Shower Suitable for Coastal Location

W

wave_watcher

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Hi, this isn't really a boat question, but I hope someone with specialised knowledge might be able to help me. We live on the Northumberland Coast in NE England and we're putting a shower in an unheated outbuilding so we can rinse wetsuits, wash ourselves, dogs etc. The shower will be under cover and be supplied from a water heater which we can drain down in the winter. I'm not sure if there are showers available for the backs of boats, but that was my thought when I decided to post here. The coastal environment will make material selection critical I expect. The only marine grade shower I could find is out of stock and it was £££. Any help/pointers would be gratefully received!
 
Any decent domestic shower will do. Mira, Aqualisa to name but two manufacturers. Just drain down and leave open when there's the risk of frost.
 
I would have thought if you have an electric supply an instant electric shower would be the best option?

And you could also put some pipe heaters in reasonably cheaply I would think.

W
 
Hi - thanks for your replies! While frost is a concern I think the drain down valve we're fitting will take care of freezing risk. It's really the damage salt would cause to metal fittings that worries me. The shower will be undercover in an out-building, but there's a wide opening into the space from the garden, no doors. Metal corrosion might take years and maybe I'm worrying for no reason. I'm not sure if the changes would affect the function or just the appearance. I hope that helps to describe things more clearly and will welcome thoughts.
 
I'd lookout for a shower made of SS, not Chromium plated brass or Chromium looking plastic. In my experience the chrome on both these finnishes bubbles and peels off after a year or two. SS may tranish a bit, but is easily cleaned up.
 
I think this is being overthought. Any domestic shower fitting will do the job nicely, the amount of salt in the atmosphere will not significantly increase the rate of corrosion. If you rinse down the fitting after using the shower, that’ll also remove any salt that accumulated (small amount) since the last time you used it.
The shower fittings used on boat transoms are designed to resist being dunked in salt water to a greater or lesser extent. In addition, there isn’t the spare fresh water available on board to keep rinsing the fittings down. All that said, the fitting I have on my transom is effectively a domestic mixer tap linked to a cheap shower head by a plastic hose. I adapted this deck shower kit(Marine Boat RV Black Exterior Shower Transom Wash-down | eBay) to fit the existing hole in the stern of my boat. Not overly expensive and can be locked to prevent tampering.
 
How will it get salt water on it? Just use a domestic shower and rinse it after use or after strong easterly winds which might carry moist sea air into the location. Freezing should be an infrequent problem in a coastal location.. you could just drain down if there is a severe frost warning.
 
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Well, I'm not having much luck finding a S/S shower (of any type of steel, not just marine grade S/S).
Is anyone able to point me in the right direction?
Thank you again.
 
wave_watcher said:
Well, I'm not having much luck finding a S/S shower (of any type of steel, not just marine grade S/S).
Is anyone able to point me in the right direction?
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You don't need a stainless steel shower! Just buy a domestic shower head and hose from B&Q (other suppliers are available), they are basically plastic and won't corrode.
 
Thanks for that idea, plastic would definitely work. I still need a thermostatic mixer valve that is weather proof for coastal conditions. Sorry to keep asking, but again, all thoughts gratefully received.
 
wave_watcher said:
Thanks for that idea, plastic would definitely work. I still need a thermostatic mixer valve that is weather proof for coastal conditions. Sorry to keep asking, but again, all thoughts gratefully received.
Click to expand...

You're really making hard work of this. If you simply Google stainless mixer valve you'll find a number of them.
 
I’m with the poster that said buy an ordinary one but get one with 2 heads, one rain and one on a flex. Then put a note up asking users to rinse everything down with the flex after use. Then no issue with salty hands driven corrosion.
 
Basic showers from B&Q cost peanuts and are mostly chrome on plastic. Thermostatic valve units are not steel, but brass or other non rusting materials. Buy the easily available stuff and when it gets manky, just replace it. Far cheaper than getting SS kit and only a few minutes with a spanner to change.
 
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