Hot water in winter?

[Yankeesouth]

I don't know the best way to present my hot water issue so bear with me. 

The million dollar question is:  What is the best way to get hot water to an indoor shower in the winter? 

Facts:
The cabin will only be used periodically in the winter for 2-4 day stays, every 1-3 weeks at best.  Water storage is a 350 holding tank partially exposed to the elements no overhead/attic possibility.  Temps get to 0F. Exposed lines with water in them will freeze.

Should I install a separate line and system for winter use and get a small separate holding tank?  I was thinking on using a small on-demand water heater because I only need hot water in the shower and kitchen sink.   Should I go with a small 15-20 gal standard electric water heater and fill/drain it every time I go to camp?  If I use pex and wrap with heat tape will that thaw the lines enough after a hard freeze?   

 

[backattheshack]

so is there electricity there all the time and on ? unless you get that tank inside or well insulated i think your fighting a losing battle...as far as insulating the lines and heat taping them and trying to thaw them out when you get there ive tried that before and took forever...unless you get some sort of heat in the building and its getting below frezzing even if its insulated your water is going to frezze.

[Yankeesouth]

back
Yep the electric is on all the time.  Being the place is not well insulated I hesitate keeping the heat on inside.  The only other option would be to keep the heat tape on and use a smaller holding tank 30 gal and also wrap that in heat tape.

[Don_P]

5 gallon bucket with an attached showerhead with a shutoff on the head?

[Erin]

We don't have running water in our trailer house, so this is what we've done all winter:


DH attached a hook to the rafter directly above the shower head that we hang it from.  
We heat water on the stove in a big 3 gallon canning pot and dump it in to the shower bag with a funnel.  


You'd be surprised how much water 3 gallons really is if you shut off the "tap" when you're sudsing up.  
I'll admit, it's kind of a pain having to physically heat your water and fill the bag, but the shower itself is quite pleasant.  

[rocking23nf]

interesting, how much are they approx. Never seen it before.

[fistbump]

You can get an instant water heater or "on demand" water heater. They heat the water up as you need it. It would save you a lot of money if you don't use it 5 days a week and it will always be hot. You can also get a pellet burning stove that can act as a water heater. You can just use it when you need it, it is cheap and doesn't need electricity or gas. You just have to make sure the pipes don't freeze up.

[Erin]

interesting, how much are they approx. Never seen it before.

Was this addressed to me?

A camp shower bag can be found in almost any sporting goods section of any retailer.  About $7-10. 

[considerations]

"A camp shower bag can be found in almost any sporting goods section of any retailer."

Just be nice to it, they aren't super sturdy.   Mine seem to have about a 1.5 season life span, but for the price, they are wonderful to have on hand. 

[Erin]

Yeah, with regular use, we've been getting 4-5 months out of ours.  But then, it's only $8 at WalMart.   

Something I discovered last summer, though, when we were actually using them as solar bags (which also works quite well, btw, unless the air temp is below 60 or above 90!) is that those 6" plastic handles they come with can be replaced by a dowel the full-length of the bag's top.  It reinforces the hole so that it doesn't split out.  That seemed to be where we lost our first couple of bags.