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Brettmm92's avatar
Brettmm92
Explorer
Aug 06, 2018

Planning to make outdoor shower with 55 gallon barrel

As the title says, I'm very interested in an outdoor shower with water heated by sunlight. I have a nice black plastic 55 gallon barrel with a removable, locking lid and some space to put it. I'm willing to take some time and money to make this more than half assed. Does anyone have any ideas or inspiration? I also have a smaller, 8 gallon bucket but I'm thinking there wouldn't be enough water and a 55 gallon could retain heat better as it gets colder. This project has a blank slate so far but I'm hoping to eventually get it so it has one of those nice big "sunflower" like shower heads. I have never used one but I feel like showers with a pull string (like a ceiling fan) exist and would like to use that. The main question I have is what piece to look for to establish the plumbing on the barrel. Specifically, I'm going to make a hole in the barrel so the piece that connects to the barrel (and ends up becoming a showerhead) has to have two bigger pieces on the outside and inside of the barrel. For example, when you drill a hole for a bolt you sometimes use a washer on each end to compensate that the bolt is smaller than the hole. And a recommendation on materials would be great.

Thanks ahead for your time, all input is appreciated!
  • rockhillmanor's avatar
    rockhillmanor
    Explorer
    Aug 06, 2018
    I bought one of those black bag CG showers I think it was only around 6 gal. Do you know how heavy that was trying to hang it high enough in a tree with one hand?! 50 lbs! Ended up never using it.

    There is 8.34 lbs per gallon of water.
    Your 55 gallon barrel would weigh 458 lbs filled with water!

    I sure hope you are planning on bolting that thing down real securely to something 'real' substantial!

    Since it 'will' be hanging over your head! :W

    They sell little portable propane heated showers. They work great.
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Aug 06, 2018
    If faster heating is needed, the thermosiphon mentioned by DrewE is a nice "free" method, since convection pumps the water.

    For the impatient a small bilge pump or aquarium power head can be used, along with 50+ ft of garden hose. Lay the hose in the Sun in a snake pattern, such that both ends can reach the holding tank. Attach one end to the discharge of a submersible pump, and the other end to the edge of the barrel for the water to return.

    I use this method with a 32 gallon trash barrel for washing cars, the water is uncomfortably warm within an hour or less.
  • mobeewan's avatar
    mobeewan
    Explorer
    Aug 06, 2018
    When I was younger I tried using a 55 gallon Blue Barrel and left it sitting in the sun. I already had the barrel. The water only heated up a slight amount. I thought about painting the barrel black, but gave up on the idea since I was tent camping and didn't really feel like hauling the barrel around and it was a lot of water to heat at one time in such a large container. There were also other things available like Zodi Hot Man portable burner units.

    55 gallons is a lot of water to heat at one time in a large barrel while camping. You might be better off using 6 inch black ABS pipe cut into 6 foot lengths and using elbows to connect them. You could hauling them on top of your vehicle roof rack. I've seen YouTube videos where this looks like a pretty effective way of heating water in the Sun. Especially since you're dealing with 6-inch diameter spread out over a longer area of pipe being more efficient to heat.
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Aug 06, 2018
    I lived for a year in a house (in the tropics, in Indonesia) that had a solar water heater setup. I never saw the entire guts of it, but I think the basics consisted of a barrel and a very simple solar collector of pipe in something like a cold frame. It supplied more than enough very hot shower water for us on all but the few completely rainy days...which, rather unfortunately, were exactly the days when a hot shower would be the most welcome.

    A little googling should show a variety of contraptions along these lines. If you get the positioning and plumbing right, you can have the water circulate from the collector to the tank via convection, which makes it about as simple and maintenance-free as is possible. Something like a toilet float valve to fill the tank automatically would not be a bad idea.

    If you use a metal tank and other appropriate materials, you can perhaps rig up a grate underneath it and build a wood or charcoal fire to heat water at times when solar energy fails you.
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Aug 06, 2018
    The tank in my truck is a "horizontal leg tank", so its flat on the bottom, and wider than it is tall. Picked it up from a Tractor Supply. It sits in the front of the bed, just behind the back window.

    On the side, it has a 1" bulkhead which I attached a ball valve and 12v water pump. I use it to carry extra drinking water for boondocking or rustic camping. Keeping it covered with a tarp, it takes a long time to reach "air temp", filling it with ice cold well water at the start of a trip. The water pump has a 7-way trailer plug and receptacle, so it can either plug into the truck bed (5th wheel connector) or into the trailer cord (power comes from trailer battery bank)

    Last year I got lax in treating the water and the algae grew in there pretty bad. This year, I painted the entire tank black with truck bed liner, and I've been treating it with chlorine every time I refill it, and extra dose when it's nearly empty. So far so good.
  • Brettmm92's avatar
    Brettmm92
    Explorer
    Aug 06, 2018
    Gordonthree, dang that's exactly what I was looking for, thanks. Bulkhead fitting and spring loaded outdoor shower. And I plan to put it in a makeshift tower but wanted to hook it up "semi-professionally" with a piece exactly like a bulkhead fitting that I could potentially undo in the future if need be. And it's good to hear that you've needed a tarp to prevent the water from heating too much, especially assuming your truck is in Michigan. I'd rather have the opportunity to control the heat than to not have enough to begin with. May I ask how your water tank is setup in your truck?
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Aug 06, 2018
    Brettmm92 wrote:
    The main question I have is what piece to look for to establish the plumbing on the barrel. Specifically, I'm going to make a hole in the barrel so the piece that connects to the barrel (and ends up becoming a showerhead) has to have two bigger pieces on the outside and inside of the barrel. For example, when you drill a hole for a bolt you sometimes use a washer on each end to compensate that the bolt is smaller than the hole. And a recommendation on materials would be great.

    Thanks ahead for your time, all input is appreciated!


    Is this going to be stationary on a tower, or portable, on your RV roof somehow, or what?

    You want something called a bulkhead fitting, like 1" should work in your application. Available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc, it's a piece of pipe that's threaded inside and out. It has a flange on one side and a large nut that compresses gasket material on either side of the barrel wall. From there you can thread in something like a hose bib type faucet, or one of those spring loaded outdoor shower type faucets like you sometimes find at a beach or public pool.

    Just sitting in the Sun, your water will reach shower temperature in about a day, based on my own experience with a 65 gallon aux water tank I have in my truck. A tarp might be required to keep the water from becoming so warm that it becomes uncomfortable, or starts to deform the barrel.

    Also consider microbial control. Untreated water just sitting in a barrel is going to grow algae and other microbes. Chlorine is an option to combat this, or livestock tank treatment like barley hay. A bundle of barley hay will last at least a season, it might be the better solution.
  • Brettmm92's avatar
    Brettmm92
    Explorer
    Aug 06, 2018
    gbopp, wow that is a very valuable resource. I'm grateful that you shared it. And I absolutely will share the project as it comes along, hopefully sooner than later :)

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