Home > categories > Hydraulic & Pneumatic > Water Pump > A submersible aquarium water pump for a camp shower?
Question:

A submersible aquarium water pump for a camp shower?

I intend to construct a DIY base camp shower and dish sprayer. I have been searching for an appropriate submersible water pump to plug into a small inverter to a 12-volt cigarette lighter power pack (car jump starter). I need to attach adapters for a hose with a shower head and think that approximately 1+ gallons of draw per minute is practical. I would possibly use a five to six-gallon reservoir, heating water on a car-camping propane stove. My biggest concern is amp draw. Maxi-Jet NJ-400 Submersible Utility Pump, $21, is a powerful aquarium pump with an adjustable flow up to 1.8 gpm.

Answer:

Submersible Aquarium Pump
This Site Might Help You. RE: A submersible aquarium water pump for a camp shower? I intend to construct a DIY base camp shower and dish sprayer. I have been searching for an appropriate submersible water pump to plug into a small inverter to a 12-volt cigarette lighter power pack (car jump starter). I need to attach adapters for a hose with a shower head and think that...
Aquarium Water Pump
A Coleman product failed?!! Them's fightin' words! ;) I'm a big fan of Coleman. Perhaps thinking outside the box will help. All you need is a water pump which will run off 12 volts. Have you considered simple products designed to pump fuel, like from the aux tank in the back of a pickup? All you want is a gallon per minute, which is pretty slow for a fuel pump, but they are durable, cheap and run on 12volts. But you'd have to run a control box (electric) into the shower to turn it off and on. Wires are the bane of the camper! How can we eliminate complex wiring and electrical systems? Since this is DIY (does that rhyme with DUI? ;), perhaps a junkyard fuel pump from a car would do the trick? Pretty low flow and electrically driven since some darned fool lately decided the pump belongs INSIDE the gas tank. Never could see the logic of that.... You do know (of course) that extension cords lose power over distance. This is especially the case with 12v since there isn't much juice to begin with. How close will the car be to the shower? 10' is nothing but 50' will impede efficiency. I dare not question your motives for wanting a hot shower, that's one of the best invention of mankind. But I will ask how much trouble is it worth? Something wrong with using fire to heat water, mixing it into a 5 gallon bucket to get the temp right and shower as one would in a bathroom with a tub but no shower, using the water pitcher method of pouring it over oneself occasionally during the shower? Ya ain't got a girl in there, or under your wing, do you? Consorting with females would be a violation of the mountain man code, unless one is rescuing damsels in distress.
Have been camping on daughters property in upper Michigan for a few years. No water (unless hauled in) no electric, and no gas. We use the shower bags that you fill and heat in the sun. We get two showers out of each 5 gallon bag. Sometimes the water is too hot to use. Check this out before you go spending money on something else.

Share to: