Taking a Shower in an S

sabel

Any recommendations on showering?

The new T@B S is only equipped with a 5 gal. fresh water tank, has anyone actually tried taking a shower while boondocking? Is the Alde hot water tank enough?

We were wondering if you could only use the shower while on shore water.

Thanks 

jkjenn

I have used the shower while boondocking, and I am guessing PXLated has done this more than me. I try to rinse up, turn the water off, lather up hair and body, and then rinse off. You will blow through water and grey tank quickly when showering. Depending on the length of your stay, if you are extremely conservative, you could probably squeeze 2-3 showers out of it, depending on the length of your hair. They key, of showering is a priority, is to try to avoid using the kitchen sink. Use paper. I'm also try to use body wipes for hygiene between showers. If you had extra water and a portable waste tank, you could, theoretically, do this as long as your battery would last. Although, even with a portable waste tank, if you have to take it to a dump station, lifting into your TV could be hard, due to weight.

I will be curious to hear what PXLated says.

Nomad

I actually have't used the shower yet. Until now, my night's were below freezing so everything was blown out (winterized). It was basically sponge baths and hitting a campgounds with showers once in awhile.
I just took on water yesterday but am in a campground with showers so probably won't try it until I hit the boonies again.
Since I have no hair (all I need is a buffing rag) - It's my personal water conservation program ;-)

Deltaboy59

I believe the Alde water heater tank holds a 2 gallons so you have a total of 7 gallons. I use the shower frequently and use the method stated above to conserve water... Be careful because the hot water from the Alde is indeed HOT...especially if you use propane mode. I can get two showers if I'm careful. So glad I went with the S model. A hot shower will make you feel human again after a full day of outdoor activities.

jkjenn

Deltaboy, good point. The Alde water is hot and you can dial it back a bit, which helps the 2 gallons of hot water last longer. In other words you can mix a little hit water with  more of the cold so you can take a longer hit shower. It is nice to occasionally be at a cg with full hook us so you can take a leisurely shower.

Nomad

The Alde has a water tank? I thought it was a totally on-demand system.

LARK

Yep it has a tank in the Alde boiler.....I thought I read it was 3 gal. The wife and I used ours one after the other. Never ran out of hot water but of course we took Navy showers.

wizard1880

When I was testing the outdoor shower on our CS, I timed a 4 minute warm shower before the water went cold.  It then recharged within 10 minutes on propane alone. This was in the fall/wintertime.  So not quite on-demand, though not far from it.

Deltaboy59

This from Alde... The water heater capacity is 2.5 to 3.0 gallons or 7 to 10 liters, depending on the air cushion that is present in the boiler.

ChanW

Deltaboy59 said:

I believe the Alde water heater tank holds a 2 gallons so you have a total of 7 gallons...

Well really, for your actual shower, you only have the 5 gallons, or whatever is your fresh water tank capacity. The only time you'll see that "extra" 2½ gallons come out of the Alde is when you winterize, and drain the system.

Unless of course, you were to take your shower lying down, somehow below the level of the Alde tank, and use gravity...

I timed it once, to see just how much actual shower time I could get out of a freshly filled tank. I believe it was a full five minutes of warm running water, which really is a pretty long shower! 

I think the Alde 'tank' should be thought of more like a 2½ gallon water jacket, and that the water is heated 'on demand', as it's used. Wizard, I wonder if yours would have kept up better, in your test, if you were using 110V together with propane? Does the clamshell have the same size freshwater tank as the 'S', ie: 5gal?

Deltaboy59

Never thought to use propane and elec at the same time to get hot water... Always used propane when in a hurry, and elec when on shore power etc.

Sgtjohn

I find that I have a difficult time adjusting the shower temperature, it's either too hot or too cold.

Deltaboy59

Me too...I actually turn the nozzle away from me when turning on to avoid a burst of hot water... Even between rinses... Be Careful.

Nomad

Is there a way to turn the temp down? I don't dare to let anyone use the sink, they could scald themselves.

Sgtjohn

Ha!  Boy it sure gets hot where the Alde is located when it's up and running!  It almost makes one want to put a heat restrictive pad over the unit.  On the bright side though, if someone had some bread they wanted to rise, this would be the place to set the pan!

CodeJunkie

PXLated, it's my understanding that the water temp can be adjusted using the same control panel that turns the Alde on/off.  The flame symbols on the far left...1, 2, or 3 flames...regulate how hot the Alde gets, with 1 flame being the lowest setting.  At least that's my understanding. 

Nomad

Ahhh - I thought that had to do with electrical input or something.
There's a little red dial on the Alde - Hard to see as it sits sideways - I used a mirror. It has something to do with either temp or at what glycol temp the Alde cycles on off. There's setting like that on traditional house thermostats.

wizard1880

ChanW said:

Deltaboy59 said:

I believe the Alde water heater tank holds a 2 gallons so you have a total of 7 gallons...

Wizard, I wonder if yours would have kept up better, in your test, if you were using 110V together with propane? Does the clamshell have the same size freshwater tank as the 'S', ie: 5gal?

Hmm perhaps. I was using propane only. My CS has a ~8 gallon tank, under the sink in the rear. (The brochure says 11 but I think they were including the volume in the Alde?)

wizard1880

The 3 lightning bolts pick the amount of electrical current to use. Setting 1 and 2 are the same, about 950w. Setting 3 is for 1900w (max). The max water temp is 150, or higher (170?) if you set it to hot water only.

Nomad

Anyone know what that little red 1/4" dial on the Alde does - the one that's hard to see?

wizard1880

I'm looking at the alde now, the only red dial I see is a tiny one on the circulation pump. Its really hard to grab onto or turn. Is this the one?

Nomad

I can't get to the Alde at the moment but it sounds like the one, really small and in an awkward position to get to. I needed a mirror to see what it was set to #2. The only reason I know it's there is the factory had me jack it up to #3 when we were try to diagnos a heating problem. I failed to ask them what it did. Turned out to be a bad thermostat.

Normfun

Probably a flow control on the pump???  at least that would be my guess.

wizard1880

Yep, it is. I turned it up and water began splashing violently in the reservoir. Oops, turned it back down Its actually set to almost minimum speed, it goes much higher and gets louder in a hurry!

ChanW

Thanks for trying that! Now I know how to quiet down that reservoir when the Alde's on!

CodeJunkie

Wizard, thanks for the clarification on the flame symbols. I knew they had to do with the amount of current supplied, but somehow I equated that to how hot the water would be. I barely turn on my hot water faucet and temper it with a lot of cold water to produce a comfortable shower.