Hot tap portable horse shower - thoughts?

[LHIS]

I have been looking for a hot water shower for my home yard for a while. I can’t use the trolley and gas bottle combo as our water pressure is too low to flow from a hose (our water supply is from a spring) - I’ve tried ones that claim to be suitable for low water pressure with no joy.

So I was interested when I saw this - prices range from £299 to £349 so it’s pricey, but I wondered if anyone else had seen these or even better had tried one?

A retailer I’ve spoken to has told me they come with a 12 month warranty which is better than nothing, but I’d like longer to be honest. This video shows it working. It looks like it has decent water pressure when fed from a bucket (which is how I’d have to use it) and I am tempted but don’t want to waste my hard earned pennies! It’s fed by electric rather than gas, so providing you’ve got access to that it looks alright.

Any thoughts or advice please? At the moment my horses get a bath about once a year with warm water I carry from the house to the yard, which is a pain and rinsing my hairy cobs with a sponge and bucket is hard work.

 

[Red-1]

I don't know this particular model, but OH thought about buying me one for Christmas, what with now having a grey, and I did some reading up of them.

It seems like many of them on the market are put together from easily accessed parts, but are not thoroughly engineered. From what I recollect, the gas bottle was not adequately protected from the part with the flame, and it seems there have been more than a few occasions where the whole lot has exploded.

Someone had taken a few apart, and they would no way pass any type of inspection.

So, I decided that it was not that important to me, so I simply did not buy one, but if it was important I wold be making enquiries into the safety and how the gas supply is isolated on the particular model that I bought. I would ask an independent gas engineer.

 

[Morag4]

I have an L5 showerking shower, it runs off gas and a water butt or trug full of water, it does have to have a pump (they are not huge) that runs off a wee 12volt battery to get the required pressure but that isn't a huge deal and the pressure is fine, good enough to wash a Clydesdale! And portable as I take it and use it at the field I keep the horses in, no electricity etc there!

 

[ester]

If you get the data of them the pressure on this is low, they make it look like it has decent pressure by putting it through a smaller hole .

They also only heat to 40C which they think warm enough because 'OMG we don't want to scald horses'.

They have already had the ASA have a chat with them and have now at least altered some of the claims on the website but I rather think they should have been able to do that off their own bat.

Essentially I would look carefully at the data for it and decide whether you think it will be sufficient for what you want.

To throw an alternative out there if it's your home yard presumably not far from hot water in the house? Would one of the much cheaper portable bicycle type washers do the job? I saw one (on horses) recently and it was certainly adequate and was still vaguely warm several hours after filling.

 

[Meredith]

I have put hot water in a cool box and left it in the lorry and gone hunting. When I returned I used the warm water to rinse off my horse’s back as she got spots if the sweat dried on her.
I know you can purchase small 12volt electric submersion pumps at caravan centres.
Could you build your own?

 

[honetpot]

I think if you had an insulated container that you kept the water warm it and then used the submersion pump powered off 12volt, far cheaper option. I think mine cost £14.

 

[Meredith]

I think if you had an insulated container that you kept the water warm it and then used the submersion pump powered off 12volt, far cheaper option. I think mine cost £14.

Yes that’s what I meant

 

[JennBags]

It seems like many of them on the market are put together from easily accessed parts, but are not thoroughly engineered. From what I recollect, the gas bottle was not adequately protected from the part with the flame, and it seems there have been more than a few occasions where the whole lot has exploded.

I've got a gas one which my OH put together for me on a trolley, but I haven't used it yet and now you've got me worried. I cant find any reports of them exploding, how likely is this to happen do you think?

 

[Red-1]

I've got a gas one which my OH put together for me on a trolley, but I haven't used it yet and now you've got me worried. I cant find any reports of them exploding, how likely is this to happen do you think?

I am no gas expert, but was looking at a thread on FB with numerous photos of exploding horse showers, different people, different makes. Something to do with the wrong fitting (regulator?) allowing gas blowback, and then the cylinder not being shielded, so an explosion.

If my OH had made me one I think I personally would have it looked at by a qualified gas engineer, don't suppose a simple check would cost that much. But then, I don't know anything about gas, yet I have no idea how competent your OH is with gas so could ot comment on your horse shower.

 

[ester]

quite a lot of the showerking I think ones seem to catch fire

 

[JennBags]

Thanks @Red-1 we had the people supplying the gas bottle looking at it and we've definitely got the correct regulator.
Now I don't want to use it

 

[Red-1]

Thanks @Red-1 we had the people supplying the gas bottle looking at it and we've definitely got the correct regulator.
Now I don't want to use it

If it is correctly made and has been checked by a qualified gas engineer I don't know why you would not want to use it?

I was answering the OP, asking about buying one, and just saying to check it is correctly made as many of the cheaper ones have not been put together by someone who is qualified and some have been either catching fire, or those that are not correctly shielded have been exploding.

People making and selling gas appliances as a business have to be qualified, as I understand it.

 

[LHIS]

Thanks all, and thanks for the DIY suggestions. I have seen those mobile pump ones but the capacity of water is generally quite low I think and my hairy boys need a good rinse I think I’d have to do a lot of refilling. I want something easy with the least amount of faff as possible.

 

[KINDMARE]

what about one of those Mud Daddy things - has anyone used/have one? are they any good?

 

[WelshD]

OP I have seen the one mentioned in your opening post and was quite impressed. the pressure didn't seem too bad and I did get the lady to turn the end of the hose to see what it was like when not on 'jet' setting. it was portable and not heavy. I have a gas shower and would definitely replace it with one of these if I had the money

Alternatives you may not have seen:

Hippo now do a gas shower that you can feed off a tank not mains, their gas showers are probably one of the better kind

an AQUA2GO unit may do the job, you do have to fill them with water that is already hot but they are truly portable in that no gas or mains is needed. I used one very happily for a couple of years and managed to get a 13.2 fully bathed and squeaky clean for showing on about 25 litres of water (a fill is 17l) the same company also make a larger tanked unit and a smaller tankless one you use with buckets of water.

 

[imr]

Do you have enough water pressure for an electric shower (of the sort you buy in B&Q etc) ? These make a very easy and straightforward horse shower, mounted high on the wall so it cant be kicked and with a double or triple length of shower hose attached between the unit and the head, and the head bracket also mounted up there. If you don't a pump (again of the sort you might get added to a domestic shower with inadequate pressure) may do it, but I have no experience of those.

 

[Amanda Barker]

Bought a hot tap horse shower a few days ago.
Huge dissapointment set it all up but it barely took the chill of the water.
Also the hose connector was really short as was the plug lead.
So your water source needed to be really close to your electric plug.
Slightly impractical and I had to use an extension lead .
This still meant it was plugged in really close to all the water being sprayed about.
To find the water came put barely lukewarm was awful .
I had treated myself to this as my gas one on a trolley takes up so much room.
My £5.00 hosepipe with shower head is only marginally colder!!