Shower-in-a-Bucket

by C Ostler in Outside > Camping

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Shower-in-a-Bucket

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In this Instructable, you will learn how to create your own portable shower-in-a-bucket. It is extremely cheap, amazingly simple, and only takes 15 minutes construct.

Materials:

*7 feet of 20mm diameter plastic pipe (PVC)

*Drill

*Drill bits- ¾ inch, 5/8 inch, 9/64 inch, and 3/32 inch.

*1 roll of Duct Tape

*Hot glue gun (a caulk gun would probably work better)

*1 500ml bottle

*Bicycle Pump

*Water

*Plastic bucket with an airtight lid (to test this, fill the bucket with water, secure the lid, and tip it upside down. If any water leaks out, the lid is not air-tight.)

Drill Holes in the PVC Pipe

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To start, use the 9/64-inch drill bit to drill 9 holes in one side of the PVC pipe. Make sure that the drill bit goes all the way through the PVC to create another hole on the far side. You should end up with 9 holes on one side and 9 on the other. Next, use the same drill bit to drill 7 holes on the other side of the PVC pipe. This time, however, only drill through one side of the pipe.

Connect the PVC to the Bucket

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Secure the lid on the empty bucket. Use the 3/4-inch drill bit to cut a hole in the lid, approximately 3 inches from the outer edge. Once this is done, push the 16-holed end of the PVC pipe into the hole until it hits the bottom of the bucket.

Seal Around the Hole

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Use the hot glue (or caulk) to seal the hole. Make sure there are no gaps. The seal will need to hold a significant amount of pressure, so make the glue/caulk around 1 cm thick.

Connect the Bicycle Pump to the Bucket

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Use the 5/8-inch drill bit to drill a hole 3 inches from the first hole, still 3 inches from the outer edge of the bucket. Place the end of the bicycle pump into the hole and seal it the same way you sealed the PVC pipe. Be sure to maintain pressure on the part you are gluing so that it doesn’t pop out while you are sealing the hole.

Prepare the 500ml Bottle and Connect It to the PVC Pipe

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Use the 3/32-inch drill bit to drill a bunch of holes in the lid of the bottle (I made 11 holes). The fewer holes you make, the more water pressure your shower-in-a-bucket will have. Also, use the 3/4-inch drill bit to create a hole towards the bottom of the 500 ml bottle (make sure it is empty). Place the end of the PVC pipe that is not in the bucket into the hole you created in the bottle and seal it like you did previously.

Cover the Bottle in Duct Tape

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Cover the bottle in duct tape to increase the aesthetic appeal (make it look better). I used silver duct tape, but you can use any color you want.

Try It Out

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Fill the bucket with water, place the lid on securely, stand under the 500ml bottle, and start pumping the bike pump. Now you have your very own shower-in-a-bucket, enjoy!