Recirculating Shower

Discussion in 'Off Grid Living' started by BlackhawkFan, Sep 29, 2016.


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  1. BlackhawkFan

    BlackhawkFan Monkey

    Probably not new news, but I thought I'd throw it out here for those who plan to haul water, for those who plan to spend the SHTF on a boat, for those who hate waste in general....

    Recycling closed-loop shower is cleaner, greener, and can save you $1,000 per year | ExtremeTech

    Basically, this is a shower system that filters the dirty water and returns it to the shower reservoir, resulting in 90% water retention and 90% heat retention. The article doesn't give up any secrets, but I expect I'd be willing to pay up to $10K and still feel like I got a good deal if the shower is well designed and well made. Who knows, maybe I could get a break on my taxes.

    Carrying this a step further, you could use your shower to filter your drinking water. You could drink your shower water. You could....
     
    avagdu, stg58, Ganado and 1 other person like this.
  2. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    Last edited: Sep 29, 2016
  3. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    That site is essentially void of details, appears to appeal to architects rather than us DYI sorts. If anyone goes beyond the sales pages and uncovers details, please follow up here.
     
    chelloveck, BlackhawkFan and Ganado like this.
  4. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    This could be done easily by re-plumbing the drain into a holding tank. Utilize a 12VDC RV demand pump to move water from the tank through a filtration system to a demand propane HW heater, then to the HW valve on the shower. Plumb an overflow into a holding tank to be used for irrigation or waste flushing.
     
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  5. Tempstar

    Tempstar Monkey+++

    Ewwww.
     
  6. stg58

    stg58 Monkey+++ Founding Member

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  7. john316

    john316 Monkey+++

    everyone on earth is drinking recycled urine
     
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  8. john316

    john316 Monkey+++

    "Taking a shower draws more water and more energy than any other daily household activity. Low-flow showerheads save only a little of both, typically at the expense of comfort. That's because they let the hot water—and all the heat energy it contains—go down the drain.

    In 2004, Peter Brewin, an industrial-design student at the Royal College of Art in London, set about creating a more efficient shower that doesn't require lower pressure. It couldn't just capture and recirculate the water; most countries require shower water to meet potable-water standards. So instead he designed a miniature treatment plant that continuously captures, cleans, and recirculates 70 percent of the water used during a shower. Even with the energy the system consumes, it still uses 40 to 70 percent less power because the system doesn't have to heat as much water. Over the course of a year, a typical household would use 20,000 to 32,000 fewer gallons of water with Brewin's system. That, in turn, would save a local treatment plant upward of 200 kilowatt-hours of energy.

    Because other water-treatment processes are too slow for real-time recirculation, Brewin decided to use pasteurization, the quick heating and cooling method for purifying milk. Shower water is already about 106°F when it hits the drain. A heat exchanger and a small electric heater raise the temperature the extra 56 degrees needed to reach the pasteurization point of 162°. To filter out dirt particles, Brewin constructed a funnel that spins the water that flows into it. Centrifugal force flings the heavy undissolved particles to the edges, where they are washed down the drain.

    Within a year of starting work, Brewin had a proof-of-concept prototype. (To test its filtering ability, he would limit his showers to once a week.) Since then, he has licensed the technology to Australian engineering firm Cintep to solve remaining problems, such as how to more effectively remove shampoo residue. The first showers, which will most likely be installed in drought-prone cities and disaster areas, will debut next year.

    Inventor: Peter Brewin
    Invention: Recycling Shower
    Cost to Develop: $1.75 million
    Distance to Market: short ● ● ● long

    HOW IT WORKS
    A funnel separates undissolved particles from water. The water passes through a filter, a heat exchanger and a pasteurizer that kills any remaining bacteria. It circulates through the heat exchanger again and mixes with new cool water before entering the showerhead."
     
  9. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

  10. avagdu

    avagdu Monkey++

    I really like the idea of this product. However, here's the lo-fi method: a plastic bin used for storing items underneath a bed will fit in a standard size bath tub to collect shower water that you can reuse for other purposes like flushing toilets (filling up the water tank in the back of the toilet is more efficient) or washing dishes, irrigation, whatever. Pro-tip: You can also reduce the volume of water your toilet tank fills up to by adding a brick inside or something else to displace it.

    If you don't use chemical soap you could theoretically filter your gray water with a 5 gallon bucket system and drink it but I haven't tried that.
     
  11. DKR

    DKR Raconteur of the first stripe

    I want my hot water to go down the sewer line. Keeps the line ice free.....
     
  12. john316

    john316 Monkey+++

    "Shower water is already about 106°F when it hits the drain. A heat exchanger and a small electric heater raise the temperature the extra 56 degrees needed to reach the pasteurization point of 162°."

    THE small electric heater for a 56degF at 2 or 3 gal per minute would be 20 to 40 KW....70 TO 150 AMPS AT 220 VOLTS

    2-3 GAL PER MINUTE IS A VERY NICE SHOWER

    i wonder if it would give me enough water to keep my 135ft drain to the street clean
    american plumbing is based on a large water flow to keep it working
     
  13. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Rest assured that there is a whole lot more to it than volume. Without getting too far into it, what goes in the drain and the slope of the drain are perhaps the two most significant considerations.
    Tell me the slope, the size of your drain and what all goes into it from your house, and I'll tell you if the shower flow rate is enough to keep the pipe clear.

    Side issue, but you should check the nameplate on that heater. There is something radically wrong with your load figures, most home wiring will not take 70 amps for very long ---
     
  14. john316

    john316 Monkey+++

    most home wiring will not take 70 amps for very long ---
    ghrit...you are correct if all electric you would need a 300 or 400 amp service
    could use gas any way you cut it it is a large heat load
     
  15. arleigh

    arleigh Goophy monkey

    In freezing areas hot water lines seem to freeze faster then cold water lines, no advantage to sending hot water down the drain.
    If your using a wood stove any way ,heating water from the heat of the stove pipe might provide the temperatures you want.
     
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