CampingShowerWorld.com Posting Page
Sunday, April 3, 2011

A clean kitchen may be a sign of a wasted life, but leaving dirty dishes out at camp is an easy way of attracting the local wildlife – mainly the hungry ones. This is the first way of getting into trouble around a camp meal. The second way of creating danger is to assume that your partner will have the cleaning department covered. Frankly, a bear may be easier to handle.

It’s a change of routine and fun to prepare food over an open fire, but some things remain the same. Once the meal is done, there are still dishes to be washed. There’s one Golden Rule to getting them clean – you need hot water. Hot water lifts dirt, cuts grease and kills bacteria - in short, it cleans properly.

Hot water solutions for your camp site:

1. The traditional pot on the fire. It is going to take a while, so get it set up well ahead of the time you will need it. Set a pot to the side of your cooking fire, cover the top and you’ll have hot water when the meal is done.

2. Solar shower bags. Ranging in size from 2.5 to 5 gallons, they are an easy solution for water heating. Four hours in the sun will heat the water content to around 100˚F, simply fill the bag, hang it in the sun and forget about it until you need a supply of hot water. Both the temperature and volume of water will be sufficient for dishwashing. Even after dark, the shower bag contents will retain some heat, depending on the weather conditions.

3. Camp fire water heaters. These gadgets provide a fast supply of hot water on demand. A metal heating coil placed directly on the camp fire or stove top will deliver water heated to 100 F or higher via an integrated battery-driven pump. It will provide hot water for as long as there is a water supply and heat under the coil. Prices start around $55.

4. Propane water heaters. The ultimate in easy and quick hot water supplies while roughing it. The camper-friendly models are fueled with single or double 16.4 oz disposable propane tanks and will deliver as much instant hot water you could ever require for washing up. Prices from $169 to $269.

5. Vehicle-mounted hot showers. Permanently mounted under the hood, hot water from the engine passes through a heat-exchanger. This heats up water from your supply to a 15 ft hose with attachable showerhead. The vehicle needs to run until normal operating temperature has been reached. Prices start around $450.

As always, keep safety in mind. Never leave open fires or hot water unattended – remember that it’s likely that kids will be around. Use hand protection for hot surfaces and keep your propane away from open flames.


How do you get hot water at your camp sites? What are your biggest problems on a camp site? Your camping tips, questions and stories will put you in the running this quarter's prize for the best post.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,



by: Camping Shower World

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

Copyright © 2010 CampingShowerWorld.com