What are the advantages of a solar shower?
- Save energy: You can't get hot water for a shower this nice and cheap during the warm months. I use the shower every day after work and thus save the money for the shower again, because I save plenty of gas.
- Fun: It's nice summer fun for the kids. Not only can they frolic under the running water. The foot shower is also great for filling water bombs.
- Hygiene: Fresh out of the chlorinated pool, you can take a shower right next to the pool.
- Sauna: Under the shower you can cool down wonderfully after going to the garden sauna.
- Refresh: If you don't like it so hot, you'll find great refreshment in the shower on hot days.
- Clean: As long as I shower outside, my bathroom stays clean.
Where should I place my solar shower?
A solar shower should always be in full sun, only then it can heat up optimally. The longer the sun's rays hit the shower, the better the shower heats up. Half-day sun is usually not enough. Please consider that the solar shower cools down over night and the water temperature adjusts to the ambient temperature. Therefore, the solar shower is "cold" in the morning even in summer. But in return it warms up faster at the right location. This means that the colder it is at night, the longer the solar shower needs to heat up. This is especially true in spring and autumn, when the sun's rays are no longer optimal.
What are solar showers good for?
With proper care, plastic solar showers last quite a long time. Especially in relation to the purchase price. I have mine now 5 years without problems in operation. If you want more quality and elegance, you can buy stainless steel showers. These there are partly also with warm water connection, do not function with like a solar shower.
Why does my solar shower not warm up properly?
The sun is too low. (Autumn or spring).
It is too cold. Below 18° C.
The location is not optimal, it gets too little sun (not long enough).
There are too many people showering too quickly one after the other.
It is still too cold at night and the sun did not manage to warm the water.
My solar shower is too hot or cannot be cooled down
Its inlet hose is in the sun.
It is very warm ( over 40°C )
Are there different rain showers for solar showers?
Yes, the standard rain shower for solar showers is very simple.
- It usually has only a diameter of 15 cm and no anti-lime nubs. This is very often covered up by very good photos. In reality, the rain shower then looks more like a watering can spout.
- Then there are rain showers with 20cm for solar showers with anti-lime nubs.
- However, even larger rain showers make little sense in the garden, because the water pressure in the garden shower must not exceed 3.5 bar. So only a trickle would come out.
- Basically, most showers have a ½ inch connection, to which any conceivable type of rain shower with just such 1/2" inch connection can be mounted.
What mistakes can you make when connecting a solar garden shower?
- Putting it in the wrong place. (Too little sun, under trees, in the path of children playing)
- The water connection to the garden shower has more than 3.5 bar, then the too high water pressure can make the garden shower burst. Use the pressure reducer in the house or a separate one at your outdoor connection to regulate the pressure.
- The water pressure is under 3.5 bar but the hose connection is ¾ inch or more. If you then turn on the water comes a lot of water at once into the shower and the water pressure rises sharply as a result, so that the shower bursts. So always use only ½ inch connections / hoses!
- Poor preparation for the winter. Towards the fall, when you don't need the shower anymore, it is mandatory to drain all the water. Please do not forget that the rain shower, hoses and the fitting must also be drained. To do this, place the rain shower at an angle and go over the nozzles with the flat of your hand. This empties the rain shower and the shower arm, so that both do not burst in case of frost. You can also remove them and blow through them. The faucet / mixing lever should be moved back and forth a few times to get residual water out. The emptied shower remains in the garden with the mixing lever in the "open" position. If you have a garden shower with hand shower, you should also empty this including hose. Then you can enjoy your garden shower for a long time.
- You use an old, rotten water hose which already has a "patina" inside. These dirt particles would get into the shower and disrupt the function of the mixing lever, the water inflow and also the water flow from the rain shower and hand shower. This dirt is impossible to get out of the shower.
- Many meters of garden hose lie in the blazing sun. As a result, you do not get cold water to mix the water from the shower with the mixing lever. There is a risk of scalding.
- The supply hose is a tripping hazard because it is in the usual path of travel. If you get caught there once, you can also quickly break the shower.
Why does a solar shower run after?
This is not possible in any other way due to the design and is the same for all manufacturers. The solar showers are filled with water from below with a pipe system, so that below the water is always colder than above. On warm days, it may happen that you get lukewarm water instead of cold water from the Faucet. The water rises slowly to the top when filling the solar shower. After about 10 - 15 minutes, the first cold water comes out of the rain shower. This water arrives almost without pressure, only as much as water is above the shower arm. This water also always runs after.
What useful accessories are there for solar showers
- You can buy different rain showers
- Attach hand showers and shower hoses
- Mount an additional hand shower with hose to the foot shower for cold showering (here a separate holder for the hand shower is useful)
- Separate floor plates. On which you can stand yourself to not stand in the dirt. There are also floor plates on which the shower can be mounted and floor plates that are placed in front of the shower
What superfluous accessories are there?
Not useful but still very often included in the offer, are covers. These have the following disadvantages.
- High risk of accident when putting on and taking off. Especially if you are under 190cm tall and need a ladder.
- Because there is a danger that the arm of the rain shower breaks off when you put it over it
- You fall against the solar shower and the shower breaks off and you hurt yourself when you fall, risk of accident!
- Because the shower warms up worse with hood
- Because the shower is UV resistant even without the hood and is designed for outdoor use
- Because the hoods usually tear after 1-2 years due to weather conditions. The advantage that they acquire they throw away quite quickly
- Even if you have a hood, you will clean off the shower at the beginning of the season (think about your garden chairs)
- There is no practical use / advantage from the hood. It only serves the conscience. Save the money and better invest it in quality!
- Thermometer: The thermometer shows the temperature of the water in the garden shower. If they mix their hot water with cold water, this is not displayed. Alternative to check if the water is too hot: Just touch the garden shower, it rarely gets up to 60°C hot, because we rarely have very hot days.
Are solar showers frost-proof in winter?
Our solar showers are only if you empty them completely. Also do not forget the shower arm, mixer tap, rain shower and hand shower with shower hose! Double check is appropriate here. Tap your shower after draining once and determine the level. Drain valves leave open over the winter.
