Hot Showers??

I have a primus. I have been lucky, crosses fingers, I have had not problems with mine but I know alot of people that have.

I reckon if I was buying again I would go Glind or similar. They take up no room, there always with you, you don't need gas and relatively speaking they are no more expensive.

Hi there. We've been carrying around a Primus 12v pump unit (drop the pump into a bucket of warm water; plug in and go). Not yet used it because my wife is quite happy with a 'top and tail wash', and I don't need showers (my body stops smelling after three days anyway).
Biggest issue once you have a shower system is whether or not to erect a shower tent as well, if so, that's more space occupied. And if privacy isn't a problem, then it's easy to strip off and have a wash with a couple of litres of water.
We've often had total water supply problems when away from 'civilisation', such that we haven't wanted to be profligate with scarce water e.g. in the desert).
Simplicity has prevailed in our case!!

A big bowl of hot water, A good scrubbing sponge & away you go

Fresh as a a daisy in about three minutes

Daz

We bought the Coleman, reliable and simple to use. Bought it because we saw some friends with one and thought it was a good idea. Unfortunatly we have used it 4 times in just over 2 years, very rarely take it with us anymore.

As we normally have a fire going I find a billy of hot water in a bucket of cold is easiest and just the right temp for showers. I have seen others with galvinised buckets on the fire which works well

Rgds
ian

G’day Simo & Stace,
When water supply is not a problem we use a canvas shower. It’s basically a 20 ltr canvas bag with a big brass shower rose in the bottom which when turned anticlockwise runs and turned clockwise is off. One billy of hot water and the balance cold is about the right temperature. Shower lasts for a good time and is rarely emptied unless you’re just enjoying the warm shower. I’ve used it for over twenty years.
Myles.

We have a twine fitted to the 80 series and it is fantastic but you need to know the best way to plumb it in. There is a better way to what the instructions say.
If you fit one ,MM me and i will tell you.

I just use the shower in the caravan.

Before the caravan we tried the canvas bag, the big bucket and a face washer as well as a 12v pump in a mix of hot water and cold.

Cheers,

Cruiser .

Like Daz, only a small bowl of warm water, flannel and soap. If you're really grubby, another litre of water for a rinse. Even with a shower in the van, the tub bath is sometimes chosen because it is quicker and easier and saves water.

Motherhen

Simo : I used to go up to Tamala Station every year. A lot of those electric showers you buy don't last long.
I made a very reliable shower out of a Bilge pump .Connected a couple of alligator clips got a little motor bike battery, hooked up to some garden retic
hose screwed on a rose and Bob's your uncle.

The showing water up there wasn't the best, didn't want to put in caravan water tank so used to heat up water on the old outdoor fire (could use gas)
tipped it into a 20 ltr bucket in the shower recess, with the bilge pump in it,
switch it on...........

You could use it for outside , put pipe into river/whatever (connected to bilge pump of course.Submerge bilge pump in a bucket and put in river,creek,dam.


A bit long winded but hope it helps.

Simo,

It probably gets down to how often you intend to use it as to how much you are prepared to pay.

When we are bush camping, we find we only have (need) a shower every third day or so, otherwise you need to be close to a supply of water.
When carrying a hundred litres of water (or less) you need to ensure you don't run short using the precious supply to wash daily.

We use a $30 battery operated portable shower and have no problems at all.


Bill.

We had a glind unit in our GU patrol and it was great .
when we got to a camp site was simple to plug in the shower unit near the front left wheel power it up in the cig lighter, bucket of water and the shower tent and away you go.Managed to do 2Adults/2k ids with 20lt bucket
Now we have an off road van and 480lts so its as long as you like in the shower now.

Good old solar shower here! Folds nice and small doesnt need heaps of water, nothing really to go wrong and if there's no sun we heat a bit of water on the stove and add that. Two can shower with the one bag and that includes me washing my hair, (Ian is somewhat folicularly challenged so doesnt have the problem with hair washes). We love bushcamping and so conserving our water is a must.

Of course I am always trying to steer the Jeep toward the warmer climates whereas my much loved hubby prefers to go South, something to do with the fact he works in the northwest for weeks at a time and doest want to go back on days off. Dont get it myself :-)

Sue

G'day Simo,

I got a Glind on one of the GU's, it is about 12yrs old and been on 4 vehicles. It is still as good today as it was when I 1st bought it. You can get a very good hot shower from it but the problem I have with them is if you need to stop/start your shower. The initial water temp when you re-start your shower is scalding hot to the point of burn factor 10, they are very dangerous in this situation. Most showers in the bush require you to stop/start as water is precious so it is a bit annoying in this manner.

I also have a coleman and think this unit (now about 1yr old) is also very good and probably a better option than the glind for us (2Adults 2Kids). The Glind rarely gets used now but it has well and truely paid for itself over the years. I hope I get as good a run out of the Coleman as I have had from the Glind.

I also had a much cheaper immitation Coleman and it was cr@p so I would steer clear of these if they are still available from Super Cr@p Auto stores.

Cheers Trevor.

Just my opinions over the past 30 years:

#1 We have a bird bath using about a litre of water from the thermos every day anyway, so the shower is only used every 3-4 days.

#2 Solar showers sound clever, but you can't use them in the morning, they take ages to heat up and you can't regulate the temperature, and the bags are a pain to fill.

#3 Fancy Heat Exchangers like Glind and Twine: I used one for 3 years - that was long enough. They are good with an unlimited supply of water - you can have a decent shower on continuous flow. But if you try to conserve water, you'll get a boiling hot/cold shower, unless you simply use it as a water heater. And warming up a diesel motor takes ages at idle rpm.

#4 The stainless steel bucket. Buy an 8 or 10 litre crockpot from CheapAsChips for $10. Fill it with water, sit it next to the fire or on the stove and 5 minutes later, it is perfect temp for a shower. Drop in the $20 electric pump and you can have a great shower - to stop wasting water, just drop the shower head back into the crockpot. Wet yourself for the soap up, then rinse off. If the $20 pump were to stuff up (usually after 12 months of camping) then use a coffee cup. We actually find this works better!!!!

Cheers
Phil

We use a 12V Primus shower which is just a pump and a hose with a shower head. The water is heated in a stainless steel bucket on the fire of the gas stove, then the pump is dropped in. My wife now doesn't mind bush camping. I looked at the continuous hot water ideas such as the Coleman unit and the ones plumbed into the vehicle's cooling system. In the end I went for the simplicity of the pump and bucket.

Cheers
John

I've heard of baby wipes or similar being used for top and tail. Haven't tried it myself. Would sure save on water.