Comments on: 12V Portable Shower / Washer

By: catapulting_aaron

catapulting_aaron — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:49:23 +0000

This thing is sweet! I need one! I tried using a garden fertilizer sprayer, but it was way too weak. Some of the old school sprayers seem to get enough pressure though… hmmm…

By: victor

victor — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:59:58 +0000

I use a hand pump pesticide sprayer from Orchard Supply for light cleaning at the beach. Get one of the more expensive ones with the brass tip, the plastic tips wear out really quickly. Works fine for spraying off mud and sand from equipment and wetsuit.

There are also pumps that work with rechargeable drills but I have never tried one.

If you really want a shower and hot water, Coleman makes a complete setup powered by propane and batteries. Not a whole lot of pressure and kind of a hassle to set up, though. It probabaly works better with the water preheated by the sun or whatever. Check RV supply stores like Camping World.

By: sergem

sergem — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:03:24 +0000

Well, “12V water heater” rings a number of things on UK ebay. “Cup in minutes” would mean smaller rise in a bigger tank, but this does not sound crazier than sailing in winter

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:22:10 +0000

You’ve really got me going with this…here’s my new silly idea: The power cord is switchable to two devices at the sprayer: The pump for when you want to rinse, and a heating element in the tank for when you’re driving to your location. Obviously you don’t want to run down your battery on a water heater, but while you’re driving the battery has power to spare.

Crazy I know. I should focus on making my basic pump and sprayer, and THEN worry about the hot water!

By: sergem

sergem — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:57:01 +0000

Pump is splash-protected, AFAIK, but would probably fail submersion test. I would say 3 gal are enough for wetsuit/booties, 1.5 gal per sail if you just wash salt off, more if you need to rinse sand/mud. If not sure, perhaps just jury-rig it to whatever container you can think of. Now, rinsing with hot water in winter, that’s an interesting idea

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:27:41 +0000

I’ve been thinking about making one of these for some time! Is the pump submersible? Or perhaps that’s just adding hassle to a simple idea. For that matter I’m wondering about storing the water in an insulated cooler, for the warm shower possibilities.

How much water do you find you need for gear and wetsuit rinsedown?