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12V Turbo Shower

Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 07:52

Troopy Travellers (NSW)

I took my newly purchased shower on a camping trip recently. I was most impressed with it , as 2 people can have a shower (independently of course!) and still have water left from a 10l plastic bucket. The shower attaches to the vehicle via a suction cap & plugs into the cig. lighter. All up it costs $20, best value for money I can ever recall. Did'nt even have to heat up the water as the sun warmed up the bucket.
Sparky

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ThreadID: 18290 Replies: 6
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AnswerID: 87097   Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 08:03

flappan replied:

Yeah they work ok.

I found though , for more numbers (we have a larger family) , the pump seemed to struggle after the 4th person.

We went for the onboard shower with a Shurflow pump.
Reply 1 of 6
FollowupID: 345775   Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 08:48

Indy posted:

If they are the yellow ones you get from Super Cheap etc. yes for me it worked well the first time. I tried it again after a couple of months and the motor was seized up. The seal between the pump and motor is pretty ineffective and let water into the motor causing rust.
Indy
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 345780   Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 09:14

flappan posted:

They dont like heat much either.

I started using it with my heater exchanger , and refused to work half the time.

Would work ok , in cold(ish) water , but the use and hot water . . . no deal.

Its now the kitchen pump for my Camper trailer.
FollowUp 2 of 2
AnswerID: 87136   Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 11:12

porl replied:

I used the those shower pumps during home extensions when the hot water was cut off and then for my line marker for my football field when the $1,500 job gave out. So having gone through about 5 of those turbo pumps i thought, this is not new technology, this is old technology done cheaply which is why those pumps give up.

So who uses 12v pumps ? Carvanners. So off I went to some warehouse for caravan folk and there in the kitchen pump bits was a solid heavy centrigual pump that cost me $70 and about the same size. Same connections as the Turbo pump, but whereas the turbo type pumps never last me more than a month this $70 unit has been going for two years now. I also find the seals are far more tolerant of hot water than the turbo pump types, and extremely tolerant of chalk, water and twigs.
Reply 2 of 6
FollowupID: 345911   Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 17:23

porl posted:

ah, post below, mine is a whale brand pump and it did cost me $70 and the beauty is that it is submersible like the Turbo cheap copy and in the submersability is the convenience compared to a bilge pump. But i will feel like a dill if someone tells me bilge pumps are submersible.
FollowUp 1 of 3
FollowupID: 345935   Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 19:51

Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) posted:

yes Porl. You can drop the Turbo and whale into a 20litre container of water.More and more often you have to carry your own water into places now because of the drought. is the flow and pressure better than the crappy turbo one?

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FollowUp 2 of 3
FollowupID: 346253   Submitted: Monday, Dec 06, 2004 at 13:25

porl posted:

Hey Michael

The flow rate seemed similar to the Turbo set up when I was using the Turbo's hoses, when I changed to a 0.5cm wider in diameter hose it just shoots it out at a rate, well for line marking, maybe a little too quick. So it does have the capacity give a greater flow rate based on what you got on it. It is soooooo much more reliable that the Turbo ones, which for me just brokedown all the time.

One mistake i did make with my first turbo ones was dumping boiling water in the bucket with the pump already in it and then put in cold water. I believe i buggered up a few seals that way so have never done that with the Whale.
FollowUp 3 of 3
AnswerID: 87156   Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 13:40

Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) replied:

Mine worked fine for the first half dozen times, then the impeller fell off the motor. I wouldn't want to be relying on it out iinthe bush. The rest of the unit seems to be ok so you could buy a submersable pump , much the same as the turbo one from Caravan accessories for about $70, it a Whale brand pump. made in USA. Michael

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 Living in the beautiful Southern Highlands, Moss Vale, NSW.
Vehicles: Patrol ST 4.2TDI 2003
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Reply 3 of 6
AnswerID: 87165   Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 14:48

CHRIS replied:

If you want a good pump that will last, go and buy a bilge pump for a boat at Whitworths. You can get all rates of output and the pressure from them will satisfy the most ardent and the prices are quiet reasonable.
Reply 4 of 6
FollowupID: 345889   Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 15:52

Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) posted:

How big are they Chris, you have mentioned these before.

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FollowUp 1 of 4
FollowupID: 345942   Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 21:15

Member - Jimbo (VIC) posted:

A 360 gall/hour "Rule" will cost you about $20 at Whitworth's.

Jim.
FollowUp 2 of 4
FollowupID: 345978   Submitted: Saturday, Dec 04, 2004 at 07:14

CHRIS posted:

As Jimbo said they are cheap and in regards to submersable, well that's what their designed for.
FollowUp 3 of 4
FollowupID: 345980   Submitted: Saturday, Dec 04, 2004 at 07:19

CHRIS posted:

Forgot ! In regard to size you could probably fit about 4 in the bottom of a bucket.
FollowUp 4 of 4
AnswerID: 87225   Submitted: Friday, Dec 03, 2004 at 21:27

Member - Jimbo (VIC) replied:

I've been using an old canvas bag with the shower rose attached for years. Boil the Billy and add enough cold to make it comfortable and have a shower. Worked well.

Last week I bought a Solar Shower at Aussie Disposals for $7. Holds 20 litres, fill it,
leave it the Sun for 3-4 hours and enough hot water for two showers as long as you are just happy to wash and not stand under it for ever. Don't recommend it as an option in the winter, but it can be supplemented with the Billy.

One clean Jimbo.
Reply 5 of 6
AnswerID: 87245   Submitted: Saturday, Dec 04, 2004 at 06:55

Troopy Travellers (NSW) replied:

Maybe I'm a bit premature in praising the turbo shower, seeing as I've only used it four times. Judging from the replies it looks like it won't last long!!! I liked the idea of buying a bilge pump from Whitworths, good idea.
Sparky

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Reply 6 of 6