Expedition shower/showercoil

arboorman · Mar 24, 2016

Hi there

Not sure if I'm allowed to post this - please remove if so, apologies in advance

Last year while planning a trip to Scotland I was keen to take a shower system as we were hoping to wild camp. A lot of research later and all I could find were solar shower (cheap but not always reliable) or plumbed in systems which, although good, I couldn't justify the cost, the amount of space taken up and as my 110 is my works vehicle I wanted something that could be removed easily.

It was frustrating as we had access to water and heat (either fire of camping stove) just no efficient means of heating the water. Then by chance we found a product from the States. It was simple, lightweight, compact but most importantly it worked!!

We bought one and after using it and being impressed with how it performed we offered to promote the unit in the UK as we hope it could be a great addition to overland vehicles, campers, etc. We did our first trade show a few weeks ago at Donington and got some really encouraging feedback (and we sold our first unit!!). At this stage we're still keen just to hear peoples thoughts/feedback about the product before we go further with it.

Here's some info:

Portable Water Heater and Shower
The Shower Coil water heating system delivers temperature‐controlled hot water ready in minutes so you'll never need to go without a hot shower! Simply fill and hang up one bag with water, interconnect and apply heat to the coil with either a camp fire or stove.

The thermostatic temperature control gives you control and flexibility, allowing you to pre-set the temperature you need. In 10‐15 minutes you'll be ready to shower with 4 gallons (15 L) of hot water at just the right temperature.
One filled shower runs for 8‐9 minutes at full flow and can last up to four showers when water is conserved by using the integral flow control valve on the shower head attachment.

The system stows away compactly and weighs less than 2lbs. No batteries or pumps needed;just add water and heat. Gravity does the rest. Efficient, simple and lightweight, the Shower Coil system provides a hot
shower just about anywhere!

For more information/videos etc we have now set up a website/facebook page:

http://www.boundarytec.co.uk/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/boundarytecuk/

RRP is £119 + postage but if we can get enough interest our aim is to offer it at a show price of £99.

We would be really grateful for any feedback/comments about the unit

Coffeelandy · Mar 24, 2016

arboorman said:
Hi there

Not sure if I'm allowed to post this - please remove if so, apologies in advance

Last year while planning a trip to Scotland I was keen to take a shower system as we were hoping to wild camp. A lot of research later and all I could find were solar shower (cheap but not always reliable) or plumbed in systems which, although good, I couldn't justify the cost, the amount of space taken up and as my 110 is my works vehicle I wanted something that could be removed easily.

It was frustrating as we had access to water and heat (either fire of camping stove) just no efficient means of heating the water. Then by chance we found a product from the States. It was simple, lightweight, compact but most importantly it worked!!

We bought one and after using it and being impressed with how it performed we offered to promote the unit in the UK as we hope it could be a great addition to overland vehicles, campers, etc. We did our first trade show a few weeks ago at Donington and got some really encouraging feedback (and we sold our first unit!!). At this stage we're still keen just to hear peoples thoughts/feedback about the product before we go further with it.

Here's some info:

Portable Water Heater and Shower
The Shower Coil water heating system delivers temperature‐controlled hot water ready in minutes so you'll never need to go without a hot shower! Simply fill and hang up one bag with water, interconnect and apply heat to the coil with either a camp fire or stove.

The thermostatic temperature control gives you control and flexibility, allowing you to pre-set the temperature you need. In 10‐15 minutes you'll be ready to shower with 4 gallons (15 L) of hot water at just the right temperature.
One filled shower runs for 8‐9 minutes at full flow and can last up to four showers when water is conserved by using the integral flow control valve on the shower head attachment.

The system stows away compactly and weighs less than 2lbs. No batteries or pumps needed;just add water and heat. Gravity does the rest. Efficient, simple and lightweight, the Shower Coil system provides a hot
shower just about anywhere!

For more information/videos etc we have now set up a website/facebook page:

http://www.boundarytec.co.uk/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/boundarytecuk/

RRP is £119 + postage but if we can get enough interest our aim is to offer it at a show price of £99.

We would be really grateful for any feedback/comments about the unit

That looks brilliant. I've always braved solar showers but this is far superior.

ER1C · Mar 24, 2016

Initial thoughts are it looks good, however I would be REALLY concerned about the safety factor. Plastic and fire, I can imagine someone over-doing the fire part and leaving it in too long or putting it in too far, the video shows pipes on the metal of the fire! What happens if it overheats?
Second to that, fires are filthy things and after a couple of uses it would not look that pretty... Once the cold water is empty what happens (Bang ?) or distorted coil ?

Its a good idea but people will spoil it..

arboorman · Mar 24, 2016

Many thanks for your comments/feedback ER1C - these were exactly the same concerns I had with the unit before I bought one.

Being completely honest this product definitely isn't squadie proof!! But this is the compromise between it being efficient but also very lightweight.

Chris (who designed it) tested the coils to destruction and simply if water is not passing through the coil it will melt fairly quickly especially on a petrol stove - It's the same with Ali mess tins, I've ruined a few in the past by putting them on the stove and not getting water in there quickly enough.

It's one of those products that you need to take a bit of care with and closely monitor the water level. I normally get it going and check periodically. Just as the water gets to the lowest point simply remove the coil from the heat source.

I've not had a chance to run it on a open fire as yet and to be honest can't see us personally ever needing to. With our set up we always have either a petrol or gas camping stove and these work a treat for heating the water. I think if an open fire was only option I'd only burn very well seasoned hardwoods to prevent the coil sooting up

You are right though, plastic and fire isn't a great mix. Chris spent roughly 5 years playing with different designs until he was happy to market it. When we received our one I was really impressed with the build quality but also how compact and light is was. To begin with I was over cautious firing it up but was impressed how effective it was - if anything I think it could take more abuse than I willing to give it!!

After a long day it's really nice to know you can have a hot shower regardless of the weather

arboorman · Mar 24, 2016

Coffeelandy said:
That looks brilliant. I've always braved solar showers but this is far superior.

Yup, same here!! Didn't think a solar shower would be any good for Scotland so was pretty chuffed when we found this product - very simple yet effective.

The biggest downside I've found is the same as with solar showers - the trickiest part is finding somewhere high enough to hang the bag to comfortably stand under it. If we where camping in the wood its easy enough to find a branch high enough but camping in the open in tricky - I'm playing with some set ups off my roof rack combined with a pop-up shower tent..... Hopefully get a chance to try it out this weekend

payydg · Mar 24, 2016

That's a pretty nice idea. Looks simple and I really like the fact it doesn't use any electrics.

I'd take a punt on one!

arboorman · Mar 24, 2016

payydg said:
That's a pretty nice idea. Looks simple and I really like the fact it doesn't use any electrics.

I'd take a punt on one!

Cheers for the feedback

It was the simplicity that really attracted us - plus that it weights very little and is so compact but still guarantees a shower!! Our plan this year is to do the Malvern LR show, hopefully Billing or Peterborough but cost may prevent this but definitely the Adventure Overland Show and maybe a few Bushcraft/military shows. There's also a new show on the south coast this year that we're looking at...

We were booked for last years Adventure Overland Show but my gearbox failed 2 weeks before whilst on route to Peterborough!!

If you're going to any of these shows it would be great to have a chat and give you a demo on the unit

John S · Mar 24, 2016

Knowing larger parts of the Scottish Highlands as a hill walker you'll struggle severely to achieve wild or wilderness camping with a land rover in tow. The highland estates are totally closed for open access free laning. It's bad enough trying to wilderness camp without encumbered by a landy. Just warning in case you are planning to go to those areas without any permissions. Some landowners are totally against any access. There are plenty rustic campsites both official and non official if your canny. You can shower in good quality sites. Watch oot fur the midges'!

arboorman · Mar 24, 2016

John S said:
Knowing larger parts of the Scottish Highlands as a hill walker you'll struggle severely to achieve wild or wilderness camping with a land rover in tow. The highland estates are totally closed for open access free laning. It's bad enough trying to wilderness camp without encumbered by a landy. Just warning in case you are planning to go to those areas without any permissions. Some landowners are totally against any access. There are plenty rustic campsites both official and non official if your canny. You can shower in good quality sites. Watch oot fur the midges'!

Hi John, we went for 2 weeks last summer and as you say we really struggled to find anywhere to pitch up. We managed a few nights but soon realised it would be a lot easier in a camper van rather than the 110 and separate tent!! We stayed in some fantastic campsites and had a great time - our biggest mistake was trying to see too much to too short of time, it felt like we were always packing the tent away. Either way we'll definitely be on for a third visit sometime - hoping to drive to the Alps again this year

payydg · Mar 25, 2016

arboorman said:
Cheers for the feedback It was the simplicity that really attracted us - plus that it weights very little and is so compact but still guarantees a shower!! Our plan this year is to do the Malvern LR show, hopefully Billing or Peterborough but cost may prevent this but definitely the Adventure Overland Show and maybe a few Bushcraft/military shows. There's also a new show on the south coast this year that we're looking at...

We were booked for last years Adventure Overland Show but my gearbox failed 2 weeks before whilst on route to Peterborough!!

If you're going to any of these shows it would be great to have a chat and give you a demo on the unit

I'll probably find myself at one of those so will come for a chat. I live in scotland these days so the idea of a hot shower may temp the mrs to come on a few more adventures

arboorman · Mar 28, 2016

payydg said:
I'll probably find myself at one of those so will come for a chat. I live in scotland these days so the idea of a hot shower may temp the mrs to come on a few more adventures

Excellent, it'll be great to have a chat with you

When it arrived the first thing I did was run a cycle on the hottest setting. The water was plenty hot enough for a shower but my girlfriend (who has near boiling hot baths!!) was interested to know if it could go even hotter, so I ran the cycle again and this time it was too hot even for Sue to use - this to me confirmed the female test enough to be confident that it works!!

I'm hoping today to have a play with some set up's off my roof rack - just need the rain to die down....!!

Brown · Mar 28, 2016

It would be pretty useful even if it wasn't high off the ground. The bits of me that get offensive if unwashed (probably like a lot of people) include armpits and feet and the shower head doesn't need to be 6ft off the ground for that. In fact it's probably easier if it isn't. You might need to clean the soot off the coil if it gets very dirty. Experience with a Mamod steam engine when I was a child suggests that soot is very insulating. It took ages to build up a head of steam if I hadn't cleaned the underside of the boiler!

arboorman · Mar 31, 2016

Brown said:
It would be pretty useful even if it wasn't high off the ground. The bits of me that get offensive if unwashed (probably like a lot of people) include armpits and feet and the shower head doesn't need to be 6ft off the ground for that. In fact it's probably easier if it isn't. You might need to clean the soot off the coil if it gets very dirty. Experience with a Mamod steam engine when I was a child suggests that soot is very insulating. It took ages to build up a head of steam if I hadn't cleaned the underside of the boiler!

Many thanks for the feedback - Chris also offers 2 different hight tripods that make heating the water easier but also allows you to hang the bag high enough to have a shower whilst sat down/crouching down!! This was my original plan but I've been playing with alternatives to allow you to stand comfortably under the shower if wanted.

Good thoughts about soot build up, when we finally get a chance to try it on an open fire I think its really important to burn seasoned hardwood. Years ago when we used to cook on hexi burners with mess tins we used to coat the underside of the mess tin with washing up liquid - it made cleaning the tins much easier!! Think it might be worth trying this with the coil too

Expedition shower/showercoil

arboorman

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Coffeelandy

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ER1C

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arboorman

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arboorman

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payydg

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arboorman

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John S

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arboorman

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payydg

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arboorman

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Brown

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arboorman

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