Bailey Pegasus 462 shower

[andy1972]

Only had one trip in our Peagsus and first time ever using a shower in a van. I was suprised at how quickly the hot water ran out. I got maybe 5 mins of nice hot water, after which it quickly became colder. Didnt take too long to warm the tank up again for my daughter though.

Is this normal? My daughter hated it as she was in the middle of washing her hair when it went cold on her. (she does mess about a bit though)

Whats the normal time you get hot water for? I think my HW tank is 10 Litres.

 

[GaryB]

It doesn't last long! The trick is to switch it on to wet yourself down, then switch it off while you soap-up, then rinse. It helps if you're a slap-head like me as there's less to wash!

 

[andy1972]

It doesn't last long! The trick is to switch it on to wet yourself down, then switch it off while you soap-up, then rinse. It helps if you're a slap-head like me as there's less to wash!

lol, im a slap head too and tried that but during the 'off period' the tank refilled with more cold and brought the temprature down much quicker

But glad im not doing anything wrong and its just a 5 min race to beat the cold water rush

 

[Mr Plodd]

10 litres is only about a watering cans worth, which aint much!

Put a trug or similar in your shower at home and see how much water it collects during your "normal" shower. You will get quite a shock!

 

[otherclive]

You’ve a way to go yet.

 

[ProfJohnL]

lol, im a slap head too and tried that but during the 'off period' the tank refilled with more cold and brought the temprature down much quicker
......

That is not quite how it works. The hot water tank will only deliver hot water when you push cold water in at the bottom - which it is designed to do. So its not that stopped using it that caused it to add cold water, it has to do that to push the hot water out.

It will depend on which model of heater you have but the fact that hot water is less dense than cold water and so tends to stay at the top of the tank, should ensure the cold water does not dilute the tank prematurely.

Most of these touring caravan heaters take about 20 to 25 minis to heat cold tank to hot, but it should make it hotter than you need it, so you use the mixer tap at the shower to dilute the hot down to a comfortable temperature. This shouldrender about 14 to 15L of shower temperature water.

If you make everyone who has a shower fetch refill the cold water tank and dispose of the grey shower water, they will begin to appreciate the art of careful economic water usage.

 

[Mr Plodd]

If you make everyone who has a shower fetch refill the cold water tank and dispose of the grey shower water, they will begin to appreciate the art of careful economic water usage.

Since using a leisure vehicle, in our case initially a motorhome, we are much more aware of/careful about our water usage at home. We use vastly less than our near neighbours who, like us, are a retired couple with no-one else in the house.

 

[Dustydog]

In the immortal words of Parksy. Splash and Dash👍

 

[Mr Plodd]

If you do a search on eBay for "shower trigger head" you will find some very useful items. We have been using them for years to save precious hit water in motorhomes and caravans. They also work at home.
I would post a link, but the linky thing at the top of the screen is greyed out, and the link is enormous at about 7 full lines of text

 

[otherclive]

We tend to use the splash and dash approach at home as neither of us likes the shower running when soaping. It washes off your shower gel too quickly. I remember years ago part of my job was responsibility for fresh water supplies on a ship. If the evaporators came off line there would be an outcry if showers had to be restricted. One night there was a banging on my cabin door and there was the head Chinese laundryman “No expletive steam” in basic English. It was costing him money and causing a backlog. Just what I needed in the early hours of the morning.

 

[Woodentop]

Having owned a 462 (oh how I loved the space in that shower!) one secret is to turn the water heating up to 2KW (assuming your EHU can supply that) and make sure OH doesn't switch the kettle on. Then as said the water should be hot enough that you need cold mix to save burning yourself! Also as suggested, launder yourself in stages with the water off when not actually in use.
The downside is that your barrel will need to be refilled and that water can be frighteningly cold! We used to have two barrels, OH would shower first, we would have breakfast, then I would switch barrels and have a shower myself. Worked a treat. if you are on a serviced pitch it is still a good idea to use two barrels to avoid the super cold refill!