I had a problem with my hot water recently, which meant going for a couple of days without showers. I am thinking of getting some kind of low-tech camp shower in case this happens again, and was wondering if there was anything I should know about them.

My recent situation was a fairly specific failure; I had electrical power, gas and water, and could heat water in a kettle. I'd obviously prefer something that would be useful in a more general crisis, so I don't really want something with an electric pump. I've seen camping showers advertised that are basically black bags with a spout, and quite cheap. Whether I'll get a crisis in which water is plentiful enough to shower with, but no electricity, I don't know.

Another possible problem is how to rig it. The camping ones look like they are supposed to be hung from a tree, outside. I don't fancy showering outside during winter. They hold about 20 litres of water, which weighs about 20kg, which is pretty heavy, and I'm not sure how I'd support that at height in my bathroom.

Does anyone have any experience, advice or recommendations?

The Coleman Hot water system might be useful around the house in an emergency and it is not only useful for just showering use.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/subcategory.asp?CategoryID=2200

I've used the solar camping showers and have found them quite nice when car camping in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming -- however they are useless on a cloudy day. If the sun is out, the 20L actually gets pretty hot (in the summer) and is good for about 2 showers if you conserve water. In the winter or in an area where clouds prevail, I don't know if they would be worth the effort. The versions I used were clear on one side and black plastic on the other.

I used the solar showers extensively in Afghanistan in the winter, it does tend to be sunny there in the winter. It worked well. If I was in a hurry, or it was cloudy, I heated water to put in it. I had to be careful to not make it too hot.

Maybe a simple bellows foot pump would work?

Jeff

Guys, guys!

Tools! Remember all those tool porn catalogs you've got?

Go to the page that shows hand pump sprayers, like for spraying insecticides on plants. Use a new one, fill with warm water, set in the shower, and wet down, soap all over, then rinse.

DO NOT USE ONE THAT HAS HAD INSECTICIDE OR OTHER TOXIC MATERIALS IN IT!

Sue

I have This it works.

Lee

I have this:
Hand pump camping shower

No power or battery required. Works fine.

I just use a large bucket and a sponge.

Unless I'm planning to be in the woods for more than a three day weekend, I generally prefer these to a local stream or lake. While not as relaxing as a hot shower at home, it beats jumping into an ice cold stream and then having to walk back through the sand/mud/whatever to towel off.

During the colder months I simply place the package next to the campfire for a few minutes to warm them up -- reminds me somewhat of the hot towels the flight attendants provide before a meal in First Class.

Jim

I have got good results by pouring water into a dark garbage bag, enough for a military shower but so it lays flat and only 2" deep. laid out onto flat ground, leaves underneath if the ground is cold, around noon the bag collects a considerable amount of heat.

Once warmed sufficiently you can snip a corner and hang the bag, actually hang first then snip if you go this route. Or you can pour the water into a bucket with holes.

If your doing it a lot it pays to set up 2by4s on edge into a square and rig, glass, clear fiberglass corrugation, or plastic over top. The key hear is to surround the bag and place the clear cover in such a way that it maintains an inch and some of airspace in such a way that the air space is pretty well sealed.

We connected four lengths of 2by4 with hinges and used Plexiglas that we drilled on the corners so lag bolts and wingnuts held the cover on tightly. We sized the frame to accept a standard twenty gallon garbage bag and placed the frame and bag on top of a piece of iso-cyanurate insulation to keep the warming water off the colder ground.

As I remember it a batch went from about 45F to something around 130F, a warm (not quite hot) shower, in twenty minutes at noon. With two setups being run we showered eight people in about two hours. A few two at a time. Given none had had a shower in two weeks it was rave reviews all round. YMMV.

thats the staple washing method for "urban survival". if you have to save water just wet a towel with hot water and wipe down your entire body starting with your face and ending the the pooper.

look at msr dromedary water bags. they are industrial tuff, black (solar), and can double as a bullet proof water supply. shower adapters come separat, but they are simple (and simple seems to last a lot longer). there are other adapters too...gravity filtration, spigots, etc. it even won the "gear of the year" award in backpacker magazine!

i have the 10 liter bag, and hang it up at base camp. they come in several sizes.

msr dromedary bags

here is the shower adapter...

dromedary shower adapter

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm avoiding approaches that use mains power, batteries or gas cannisters. Susan's garden sprayer approach sounded interesting so I thought I'd try it.

It basically worked. It would work better if it had a spray attachment designed for the job. Its capacity was only 5 litres, which is small compared to the 20l that the black bags offer, but I found it adequate at the low flow rates I was using. My kettle is 1.5l, and I found that 1 kettle of cold water and 2 of boiling gave around 60C, which was adequate (in fact too hot if the water wasn't in a fine spray).

We found a plain old kitchen sink sprayer worked well. Just connect it to your water source and squeeze the trigger to spray so it stops when you let up, no turning valves on and off.