Increasing 12VDC Shower Head Output

You will find very few who complain about the Oxygenics replacement. It works very well. My wife has long hair and goes thru a major routine every shower with it and she highly recommends it. We have a steady flow whether we have hook-ups or we are using our tank and water pump. I do not have any pulsating problems which makes me think it could have something to do with the pump? The pump in my camper is a FloJet.

Every RV I've ever had pulsates when running off the pump compared to a more steady flow when on city water. I've often wondered the same thing as the OP but then 30 seconds later the water goes cold and I have to get out anyway :)

I've just come to the conclusion that until I can afford I high end diesel pusher with a never ending Aqua-Hot system, RV showers are only going to be so good. As the days go by I have less and less hair so it's only a minor annoyance to me. I imagine some of the ladies with long hair have some trouble getting done before the hot water runs out.

My wife and I tried the Oxygenics and bought one for my mother after she said she might steal ours.

In my older RV, I found that the shower head was so plugged with scale, that I needed to take a paperclip and punch out the plugged holes, then I was able to get more of the holes working, and I had much better flow. The shower head had something like 30 holes, and only about 15 where working at reduced flow, when I opened all up, I got good flow!

Try a 1.2 GMP rated shower head, you can find them at most hardware stores. It is rated so that the pressure in the head is high, and it will push out the water quickly, through small holes, and give a great wash pattern.

If you do not have a large enough pump, that might be the problem too. Check with a gallon bucket. Try filling a 1 gallon container at home, with the shower head and the kitchen sink. Make sure that the kitchen sink strainer is clean too. It should full up in around 30 seconds, indicating a 2 GPM flow.

The shower might take a little longer, indicating a 1.2 GPM flow and 50 seconds to fill 1 gallon.

I installed a 5.7 GPM variable speed pump on my RV and upgraded the wiring to the pump to #12 wire. Now I get a great shower, though the pump can use 10 amps. The way I figure it, the pump can use 7 amps per hour while pumping 2 GPM, and empty a 120 gallon tank in 1 hour using only 7 amp hours, or a very small amount of power.

Have fun camping!

Fred.

tvman44 wrote:
We love the Oxygenics so much we got a 2nd one for the house. :)

X 2 there the best

We love the Oxygenics so much we got a 2nd one for the house. :)

Don't understand the `pulsating' issue. Could it be that the pump is a large single speed model and it starts and stops frequently because it produces more flow than is required? Seems like it might be a good use of an accumulator tank in the line.

RJCorazza wrote:
I installed an Oxygenics shower head and it provides a nice steady spray while conserving water (somewhat)

Well, maybe. ;) While installing an Oxygenics shower head seems to be a popular "upgrade" for many RV owners any conclusion as to whether it really does "provide a nice steady spray while conserving water" is ultimately in the eye of the beholder. It seemed OK to me but my wife gave it a definite thumbs down and requested I put the original stock shower head back in ... so knowing what's good for me I did and sold the Oxygenics to another RVr who thought it would be the magic panacea to a weak shower flow. :W

Restricting the flow increases pressure providing a "stronger" shower. I installed an Oxygenics shower head and it provides a nice steady spray while conserving water (somewhat)