Water conservation for Boondocking (Hollywood showers)

freds · November 12, 2019, 01:16:46 PM

Hi Everyone

I am looking towards updating my bus for maximum off grid boondocking and while that obviously involves solar. Another topic is saving water.

The first suggestion that I have seen is recirculating water from the hot water system back to the fresh system while you are waiting for the water to get hot.

Our smaller brethren who are converting sprinter vans have come up with a new wrinkle of doing recirculating showers where they can take showers for as long as they want (Don't they call this Hollywood showers in the Navy?) and only use five gallons of water in a week.

The best of example I see of this out there is the YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiZy6rmwh72qZGJP98-_io9d2wWpDzGOJ

Hopefully this is something everyone would like to chew on?

Enjoy....

silversport · November 12, 2019, 01:33:46 PM

We use KISS, bucket in shower, large cup at sinks, use captured water for toilet, fill Brita water filter or pet's water bowl.

Geoff · November 12, 2019, 01:44:30 PM

I don't know about Hollywood showers, but we have Navy showers-- wet down, shut off water, soap up, turn water on to rinse off. Doesn't use that much water.

richard5933 · November 12, 2019, 01:47:12 PM

Not sure that I'd want to shower with recycled water, but there are other ways to conserve water that I would do. Using gray water for flushing is something that I think could easily be done by installing a filter & pump from the gray tank. I've seen a system like this done in houses, and it wouldn't require much extra hardware to install in a bus. Also wouldn't require near as much filtration as using the water for showering.

Our bus has a combined gray/black tank, so we'd need to install a gray tank to make this work. But we have, on occasion, saved our dish washing water for use in the toilet when we were trying to make the water last as long as possible or to delay dumping.

freds · November 12, 2019, 01:57:11 PM

Quote from: Geoff on November 12, 2019, 01:44:30 PM
I don't know about Hollywood showers, but we have Navy showers-- wet down, shut off water, soap up, turn water on to rinse off. Doesn't use that much water.

Maybe a Hollywood shower is Tom Clancy or John Ringo thing where the hero is evacuated via a submarine and for his efforts is told that he can go take a Hollywood shower and just relax while the hot water is beating on him or her...

dtcerrato · November 12, 2019, 04:42:06 PM

We installed a shower mixing valve bypass with a programmable timer. We set it at 15 seconds in real cold weather. Upon entering the shower the control can be seen just above the shower curtain rod. Just a simple press of the start button while turning on the single lever shower water to your favorite position. Now the shower water is in bypass mode & running back into the potable water holding tank. At the end of the countdown clearly shown in led you press the diverter to turn shower head on and wala your preferred water temp comes to you immediately. The system consists of the 12 vdc programmable timer, a 12 vdc water valve solenoid and some piping purchased separately on Amazon. It does conserve a lot of water. Something else that really conserves much water are restriction orifices at all the faucets including the shower. When full timing in our bus we can stretch 100 gals of potable water to over several weeks. We carry two plastic 7-1/2 gal jugs & two 5 gal collapsible jugs for carrying potable water w/o moving the bus.

freds · November 12, 2019, 05:25:16 PM

In thinking over the recirculating shower since I am not as water constrained as a van. I am thinking of having two shower heads with one recirculating and the other being fresh.

On the recirculating side, think of it as a vertical hot tub with a spray head. So, get your soak/meditation time in and then switch off, soap up and then turn on the fresh to finish.

TomC · November 12, 2019, 10:29:28 PM

On my kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and shower, I have a warm up valve. It is a ball valve tee'd into the hot water before the valve. I turn on the ball valve and the hot water runs through the pipes and returns to the fresh water tank. When I feel the valve get hot, I turn the ball valve off and turn on the normal hot water. It takes just a couple of seconds for hot water to come through.
I also take Navy showers. 130gal water can last my wife and I a week-and that's with taking a shower everyday. Good Luck, TomC

dtcerrato · November 13, 2019, 05:37:00 AM

"130gal water can last my wife and I a week-and that's with taking a shower everyday."
100 gal for over three weeks - skipping showers whenever possible... Lol

lostagain · November 13, 2019, 06:49:34 AM

Tom C: I don't get your plumbing system. I understand the T on the hot water line. But how does it return to the tank? Is there a dedicated line for that? I probably need another coffee anyway...

JC

Jim Blackwood · November 13, 2019, 09:48:03 AM

I like that idea a whole lot better than running drain water back into the potable water tank.

Jim

TomC · November 14, 2019, 08:32:14 AM

Yes I have a separate water line running back to the top of the fresh water tank for the warm up valve. Good Luck, TomC

buswarrior · November 14, 2019, 10:46:20 AM

And Tom's warm-up circuit can act as emergency fresh tank freeze protection, by bleeding, or dumping, hot water into the fresh tank.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

somewhereinusa · November 14, 2019, 02:24:05 PM

I have installed an automatic bypass on the shower.
Link to my web page. http://dicksbluebirdbus.x10host.com/coldbypass.html

freds · November 14, 2019, 07:10:18 PM

Quote from: somewhereinusa on November 14, 2019, 02:24:05 PM
I have installed an automatic bypass on the shower.
Link to my web page. http://dicksbluebirdbus.x10host.com/coldbypass.html

Wow great example!!!! Part number for the three way motorized valve? Available on Amazon?

So I take the operating procedure is:

1. Turn on hot water to full.
2. When water comes out move lever to the desired mix position.