My take on how to reuse your shower water for when you are off-grid! I will eventually make a comparison video with "Hour Shower" and Kurt and Snows shower system! / jack_hits_the_road / jackhitstheroad / jackbutler
Awesome, I have made a very similar setup for the same reasons 👍 I made mine even more complicated haha 😂 3 stage particle filter instead of one, but also UV of course. maybe overkill, but I have a seperate tank for the shower with a second pump and the water gets used for multiple days. I also have two switches in the shower, that switch input to fresh water and output to the grey water tank, and I can empty and refill my shower tank with a switch. my diesel water heater directly connects to the heat exchanger, because I have a diesel air heater with a thermostat that keeps it cozy. Regarding air temperature and moisture control I can really recommend a air heat exchanger. I use one from a German company called Bayernluft. a bit pricy, but very highly recommended. but to anyone interested in building a shower loop in their van, if it's your first build I recommend you keep it "simple" like in this video and use new water for every shower. don't make it more complicated than this if you don't already have van building experience. make it easier and get a diesel air heater or just use the diesel water heater for radiant heat like in a house.
Nicely done design. I wish I had had access to all the great parts we have today when I was a young man scouting out the world while living out of my car. Good on you and thanks for sharing!
Awesome video and great setup. If you could have your solar divert to an immersion heater you could capture a lot of energy in the tank that way too and save a bit of diesel. Something as simple as a buck/boost converter that has a adjustable low input voltage protection (so you can adjust when it kicks on, ie when your batteries are fully charged) I subbed because of your solar ebike video but this is right up my street too. We think much alike.
Thank you for your reply. I kind of found the answers to my questions once I’d read all the comments ........sorry to waste your time! I guess I should ask the Espar people for advise on the size of hot water tank and pump etc. As an aside. I’m thinking that I might pick up the shower tray water at the bottom of a shallow plug hole trap (just a bowl) Then also use a removable mesh style filter over the hole (at tray level) to catch hair before it gets to the pump filter.
Jack that is a great vlog and is a great help... I would love you to go over your water heating and air heating more please when you have time because yes i have seen all of kurts vlogs but he still does not show all how its fitted... I want to go the same way as you but on youtube have not seen a full set up shown like yours.... I like the way you talk it over and i get all you are telling us.. Once again great help thanks and stay safe 👍👍🚙
I wonder on water system 2, if something else other than water could be used? For example, engine coolant, which has anti-corrosive properties, as well as lower freezing point. As it’s separate, would be quite safe, whilst lessening the maintenance with the water heater/exchanger? Great video bud 👍
The water in the tank? Yes theis water contains corrosion inhibitors. And the water running through tge webasto heater is antifreeze. It's quite expensive to have a large enough amount of anti freeze to make any difference in the big tank though
Great video. I will be converting a sprinter next year- with recirculating shower. A couple of questions: why a 120L hot water tank? It’s a lot of water to keep hot. Second, how many litres per minute is your pump? And how many litres per minute do you actually get at the shower head. My recirculating shower will be the only item powered by the Espar diesel heater (no hot water and no blown hot air). Cheers.
The 120l is so i can keep the van from freezing during the day when I'm at work without having to burn Diesel unattended. I have the most powerful seaflo 42 series. I think its like 17l/min or something but i run it less so the UV filter can be effective. Flow at the head is much less and drops as filters slowly fill. If your going to be with the van the you could just hook your hydronic heater to a heat exchanger and a smaller tank. But even on low those heater are 2.5kw which could be too much for already warm recirculated water at a lower flow rate. I would still use some capacity of tank as those heaters heat to about 73 and then turn off.
So you’ve a boiler, a central heating system and hot water for showering. Seems you may have borrowed ideas from the #houselife crew ;-) I feel better about the recirculating shower now I’ve seen the filters. Perhaps this idea should be adopted by those #houselife people imagine the water saving potential.
I was curious if you really need the 120 litre tank? Couldn't you just create a closed boiler loop off the diesel heater past the heat exchanger? Excellent presentation of the system.
It is so I can go to work all day when It's -10c and the van won't freeze inside. it runs the heating without needing to burn diesel when I'm not with the van
This is a very smart set up mate. Could you share with us please how much all costs. Including the tank,diesel heater, shower tray and all shower set up. All. I live in a van in the UK and i'm not shore it would be worth the cost of this big investment. Keep up the good work and looking forward to the next video.
The show tray was the expensive bit as it's quite specific for the wheel arch. You could buy a normal caravan shower tray for £30+ but this one was about £220! Diesel heater secondhand ebay. Tank cheap secondhand ebay. Total for everything maybe 500 or 600. Very expensive part of the van for me but hopefully worth it
Very nice presentation of this shower system . Kurt is the pioneer of the recirculating shower. I think Kurt said he change the water every week , so is not needed to dump every shower ( he is using 10 gal tank tough). I wonder how will your 5 gal work , pretty sure will be fine. How many plates is your heat exchanger? Thank you
Thanks! Mine is good with 5-10 litres per shower. I could reuse it again but it's easier to dump the soap. I think the heat exchanger is 12 plate but it could be 20 I really can't remember at the moment sorry
Perfectly clear. Sounds like you have really thought this out very well. My only concern with the recirculating shower is that the dissolved oils and soap will still be accumulating - or do those filters remove that as well?
Yep you're right! The soap is not filtered but because i change the water every time it is mostly removed every time. I'll make a video about shower maintenance hopefully soon!
I’m new to your channel. This being the first video I’ve seen. I’m curious how this worked out for you, if you still use a recirculating shower and if you recommend them. Please reply, thank you.
Thanks for this video big man. Very clear and concise! The best so far on the system especially the step by step drawing! Got a question! The 120 litres of water!?!? Do you use it for your sink or anything else other than a massive heat store for the heat exchanger and plinth heater??
Thanks! Happy I could help! Haha yes the 120 litres is just a "thermal store" so i can hopefully keep the van above freezing while I'm at work all day.
Nice and simple! One big question tho, you never mention how your original hot clean water gets to your shower. Do you have a valve to switch over to the recirculation system?
@@JackButlerVideos ah, I see. So recirculation only while it’s running but not reused between showers. So you dump and then refill the system with new water before the next shower?
Amazing video! Thanks a lot. I am only wondering why you put the 5 micron filter at the output side of the waterpump and not on the inlet? Isn’t it better to filter the water as much as possible before water enters the pump?
Yea i had this logic too and started with it on the input. Unfortunately diaphragm pumps will self prime but do not have much power to do it so it's better to minimise the resistance on the input side to avoid priming issues. Great question, thanks!
Jack, perhaps one last question! Which filter housing did you bought? And which filters? The ones I find seems to have a to low flowrate per minute.. thanks again😄💪
Welcome to GVA! I see on your picture you made it ;) Do you gonna stay in Switzerland for a while? Iʼm actually in the planning to build a campervan similar to yours and was wondering which hydrolic pump model you chose? Could be nice to meet I youʼre still around!
Could you replace the section of filtered/sterilized "cold" return water with a section of copper or galvanized pipe and heat that section instead and use a wireless control on the heater to adjust the shower water temp?
Legionella would be a risk in the big hot water tank but it's over the temperature that kills it. Yes removing the water helps and the fact that tap water is chlorinated. But also the UV light kills bacteria like legionnaires. Good question, thanks!
Great video glad you explained 😂I kept my thoughts with me on the last video (showering in the dirty water )well that’s all clear .looks good and well interesting.since the Labels are out and the products .what do you think would it cost to put all this together the cash you did it .considering people would do it without a labour cost ?im in the plans of building ether van or tiny home just wondering what could it cost system like that .thank you
Jack Butler that’s not to bad at all . Shower tray I would probably try and make it out of the roof resin etc got loads in the garage will have a go !😂thanks for the answer!!
I'm pretty happy with it. Maybe I'd get one of the filter housing with a drain tap on the bottom to make for less messy filter change. And put the UV light on the suction side of the pump as it took a while to stop it leaking
I don't know the brand. It worked fine but i don't even use it now, i always use chlorinated tap water and if not can chlorinate manually. As i dump the water after every shower i feel i don't need it
This is fascinating, my first time hearing this concept. I've recently discovered your channel and see you are very capable with building electrical/mechanical systems. What is your background/training? I assume a BEng? Thanks for the content, I hope you return soon. Have sub'd.
@@JackButlerVideos All the more impressive. What's your primary information source when taking on this type of project? Also - can we expect an update on the build and how it served you through the winter? Cheers again.
If hou are heating your tank 2 water through the tank3 heating system i am failing to see wgat. The heat exchanger is doing in the loop as you already have a heat exchange from the tank 3 to tank 2 ? Also why do you need so much water in tank 2 ?
the "tank 2" is thermal storage. I can run the heating of the van from this thermal store. I sized it so that the heating lasts for 8 hours (one work shift) from max temperature with no heat input. This means I can prevent the van from freezing when I am working and I don't need to be burning diesel unsupervised when I'm away from the van.
Really cool design 👍 Have you considered adding another plate heat exchanger between the hot water tank and the vehicle cooling system so you can heat water while driving? Also are you running a 24v battery bank, if so do you use a step up b2b?
Yes im hoping to do this for winter maybe. It would be a long coolant line run under the van to get the hot water to the back and i would probably have to increase the size of the expansion tank on the diesel heater but it's possible! I'm using 52v ebike battery so I'm stepping down to 24v. And for engine charging using a boost converter. But I'm currently using mostly solar for charging.
@@JackButlerVideos Awesome cheers 👍👍 I'm using a 24v immersion heater (along with a webasto) in my water tank. I turn it on during long hill descents as a sort of regen brake, power is also dumped to it once the solar has charged the batteries. 👍👍👍👍
Darn! I want this in my home. There is a thing called Upfall shower for 4K euro. Just too much. The hour shower package looks great too and I like it's self contained unit. How much water do you circulate per minute (in liters if possible....)
@@JackButlerVideos More than I have at home at the moment!!! And you would actually only use it once - so max 12 - 17 liters PER shower session. Wicked good. This should be made mandatory in every home. I mean it.
@@JackButlerVideos I would say everywhere. Flushing energy + perfectly good water through the drain is just not right. Especially now such an attainable + perfectly good alternative / improvement is available. I think you did a sterling job in building and explaining your system. Thanks again!
Great project. Amazed how little water it can use! Only concern I have is the build up of bugs - www.nhs.uk/news/heart-and-lungs/shower-heads-and-lung-disease/ - do you have a cleaning regime planned to counter that or does the UV filter solve it?
Am also wondering how energy efficient it would be Vs an electric shower in a domestic situation although obvs that doesn't apply to a van. Must be a game changer for off grid situations!
The water entering the shower head has no bacteria or viruses present as they were killed in the UV sterilizer. I think the problem you linked is just from lack of cleaning the shower head
