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OwenChristensen
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# Posted: 26 May 2018 08:31am
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Getting clean at the cabin. Well we used to haul all our water in 5 gal. containers. That was a pain. In the last couple years we dug a shallow well that always seem to produce a limited amount of water. We are not in a desert, but dense clay seems to be working against us getting a real well with this way of doing it. We get 30 gals each time and fill a tank in the attic space. I also pump 10 gals into a tank in the ceiling of our sauna. Now we only haul drinking water which is quite a relief.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 26 May 2018 09:13am - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
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I use a solar well, I have no power, but do have Honda EU2000i generators, but the solar well pumps out 2.8 gallons a minute. Its like turning on a kitchen faucet. The well has a "livestock well pump" in it, designed to keep farmers stock tanks filled (used a level switch in that case) I just run it right out to a spout, its turned on and off with a switch, runs on 12-36VDC
I have an outdoor shower with plenty of space inside to change into and full privacy walls.
Shower pump unit has a built in heater and pump sets inside water jug. Its a "Mr Heater Aqua Cube" but sold under other names too. Newer model looks a bit different. It has its own 12V lead acid battery with charge cord. Battery is easy to replace and no problems finding the size. Very common, in fact, Home Depot has them in stock.
So far, no way of washing clothes, but befriended a local who will do it, no issues. I usually slip him some cash.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 26 May 2018 10:16am
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most days, a bath in the lake. Fall and spring a shower from water pumped from the lake. Winter a shower from a zodi tank heated on the wood stove that I filled after drilling a hole through the ice in the lake.
Either method works for me and I never miss a shower. Seems whatever I'm doing at the cottage I need one by the end of the day.
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Borrego
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# Posted: 26 May 2018 10:49am
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We've gone all the way from an outdoor shower behind our trailer with a black bucket on the roof....to a fully modern bathroom with a tanked water heater delivering nice hot water at a moments notice......ah the luxury....!
Having said that, there is nothing like a good outdoor shower and we wander out there on a regular basis...it now has an Ecotemp L5 
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NorthRick
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# Posted: 26 May 2018 01:13pm - Edited by: NorthRick
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Our trips are usually 2-4 days. We shower at home before we go and after we return. If I'm doing something at the cabin that gets me really dirty/sweaty I go for a swim in the lake. Baby wipes if it is too cold for that.
We haul potable water in 5 gallon jugs too. Keep that for coffee and dishes.
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Just
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# Posted: 26 May 2018 01:50pm
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nice to hear from you Owen !!
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skootamattaschmidty
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# Posted: 26 May 2018 03:50pm
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I'm lucky enough to have a water source nearby. I have a 120 gallon tank in a crawl space under the cabin. I pump that full using a subermisible pump with my generator. Once full the in cabin system is a 12v shurflo pump that feeds an excited l10 Hot water heater. I put an old clawfoot tub/shower and a vanity in to stay clean. We used to use the shower in a bag outside but this is so much nicer when it's chilly.
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Ontario lakeside
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# Posted: 26 May 2018 11:28pm
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We catch our water from our roof into a 500 gallon tank and pump it to the shower with a 12 volt on demand pump. If you have a reasonable amount of rainfall its a great and simple system..
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OwenChristensen
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# Posted: 27 May 2018 02:24am
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This is interesting as heck!
Hi, Just. Still here. Working a bit much for an old dude.
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xtolekbananx
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# Posted: 27 May 2018 08:27am
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I bring water in 7 gallon jugs plus I have a good neighbor who offers water when I run low. This year I will start collecting rainwater in 2 55 gallon barrels, that should be enough as it rains quite often where I am. In winter I did heat my water on wood stove and used shower wipes as backup. Summer, I either use solar bag or just take a cold shower, very refreshing and wakes you up... The warmer months I shower outside.
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creeky
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# Posted: 27 May 2018 09:34am
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Quoting: OwenChristensen Working a bit much for an old dude
I hear that.
Summer I fill 50 gallon barrels from the well and drag them back to the washroom. In the winter I fill two barrels inside. When I run out I can sometimes catch a warm spell to get them refilled. Winter showers are short and I catch what I can in a pan to repurpose.
115v shurflo pump. Just upgraded from the 2008 to the 4008. I will be doing the kitchen too. The new 115v revolution is a real nice pump. very quiet.
The 2008 froze and leaked for about two years so it was due. My biggest problem with the shurflo pumps are the water strainers you're supposed to put at the front of the pump. After two years they start to suck air.
All this runs through a L12 ecotemp. This also froze, twice. Second time wasn't as bad as the first but its the one that blew a hole in the intake. Luckily it was just one hole and easy to find. So I was able to epoxy it back. Almost two years since the repair and still holding.
I would like to get a modulating flame model for the next heater. You get tired of adjusting mid shower. smile.
Ah. Hard to beat a hot shower after a long day working in the spring rain.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 27 May 2018 02:01pm - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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Hi Owen.
Thanks for checking in.
Here is how we keep clean:
We are lakefront so we built a water tower.
We use a small gasoline pump to pump water from the lake into two white water holding tanks on the water tower.
The 250 gal tank keeps our two sinks in the cabin supplied with gravity fed cold water.
The 125 gal tank is for our outdoor shower. We do not have enough pressure to run our on demand hot water shower so we use a 12 volt rv pump hooked up to a lithium battery, the battery is hooked up to a solar panel.
We use a small amount of bleach in the water. Never have a problem with any nasty stuff in the water.
We do not drink this water.
For dishes I have a huge pot with a spigot. I heat the water to boiling to make sure it's safe for dishes.
We pump water three times per week.
That might seem a excessive amount of water but we shower every day, I have a huge claw foot tub, I do a massive amount of dishes. We try not to use paper products because we are only allowed two trash bags a week. I'm not keen on burning garbage or filling up the land site with paper products.
Drinking water we get from town at the laundry mat when we do our laundry.
They have a sink with city water. I run that through a big burkey to get the chlorine flavor out and anything else that might be in there.
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naturelover66
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# Posted: 27 May 2018 03:22pm
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Hi Owen! Before the well we used one of those portable battery operated camp showers... You know... The kind with the pump that goes in the bucket of water attached to a shower head? Before that a solar shower n baby wipes.
Have a happy summer
Lisa
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old greybeard
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# Posted: 28 May 2018 01:13pm - Edited by: old greybeard
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We're pretty simple and lazy. 1/2 keg with the top cut open, and the cut out piece made into a lid. Heat 2.5 gallons on the wood stove in winter, gas stove in summer. Pour into bbl, add enough cold water to get temp nice. Drop 12v bilge pump into water, line leads to shower head, on off switch on side of shower.
Good flowing spring with pipe 200yds from camp, either haul with atv or if feeling like a workout carry 5 gallon jug at a time.
Use spring water for showers and dog water. 55 gal rain bbl for cleaning and watering plants.
bring drinking water from home, although we'd drink the spring water if needed.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 28 May 2018 09:38pm
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Do you filter the spring water?
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Cowracer
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# Posted: 30 May 2018 09:04am - Edited by: Cowracer
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We are lucky to have a shower house available a short drive in the UTV from our cabin. However, it's generally pretty nasty. This years project is to construct an outside shower. I find that water sitting in a 55 gallon barrel is warm enough in the summer months to make a somewhat comfortable shower. Especially if its in a black barrel.
My neighbor has a well, and I can run enough hose to the shower location to fill the barrel as required. I will also pipe the dehumidifier into it, as it generates roughly 4 gallons a day and every little bit helps. I might catch rainwater too, but that may come later.
My buddy has his camper on the next site over, and it has an outside shower. With the slide room extended, and a curtain hung up, you are blocked from view, but are generally showering in the great outdoors. My wife really likes that, so thats what I am building for her. It'll have just enough walls to prevent gawkers from getting an eyeful, but still not fully enclosed. Unless someone gets their jollies from looking at my ankles, then I might have to beef it up some. LOL
Full documentation will follow as I build it.
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OwenChristensen
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# Posted: 30 May 2018 09:08am
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As some of you know, I build saunas. Are out of so called retirement from building cabins to do that. Why? Because I now work at home and deliver saunas to customers. I still see a lot of cabin properties because it is a common way to get clean without a lot of water. Here are some of these cabin people:
Sauna 1
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Wood fired sauna
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Kids in sauna
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Sauna at the lake
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Cowracer
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# Posted: 30 May 2018 03:29pm
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Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech Shower pump unit has a built in heater and pump sets inside water jug. Its a "Mr Heater Aqua Cube"
Ya know, I replied to this thread before I read all the responses. I got to looking at your setup Toyo, and I LIKE it. A simple 5 gallon container and the Mr. Heater setup would be ideal for me.
Ya'all made me rethink my plans yet again. But this time, its gonna make things easier and maybe even cheaper.
Can you give a full review of how you like the thing?
Thanks!
Tim
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Smawgunner
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# Posted: 30 May 2018 07:13pm
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2 55 gallon rain barrels. Inside we have a shower powered by a shurflo pump and small electric hot water tank. Works like a charm!
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Bushwhacked
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# Posted: 5 Jun 2018 01:25am
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Quoting: Cowracer Unless someone gets their jollies from looking at my ankles, then I might have to beef it up some. LOL
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LoonWhisperer
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# Posted: 5 Jun 2018 04:44pm
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We run water from the rainbarrel to the L5 heater and pump into the shower area.
Inside I built a sink with a pump that runs off the solar.
She ain't pretty but we clean up just fine lol
20150426_114259.jpg
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20160716_16.18.23..jpg
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sink2.jpg
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jesse977
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# Posted: 25 Sep 2018 11:27pm - Edited by: jesse977
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We use a 3 gallon bug sprayer (no bug spray was ever used of course) I attached a sink water sprayer to the other end. I made a little shower with a big plastic tote for the floor and I used PCV pipe to attach shower curtains. I can take a great shower with about 2 1/2 gallons of water. My girlfriend has long hair and uses 3 gallons. Simple, cheap and effective. My cabin is out in the Mojave desert. During the summer we just shower outside, butt naked. I will be purchasing a travel trailer with a shower in the future. Next time I go to my cabin I'll take pictures. Here is where I got the idea https://youtu.be/rp3rv5og0fk
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redwolfguild
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# Posted: 26 Sep 2018 01:08pm
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We got lucky, my little cabin came with a wood burning hot water heater. Build a little fire in the bottom, in 20 minutes I have boiling hot water. Mix it with cold in the claw foot tub in the bathroom. The wife loves it. The side effect is when it is cold, the hot water heater keeps the cabin warm. In the summer I use an outdoor shower that I use black 3/4 pipe to heat the water. Gets so hot I have to mix it 50/50 with cold water.
One of these days I am going to remodel and install a wet bathroom so I can have a shower head in the tub.
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Ptomaine
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# Posted: 26 Sep 2018 09:17pm
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For now I have found I can shampoo my hair with a large coffee can of water. Baby wipes for general cleanup. If I stay long enough to have to wash clothes, the laundromat in town has a pay shower.
I built an oversized outhouse with the intention of adding a shower stall. I hope to add gutters and a rain barrel in the spring. This thread will help me make plans for what comes after the water supply is completed.
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slgerber
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# Posted: 2 Oct 2018 08:18pm
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Sometime ago I experimented with minimalist bathing for several weeks while my hot water heater was busted. I found that I could get adequately clean by boiling one gallon of water and then cooling it to a comfortable temperature with one gallon of cold water to make 2 gallons of nice bathing temperature water. I simply used a plastic cup to wet my body all over with about a half to three quarters of a gallon of water then soap up and scrub my body with a wash cloth and shampoo my hair then finally rinse off with the remaining warm water. In winter this is far more pleasant if done in a room that is quite warm rather than a chilly room.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 3 Oct 2018 07:27am
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my shower sprayer (zodi) which is 3 gal is plenty for two adults to get clean if you do the - Get wet, shut water off, soap up, then rinse method.
If its my wife and I, I use about 1 gal, she gets 2 but has more hair (on her head) than me. Still its plenty.
We have done it outside in the middle of winter, and unless its very windy its not really a problem. Mentally you think its going to be worse than it really is.
now that I have the indoor shower for summer, as long as my drain lines won't freeze, I use the shower stall in the winter with the zodi sprayer.
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