How to make a homemade solar shower or water heater from a car camera

I offer my invention for home and country, made by me back in 1981. This is a solar shower, or a water heater from the chamber of a car or tractor wheel. Compared with a conventional «iron» water tank exposed to the sun, it has a number of advantages.

Water heater made of rubber car chamber

So, in the water heater of my design, the body is not subject to corrosion, there are no algae in the water coming from the shower, and the water heats up to a higher temperature, you can use the shower a couple of hours after sunrise. Even in my shower, you can adjust the water temperature in the range from ambient air temperature to sufficiently hot (for example, at an air temperature of 18 °C, cloudy weather and complete absence of sun, the temperature of hot water can reach 36 °C), and a suitable water tank (for example, a camera from MTZ-80 with a capacity of 0.5 m) is relatively easy to purchase, they have a low cost and a decent service life (up to 5 years).

Fig. 1. The design of the water heater from the wheel chamber:
1 — shower mesh; 2 — flow faucet; 3 — mixer; 4 — fittings;
5 — patch-gasket; 6 — camera.

The shower (fig. 1) is constructed as follows. The existing camera is placed flat on the roof of a solid shower cabin. Two fittings are inserted into the chamber from above and from below, respectively, for the selection of hot and cold water. Through these fittings, the chamber is also filled with water. In the places where the fittings are embedded, patches are welded to the chambers-rubber gaskets of the same thickness as the chamber wall. Through the fittings, the design of which is shown in Fig. 2, water is supplied through hoses to the mixer, where its temperature is regulated, then flows through the discharge tap into the shower mesh. Fill the chambers with water in the reverse order, having previously unscrewed the spray grid, or through an installed parallel flow valve. When the chamber is filled, air is removed through the upper fitting (the lower fitting is blocked with a mixer at this time), water is topped up.

Fig. 2. Fitting (with washer and nut).

In the absence of running water, water is poured into the chamber with a bucket, inserting a suitable funnel into the hose.

Fig. 3. A variant of a movable water intake.

From the editorial office. Dear DIY makers! Of course, you have noticed that in in the water heater from the wheel chamber, the upper fitting is located completely on top. How will the water go through this fitting? However, in the photo of the water heater taken by the author, the fitting is located exactly like this, and this is a snapshot of the current installation. It would be nice to make a movable water intake (Fig. 3), but how to install it in the chamber and how to control it?

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