How clever! A friend here in San MIguel built a solar water system – it was so simple I was flabbergasted. Sure wish I had had that bag when I returned from the USA – gardener off on vacation, no gas, no hot water……bah humbug. I think I’ll get one of those to keep here for those kind of times. Thanks Calypso!

Ah… Sr, Frugal, you forget to mention that one of the other things about retirement is that you have time to tinker and occupy your time with projects that otherwise would have seemed trivial.
Building a solar hot water collector is one of the easiest things to make. I am sure you are aware of either the batch or coil system. Both are relatively cheap and with Mexico’s location their operational specs will make the cheapest penny-pincher jealous. Drop me a line if you need any info on them, we have built several through out the years with miscellaneous parts to excellent results!
5 gallons, wow, you are a quick user! You are also a good water conserver!

Babs – Yes the bag is quite simple – but at a fixed location there are black pipe heaters as well as a number of different solar panel units.

Tancho – Send me what you have. I assume most of my readers know we retired types have more time than the working folks – your comments beg the question as to whether you are currently using one of your heater creations?

5 gallons is sufficient – but 7-10 would be more fun!

Down here I find the tinaco on the roof, even though it is not the black but the tan, insulated one, is plenty of hot water most of the year. I turned the hot water heater off about a month ago. That’s enough savings for me, as much hot water as I want for several months in the winter and more than I want in the summer but only using gas for a few months.

Jonna – there has to be some advantage to living in that heat – there you are

But seriously in most of Mexico we enjoy not getting down to temperatures below freezing – so some sort of a batch heater will work fine – in your case your storage tank is the batch heater.

For we less fortunate living in places that don’t reach 90 F + most of the year w need to find smaller batch reservoirs like a roll of black pipe or even a small water tank. I have a 40 gallon black tank I am going to try out. thanks for reminding me about the tanks

I have been reading Rodale’s stuff for years, I built my heater with a few tanks from some used water heaters. Painted them black, stuck them into a cabinet, etc. Check out: http://www.green-trust.org/2000/solar/sunontap/Default.htm
They will have enough stuff to give you plenty of hot water all year round!

Jonna’s comment is very interesting. Although at this time of the year we actually get high 80′s and some 90′s we still get high 40′s low 50′s at night – even in the summer! Wish I COULD turn off the gas to the water heater. Alas, not possible. In fact, that’s why you see so few swimming pools here. Not to mention that we, here in the bajio are VERY conscious of water conservation.

Babs for any kind of batch collection system it is best to use the hot water in the afternoon – my point of the luxury or being retired Add water in the morning take a shower in the afternoon – sans gas.

300 meters of 3/4″ black piped coiled on a roof will get you about 10 gallons of hot water.

It has been so hot here that we haven’t turned on our water heater in a month. My tinaco sits atop our roof, where the sun hits it all day long. We’ve been able to take hot showers at noon, at 11pm and at 7am! I am loving it!

I have only used sun showers while camping, and even then I think only at Burning Man, where it gets to 110F pretty frequently. In those conditions I find it is more than possible to accidentally heat your water to a scalding temperature in very short order. My usual tactic is to fill the bag only part way, and then adjust the temperature with cool water when I’m ready to shower. I’m not really sure whether that would be advantageous where the ambient temperature is only in the 80′s–would it get hot enough that you’d want to cool it down?–but you might give it a shot if you want more control over temperature.

I’ve actually showered in two to three gallons of water in those circumstances with ease–when the shower functions are merely “on” and “off” it’s very easy to turn the water off while you lather (the temperature is what the temperature is at that point, so there’s no fiddling with that every time). And it’s just a gravity feed, not under pressure, with a small nozzle… so five gallons total really is plenty. Far from luxury, but it gets the job done!

Are you using it inside your shower in the house? I think I would have a difficult time raising a sun shower high enough to be comfortable inside. I’ve showered on my knees, but I wouldn’t care to do it on a regular basis.

Leslie – that is great. Your heat as well has to have a payoff – enjoy

Zannie – Yes – 5 gallons is plenty for a start and stop; wet – soap up – rinse cycles.

We do indeed have to get low to get under the bag but not on one’s knees. We have high ceilings in Mexico.

I am looking to install a system (probably coiled black pipe) on the roof running a line down through the bathroom window – rather than running the heated water to the hot water tank.

As far as getting it over heated – yes one needs to be cautious. With the Coleman bag you can time it so it gets to a comfortable temperature – you might notice there is an actual chart on the bag (practice is more real I think).

I have a roll of copper tubing in the U.S. that would probably make an excellent solar collector box for “thermo or hydrosyphoning.”

I want something simple and perhaps reasonably portable.

The wheels a churning – Stay Tuned!

Also in the situation where heating the water is not a problem most of the year. During the day I actually wish I had a way to COOL the water for some kind of relief from the heat. It does help a bit to turn on the pump before showering so the cooler underground water mixes with the hot rooftop water.

I am intrigued by this solar oven idea. I am certain a sheet metal roof could fry eggs in the summer here. Sounds like a project for when I am retired.

The solar oven is a wonderful thing. Ours is a commercial model, but there are many plans to make them on the Internet.

I will have to do an updated entry on the solar cooker.

Our sun shower is one of the things we moved down here with. We used to use it to shower in the back of our horse trailer when camping! We now use it after hurricanes when the electricity is gone. And even with the temp in the 80′s, it can get hot enough to scald you. I have a cement nail imbedded in the concrete above my shower head. I get out the step ladder and hang the bag from the nail. No bending over at all!

hi john, enjoyed reading about your showering escapades and hope to read much more as I’ve always been interested in living on the cheap. Actually, I came upon the blog in a search for news of my old friend tony karczinski…. which turned up in your blog. Pls. convey my belated congrats on his marriage and send him a big hug from alyx back in the Crowley days, currently living in another Gulf, in the land of the sheiks.