[Van Wilder]

Has anyone skipped the water pump and attempted to use an air compressor to pressurize a water tank for sink/shower/etc? Seems that could be a 2 for 1 item that I could spend more on instead of both air compressor and water pump.

 

[dinocarsfast]

I have an air compressor and 7 gallon compressed air tank mounted under the van and I plan to use that to pressurize a “road shower” mounted to the roof rack for outdoor showers and washing off mud, but I have a separate water system for inside use.

 

[Van Wilder]

I’m leaning towards a very temporary indoor solution similar to the livelikepete guy:

Sprinter Van Indoor Shower Enclosure & Pan: Portable and Easy

Having a warm shower available in our van has, without a doubt, been a game-changer! We use it quite often on our adventures and the investment has paid off. There's no better feeling than being able…

livelikepete.com

 

[dinocarsfast]

If you want a super simple design I used to use a faucet with a microswitch and a drop in tank pump, I also had an attachment for a shower sprayer. I’m changing my entire van I could give you my stuff for very cheap

 

[Lugnut]

I considered it with an aquarium air pump but dropped the idea. To get the water to flow consistently I think I would have had to add a pressure tank and they always seem to have a slow leak and take too much time to fill. Think back to how well the hand held garden sprayers work with a hand pump.

I"m going to try a Makita 18 volt garden sprayer that has a liquid pump in it for my shower. The flow is right for what I'm looking for and super simple to use. 1.25 gallons flows out in about 3 minutes. Add one liter of boiling water to about 1 gallon of water and the resulting temp is about 90 degrees.

 

[Stokeloafvan]

You'd need a really strong (steel?) water tank for this to work. Most RV water pumps output water at about 60psi. The plastic water tanks that most of us use definitely won't hold up to 60psi if pressurized.

My 30 gallon plastic tank is 34" x 17" on the largest side soo...even if you only pressurized it to 30psi that works out to be a bit over 17k lbs of force pushing outward on that side of the tank. Not gonna happen.

 

[njvagabond]

4" PVC holds 0.65 gal per foot of length. Not great for COG, but neither are 3/4" plywood cabinets.
Good for a van that doubles for work where floor space is important. Could even be made easily removable.

 

[rustythorn]

you could use a 5 Gallon Ball Lock Cornelius keg from a home brew supply

 

[ahotrod2]

I actually think this is an interesting idea. If you use an electric hot water mini-tank, those are designed to be at standard water pressure, so pressure wouldn't be an issue. Problem is, you'd need a decent volume of air (which the mini-tank wouldn't have), at which point, the space required for the air volume would likely make this solution not very attractive.

 

[Eli_W]

Went down this rabbit hole recently and here's what put me back on the traditional pump track:
If you want to fill your water vessel by just sticking a hose in a fill port you will have to release all the pressure in the system first, say 30 gallon tank at 60 psi, it's going to take a while or be really loud and exciting.

 

[andyl]

Has anyone skipped the water pump and attempted to use an air compressor to pressurize a water tank for sink/shower/etc?

We do that for a waterport tank- similar to @dinocarsfast above.

 

[kenryan]

Another negative is that the lower your tank gets, the more air you need to add to get the pressure you want.

 

[Gallaher]

You might check out Orton’s website he used solar pumps for an on demand water system. You want water, flip a switch and your pump will pump your tank dry, if you want.
Added benefit is that it’s easy to freeze proof and the pumps are cheap.
I copied his strategy. I have pumps on both ends of my 35 gallon tank. One for the sink another for an outdoor shower out back. Locate switches next to your appliance.
Works great. Good pressure and flow.

 

[kenryan]

You might check out Orton’s website he used solar pumps for an on demand water system. You want water, flip a switch and your pump will pump your tank dry, if you want.
Added benefit is that it’s easy to freeze proof and the pumps are cheap.
I copied his strategy. I have pumps on both ends of my 35 gallon tank. One for the sink another for an outdoor shower out back. Locate switches next to your appliance.
Works great. Good pressure and flow.

Question for you or @orton -- how is this approach superior to using a Shurflo pump as an "on demand" pump (i.e. unpressurized system)?

 

[surly Bill]

I just gave away my old RoadShower. I would use it mounted vertically inside the van, right up next to the back doors.
It had a 15psi limit, and would then vent excess pressure. I found that I would be pumping it up often because it would lose pressure kinda fast with use. You could get about a gallon with decent pressure.

I like the DIY idea of using a keg or something designed for more pressure, maybe even a propane tank.

I've gone to using a portable Mr Heater Basecamp Boss set-up. I can just drop the pump in any container, and not have to worry about pressurizing. I made a bracket to hold the showerhead to use as a faucet, and added an adjustable flow valve at the showerhead.

 

[orton]

Question for you or @orton -- how is this approach superior to using a Shurflo pump as an "on demand" pump (i.e. unpressurized system)?

Centrifugal solar pump advantages:

1. Pump is very quiet.
2. Space required is about 1/8 what a normal RV pump requires.
3. Water system is not pressurized so a leak does not empty tank into van.
4. The freshwater tank can be drained through the pump.
5. Pump not affected by debris.

Centrifugal solar pump disadvantages:

1. Must use switch to turn on pump to get water.
2. Pump must be located below freshwater tank. It is not self-priming. My pump is at back of slider step with tank over passenger side wheel well.
3. Discharge must have a tee so small amount of water returns to freshwater tank to keep quiet pump cool if you forget to turn it off.

Fresh Water | Orton Travel Transit (ortontransit.info)

For a shower I use a Sous Vide kitchen water heater in a 16-quart Igloo cooler. Use submersible 12 volt DC pump in cooler, a 10' hose and a radiator fill valve. Igloo cooler is normally my waste basket. Remove plastic garbage bag, add 2 1/2 gallons of water and 20 minutes later I have warm shower water that used about 13 amp-hrs of battery capacity. All cooler waste basket conversion parts fit in a HF plastic ammo can. Hose/nozzle are stored separately. Portable cooler and 12 volt power supply can be carried to where you want to shower.

Orton DIY Transit | Page 8 | Sprinter-Source.com

 

[Van Wilder]

Thank you all! Reading up on how to mount corny kegs or diy pvc underneath. Maybe one of these ideas will be perfect for me. In the meantime I got my vin today!!!!

 

[greenvan]

I have an air compressor and 7 gallon compressed air tank mounted under the van and I plan to use that to pressurize a “road shower” mounted to the roof rack for outdoor showers and washing off mud, but I have a separate water system for inside use.
View attachment 184814

So wait you have a SEVEN GALLON air tank under your van, another water tank somewhere, and then your going to mount the worlds most expensive black PVC pipe on the out side of said van? The LOLZ never stop around here, in fact this whole thread, just stop reverting the wheel and go camping!

 

[dinocarsfast]

So wait you have a SEVEN GALLON air tank under your van, another water tank somewhere, and then your going to mount the worlds most expensive black PVC pipe on the out side of said van? The LOLZ never stop around here, in fact this whole thread, just stop reverting the wheel and go camping!

I’m not sure if you are trying to make fun of my build but I’m pretty proud of it. I find it’s little weird that you find it necessary to prove that you know how to read by rewriting my reply 🤷‍♂️ But yeah I think the “road shower” is a little unnecessary but the gf says we need it

 

[bdosborn]

The Everlander guy has a corny keg and compressed air water system:

Bruce