while you share that revolutioning recycling system to everyone for free, some other people are making business with this idea... thanks a lot for sharing. loving your tech talk vids
We love to share... if it helps some folks, that’s awesome!! Thanks for watching... and if you want to help us out a bit, just be sure to share our videos... and you can visit our channel and check out our other videos! That would be awesome!
@@SnowAndCurt - Curt, maybe you and Snow should consider setting up a Patreon. Many of us would be happy to donate to you for sharing your nuggets of knowledge!
Congrats guys! I saw many yt-bers but none like you. Your work and knowledge is priceless! I wish I could have friends like you even if I'm only 30y old. Saw around 40 countries until now by aircarft job and I can say that nothing compares to this way of traveling that you do! I think I saved enough $ to start building a clone of this van but not yet secured my retirement. It will probably take me some years to do it but this is my new goal and you are the right persons to follow! Thx for that 🙏
Love the recirculating shower tech. It is such an improvement given the limited amount of water one can carry. Also, your design of locating the shower in the hallway with those special slider isolators to contain the splashing water and privacy is the best use of space I've seen for staying truly clean in one of these vans. My complements to you!
We are super excited with how the layout all came together, there was a lot of planning and sketching and planning and sketching that went into this van!! Thanks for the kind words!
game changer i kept hearing about this shower but nobody explains it, not magic but worth every bit of upkeep. Thank you your van build videos are the best ive seen.
out of all the tons of van layout youtubes i've watched, I love y'alls the mostest. I love love love the recirculating shower. Brilliant idea Curt&Snow.
Just built one of these for our van. For right now I'm using a portable propane water heater but the rest is about the same setup. Thank you so much for spreading this design, totally changed the ways we can use our van now.
Thanks for going into such detail. At first I thought this would be a viable option for my van camper. But then I thought, heck! This would be great for the house! We live in the high desert with a "dry" household. Very nice video!
FINALLY! I've seen so many van conversions and you are the first one that utilizes a pass-through shower. Different design to the one I have in mind but nevertheless, a good design and excellent use of space. As for the recirculating part, that's the first time I see something like that and I am amazed. Congrats. Subscribed.
@@SnowAndCurt My shower set up only exists in blueprints right now as is my whole van conversion project. Right now I am still in the process of finding the best ideas and best materials. I live in a hot area (Crete Greece) and I am planning to travel all over Europe so I need the van to be optimized for both hot and cold weather conditions. Therefore, my plan has the van cabin sealed from the van living space (for insulation reasons), has the kitchen opposite the side door, and I am placing the 90cm X90cm shower in the entrance of the van. It will be sealed with a right angle sliding door from the kitchen/interior and with a straight sliding door from the van's side entrance. Both sliding doors will retract on the left side. The shower tub will be covered with a removable plywood cover and an overhanging carpet to avoid any dirt from getting into the shower door sliders. With the sliding doors retracted it will be a fully open 90cm wide entrance door with a weird shower hose on the right. Lift the plywood cover, slide the doors closed, , and it will be a spacious sealed shower.
I'm hoping to start my build soon. I have seen a few recirculating showers with no details on how they were built and then I was prompted to look for a tutorial when one guy specifically blocked his recirculating shower mechanism from being filmed in a van tour. Thanks for the well-produced, informative video. I hope to begin my build soon and I will be sure to credit and link to you anytime my shower is featured in a video. I'll come back and use your affiliate links when I'm ready to buy parts, too!
Thank you so much for the time and effort you have taken to explain how to install a recirculating shower. I'm in the process of building out my E350 cut off box van interior. I must say the most difficult part at this point is the plan and how I'm going to design it. Also I really like your shower setup very nice again thank you for taking the time to post and publish the video.
Great, thank you so much. This is exactly like the shower I am planning. Great to see that it works. I really wonder why not more people are doing it like that, it seems like such a great and obvious solution.
It took 121 years,for someone to think of a hockey mask...lol..and hockey has been around for over 2 hundred years....I love using mine and I hope you well too...
So you carry 10 gals shower water (30 gals potable) for a week’s supply for 2 people. You must be the cleanest nomadic ppl out here! (That’s 40gals x 8.3lbs/gal = 332 lbs of water!) While I’ve always thought this kind of concentration of energy resources (3reasons to heat, 3reasons to cool) is optimal, my resource$ are limited. Yes, I picked up a used Espar for cheeep and am routing the glycol lines to serve my water system as well, but it’s a low-budget vehicle. That being said, it’s great to see someone doing this DIY! Subbed
We use the 10 gallons for several showers... it will last a week before the filters start to struggle with getting the soap out! We are pretty clean peeps... LOL! And most of the time, we are filling up every 4 to 6 days... but, it could do a week if it needed to! Welcome to the channel.. happy to have you here!
Awesome. I've always thought something like this could be done and I've seen a video of one RV manufacturer that is offering a similar grey-water recirculating system, but it's great to see someone who has actually done it. Thanks!
I am hoping I can incorporate this type of shower set up into my bus build, would certainly save a ton of water. Thanks for sharing (the edited version) of your shower tour. Mike from Texas,Take Memories,Leave Footprints
Oh god, I would install the most powerful water pump I could find. I need a high water pressure, not that rain flow I saw in your shower. Would prob also have to double up on heater units to adequately heat the faster flow. Nice video.
Wow that’s an awesome shower system.... More should implement this and I like that you made the shower big enough to enjoy a nice hot shower... I take long hot showers and that’s been one drawback to my thoughts of living mobile and off and on grid living ideas....
It was a must for us... so, curt put on his thinking cap and figured it out! There was t much out there, so now he is making g sure he shares the info!
Snow & Curt Regular RVs should do this style of shower and perhaps you’ve learned much about your system and what you would do differently. Also the shower layout is so nice looking I like the shower head and the chrome and it’s sad that the 1/2 million dollar or more or even less showers have that basic non glamorous look of a low-rent shower head pipe out of the wall. Yours has that awesome looking upgrade. I became a subscriber because you guys seem so typical and not the showing off how skinny and in shape we are couple with unrealistic eating overly healthy. You’re a comfort life couple
Thanks Cindy... that’s an awesome compliment! I agree... it’s always baffled me that the rv showers don’t do something a little nicer in their showers! Happy to have you as a subscriber, we are all about keeping it real!
Curt, I love you MAN! Thank you for all your video and the best Tech Talk on Van Built. You are amazing! hahah... Love your work. If it wasn't because Chrysler can't sale direct Cargo Van to there customer on line, I have already brought mine long time ago! Sales Rep here in MA are just giving me a run for my money. Can't afford to let that happen. You guys take care and God Bless.
Great shower design!!! Google "Lishtot water tester" to read about a $60 water tester that you could use to check your recirculating water.. That tester might give you some info on when your filters need changing.
Great job on your build! I will be traveling out of my 4runner next year. Looking forward to following your channel. Thank you for sharing your knowledge/ experience. Learned a lot and I have 10 years under my belt as a builder/ finish carpenter.
I'm funny, aren't I? The whole video is full of useful information and tips, and I just wrote "I'll write down about this Durock foam boards".😄 Oh, I certainly meant "I'm writing down the whole video".😄
Curt!! Do a tech series 1 year review, that can be awesome video content. What would you do? What didn’t work? What would you do different? Etc etc.. Cheers
I plan to get a 4×4 sprinter. I will need for off road trips. Was wondering how I can set up the speculate system in away I will not damages if my road is not flat. And protection from freezing during winter months. And I like to say meeting you guys made my day , I was just so excited. Hope to see you both in the future again soon. Please keep in touch I will need your expertise.
Curt is putting out a couple videos on winterizing our system... they should be out in the next few weeks! To protect from rocks and such... maybe thin sheets of metal fastened to the under carriage. Local welders or fabricators could help you find the materials... and do the work if you needed help!
UV light doesn't instantly kill bacteria, by the way. It just damages them so much they can no longer breed more bacteria. It takes them half an hour to actually die off. Some argue that having that step in the system is not as important as one might think. Perhaps it should also not be the last stage, but maybe in the 10 gallon tank (just spitballing here, basically.)
thank you. someone with some basic science background. Even basic microbiology courses teach you about this. It usually takes mins of exposure to sufficently damage their genetics. The inclusion of UV light is a red flag that these people had no idea what they are doing.
@Marcos 989 Backpackers should use UV light in that fashion, yes, irradiate the water for some time and then wait a while before consuming it. In fact, you don't need UV light, if you have a clear soft drink bottle, you can fill that up with water and leave it in the blazing sun for two hours or so, and that will do the job. And in an RV application, the UV light should be on the water intake. First filter it through a particle filter, then a charcoal filter for taste/odor control, and the final step blast it with UV. Very little in the ways of microorganisms would survive to land in the tank in the first place. This would be the next best thing to reverse osmosis. This shower system would be fine with just the filters. Having the UV doesn't hurt anything of course.
@Marcos 989 but the water need to recirculate to work. That was the whole point. Plus I dont think the most important aspect is address in this system: soap. How do they get rid of soap? the 5um isnt gonna do it. characol has limited affinity for amiphiphilic molecule like soap. There is a reason international space station use distillation instead of filters in their water recovery system. Filter isnt a good answer for grey water.
There are arguments/debates on the UV light issue from all different sides. You are correct in assuming that we are not educated in microbiology, but coming from civil engineering backgrounds, we do understand that if something might be able to help you achieve the desired result, without causing significant cost or time delays, then you go ahead and include it in the plan! The shower water is not intended to be drinking water, so if zapping the water as it circulated thru may help clean it up a bit, then that’s what we will do. We did do 6 months of research on this prior to installation, and the EPA and FDA both of positive feedback on the UV light in water filtration systems. Anyway, I don’t want to keep beating a dead horse. As for the soap, we knew this would be an issue as well. The shower water is changed every 5-7 days. And the filters are easily accessible for cleaning as needed, which we are learning is about once a month. Thanks for watching our vids!
How do you dump the shower water and did you add any type of a flush system like you see on holding tanks to get any buildup off the tank that might get past the filters.
Personally I would strongly have considered a third vent, a smaller one, in the shower area. To run only when you take a shower, and blow the moist air up and out. This would keep a fair bit of the steam from ever entering the rest of the van when you do get out of the shower, I think. But perhaps not necessary with two large fans sucking and blowing at the same time, and more holes in the van is not a good thing.
The shower doors are an inch or so from the ceiling, so the steam can be sucked out the maxx air fans as you shower... so there is no big blast of steam at the end. It’s something we knew might be an issue, so we ran the wires needed in case we had to add a vent fan. But, we’ve learned it’s not needed!
Excellent channel- appreciate all the work you have both shared across many topics. On the shower, wondering if there is a balance that can be achieved between simpler maintenance (filling, draining, & backflushing from inside the van with solenoid valves and main water tank) and still using minimal water by only filling enough to keep shower primed each time (perhaps 1 gallon tank plus lines). This way water does not remain in the system and filter is briefly flushed with each use. I’m not a plumber, so I’m sure this can be improved or simplified, but I’ve made a rough sketch with a link below. If you have time, any feedback would be great. Cheers.
Yes, I have released several new updates, but simple regular back flushing and circulating through the filters when not in use have made a HUGE improvement. Check out our more current vids😊
@@SnowAndCurt I scrolled through the playlists but missed it (well, also because I didn't know what to look for). In any case, I think adding the playlist of the series to the descriptions of the videos that are included in that playlist - it's just much better for everyone. If not for the old videos, keep this in mind for the new ones. By the way, how your recirculating shower is doing? Still kicking? I'm yet to watch the videos on how you built it, just found out about your channel .
We love our shower... We change the shower water every time we get water for our kitchen tank .. so about every 5-7 days. We can get 4-5 showers out of that before the soap takes over. So, it's not perfect ... But it is great for VanLife travel!
Very nice! I had this idea by myself and just found out by coincidence that there already exists a solution. I would never have done it this complex but i surely go with this. Fantastic!
Have you considered adding thermostatic mixing valve, for safety? 180+ degrees could really be bad if you accidentally bumped the valve while standing under it, or if something were to happen with a pet or a kid turning it on.
Love it and the practicality of it. But honestly, I'm worried if you have any night that dips below freezing. I think your tank is going to freeze overnight. Weather can change so frequently and I hope you're ready. Any desert nights get cold real fast.
We put in an interesting winterizing system.... We are going to try to get an updated shower video out (with all we've learned from using and maintaining it for ten months) during this quarentine.... and we will explain our crazy winterizing system!! Thanks for the feedback...
I absolutely love your build especially the little birds in the back❤ But I’m wondering… If you had to do it all there for do you think you would’ve played that fantastic bathroom in the very back? I mean if you had to do it all over again?
Do you know how many gpm you can flow with that system? We're looking at this for domestic use. We'd have a 5,000 gallon tank to get us though the summer if our well runs dry. And this with a composting toilet would definitely get us through.
Hi Snow & Curt, you guys did an amazing job!! I'm going to follow your complete tutorial for the build :-)!! For me its only not completely clear how to attach the Braze plates to the diesel heater and pump. Could you perhaps post a picture of that? That would be amazing!! Thanks in advance
Hi Curt, thanks for share the great system. I am looking into build something like that in the future, and have a question. do you have the control for the water temperature in the heat exchanger? if the water is too hot do you have to use cold water from your main tank to mix it (like 80% HW & 20% CW)? then how to you get rid of those water? the excess water goes to the grey tank? thanks.
Hey Curt, really awesome video! Quick question though, I see all these designs using a heat exchanger, is there a reason you couldn't use a tankless propane water heater though? Might be related, but is there anything preventing you from making all the water in the closed-loop way too hot to use?
Hi Curt...question. We are doing a recirculating shower as well with an Espar heater (and you have 2...an additional 1 for the kitchen I’m assuming). My question is...do I need a hot water heater if I use this method? I’m also assuming I don’t need as large of a fresh water tank now?
Ok, I have decided to build this. I have a few questions: 1. Why not put the filters before the tank? So drain, filters, water tank, then pump? 2. Do you need 3 filters? 3. Is the P-trap necessary under the drain? 4. How would you design it differently now that have you have used it for awhile?
We are actually starting to put together a video to recap the shower and share any updates/modifications that weve made after living in the van for ten months! Should be out in about ten days. Hold tight for a few days and I think we will answer all of your questions... and more! THANKS!
Considering making a pull-out shower in the kitchen area to extend across the entire walkway area at the toe kick level with two shower curtains, utilizing the cabinets on both sides as "walls." I believe this will allow easy passage to the drivers area and to the bedroom area, keeping everything assesible (except for the kitchen, while showering). When everything is dry, just slide it back out of the way. At 5' long, it will be the size of a bathtub. Any thoughts or suggestions?
I think it sounds awesome... Go for it! Our system didn't exist, but now it does! Be prepared to adjust as needed during the build... it's part of an original design! And let us know how it turns out for sure!
Pools and hot tubs recycle ♻️ the water… But they keep chlorine and not remove it. I’m sure the uv helps but 10 gallons is a small space. I’d be curious what you find in the water sample after a week of showers 🚿
I understand the concept of the heat exchangers but what do you use to heat up the glycol that pumps through the exchangers? Is it from the diesel engine and you run the van during the showers?
I agree with others - nobody explains this complex design like you do. But I do have a couple of questions. First, I noticed that you have many of the components under the van. What happens in very cold environments - with freezing, etc. Is the show unusable in those places - seems that'd be one of the places where you really want it to work? Thanks, Dave
Curt designed a recirculating system... Flip two switched and the water will continually flow thru the system (pipes, pumps, filters, fittings, tanks)... The water can be heated as needed to keep it from freezing. It's not perfect for extended use die to power/fuel use, but we intend to spend limited time in extreme cold climates. Also, the system has not been tested in real life, so we will keep you guys posted!
How does the back flush work? Are you pushing water backwards through the filters? I am guessing you have a separate back flush loop because you could not get the water back in the shower head from the shower pan. Is that UV light AC or DC? Does the UV light turn on automatically when water is being pumped through or did you have to run a wire for a switch?
The Stoett Nautilus curtain is very cool and I love how y'all have integrated it in your design. I have a notion of using one, but without the top & bottom tracks. I would fold out two doors, fix them in place, and run the curtain across. The curtain sides would be mounted to the two doors. But I gather that the top & bottom rails also help keep the curtain straight. In my scenario we would need to pull it out and retract it without this guide. I have not personally seen or touched this curtain. Do you think my idea of doing without the top & bottom rails is all wet?
We wondered the same thing, so we ordered our doors very early in the build. They work great with tracks, but the material moved quite a bit. We opted to leave the tracks in place. Maybe order one so you can put your hands on it and then decide!
Great explanation of the system.. Only thing that made me wonder was why you had no fan in the shower? Is the shower in between the the push pull roof fans so you get air having to go through the shower before it leaves the van? Thanks
while you share that revolutioning recycling system to everyone for free, some other people are making business with this idea... thanks a lot for sharing. loving your tech talk vids
We love to share... if it helps some folks, that’s awesome!! Thanks for watching... and if you want to help us out a bit, just be sure to share our videos... and you can visit our channel and check out our other videos! That would be awesome!
@@SnowAndCurt - Curt, maybe you and Snow should consider setting up a Patreon. Many of us would be happy to donate to you for sharing your nuggets of knowledge!
We set one up a few weeks ago! You can find us at www.patreon.com/snowandcurt
Thanks for the tip!
Best explanation of a DIY recirc shower yet. Thank you!
Thank you ☺️☺️🚐🛠
where is the accumulator tank located in this system? Thx Rog
Congrats guys! I saw many yt-bers but none like you. Your work and knowledge is priceless! I wish I could have friends like you even if I'm only 30y old. Saw around 40 countries until now by aircarft job and I can say that nothing compares to this way of traveling that you do! I think I saved enough $ to start building a clone of this van but not yet secured my retirement. It will probably take me some years to do it but this is my new goal and you are the right persons to follow! Thx for that 🙏
Thank you for those kind words!!! And welcome to our channel... We are happy to have you along for the ride 😊
Love the recirculating shower tech. It is such an improvement given the limited amount of water one can carry. Also, your design of locating the shower in the hallway with those special slider isolators to contain the splashing water and privacy is the best use of space I've seen for staying truly clean in one of these vans. My complements to you!
We are super excited with how the layout all came together, there was a lot of planning and sketching and planning and sketching that went into this van!! Thanks for the kind words!
game changer i kept hearing about this shower but nobody explains it, not magic but worth every bit of upkeep. Thank you your van build videos are the best ive seen.
Thank you Anthony!
Fantastic design! I like how the bathroom has so much space by using the width of the van! Plus the recirculating shower is awesome!
Thanks for the kind words... it was a lot of work making the whole shower area into a wet room, but it was worth it for sure!
out of all the tons of van layout youtubes i've watched, I love y'alls the mostest. I love love love the recirculating shower. Brilliant idea Curt&Snow.
Just built one of these for our van. For right now I'm using a portable propane water heater but the rest is about the same setup. Thank you so much for spreading this design, totally changed the ways we can use our van now.
This is the best van conversion bathroom I've seen. I love the circulating water system too. It's genius. Thank you so much for sharing
Thanks for tuning in!!!
Great Stuff those recirculating showers are game-changers for vanlife
Yes they are!!!
You are absolutely right!! This will be a must-have in my van whenever I get one
Wow, fantastic. What a great idea. From concept to design to execution- awesome.
Thanks for the super kind words!!!
Thanks for setting brilliance lit clarity on the hot water bathing systems. Perfectly. Start to restarted minutely process. Gratitude!
You're welcome!
Curt, great video and explanation. Just what I have been looking for! Thank you very much, Tim
You are welcome!!!
Van?! Hell, I need this for my house ... got teenage daughter ... Very informative video - thanks!
I bet it would save you a ton on your water bill!! 😂
@@SnowAndCurt S&C, you are so very right!! Best to you both.
Thanks for going into such detail. At first I thought this would be a viable option for my van camper. But then I thought, heck! This would be great for the house! We live in the high desert with a "dry" household. Very nice video!
Right?!?! I think they are doing this on houses in Denmark and/or Norway! We saw a video from over there when we were doing our research. 🚐🛠
FINALLY! I've seen so many van conversions and you are the first one that utilizes a pass-through shower. Different design to the one I have in mind but nevertheless, a good design and excellent use of space. As for the recirculating part, that's the first time I see something like that and I am amazed. Congrats.
Subscribed.
Thanks!! As soon as I flipped the shower sideways on one of our sketches.. it was a no brained!! We love it!! Would love to see your shower set up!
@@SnowAndCurt My shower set up only exists in blueprints right now as is my whole van conversion project. Right now I am still in the process of finding the best ideas and best materials. I live in a hot area (Crete Greece) and I am planning to travel all over Europe so I need the van to be optimized for both hot and cold weather conditions. Therefore, my plan has the van cabin sealed from the van living space (for insulation reasons), has the kitchen opposite the side door, and I am placing the 90cm X90cm shower in the entrance of the van.
It will be sealed with a right angle sliding door from the kitchen/interior and with a straight sliding door from the van's side entrance. Both sliding doors will retract on the left side. The shower tub will be covered with a removable plywood cover and an overhanging carpet to avoid any dirt from getting into the shower door sliders.
With the sliding doors retracted it will be a fully open 90cm wide entrance door with a weird shower hose on the right. Lift the plywood cover, slide the doors closed, , and it will be a spacious sealed shower.
Spiros what set up are you going to do?
@@spiroszaharakis2648 cant wait to see your design too!
I'm hoping to start my build soon. I have seen a few recirculating showers with no details on how they were built and then I was prompted to look for a tutorial when one guy specifically blocked his recirculating shower mechanism from being filmed in a van tour.
Thanks for the well-produced, informative video. I hope to begin my build soon and I will be sure to credit and link to you anytime my shower is featured in a video. I'll come back and use your affiliate links when I'm ready to buy parts, too!
Thanks Jimmie!!
Very nicely configured. Thank you for giving me this concept. As a boater, we didn't have this type of set up. Yes, hot water, But not recirculation.
You are very welcome! Thanks for watching our video!
Thank you so much for the time and effort you have taken to explain how to install a recirculating shower. I'm in the process of building out my E350 cut off box van interior. I must say the most difficult part at this point is the plan and how I'm going to design it. Also I really like your shower setup very nice again thank you for taking the time to post and publish the video.
This is such an incredible build. Thank you for taking the time to make and share your ideas!
Our pleasure... and thanks for watching!
Bro, your work and content are dynamite! Such a logical van lifer! I love your videos on recirc. shower system
Thanks you so much... and thanks for watching our vids!
Great, thank you so much. This is exactly like the shower I am planning. Great to see that it works. I really wonder why not more people are doing it like that, it seems like such a great and obvious solution.
We hope to get a year or two out of them... we brought a spare with us.... so, we will be prepared when it goes!
It took 121 years,for someone to think of a hockey mask...lol..and hockey has been around for over 2 hundred years....I love using mine and I hope you well too...
That was really fascinating! What a great way to reduce weight of the van. With the filters and the UV light, it’s probably safer than my tap water.
Well, I don’t know about that... lol! But it’s for sure safe enough to shower in!
So you carry 10 gals shower water (30 gals potable) for a week’s supply for 2 people. You must be the cleanest nomadic ppl out here!
(That’s 40gals x 8.3lbs/gal = 332 lbs of water!)
While I’ve always thought this kind of concentration of energy resources (3reasons to heat, 3reasons to cool) is optimal, my resource$ are limited. Yes, I picked up a used Espar for cheeep and am routing the glycol lines to serve my water system as well, but it’s a low-budget vehicle.
That being said, it’s great to see someone doing this DIY! Subbed
We use the 10 gallons for several showers... it will last a week before the filters start to struggle with getting the soap out! We are pretty clean peeps... LOL! And most of the time, we are filling up every 4 to 6 days... but, it could do a week if it needed to! Welcome to the channel.. happy to have you here!
Awesome. I've always thought something like this could be done and I've seen a video of one RV manufacturer that is offering a similar grey-water recirculating system, but it's great to see someone who has actually done it.
Thanks!
It was a ton of planning and still kind of a work in progress, but it just made sense to us!!!
Add a thermostatic mixing valve and it will fix you hot scalding water problem. Set it to the max temp and it won't go over it on the valve .
Thanks for the tip
Great design, great vid, very informative, you do a very good job explaining the system, thank you
Thank you very much Leo, I hope you are enjoying our other videos as well.
Best stealth van , best videos
Thanks Mike Jones... Cheers!
Thanks for sharing the knowledge and the experience. Your work is amazing and you are absolutely amazing in explaining the build!
Glad it was helpful!
Arrgh!! You scared the hell out of me when I clicked on this video and a full face closeup of a bald guy in a shower appeared!
Ha!!! Sorry if we caused any duress... but, a close up was much better than the alternative of a full body shot!! 😂
I am hoping I can incorporate this type of shower set up into my bus build, would certainly save a ton of water.
Thanks for sharing (the edited version) of your shower tour.
Mike from Texas,Take Memories,Leave Footprints
No problem... hoping the vid helps others!! And yes... the unedited version will never see the light of day! Ha!!
Desde a primeira vez que vimos seus vídeos nos apaixonamos pelas dicas ✍️, essa Van é muito completa 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Oh god, I would install the most powerful water pump I could find. I need a high water pressure, not that rain flow I saw in your shower. Would prob also have to double up on heater units to adequately heat the faster flow. Nice video.
Great system. I've heard that adding a little Epsom Salts helps to break down the soap and biodegradable soaps helps too.
You are the third person to tell us this... we’ve added it to our shopping list! Thanks!
With your filters under the vehicle, how do you deal with freezing weather protecting the filters/hosing and other materials from freezing/cracking.
+1, very curious about this too.
@@stampdad +2…….
Do you think a foam wrap would take care of it?
@@wideawaketotruth5301 I doubt it!
@@wideawaketotruth5301 no
Are you still happy with having a recirculating shower? Would you make any changes in a future build of this? Any regrets?
1 teaspoon of epson salt,will decrease soap build up in your lines..
This is a great tip... and we will give it a try right away!! Thank you!
Do this after a few uses or do this as a cleaning protocol?
Epso*m*
Great video would love to see a video of you cleaning the filters.
Great suggestion!
Wow awesome job man! Really clean and looks super finished 👏👏
Thanks!! We worked super hard on it, so compliments are appreciated!!
Wow that’s an awesome shower system....
More should implement this and I like that you made the shower big enough to enjoy a nice hot shower... I take long hot showers and that’s been one drawback to my thoughts of living mobile and off and on grid living ideas....
It was a must for us... so, curt put on his thinking cap and figured it out! There was t much out there, so now he is making g sure he shares the info!
Snow & Curt
I hope more can and RV lifers do this... no peeing in the shower... haha
Snow & Curt Regular RVs should do this style of shower and perhaps you’ve learned much about your system and what you would do differently.
Also the shower layout is so nice looking I like the shower head and the chrome and it’s sad that the 1/2 million dollar or more or even less showers have that basic non glamorous look of a low-rent shower head pipe out of the wall. Yours has that awesome looking upgrade.
I became a subscriber because you guys seem so typical and not the showing off how skinny and in shape we are couple with unrealistic eating overly healthy. You’re a comfort life couple
Ha! That’s the truth!! No shower peeing!
Thanks Cindy... that’s an awesome compliment! I agree... it’s always baffled me that the rv showers don’t do something a little nicer in their showers! Happy to have you as a subscriber, we are all about keeping it real!
Curt, I love you MAN! Thank you for all your video and the best Tech Talk on Van Built. You are amazing! hahah... Love your work. If it wasn't because Chrysler can't sale direct Cargo Van to there customer on line, I have already brought mine long time ago! Sales Rep here in MA are just giving me a run for my money. Can't afford to let that happen. You guys take care and God Bless.
Half you enjoy the vids!
hahahaha.YES! Good Job Boss.
Great shower design!!! Google "Lishtot water tester" to read about a $60 water tester that you could use to check your recirculating water.. That tester might give you some info on when your filters need changing.
Can’t wait for you to get back in the country to build my van!😂
🤣🤣🤣
I wonder how much something like This cost....This is a GAME CHANGER!!!! Thanks for Sharing 🚛🚛🚛🚛🚛🚛
Awesome. Great job on your shower build.
Thank you! Cheers!
Great job on your build! I will be traveling out of my 4runner next year. Looking forward to following your channel. Thank you for sharing your knowledge/ experience. Learned a lot and I have 10 years under my belt as a builder/ finish carpenter.
Thanks Jayson. I am sure you could teach me plenty! Keep us posted on your 4Runner journey!🍻
Awesome! Thank you!
6:02 I'm definitely writing down and saving this tip.
I'm funny, aren't I? The whole video is full of useful information and tips, and I just wrote "I'll write down about this Durock foam boards".😄
Oh, I certainly meant "I'm writing down the whole video".😄
LOL!!!
Curt!! Do a tech series 1 year review, that can be awesome video content.
What would you do?
What didn’t work?
What would you do different? Etc etc..
Cheers
thinking about it
Freaking brilliant.
☺️☺️ thanks Tad!!
Amazing. Thank you for taking the time to explaining this awesome setup.
You are welcome! Thanks for tuning in 🚐🛠🎥
I plan to get a 4×4 sprinter. I will need for off road trips. Was wondering how I can set up the speculate system in away I will not damages if my road is not flat. And protection from freezing during winter months.
And I like to say meeting you guys made my day , I was just so excited. Hope to see you both in the future again soon. Please keep in touch I will need your expertise.
Curt is putting out a couple videos on winterizing our system... they should be out in the next few weeks! To protect from rocks and such... maybe thin sheets of metal fastened to the under carriage. Local welders or fabricators could help you find the materials... and do the work if you needed help!
UV light doesn't instantly kill bacteria, by the way. It just damages them so much they can no longer breed more bacteria. It takes them half an hour to actually die off. Some argue that having that step in the system is not as important as one might think. Perhaps it should also not be the last stage, but maybe in the 10 gallon tank (just spitballing here, basically.)
thank you. someone with some basic science background. Even basic microbiology courses teach you about this. It usually takes mins of exposure to sufficently damage their genetics. The inclusion of UV light is a red flag that these people had no idea what they are doing.
@Marcos 989 Backpackers should use UV light in that fashion, yes, irradiate the water for some time and then wait a while before consuming it. In fact, you don't need UV light, if you have a clear soft drink bottle, you can fill that up with water and leave it in the blazing sun for two hours or so, and that will do the job. And in an RV application, the UV light should be on the water intake. First filter it through a particle filter, then a charcoal filter for taste/odor control, and the final step blast it with UV. Very little in the ways of microorganisms would survive to land in the tank in the first place. This would be the next best thing to reverse osmosis. This shower system would be fine with just the filters. Having the UV doesn't hurt anything of course.
@Marcos 989 but the water need to recirculate to work. That was the whole point. Plus I dont think the most important aspect is address in this system: soap. How do they get rid of soap? the 5um isnt gonna do it. characol has limited affinity for amiphiphilic molecule like soap. There is a reason international space station use distillation instead of filters in their water recovery system. Filter isnt a good answer for grey water.
There are arguments/debates on the UV light issue from all different sides. You are correct in assuming that we are not educated in microbiology, but coming from civil engineering backgrounds, we do understand that if something might be able to help you achieve the desired result, without causing significant cost or time delays, then you go ahead and include it in the plan! The shower water is not intended to be drinking water, so if zapping the water as it circulated thru may help clean it up a bit, then that’s what we will do. We did do 6 months of research on this prior to installation, and the EPA and FDA both of positive feedback on the UV light in water filtration systems. Anyway, I don’t want to keep beating a dead horse.
As for the soap, we knew this would be an issue as well. The shower water is changed every 5-7 days. And the filters are easily accessible for cleaning as needed, which we are learning is about once a month.
Thanks for watching our vids!
Excellent ! Thanks
🚐☺️
Top demais esse projeto e mecanismo ☺️☺️☺️
Finally the recirculating shower! LOL
How do you dump the shower water and did you add any type of a flush system like you see on holding tanks to get any buildup off the tank that might get past the filters.
Ha!!! I told ya it was coming!!! Lol
Personally I would strongly have considered a third vent, a smaller one, in the shower area. To run only when you take a shower, and blow the moist air up and out. This would keep a fair bit of the steam from ever entering the rest of the van when you do get out of the shower, I think. But perhaps not necessary with two large fans sucking and blowing at the same time, and more holes in the van is not a good thing.
The shower doors are an inch or so from the ceiling, so the steam can be sucked out the maxx air fans as you shower... so there is no big blast of steam at the end. It’s something we knew might be an issue, so we ran the wires needed in case we had to add a vent fan. But, we’ve learned it’s not needed!
In-fricking-genius. Good job.
Thanks Arthur!
Thanks Arthur! 🚐🛠
Great presentation!
Thanks!
Can you do an update on how your shower is going please. How you clean your filters. Do you find soap causes problems? Thanks
Excellent channel- appreciate all the work you have both shared across many topics. On the shower, wondering if there is a balance that can be achieved between simpler maintenance (filling, draining, & backflushing from inside the van with solenoid valves and main water tank) and still using minimal water by only filling enough to keep shower primed each time (perhaps 1 gallon tank plus lines). This way water does not remain in the system and filter is briefly flushed with each use. I’m not a plumber, so I’m sure this can be improved or simplified, but I’ve made a rough sketch with a link below. If you have time, any feedback would be great. Cheers.
Yes, I have released several new updates, but simple regular back flushing and circulating through the filters when not in use have made a HUGE improvement. Check out our more current vids😊
If you can, make a playlist for this series, and put link to it in the description.
There is a playlist on our channel... it's called TECH TALKS 😁
@@SnowAndCurt
I scrolled through the playlists but missed it (well, also because I didn't know what to look for). In any case, I think adding the playlist of the series to the descriptions of the videos that are included in that playlist - it's just much better for everyone. If not for the old videos, keep this in mind for the new ones.
By the way, how your recirculating shower is doing? Still kicking? I'm yet to watch the videos on how you built it, just found out about your channel .
We love our shower... We change the shower water every time we get water for our kitchen tank .. so about every 5-7 days. We can get 4-5 showers out of that before the soap takes over. So, it's not perfect ... But it is great for VanLife travel!
@@SnowAndCurt
Cool, I'm definitely hoping to try your system on my (future) van conversion. Thank you in advance for sharing the information about it.
Very nice! I had this idea by myself and just found out by coincidence that there already exists a solution. I would never have done it this complex but i surely go with this. Fantastic!
You'll love it
Have you considered adding thermostatic mixing valve, for safety? 180+ degrees could really be bad if you accidentally bumped the valve while standing under it, or if something were to happen with a pet or a kid turning it on.
Love it and the practicality of it. But honestly, I'm worried if you have any night that dips below freezing. I think your tank is going to freeze overnight. Weather can change so frequently and I hope you're ready. Any desert nights get cold real fast.
We put in an interesting winterizing system.... We are going to try to get an updated shower video out (with all we've learned from using and maintaining it for ten months) during this quarentine.... and we will explain our crazy winterizing system!! Thanks for the feedback...
I absolutely love your build especially the little birds in the back❤ But I’m wondering… If you had to do it all there for do you think you would’ve played that fantastic bathroom in the very back? I mean if you had to do it all over again?
Do you know how many gpm you can flow with that system? We're looking at this for domestic use. We'd have a 5,000 gallon tank to get us though the summer if our well runs dry. And this with a composting toilet would definitely get us through.
Curt ,are you secretly a master plumber?
Great system thanks for sharing.
You are very welcome Kimberley... thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing, this concept is really worth considering!
Glad it gave you something to think about!!
Brilliant idea. And great videos.
Thanks for the super kind words!
Hi Snow & Curt, you guys did an amazing job!! I'm going to follow your complete tutorial for the build :-)!! For me its only not completely clear how to attach the Braze plates to the diesel heater and pump. Could you perhaps post a picture of that? That would be amazing!! Thanks in advance
Curt is working on a follow up video now! Stay Tuned!! Thanks for the kind words.
Love this! Did you ever do a review video and how long did the filters last/ tips on ways to make them last longer?
Thanks Thanos!
Your welcome!
Hi Curt, thanks for share the great system. I am looking into build something like that in the future, and have a question. do you have the control for the water temperature in the heat exchanger? if the water is too hot do you have to use cold water from your main tank to mix it (like 80% HW & 20% CW)? then how to you get rid of those water? the excess water goes to the grey tank? thanks.
do you think it's possible to have recirculating sink system? or are the particles from washing dishes might make it trickier?
Hey Curt, really awesome video! Quick question though, I see all these designs using a heat exchanger, is there a reason you couldn't use a tankless propane water heater though? Might be related, but is there anything preventing you from making all the water in the closed-loop way too hot to use?
Hi Curt...question. We are doing a recirculating shower as well with an Espar heater (and you have 2...an additional 1 for the kitchen I’m assuming). My question is...do I need a hot water heater if I use this method? I’m also assuming I don’t need as large of a fresh water tank now?
Ok, I have decided to build this. I have a few questions: 1. Why not put the filters before the tank? So drain, filters, water tank, then pump? 2. Do you need 3 filters? 3. Is the P-trap necessary under the drain? 4. How would you design it differently now that have you have used it for awhile?
We are actually starting to put together a video to recap the shower and share any updates/modifications that weve made after living in the van for ten months! Should be out in about ten days. Hold tight for a few days and I think we will answer all of your questions... and more! THANKS!
this is really something
Thanks!
Considering making a pull-out shower in the kitchen area to extend across the entire walkway area at the toe kick level with two shower curtains, utilizing the cabinets on both sides as "walls." I believe this will allow easy passage to the drivers area and to the bedroom area, keeping everything assesible (except for the kitchen, while showering). When everything is dry, just slide it back out of the way. At 5' long, it will be the size of a bathtub. Any thoughts or suggestions?
I think it sounds awesome... Go for it! Our system didn't exist, but now it does! Be prepared to adjust as needed during the build... it's part of an original design! And let us know how it turns out for sure!
Pools and hot tubs recycle ♻️ the water…
But they keep chlorine and not remove it.
I’m sure the uv helps but 10 gallons is a small space.
I’d be curious what you find in the water sample after a week of showers 🚿
Think about putting a uv light into the 10 gallon tank to keep stuff from growing in it
Good thinking!
I understand the concept of the heat exchangers but what do you use to heat up the glycol that pumps through the exchangers? Is it from the diesel engine and you run the van during the showers?
Have you taken your van to places with subzero temperature? How to you protect the plumbing underneath the van? Thanks.
Hi, just have a question on the shower value are you adding cold water to the system , how can you adjust temp in a closed system
Incredible concept and incredibly well implemented. you have my respect. can you tell me what kind of doors you used to separate the shower
google "stoett rv shower doors"
Wow that is pretty cool system. Well designed have to think about that save ton of water 💦🛠🇨🇦🛠🇨🇦
Glad it has you thinking! Takes a lil maintenance, but long showers and using less water for the environment is awesome!
Really nice!
Thanks Don!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
You're welcome!
Great information. What brand of door did you use for the shower? thank you :)
We built the shower pan and walls custom... it is durarock backer board, and a waterproofing system by Shluter Ditra. Then it is grouted with a tile.
Hi guys! Can you explain how you cool the water down as it comes into the shower? As in a cold and hot knob...how does the cold knob work?
Just replied to your other comment on a different video! CHEERS!
With your espar exchanger do you also use the heater for heat in the van?
I agree with others - nobody explains this complex design like you do. But I do have a couple of questions. First, I noticed that you have many of the components under the van. What happens in very cold environments - with freezing, etc. Is the show unusable in those places - seems that'd be one of the places where you really want it to work? Thanks,
Dave
Curt designed a recirculating system... Flip two switched and the water will continually flow thru the system (pipes, pumps, filters, fittings, tanks)... The water can be heated as needed to keep it from freezing. It's not perfect for extended use die to power/fuel use, but we intend to spend limited time in extreme cold climates. Also, the system has not been tested in real life, so we will keep you guys posted!
How does the back flush work? Are you pushing water backwards through the filters? I am guessing you have a separate back flush loop because you could not get the water back in the shower head from the shower pan. Is that UV light AC or DC? Does the UV light turn on automatically when water is being pumped through or did you have to run a wire for a switch?
It’s called thinset that you set the tile into
Thanks!!
The Stoett Nautilus curtain is very cool and I love how y'all have integrated it in your design. I have a notion of using one, but without the top & bottom tracks. I would fold out two doors, fix them in place, and run the curtain across. The curtain sides would be mounted to the two doors. But I gather that the top & bottom rails also help keep the curtain straight. In my scenario we would need to pull it out and retract it without this guide.
I have not personally seen or touched this curtain. Do you think my idea of doing without the top & bottom rails is all wet?
We wondered the same thing, so we ordered our doors very early in the build. They work great with tracks, but the material moved quite a bit. We opted to leave the tracks in place. Maybe order one so you can put your hands on it and then decide!
Nice job. How do you handle fresh water usage as well as sink dish water? Different systems (I hope) and where are those tanks (Fresh and grey water)?
Fresh water is on a separate system from the shower. 30 gallon fresh tank, filtration system, and 10 gallon gray tank. Tanks are under chassis.
Great explanation of the system.. Only thing that made me wonder was why you had no fan in the shower? Is the shower in between the the push pull roof fans so you get air having to go through the shower before it leaves the van? Thanks
yep... the two maxx air fans handle the shower moisture just fine!
@@SnowAndCurt thank you.
Can you take a picture of your under carriage protection plates? And once those are in how do access the system?
They are designed to be removed... they have locks on them, so we can unlock them and just pull them off as needed.