That's impressive Rich.  I appreciate "repurposing" everyday items a
lot and you have really gone to town on this.  Interesting how fast
your heat exchanger heats up that water.  There's a lot of waste heat
in our little vanagon engines.  Thanks for documenting the whole
project so well also.

Edward

At 11:27 AM 6/4/2010, Richard Koerner wrote:
>Back in January, I commented on my Vanagon shower....I've finally
>posted some photos.  Check them out at
>http://picasaweb.google.com/richkoerner/VanagonShower?authkey=Gv1sRgCLy895SWoseFBg&feat=directlink
>
>And here's the post from January with minor rewrite.....
>
>I don't need a rear heater here in San Diego, but I do need hot
>water for my showers.  I removed the rear heater, but I suppose you
>could just as well "T" into the lines.  I used brass reducing barbs
>for the 1/2" heater hose to the rear heater to get it down to
>1/4"  inside diameter hose, which is then clamped onto a 15 foot
>length of 1/4" OD copper tubing, which I of course coiled into a
>cylindrical shape (by using a spray paint can as a form).  The
>copper coil drops down in my tank, in my case a 5 gallon aluminum
>stock pot (like for making spaghetti or something).  I also have a
>ball-valve in line to turn the coolant flow on and off.  To finish
>the masterpiece, I got a digital meat thermometer from WalMart; the
>probe goes in the tank, the digital readout/alarm goes up in front
>so I can watch it while I drive.  (I utilized the unused wiring for
>the rear heater fan for my wiring for the "extension" between the
>probe and the digital display.)   So 5 gallons of water in the
>aluminum pot (could be plastic, could be smaller or larger, could be
>rectangular, but mine is aluminum so I can also heat up the water
>for my shower on the Coleman stove outside the van.  But 5 gallons
>of water goes from about 60 degrees F to 120 degrees F in about
>10-12 minutes of driving down the freeway; so I usually open the
>stopcock to start heating my water about a half-hour before I reach
>the campground.  The digital readout on the meat thermometer beeps
>when I hit 110 degrees, that's where I like to set it.  If I
>overshoot a little that's OK, have had it as high as 130 degrees
>F.  Depending on van interior temps, it SLOWLY cools off, but since
>it's under the rear seat, it holds it's temperature for quite a
>while, at least an hour or so.
>
>By the way, to complete the "shower" part of it, I have a 12VDC
>800GPH Rule Bildge Pump, like for boats.  Got electric power, fuse,
>indicator light, and switch connected to the pump.  The pump is
>semi-permanently mounted inside the aluminum pot, and can easily
>withstand shower-temp water, wouldn't want to go too high on that
>though.   On the output side of the bildge pump is a reducer for a 6
>foot length of 3/8" Tygon plastic tubing, and a cheap plastic
>showerhead, with appropriate number of holes plugged with epoxy so
>that I get strong flow but not too much; definitely WAY more than a
>gravity fed solar shower, great for thoroughly rinsing out
>shampoo.  I get about 4.2 minutes of continuous flow with shower
>nozzle held at shoulder height, enough for showers for two if you
>turn it on and off in cycles.
>
>And to take showers INSIDE the Vanagon, I made a giant rectangular
>"funnel" out of blue plastic Walmart tarp, (cut and glued with
>contact cement) suspended on the interior of the Vanagon with bungee
>cords.  You actually sit inside the "funnel" or shower curtain or
>whatever you want to call it, and the water splashes down into a
>Rubbermaid tub.  I have a remote switch for the pump to turn it on
>and off at will.  Since I don't have a pop-top, I take showers
>sitting down, works just fine.  Of course, I do have curtains all
>around 360 degrees, and a roof vent to let the steam out.  But I've
>taken hot showers at McDonalds, WalMart, rest stops, what have
>you...total stealth and total bliss.  Oh, the gray water gets dumped
>out at the next suitable location, and the shower curtain "funnel"
>with bungees stores in the Rubbermaid tub (in the back of the van
>when driving and on the floor where the ice chest sits at night, the
>ice chest goes on top of the tub so no lost interior floor space).
>
>Yeah, some of the above technical description might be a little
>challenge to imagine, but believe me, it all works great, have taken
>hundreds of showers outside the van and at least 25 or more inside
>the van.  Free hot water!  Endless supply!
>
>I think you guys would get a kick out of rigging up your own system,
>the above description should give you ideas, and I'll have to figure
>out how to post pictures and a writeup.  Useful for only hot water
>or with the shower "option".
>
>Rich
>85 Vanagon with a clean guy inside
>San Diego