Hot Water Shower Installation
Wouldn't it be nice if you could take a nice hot shower after being out all day on a hot dusty trail? There are a few commercially made shower kits available on the market, but I can't justify the $300 plus price tags on them. In this article, hopefully I will be able to make a shower out of simple parts. The key to the system is making a water to water heat exchanger, using the cooling system on your trail rig.
Parts List:
(1)18 inch piece of 3" copper tube
(2) copper 3" caps
(2) brass 1/2" barb x 1/2" pipe thread fittings
(2) brass 5/8" barb x 1/2" pipe thread fittings
(11) 3/8" OD copper refrigeration line
(10) 3/8" male/female 90 degree elbows
(10) 3/8" female/female 90 degree elbows
(1) 50 Ft. length of 1/2 garden hose
(1) solder
(6) 1/2" hose clamps
(1) 1/2" pipe thread tap and 18mm drill bit
(1) 12V DC water pump
I started by cutting the 3" pipe into an 18" piece.
Next, I drilled two holes in each cap with an 18mm drill bit, at an angle, as far away as possible from each other. Then I took the 1/2" pipe thread tap and tapped the holes to accept the barbs. Then, I wrapped the threads with plumbers tape and threaded the barbs into the caps.
The antifreeze will be coming into the 5/8" barb on the right and the copper coil that holds the fresh water will be soldered into the 1/2" barb on the left.
Here's the coil that I made.
It is basically 3/8" refrigeration tubing with two 90 degree elbows soldered to each end to form a "U".
There is 1 male/female 90 and 1 female/female 90.
The 3/8" tubing will slide right into the 1/2" barb and is a tight fit. The solder is put on the tip. I'm not sure how crucial this is, since the fit is really tight in the barb. It is there more so that the coolant doesnt mix with the fresh water as it passes through.
This is what it looks like on the inside of the cap with the coil inserted into the 1/2" barb.
This is a pic looking through the 5/8" barb where the hot antifreeze will be going into. You can see the coil through the barb.
The 3" copper is slid over the coils and the cap will be soldered to the body.
The coils barely fit in the cap.
The coils fit nicely in the 3" tube.
One cap installed. Notice the 3/8" tube sticking out of the emd on the right side. This will go into the other 1/2" barb in the other cap.
The finished heat exchanger.
Here's how it should work in theory:
The two 5/8" barbs will be connected inline with your heater hose. The
garden hose will need to be cut 3 pieces. One will go from your fresh water
supply to the pump. One will go from the pump outlet to one of the 1/2"
barbs on the heat exchanger. The 3rd one will go from the other 1/2" barb
to your shower nozzle.
Last updated: 03/13/00
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Fox
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