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An outdoor shower at a summer cottage is considered building No. 2, since the first in importance is the outdoor toilet. At first glance, this simple structure has nothing complicated, but such a trifle as choosing and installing a plastic container for soul to the country will bring a lot of trouble. We will now try to figure out how to deal with all these nuances on our own.
With or without heating
Before choosing a shower tank for your dacha, you need to decide on its functionality. The comfort of bathing depends on whether this plastic container is equipped with heating. In country shower houses, two types of tanks are used:
- The heated shower tank is multifunctional and easy to use., powered by electricity. Of course, this container can be used even without connecting to electricity, but this is the comfort of taking water procedures. The fact is that a heating element is installed inside the plastic container - a heating element. If the sun has not had time to heat the water, this problem can be easily solved with the help of electricity. It is convenient to install a heated tank if the shower will be used in early spring and late autumn.On hot summer days, the water inside the container will heat up from the sun, so during this period the heating is simply not turned on.
- Plastic tank without heating - this is an ordinary container, for example, a barrel installed on the roof of a shower house. The water in the tank is heated by the sun. That is, in cloudy and rainy weather, you can only take a refreshing shower or refuse swimming altogether. It is appropriate to install tanks without heating if the dacha is visited very rarely, and then only in the summer.
The main difference between these containers is the installed heating element. The shape, volume, and color of the product can be very different. It is important that any chosen tank has a wide neck, convenient for filling water, and is securely attached to the roof of the shower house.
Design features of plastic shower tanks
Plastic shower tanks for dachas are especially popular among consumers for several reasons;
- For the manufacture of tanks, a special plastic composition is used, which increases the service life of the product to 30–50 years. At the same time, plastic tanks for summer showers are characterized by moderate cost, light weight and ease of installation.
- Square-shaped flat tanks ideally cover outdoor shower houses instead of a roof. It is enough to assemble the shower box and fix the tank on top instead of the roof.
- When making shower tanks, many manufacturers use food-grade polyethylene, which does not decompose from exposure to UV rays. Environmentally friendly material ensures the safety of water even during long-term storage.Plastic does not corrode under any conditions, which cannot be said about metal.
When choosing a plastic container, you need to know that tanks without electrical heating are most often produced with a volume of 100 to 200 liters. Round heated containers in the form of a barrel are made with a volume of 50 to 130 liters of water. Flat heated tanks are usually designed for 200 liters of liquid. In any design, water is poured in buckets through a wide neck or with a pump.
They talk about how to “tune” a regular tank in this video:
Tanks intended for installation on showers are usually made of solid polyethylene. However, there are universal models made of elastic polymer. Such containers are designed to store a large supply of water. They are installed at the dacha for showers and drip irrigation. Such a container of water resembles a fluffed pillow. There are two fittings on the walls for pumping and draining water. The lid is equipped with a special mechanism that allows oxygen to penetrate. That is, breathing occurs. If a shower or drip irrigation is not used for a long time, the water in the container does not stagnate.
The elastic container can hold from 200 to 350 liters of water, and this despite the fact that when empty, the product fits together like an air mattress. Can you imagine a 350 liter barrel fitting into a travel bag? This one will fit. The elastic polymer has increased strength, does not lose its properties when heated, and restores its shape after filling the tank with water.
Features of the heated plastic tank design
If you decide to build a heated shower for your dacha, then you can go in two ways: buy a ready-made tank with a heating element or install a heating element in the barrel yourself.
In the first case, installing a shower will cost more, but there are great benefits. Factory-made tanks, in addition to the heating element, are equipped with additional devices. This could be a water temperature sensor, overheat protection, a thermostat, etc. They even sell portable tanks with showers and heating. A tank filled with sensors will cost more, but the owner will not worry about a burnt heating element, boiled water or a melted tank. The system operates on the principle of an electric boiler. It is enough to set the desired water temperature, and the automation will maintain it constantly.
In the second case, if there is a regular container, the owner spends money on purchasing a heating element. The primitive device will work like a boiler. The water temperature needs to be constantly monitored. Left unattended, the heating will end in boiling water and even melting of the tank.
Any design of a heated container requires the presence of water. A switched-on heating element in an empty tank will burn out in a couple of minutes.
All plastic heated tanks are equipped with a heating element with a power of 1 to 2 kW. This is enough to heat up to 200 liters of water. To operate the heater, you will need to lay an electrical cable and connect it through the machine after the electric meter.The rate of heating of water depends on its volume, the power of the heating element and the street temperature. In cold weather, the thin walls of the container are not able to retain heat. Large losses occur, which is accompanied by an increase in water heating time and unnecessary energy consumption.
Basic requirements for a container for a country shower
We have already talked about the color of the tank. Dark walls attract heat better and prevent water from blooming. But the volume of the product depends on the number of people living at the dacha. Although usually shower houses are installed in compact dimensions, and placing a tank with a capacity of 200 or 300 liters on the roof is very dangerous. The cabin racks simply cannot withstand a large mass of water. It is optimal to install a tank with 100 liters of water on a house measuring 1x1.2 m. It will be enough to bathe five family members.
You can fill the container with water manually, from a water supply or a well. In the first case, there should always be a ladder near the shower. The wider the neck of the tank, the easier it will be to fill the water.
When pumping water from a well, you will need a pump. A signal tube is removed from the top of the tank. The flow of water from it lets the owner know that it is time to turn off the pump. In addition, the signal tube prevents the tank from bursting due to excess water pressure.
It is most convenient to fill the container from the water supply. If you install a plumbing valve inside, water will be automatically added as it flows. The principle of operation is the same as in a toilet cistern. A signal tube wouldn't hurt here either. Suddenly the valve does not work.
Sometimes summer residents resort to simple tricks to quickly warm up the water and reduce heat loss:
- Vegetable growers know how a greenhouse retains heat in a bed of seedlings.A similar shelter made of film or polycarbonate can be built on the roof of the shower, and a container of water can be placed inside. The greenhouse will protect the tank from cold winds and increase water heating by 8OWITH.
- The north side of the container is protected with any foil material with a mirror coating.
- If you install an intake tube inside the top of the container, the warm water on top will be the first to flow into the shower.
Any invention to preserve the heat of water is acceptable. The main thing is that they are safe for humans. If desired, water can be heated with a regular boiler, but this does not always lead to good consequences.
Making your own plastic tank for a country shower
When the household already has a plastic container, for example, a barrel, it can be used as a shower instead of a tank. However, you must be prepared for the fact that you will have to remove it for the winter and put it in the shed for storage. Such barrels are not intended for outdoor installation and will crack in the cold.
A shower barrel for a dacha intended for bulk products is ideal. It has a wide neck with a lid through which it is convenient to pour water. Conversion of the barrel begins with inserting the nozzle for the watering can:
- A hole with a diameter of 15 mm is drilled in the center of the bottom of the barrel. Next, a piece is cut from a stainless pipe so that it is long enough to pass through the roof of the shower house and exit 150 mm below the ceiling.
- A thread is cut at both ends of the cut pipe. If you don’t have a tool for cutting threads at home, you’ll have to turn to a turner or look for a ready-made pipe on the market.
- Using washers and nuts, one end of the pipe is secured in the hole of the barrel, after which it is installed on the roof. Under the ceiling there was a protruding second end of the threaded pipe.A ball valve is screwed onto it and a regular watering can nozzle is screwed onto it using a threaded adapter.
- The barrel on the roof must be well reinforced. You can use metal strips or other tools you have on hand.
- Barrels for bulk products are usually produced in white. This option is not suitable for a shower, and the walls will have to be painted black. It is important that the paint contains no solvents or other additives that can melt the plastic.
At this point, the homemade shower container is ready. All you have to do is add water, wait for it to heat up from the sun, and you can swim.
The video shows a tank for a country shower:
Plastic tanks are an ideal solution for arranging a country shower. A more reliable alternative can only be a stainless steel container, but at current prices it will be very expensive for the summer resident.
What's the point of putting the tank in the shed? The barn is usually not heated...