DIY Solar Water Heater

Solar Project Number 1 

My First DIY Solar Water Heater

As it turns out, for the 'novice solar engineer,' the 'diy hot water heater,' is probably the most simple solar project anyone can undertake. 

What makes the 'solar water heater project' one of the easiest projects you can do, is that while there are some more 'sophisticated' set ups for heating water, even the simplest, most rudimentary system can do the trick. 

For one thing, there are only about 3 things you actually 'need' hot water for in your house.  Bathing (or showering), washing dishes, and doing laundry.  

Laundry rarely 'requires' hot water however.  The only time you absolutely 'must have' hot water is if you're dealing with infectious material, or bodily fluids on whatever fabrics you're washing.  In those cases, most 'modern' washing machines use less than 40 gallons of water per 1 large load of wash. These circumstances are rare for me, so this was not my first concern, though I certainly did account for it. 

As far as dishes go... a dishwashwer uses approximately 6 gallons of water to run one cycle.  I wash dishes by hand, filling up one sink with approximately 1.5 gallons of hot water for washing, and then, I use a second sink for rinsing.  And while some people find it acceptable to rinse all their dishes in one 'tub' (or sink) of water, my personal feeling, is that there still needs to be a way to 'rinse' the dishes with running water even after the 'second sink rinse,' because once you put the first soapy dish in that water, the water is now soapy and will therefore make every other dish you attempt to rinse it soapy as well. 

Luckily... however, when it comes the one thing that hot water is most important for... showering, there are several options to choose from. 

Option 1:  The "Camping" Solar Shower. 

I bought two of these at Wal Mart few years ago for an 'outdoor bathroom' project that never got done.

They're exceptionally cheap at less than $15 each,

They're also easy as pie to use.


All you need to do is fill it with water, set it in the sun to warm up..
... and possibly move it if your 'sun' happens to be in a different spot than you plan to 'use' the shower in. 

The ones I bought hold 5 gallons (or 20 liters) of water, and in direct sun, on a hot day, should heat the water inside up to a 'shower comfortable temperature' in j,ust 3 hours thanks to their 'black' heat holding color.

And it comes with a detachable hose and shower head.  

At this price...  if I had none, I would probably buy at least 3, if not 4 of them.  One for each inside bathroom, one for rinsing the dishes, and one for the 'outdoor bathroom' project... if that ever does get done. 

Get 10 Gallons instead of 5...

You can get the Lemcool Camping Solar Shower Bag 5 gallon solar shower on Amazon for $12.99, and with Prime.

 One thing to note is that the 'average' shower uses approximately 8.5 gallons of water, so you may want two of these per bathroom... or you could also opt for the SWISH  10 gallon (40 liter) Solar Power Camping Shower Bag.

While the SWISH Solar Shower holds twice the amount of water that the Lemcool Solar Shower bag holds, it won't cost you anywhere near twice as much money.

You can get the SWISH 10 gallon (40 liter) Solar Power Camping Shower Bag on Amazon for just $19.99 and it too comes with the removable hose and shower head.

Wal Mart sells them for $22.69 and they're not available in the stores, leaving you with the possible added cost of shipping, plus waiting for delivery.

WAIT... What about a bath?

No one loves to relax in a luxuriating bubble bath more than... ,!  I may be a prepper who likes to dig in the dirt, and use power tools to build stuff, and even design and build machines... but even I have an 'inner girly girl,' and she has her 'personal pampering needs.' 

Would you care to guess how many gallons of water it takes to fill a standard bathtub?

Here, let me save you the Googling time... it's 80 gallons.

Well... 8 of the 10 gallon 'shower bags,' would come to $160.00 and then I'd have to manage to transfer all 8 bags into the tub, which would obviously require 'some' amount of 'distance,' since my bath tub isn't out in either the front or back yard in the full sun.

Unless... it could be.  Those outdoor bathroom plans weren't 'scratched,' they were just 'back-burnered.'

I even have a trough I could use, and...

Check out these videos I found on YouTube for 'DIY Solar Powered Hot Tubs.'

Solar Powered Hot Tub

Here's Another "DIY Off Grid Solar Heated Hot Tub" With No Bells or Whistles....

I live in Florida, so I don't have to worry quite as much about winter as this guy does, but we do still have some cold days here in the winter months, so I'll definitely have to keep that in mind while looking through videos on YouTube.

This one is DIY 'Pool' Solar Heat, though the exact same thing could be done for a hot tub... 

And so far... this has been the best video yet... and not just because of the video, but also, because you can get even more information from the comments on this one!

DIY Solarr Heater

In our next post on "DIY Solar Water Heating," I'll show you the 'solar water system' I settled on, and why.  

Until then... check out this video on how you can have your very own

DIY Hot Tub

DIY Wood Fired Hot Tub

Coming Up... How To Get An Endless Supply of Free Firewood, Delivered Right To Your Front Door.  - Without ever cutting a single branch or even a twig.