Sun Heated Garden Shower

If you do not like the cheap and cheesy plastic ones and do not want to pay what the "luxury" ones are sold for...this sun heated garden shower may be an option for you.

I made it four years ago and after using it for four seasons, I am satisfied with the result and thought is was worth sharing. It gets hot enough to require a mix of hot and cold water to have a good temperature, even if in my case it tend to be under the shade of the growing vegetation.

I did not take time to takes photos when making it but I can explain how to make your own.

It is made with off-the-shelf plumbing fittings, a railway sleeper and a modified pressure tank for the "heater".

It is a fairly simple project, the most annoying part is to find all the plumbing fittings, connectors that match your faucets and tank outlet.

I was not sure where I was going when I gathered the parts four years ago and would have been happy to find an instructable from someone saying "yes it works and it is good enough for a garden shower"...so I write it...hopefully it will be useful for someone.

• one oak railway sleeper
• a garden faucet (to allow hose quick connection on the cold water circuit) optional but convenient.
• a mixing faucet
• a shower head
• multi-layer pipes
• various fittings to link pipes to faucets (depends on local availability and faucets you choose)
• a stainless steel bladder water pressure tank (I bought a 24L tank for 40 euros, it is enough for few rinsing showers)(I would stay away of tanks that are not stainless steel, I guess they would get rusty soon)
• black vinyl wrap (or black paint) to improve the efficiency
• flexible pipes (makes it easier to attach the shower to the tank)

After modification, the pressure tank will become the heater, it receives cold water from the domestic inlet, the sun will warm it, hot water will naturally accumulate on the high side of the tank where we connect the hot water pipe to the mixing faucet.

See figure.

We are going to slightly divert the pressure tank from its original use, some explanation on what a pressure tank is : https://plumbingmedic.ca/the-role-of-a-pressure-tank-in-your-well-system/ . Those tanks can handle pressure - which is perfect for our use and can be easily modified :

1) disassemble

• open the tank (a few screws on top of the tank).
• remove the bladder from the tank
• remove the air valve from the tank

2) modify

two modifications :

• cut the bladder as show on the figure above (it is a rubber or vinyl bladder, a good pair of scissors will do the job).
• adjust the hole left by the removal of the air input to the size of the output tank fitting you found (I used a conical drill bit).

3) reassemble

• install the water tank connector (when the tank is open you can access both sides of the tank wall)
• the upper part of the bladder is used as a seal to close the tank.

4) paint or cover it with black vinyl for better efficiency.

I used a circular saw and chisels to carve the back side of the oak sleeper to allow some room to route the pipes.

Holes are drilled to place the faucets and the shower head.

You should not use PEX pipes for this type of project, they are light sensitive and would not last long in an outdoor environment without protection from light.

Cooper or multi-layer pipes are two options. Cooper might be a bit had to use here (brazing close the wood could be a challenge). Multi-layer is easy to use (all type of fittings are available to match the other components), easy to bend. Shears are sold to cut them but I managed to use garden shears, after a few tries I had cuts clean enough to connect to the fittings (you need to have sharp shears, gently cut the first layer, turning your shears around, then gently "bite" and cut the pipe - try not to crush it).

In the above figure, I represented the various fittings hidden behind the oak sleeper. 

Once pipes, fittings, faucets were in place, I made a concrete base and place the shower in its final position until it dried.

How to make a concrete base : https://www.instructables.com/Concrete-2/

My tank has four feet, I used them to attach it to my garden wall.

The tank inlet and outlet are then attached to the shower...

Ready for use...

Some comments...the bladder was rubber made and the first shower had a rubber smell...but do not worry it goes away after it drains completely after a few days of use.