Comments on: Building a Solar Shower

By: Chaz

Chaz — Sun, 31 May 2009 03:49:40 +0000

There used to be a valve that had a bi-metallic strip that opened and closed the hot supply side that was used in nursing homes and the like. I had one around here that I took apart to fix, but I finally got tired of looking at it and farmed it out.

You could also put louvers over the tank to shade it from the sun if the ambient temperature reaches a certain amount.

By: admin

admin — Sat, 09 May 2009 04:28:06 +0000

Hi Susan,

From what I’ve read there isn’t any way to adjust heat and the shower can get really hot if you’re in a warm climate and you’ve got it on a metal carport roof or some such. I did see (I think in one of the videos on YouTube) a more complex set up that had the water going through the family’s regular hot water heater. This would take more work (and I’m sure cost more) to set up, but I think it would allow you to use the water heater’s regulator to insure no one gets scalded.

Maybe someone will come along who is more technically inclined (or who has dealt with the issue themselves) and can offer better advice.

By: susan

susan — Fri, 08 May 2009 23:18:32 +0000

I have a question. We are in the process of building one and have purchased black hose for the hot water but, in testing the water is really hot. How do you keep from having it too hot? We have children so I don’t want them burnt.
Love the blog. You left a message on my blog a while back and thought I’d let you know we have everything planted. I found muscles that I forgot I had.

By: Gena

Gena — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:52:20 +0000

Hey! A quick note to thank you for the kind comment at my blog, and to say that I LOVE YOUR BLOG! These are tremendous ideas, and I’m grateful for them. Keep it up

By: Ingrid

Ingrid — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 07:09:55 +0000

This is an awesome idea. I’m going to show my husband. He would love to try his hand at building on of these solar showers. Thanks for sharing this information.