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Hi, I`m doing a design course and I`m also a keen camper. I am researching ways to heat water for showers and washing up when camping, especially where there are no facilities. I would appreciate any feedback from those that have used solar water heating methods when camping or any wish lists or ideas for improving this type of equipment.Thanks.

ps. How do caravan users heat their water??

Hi there and welcome to UKCS - the biggest collection of campaholics known to humankind!!

I have tried the solar showers that are easily availalble in camping shops and even on a hot GB summer day it has not got very warm, even when left on the car roof all afternoon. I can't think of any suggestions to improve the efficiency of heating, but a couple of things thatwould imporve the functioning of the kitwould be - a better more robust on/off mechanism, and some kind of stand to hold both the shower reservoir and the shower hose up for ands free useage.

I have just gone hi-tech and got one of these instead - and it is fab (but I am addicted to gadgets, I am afraid!)

we have a couple of the solar showers, have no problems with it. but only when you get the air out of the bag and makesure that the black is touching the water will it work best, but of course this all depends on the sun shinning!!!  i have managed to use it for a shower a couple of times in the past 7 years! mostly gets used for washing up etc though. 

most caravans have water heaters in them that run of the mains or gas, and evenif they dont you just boil the kettle, which we have done with the solar bags to top them up a bit. 

just a thought, perhaps if the bag was a bigger size then once the air was out the surface area would be so much greater with the same amount of water that the water could heat up better, perhaps thats why we have had better luck than most that use these as i only half fill each of the bags,

Hi

I had a brainwave when thinking about this problem. Has anyone heard of Nescafes Hot when you want self heating coffee in a can? It uses the chemical reaction between quicklime and water to produce heat. This all happens in a sealed unit within the can. The positives are that you can have hot showers day or night whatever the weather and the end product (calcium hydroxide sludge) is used to neutralize sewage and soil acidity. The negatives are quicklime can give nasty burns as it is a strong alkali and to scale it up to heat 4 gallons of water may mean you need rather alot of it. I`ve tried to do the Physics but my brain hurts!! I`m sure theres a way round it though....?

Melanie

I was pondering the whole shower-in-a-tent thing, particularly ways of increasing the flow. I got to trying to think of a way of storing enough water at head hight, then using gravity to aid flow. Also you'd need more volume stored too.

Then I noticed how handy my roofbox was (fitted to my taller-than-most car). So I was thinking of somehow having a collapsible liner in the roofbox, with inlet and output hoses. Basically using the roofbox as a giant solar warmed reservoir. I guess I'd need to pass the water over the stove too...

Still thinking...