Hot Shower for Camping, Rustic Cottages, Cabins or Remote Areas

 

A few summers back we decided we wanted hot water for showers with out taking sponge baths or jumping into a freezing cold lake while spending time at our cottage in Canada.  This is how my husband solved the problem and how we all enjoy the beauty of nature while keeping clean!

 

This cabin has been in the family for over 60 years and has not changed much from the day it was built.  Changes that have occurred are - power was discontinued due to bad lines and poles that would cost a small fortune to have replaced and land line phone was removed due to lack of service majority of the time.

 

Power is now from a generator and propane.  Phone is now Cell phones that can go where we go.

 

Hot water had always been heated over the fire or stove and would take time for such a small amount that made bathing a cold COLD quick experience.

 

My husband first thought we would purchase some fancy water heater till he saw the price and how basic they were for that outrageous price.  He decided that he would come up with something on his own and he did a wonderful job of it.

 

He used an old large propane grill that still had good burners but the ignighter no longer worked so it was useless according to the owner.

He bought a good amount of copper tubing and connectors needed.

The copper he coiled to fit into the grill just over the burners coming in from one end from a hose to out the other end into another hose.  Shut off valves before and after.

By setting the grill on the lowest setting he would play with this till it raised the temp of the water to a comfortable level.

Please note we did have failures up to this point.   With ground water temps here at home  at first the copper coil was not long enough to heat the water and even worse was when water got too hot and melted connectors in the hose - forcing him to replace these with better connectors.

After playing with this design we figured it was ready for our first trip in the spring.

 

On a warm day with no wind our first design worked perfect!

 

Please remember this is a rustic cottage built over 60 years ago in a remote area so we feel comfortable having an out door shower.  Plus if you love nature as we do - it is glorious to stand outside and shower - with a view like that showers take much longer!

 

Our water is pumped up from Lake Huron so it is COLD.  We noticed that it didn't take much of a breeze or chill in the day to make this a refreshing but chilly experience.

Turning up the flame on the grill had the wrong effect...   we melted our connectors again.

Also remember to ALWAYS shut off the burners and let the water run till everything has cooled down.

 

Our next trip up Husband brought up more copper tubing and new connectors.

Now at a low setting and water that is pumped up to the tanks the day before we have a wonderfully warm shower.  Windy days are still chilly - but exhilarating.

 

If you have any questions about this to try for yourself I would be happy to help.

Please check yes on my guide to show you were here.