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Even a periodic visit to the dacha will become more comfortable with the presence of hot water, because after completing all the work in the garden, it is nice to take a warm shower. When a family goes out of town to live for the whole summer, the relevance of heating water increases. You can solve the problem with hot water supply by installing a water heater for an outdoor shower in the country house, powered by different energy sources.
Variety of water heaters
When choosing a water heater for your home and garden, you must first pay attention to what source of energy it works from. The second important point is to choose the right product according to the method of heating water. The water heater for giving can be chosen flowing or accumulative. The comfort of using the device, as well as saving energy resources, depends on these important nuances.
Electric water heaters
The most popular and in demand for a shower in the country are water heaters powered by electricity. A prerequisite for using the device is the presence of an electrical network. Today, it is rare that a dacha does not have electricity. In extreme cases, the owners acquire portable power generators.
An electric water heater is inexpensive and can be connected independently. It is optimal for the shower to use the accumulative type of device. It is any container with a heating element installed inside – a heating element. Often such water heaters for the dacha in the shower are made independently, but they are unsafe. It is better to buy a factory-made shower tank with a built-in heater and safety automatics.
Among electric models, there are flow type water heaters. They are very rarely put in the shower in the country. First, constant water pressure is required from a pump or plumbing. Secondly, flow models are equipped with powerful heating elements. In addition to the high consumption of electricity, not every suburban wiring is able to withstand the load.
Gas water heaters
In second place are gas water heaters for summer cottages of the flow type. Their choice is due to the presence of a gas pipeline. The device is able to work from a cylinder of liquefied gas, but such water heating will be expensive. The principle of operation is based on the flow of water through a coil – a heat exchanger. Below is a gas burner. As soon as the water consumption begins, the automation kindles the fire and hot water immediately appears at the outlet. In general, this is an ordinary gas column. The disadvantage of using a water heater is the presence of constant water pressure.
On sale you can find a storage gas water heater, but it is usually produced in large dimensions, and is not suitable for shower needs.
Wood water heaters
Now wood-burning water heaters are gradually becoming a thing of the past. They are remembered by people of the 60s-70s of the last century. It was difficult to swim before without such a boiler. The unit consists of a storage tank mounted on a cast iron furnace. A metal chimney passes through the tank. When burning wood, the water is heated by the hot smoke coming out through the chimney.
Modern wood-burning water heaters have changed a bit, but the principle of their operation has remained the same. Today, rarely anyone uses a wood-burning water heater in the shower, except that the cottage is located far in the wilderness, where there is neither electricity nor gas.
Mobile water heaters
With a rare visit to the dacha, the owners prefer to take with them a portable water heater powered by electricity. With it, you can even swim in the garden, and it is not necessary to build a shower, the main thing is to be able to connect to electricity and water supply. The basis of the device is the same instantaneous water heater, which requires water pressure and electricity. Summer residents call such a product a mobile shower. This is due to the fact that the water heater is equipped with a mixer, from which a hose with a watering can departs. You can bring it with you to the country, buy it and take it home.
A good summer option is a bulk water heater powered by the mains. In principle, this is the same storage tank with a heating element. However, the capacity of the tank rarely exceeds 20 liters. Due to its small dimensions, the device is mobile. It can be installed in the shower, swim and pick up when leaving home. The use of a bulk water heater is justified in a country house without a central water supply and the absence of a well with a pump. Water is poured into a container with a bucket.
Options for self-manufacturing a water heater for a shower
Having decided to make a shower in the country on your own, why not try to make a device for heating water with your own hands. The easiest way is to insert a heating element inside the water tank, which is what many summer residents do. It doesn’t take much intelligence to do this. And how to make water heating in the absence of electricity? We will now look at two examples of this.
Making a wood boiler
A built-in shower for a summer residence far from civilization can be heated with a wood-burning boiler. More precisely, this invention can be called titanium. The design consists of a storage tank for water installed on the firebox. Install the boiler on the street near the shower. You can heat titanium with firewood, coal, briquettes and, in general, with everything that burns.
To make a boiler, you will need a welding machine, two large gas cylinders and a metal pipe with a diameter of 80–100 mm. Condensate is drained from old cylinders through open valves, the upper part is cut off with a grinder and burned on a large fire. Fire will destroy the unpleasant smell of liquefied gas. After cooling, the cylinders inside are washed clean. A valve is unscrewed from the cut off one cover, after which the top of one of the cylinders is brewed with it.
In the brewed cylinder, a hole is cut at the ends for the chimney and a metal pipe is inserted inside, passing it through the container. The pipe is scalded along the ends of the cylinder so that on one side it is flush, and on the other side it protrudes about 1 m. The length of the chimney protrusion is selected individually according to the height of the shower stall. From the bottom of the cylinder, a fitting is welded for supplying cold water under pressure, and a fitting is welded from above to exit hot water.
The storage tank is ready, now we need to make a firebox. In the second cylinder with a cut off end, a door is cut out for loading firewood, and at the bottom there is a blower. Grates are welded inside, but they can also be made removable. A welded storage tank with a long chimney outlet upwards is installed on the finished furnace, after which two cylinders are welded together. The result was a long barrel, divided in the middle by the bottom into a firebox and a storage tank. Now it remains to connect the water supply to the lower fitting of the tank, and from the upper outlet make a pipe outlet into the tank on the shower stall. If desired, the tank can be omitted, and the upper outlet of the hot water pipe can be immediately equipped with a watering can.
Using solar energy to heat water
The simplest shower water heater comes from an old refrigerator. The water will be heated in the coil by solar energy. To work, you will need to remove the freon heat exchanger from the refrigerator, prepare bars for the frame and foil.
The manufacture of a water heater begins with the assembly of the frame. A rectangular frame is knocked down from the bars. On the one hand, rubber is nailed. A reflector and a heat exchanger from the refrigerator are placed inside the frame. The coil is fixed to a wooden frame, and all this is covered with glass. It turned out like a solar battery.
A PVC hose is connected to the inlet and outlet of the coil. On the one hand, there will be a supply of cold water, and on the other, the output of hot water.
The finished solar collector is installed in a sunny place. PVC pipes are connected to the storage tank on the shower. It turns out a closed system. Cold water from the tank will flow into the heat exchanger, and hot water will be squeezed out into the tank.
Inside the storage tank, it is necessary to make a simple device that allows only hot water to enter the watering can. In its physical state, it is always on top, so a float is made of foam. A piece of flexible hose connected to a watering can is attached to it.
On the presented video you can see an example of the manufacture of a water heater:
Some tips for choosing water heaters
Here are some tips to help you choose the right water heater for your shower:
- First, you need to consider all sources of energy resources, and choose the cheapest one from them. It is already worth choosing a device for it.
- The volume of the storage tank is selected on the basis that one person needs from 15 to 40 liters of water for bathing. Usually, for a family of three, a 100-liter tank is installed per shower.
- The heating time of the water depends on its quantity and the power of the heater. If you need to quickly get hot water, it is better to give preference to flow models. Storage tanks will take longer to warm up.
- Before buying a device, it is important to consider its installation. You will have to choose between self-installation of a water heater and the involvement of specialists.
Having foreseen all the nuances in advance, it will be possible to choose the optimal type of water heater for the shower.