Make An Outdoor Solar Shower

No garden activity area is complete without an outdoor solar shower. It can be anything from a simple piece of flexible water hose to a proper shower enclosure with decking, drainage and privacy screening.

Whatever form it takes, a solar heated shower is a whole lot of fun and a great addition to the garden on hot summer days. Let’s look at a simple solar heated shower in an average backyard, possibly close to a swimming pool or hot tub, both of which could use the same hot water as the shower.

We will look in detail at the following aspects of solar shower design:

Privacy
Drainage
Water supply
Insolation (sunshine availability)
Intended use
Debris

None of these are problems – you simply need to research and include them in your plans for building the solar shower.

Click here to make an outdoor solar shower

Here are the main criteria for the design of your solar heated shower:

• Privacy. Do you need to avoid being overlooked? If so you will need a simple cubicle structure, no more than 4 foot square, sited away from upstairs windows (yours and your neighbors!).

• Drainage. A very important consideration for a do it yourself solar shower is the provision of adequate drainage. In some areas you might be able to have a simple soak-away or take the soiled water to the nearest flower bed. Or you might have to build a fully piped system linked to the mains sewer or your cesspit. You will have to observe whatever rules are in force for your neighborhood regarding foul or gray water drainage.

• Water Supply. If your outdoor pool shower is positioned far away from the mains water supply you will experience a drop in shower pressure. If you find this is the case, you can boost the flow by mounting an old hot water cylinder or tank above the shower.

• Sunshine. The solar thermal heating system (pipe, tank or both) will need to get adequate exposure to sun for most of the day. Usually it will only take a few minutes to reheat water for the next shower, but the time taken can be badly affected by shade or poor positioning from direct sunlight.

• Usage. Is the solar heated shower to be used after having a dip in the pool or hot tub? To cool off after sunbathing? The intended use will determine much of the solar heated outdoor shower design and location.

• Garden Debris. Leaves can collect in the shower pan, and it is a chore to remove them every time you want to use it. Try to cover the pan with a wooden lid or similar device when not in use, and if possible locate solar showers well away from trees.

An outdoor solar shower will be between 9 and 16 square feet in size for comfort, and mounted on decking about a foot above ground level, to allow the installation of a simple galvanized steel drainage box under the shower to channel soiled water away to the soak-away or other drainage system you have built.

Consider extending the decking a few feet out from the entrance to the shower, to make toweling easier and to keep feet clean while being dried. Use 4×4 pressure-treated softwood uprights for the corners of the shower cubicle, joined by side panels made from pretty much anything you like – plywood, clapboard, cedar shingles are similar materials of choice.

You will find the solar panel water heating system very easy to make and also great fun. The simplest device is a shower head attached to a long length of water hose coiled up in the sun. A more permanent arrangement is to fix the water pipe in an open solar heat panel box facing the sun and mounted over the shower. If you need more hot water you could use an old water tank or hot water cylinder in the solar heating pipe, but this would have to be higher than the shower head to give you enough pressure.

If you live in a hot climate you should consider fitting a mixer system, for allowing hot and cold water to merge before you burn yourself in the shower! Outdoor solar showers can get very hot.

There is a huge variety of solar diy shower designs available and, to help you choose the right one for you, I have an excellent manual and plans kit produced by experts in the design of solar heat panels. There are simple plans, diagrams and clear, step-by-step instructions to guide you through the whole process.

Best of all, there is a full, no hassle guarantee so, if you are not satisfied, you can get your money refunded so there is absolutely no risk. I believe this kit represents really good value for money, so why not check it out now?

Click here to make an outdoor solar shower this weekend