Although our little off-grid home feels fairly cushy these days with solar electricity and even internet connection, we still live in a “dry” cabin – our home has no running water. Rather, we have what I like to call “walking water,” meaning that we haul buckets of water from our water catchment/pond into the house, and back out again as greywater. While dishes, and even cooking are not much trouble, bathing without running water is a real challenge, especially with two young kids who have an affinity for mud! So, when my husband built an outdoor shower for our homestead, I was THRILLED. This system is perfect for the “swing” seasons – spring and fall – and on days when it is simply too cold to bathe at the pond.
The shower is set up rather simply – a large barrel (a 50-gallon Pepsi barrel cut in half) is filled with warm water, which we have pre-heated over a campfire. Brian usually stands on a ladder to pour the hot water into the white barrel, and mixes it with cool water until the perfect shower temperature is achieved.
With a turn of a spigot, flexible tubing carries the water down to this awesome antique brass shower head. The water pressure is amazing!
Don’t you love this set up! The greywater from the shower percolates through the gravel, and down into the brush of our forest.
I love that Brian is a builder and an artist. He is always thinking about the little details, such as this towel hook, and behind it, a mirror for shaving. There is also a small shelf for our soap and shampoo.
Another treat has been this outdoor hand-washing station. It’s very conveniently located near our composting toilet, so there is no need to track back into the house for hand-washing.
It’s been great fun to move into a stage of creative building, and envisioning how to make our little off-grid homestead even more functional and beautiful.
Are you interested in off-grid living? Do you have a dream of building a homestead from scratch? Check out my eBook Creating Your Off-Grid Homestead and learn how we created our homestead one step at a time, with our own hands, and without debt.
Love,,,Love your blog. I am forever inspired everytime I read it. Thank you 🙂 We live in a subdivision in Georgia, so it get’s very hot, and humid. I was just wondering how you stand the heat during late July, and August? I wonder if it’s because i’m used to air conditioning, and it seems hotter..or if it’s really this hot here. My husbands grandparents lived in south Georgia,,,very hot….with no air conditioning..they said they were used to it. Are you miserable, or are you used to it?
Hi Tracy! I have only lived in Georgia for one summer, but that experience makes me feel able to confidently say that it is not nearly as hot here in NE Missouri!! We do have some very hot stretches, with temps over 100 degrees, but overall, it’s more like 80’s and 90’s. There tends to be a bit of drought at the end of the summer, so the humidity goes way down. We bought a fan last year, and it really helped move the air. Otherwise, we jump in the pond several times a day, and just try to keep in the shade during the hot times of the day. But I think it is true that you do get used to the heat, and your body gets used to sweating to make evaporative cooling happen. When I go from AC to not, I feel MUCH hotter.
Oh goodness I meant to say when the bugs have died down, but my four year old said something to me about when she grows up…. LOL
Do you not get bit up by bugs? We live off-grid in Michigan’s upper peninsula and I love the idea of the outdoor shower but I think it would only work in the second half of the summer when the bugs have grown up, though it would still be worth it!
The main bug issues here are ticks and chiggers. Mosquitos CAN be a problem, but less so. So, the outdoor shower is normally okay. There were a few weeks when I was bit every time I tried to bathe though. Not okay!!
The better way is to build a thermo-siphoning system.
On sides of plastic drum near bottom edge drill 3 holes min 1″ . These are to fill drum and vents. Drilling on bottom of drum causes water loss and steam to escape. Rig one of the 3 holes to fill the drum
Tap both bungs with 1/2 inch pipe
Tap side of drum about 3 inches below top edge with drum tap, in line with bungs
Attach pressure hose (cheep garden hose will burst) to the top side tap and the opposing bung. Run this hose into a copper or iron coil
Attach shower head and valve on remaining bung.
Fill drum with water
Place copper coil level in a SMALL fire.
The heat will naturally rise, the unequal pressure of the drum tap being higher than the bung
creates circular convection. This returns colder water to the coil in your fire.
Be careful to keep the hose lengths as short as possible, fittings tight. Use as heavy as copper as possible, or build the coil with iron. The vents will ensure the drum is unpressurized, however the water in coils and hoses will be under some pressure. Pressure increases with drum size, increased inequality between inlet and outlet, hose length, restrictions between drum and coil, and drum height. Too hot a fire or equal water pressure will cause steam, gurgling and more pressure.
Water will get very hot, a well insulated drum will be brought to almost boiling. My system would bring an uninsulated 55 gal plastic drum to scalding in just over an hour. This is starting with snow on the drum. Always test temperature and remove heat source from coil before showering.
Build and test this basic system small before getting creative. The possibilities are endless but complexity, leads to pressure which can lead to injury.
Enjoy!
Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Great shower and post! I wanted to read more articles but I have to tell you, the pain of all the videos making your site absolutely crawl along (in fact, the words I am typing are taking anywhere from 3-10 seconds to show up) make me not click anymore. Thought you should know!
Thanks for the feedback, LeAnn. I have a very remote internet system, so it’s slow, so I never really know what the experience is for someone else. I’ll see if I can change that.
Hi! I’m moving in land real soon and going off-grid. I have found many showers but love this the most! I’ve got the bucket and think I just need a spigot and flexible tubing, other than wood and drill, right? Thanks!
Yes that sounds about right. Just keep in mind that this particular design required us climbing a ladder to pour hot water into the bucket. I would do something differently now 🙂
We actually currently have an EccoTemp on demand propane shower and it’s working pretty well. Some challenges with hard water, but it’s good for quick hot showers!
If you had a black barrel the sun would warm it when shining …..
Hi Teri
i was reading about your shower outside but what do u do in colder weather?
We bring a stainless steel tub into the house and bathe in front of the wood stove. Or I take a shower at the gym !
Excellent setup and creativity! Have you considered using a dark garden hose and rigging something up so the sun heats the water for you? The water in our garden hose gets scalding by noon.
Yes, we definitely will set a dark container out in the sun to warm up.
When I lived in northern Arkansas in the 80s, we bought a new, unused 55 gallon metal drum that was painted dark blue (it was bought that way). We built a stand to mount it, drilled a hole on the bottom, and inserted a shower head. We did have a generator to run our well pump and the sun would heat the water in the dark blue barrel. If you have any way to pump water up to it, the sun will heat your water to just the right temperature.
That is a great set up! For now, we don’t have any way of pumping the water, but we’re working in that direction! Thanks!
That is wonderful! What kind of soap do you use?
Dr. Bronner’s soap. Shampoo is one area that is tricky. I buy organic/natural brands at the natural food store usually.
So cool!
Thanks so much for posts like these. Can’t wait for your off-grid e-book. It will be a fantastic resource!
Thanks Michelle! I just have to stop working in the garden and get working on finishing that eBook! It’s nice to know there are people waiting for it – holds me accountable!
This shower is so beautiful. I love all of the details and the antique shower head. Thanks for sharing. It’s a big inspiration for me!
Thanks for being here!
Looks awesome! I love outdoor showers! I want one at our house. 🙂
They have always been something I love, ever since renting a beach house every summer with my grandparents and rinsing off outdoors before we were allowed in the house 🙂