Handheld shower wand

[Advmoto18]

One of my very, very few issues with my Hawk is the shower wand shipped with the camper.

The water spray is rather anemic (to put it best), even with on-demand pump adjustment.

My wife gets Trailer Life at her dental office. Scrolling through the current issue, I read a very good article and review of the Ecocamel Jetstream shower wand. To put it mildly, the reveiwer was overwhelmed with the Jetstream's design and performance. He did note the Jetstream uses more water than typical RV shower wands. However, due to the Jetstream's enhanced spray psi, one can actually have the water on for a shorter duration. IF, taking the "Navy" style shower. If you're lounging under the water, your consumption will likely be more than that of the typical RV shower wand.

I visited the Ecocmel web site and discovered the Jetstream wand on sale for $39.95 and the wand shutoff valve for $4.95. The price also included a free hose. I placed my order. While I will need a 1/4" NPT to 3/8" thread adapter for the Ecocamel hose to fit the Hawk's female 1/4" NPT fitting, such adapters are readily available at Home Depot for about $3.

I should have the wand in about a week. I will post my thoughts to this thread once I've given the Jetstream wand a try.

 

[Durango1]

This "sharing site" at its best. I'll be waiting. And I hope FWC will be paying attention... before they ship my Flatbed hawk in September!

 

[Bigfoot]

Is the head for an indoor or outdoor shower?

The ones I have seen used by camper manufacturers are standard, cheap, plastic units with little choice other than finish. Pressure ratings are all the same. Some owners replace the interior unit with a better home-style faucet and head.

The stock compartment-faucet-hose-head assemblies cost less than the Jetstream on sale. They are rather whimpy for bathing and break easily, so it will be interesting to see if the Jetstream improves things.

 

[Advmoto18]

I don't think all RV shower heads produce the same psi at the spray end. This is based on first hand experience at the RV store. Spray head psi will be dependent upon the flow regualtor.

Shower heads for residential use must have a maximum flow rate of 2.5 GPM or less in order to meet code when sold or installed by a licensed plumber. The homeowner can always modifly the flow regulator to increase the flow rate and ultimately psi.

I haven no idea if there are regualtions pertaining to flow rates for RV shower heads. But, I've tried several at the local RV dealer and flow rate and psi varied on all I tried. And all were poor performers.

After reading the Jetstream literature, it appears Ecocamel uses two air orifices after the flow regualtor to increase the amount of air between H2O droplets increasing stream velocity.

I have an outdoor shower on my Hawk. When necessary, we set up the Clean Waste Privacy Tent for showering. The tent is designed for showering and using a showering wand. I foresee no issues with the tent supporting the weight of the Jetstream wand and hose.

 

[PJorgen]

From the looks of that one on their website, you would have to modify the hose connector to work with the FWC exterior shower.

I don't find my exterior shower anemic, has reasonable flow for an RV.

 

[super doody]

I agree about the stock shower wand. No more pressure than a gravity fed watering pail. How did you just the pump to get more pressure? The water pressure inside is more than enough. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Stalking Light]

My stock wand works well with enough pressure to wet me and rinse me off. Only more water flow would do a better job IMO, not just more pressure. I'm curious to hear the results of your test, though, maybe I'm missing something with my setup.

 

[cwdtmmrs]

I modified a standard sink sprayer for the custom shower system I put together. Works great and easy to hang up on the lever.

CWD

 

[craig333]

I haven't been too unhappy with my stock one, but if it gets a good enough review who knows.

 

[Advmoto18]

Pump adjustment isn't for increased psi or flow rate, but rather an even mix of hot and cold water during the entire shower without the need to adjust the valves. PSI and flow rate are both a function of the flow regulator inside the showerhead. Since most owners have good pressure at the sink faucet, and the showerhead has little to no psi, I suspect the flow regualtor in the plastic showerhead that comes with the camper is very, very small. While I haven't time filled a 1 gallon pale, I'd be surprised if the palstic showerhead approaches 1 GPM.

As I noted in my first post, a 1/4" NPT to 3/8" threaded adapter is required for the hose to camper fitting. The adapters are readily available at most Lowes or Home Depot.

 

[jcfly]

I modified a standard sink sprayer for the custom shower system I put together. Works great and easy to hang up on the lever.

CWD

Exactly what I was thinking of doing ! A kitchen spray head takes up less room in that tiny cabinet, and I also thought of using aquarium tubing or other more flexible tubing. If you could post some part numbers for the conversion, it would be most appreciated

 

[cwdtmmrs]

It was just the standard $6-$7 dollar spray head from HD. My tank-less water heater came with a hand held shower head (really bad) and hose. I cut the hose and installed the spray head. I don't remember exactly how without looking, but maybe O-ring , gasket and ferrule and spring clamp with the ears trimmed. Works great on flow as low as 1 GPM which is perfectly balanced with the rest of my system and I usually am working from a 6 gal collapsible bucket.

CWD

 

[jcfly]

I'll give it a go - thanks.

 

[Fallbrook]

On my 14 Fleet, I took the shower head apart and used a series of drill bits to very slowly open the restricted holes. I only went up a size or two and the flow increased dramatically. It's waaaaaayy better than it was, and I don't dread using it now. We get four decent showers out of the 26 gallons, usually together.

 

[super doody]

On my 14 Fleet, I took the shower head apart and used a series of drill bits to very slowly open the restricted holes. I only went up a size or two and the flow increased dramatically. It's waaaaaayy better than it was, and I don't dread using it now. We get four decent showers out of the 26 gallons, usually together.

Thanks for the idea.

 

[Advmoto18]

USPS delivered my JETSTREAM today.

Package was mailed form NJ in a soft plastic shipping envelope. Cardboard packaging took a hit, but, the sprayer and parts appear OK.

Jetstream showerhead appear ~60% larger than the one that came with my Hawk.

JETSTREAM hose end ports appear to offer a much greater flow rate than the white spray head.

2 large ports are in the base of the JETSTREAM handle for air induction.

I'm assuming the Venturi effect as perhaps depicted below (on back of cardboard packaging).

I attached the shutoff valve on the JETSTREAM, and was pleasantly surpirsed to discover the unit readily attaches to the FWC factory hose. No need to use the free, metal hose that came with the JETSTREAM.

Further, by using the FWC factory hose, no need to buy additional adapters. And, the white collar on the hose is designed to fit in the shower unit on the side of the camper.

Overall quality of the JETSTREAM is very good compared to other products I've seen.

I will not get an opportunity to function test/evaluate the JETSTREAM until tomorrow, at the earliest.

 

[cwdtmmrs]

The problem is extra flow = more water usage. Unless you are hooked up to city water, that is an issue. The sink sprayer on my system gives a very nice shower @ 1/2 GPM. Without washing hair, etc. 5gal of water will yield 2 comfortable showers.

CWD

 

[Advmoto18]

The problem is extra flow = more water usage.

True, but as mentioned by the author in the Trailer Life article and I noted earlier in the thread, increased water flow at a higher psi will actually allow you to have the shower water flowing for a shorter duration. So, the issue is a time problem, not flow rate.

If taking a proper "Navy" shower, water flows to wet yourself down, then off. Soap up, then rinse. If you're able to generate flow at a higher psi, the water should be on for a shorter period of time. Of course, if lounging in the flow, your mileage will vary.

I will give it a good workout for 5 days over the 4th. I will let you know if the JETSTREAM flow rate had an impact on how long my water tank supply lasts compared to the factory spray head.

I had such poor psi and flow rate from the factory shower head, it took forever to rinse soap off the body. I am expecting to actually get a shower or 2 more out of the tank if I can quickly rinse.

The "Navy" technique worked well for 8 months 29 days while floating around on a conventional "boat" (limited fresh water), but, who was counting days!

 

[cwdtmmrs]

Ok. I fully understand the "GI". I know that with my system @30PSI and 1/2-5/8 GPM I can take a nice shower on as low as 2 gallons which normally is from a collapsible bucket of creek water through a filter. I have it plumbed for inside or outside with quick connects. Inside I can also do dishes and such. As a bonus, I have a ceramic water purifier with quick connects so I can take the same creek water and refill the main tank in the camper.

CWD

 

[Advmoto18]

I have no idea the psi of my Hawk outside shower head. But, I do know my house is regulated at 38 PSI. And my camper factory shower head isn't even close to 1/4 of the psi of my home in my estimation. Not accounting for loss (water on ground), I measured just slightly less than 8 L in tub after my last shower using the factory shower head. And that was with water literally dribbling out of the spray head.


How did you obtain and measure 30 PSI?


Nice idea with the ceramic filter. I carry 3, 20L Spectre cans in the carrier on my back bumper. If I forgo my gray water Sceptre, I can carry 80L, plus the camper's tank. 80L plus the water tank has lasted 8 days. After 7 days, I'm out of beer and ready for a run to town.

While I can lift the can up to the water inlet on the side of the camper, I was losing too much water on the gorund. I bought a 12VDC mini food grade water pump (smaller than a soup can) to transfer the water from the can to the camper. I can trasfer a 20L can in under 4 minutes. Takes me longer than 6.8L per minute spec since instructions stated not to run the pump dry, so I take my time.