We easily collect a gallon before the water gets hot.

That does not seem possible. Supply lines just don't hold much water. RV supply lines are almost always PEX plastic which does not pull much heat out of the water. I think I would start by looking at the plumbing and try to understand how a gallon of cold water could be in the supply lines.