DIY Shower

[gmessler]

Hello,

I thought I'd post a short DIY of the shower I built in 2018.
It's been running 5 years now and works fantastic.
I've incorporated a DIY foam fractionator into the shower circuit as well.

At the time I built this I wasn't planning on posting a DIY.
As a result I have limited photos.

Here goes....

I had originally built a Three level shower out of wood that I encapsulated in fiberglass.
After 8 years it was getting time for a remake.



I decided to go with a larger 2 level (on the outside, 4 level inside) shower
Dimensions for each level are 46" wide x 24" deep x 24" tall
Each level split into two levels.

The bottom of the lower level is 3/4" expanded PVC
The sides are 1/2" expanded PVC



I used PVC Cement and stainless steel screws to assemble it.



On the inside of the bottom at the ends I added an additional support that sits on the bottom.
in the middle I added cross supports about 1.5" up from the bottom.



This would be the platform for the dog kennel bottoms I purchased from Farm and Fleet.



About a foot above that I added a second level of cross supports for the next level of media.
I did not glue in one of the middle supports so that I could get the crate out if need be.



Next it was time to install drains. Because 4" bulkhead fittings were so expensive I decided to try using toilet flanges.
They worked great. I not only glued them to the bottom but attached them with Stainless Steel bolts as well.
I filled the holes that I drilled for the bolts with PL roof and flashing sealer just to be sure there wouldn't be any leaking.





as you can see I put in two drains.

I built the second level pretty much the same as the first with the exception of the bottom and drains.
I also made it 1" shorter than the top to accommodate two 1/2" supports
The bottom of the top level is completely open.

As you can tell the tops were wider than the bottoms.
This was by design so that they can stack.

[gmessler]

learning from my first shower I decided to build the spray manifold so it was adjustable.
the 4 spray bars are 1.5" pipe all connected to a 2" manifold.
I used screw connectors on the 1.5" pipe so that I could adjust the spray where I wanted it.
It also allowed me to change out spray bars base on the flow of the pump




I built a stand that sat on 4x4's and placed the shower on that
Before adding the 2nd layer and the media I decided to test it out.
I drew a red line showing the path of the water through the make shift foam fractionator.
the valve on the lower right is used to set the proper water level in the FF.



I didn't have any leaks so decided to move forward with adding kennel flooring and media.
For media I used feather rock. Light as it is I have about 200-250 lbs of feather rock in this thing.






I should probably note that once I added all the feather rock I rerouted the output of the shower to the sump pump.
Then flushed the system with a lot of water. This cleared the shower of any feather rock dust/sand so it wouldn't go to the pond.

[gmessler]

On the top I bent expanded PVC (the blue sheets) to help with keeping spray down.




The idea of adding the foam fractionator to the circuit worked well.
The water coming out of that shower is very aerated.
All I needed to do was figure out how to skim off the layer of foam
It worked better than planned. I immediately started generating foam.



Problem was that foam production is non stop.
The foam was getting all over everything and making a big mess.
I added a plastic bin with a hose for a drain that goes down to the sump pump in the bottom.
In the below pic I had just finished rinsing out that container. Normally it's bulging full with foam.
The 2" line you see between the two 4" lines is my sump pump output.

[gmessler]

Here's a link to a video of the shower running.
Turn your volume down.
My pumps both took a swim earlier this year and I still haven't gotten around to changing the bearings.
So they're very noisy.
I turn the spray bars in the video so you can see how easy they adjust.


https://www.youtube.com/shorts/a3UI6m5Q-5I

[trumpetdoug]

Fantastic build Greg. So glad you finally posted this! One of the best DIY guys in the biz.

Doug - out

[gmessler]

Thanks Doug,

I posted this hoping I could help out someone else that wants to build a shower.

Cheers,

[Eneddya]

Great job on the DIY shower build, Greg! How did the adjustable spray manifold and foam fractionator enhance the overall performance of your shower, and have you encountered any challenges or improvements since its installation?

Ask: For those considering a similar project, what key advice or lessons learned would you share from your experience in building and maintaining the DIY shower?

[gmessler]

Hi Eneddya,

the adjustable spray bars helped in a couple of ways. First it allowed me to fine tune where the water was being sprayed. Second, it allowed me to switch out the spray bars when I changed to a larger pump without having to drill out the holes in the spray bars from the original pump. If I switch pumps now all I need to do is swap out bars. For the PP, it doesn't affect the shower function but I do get a lot of foam which helps the water quality.
In October I decided to rebuild my greenhouse (filter house). In order to move the shower I needed to take all the media out. I was surprised that after over 5 years of running the media was still in great shape. I did wash it all down. I wasn't too worried about the bacteria. I run my shower all winter so it has plenty of time to re-seed.
To answer your last question. I wouldn't change anything even after dis-assembling it and moving it I'm still happy with the unit. As far as size goes it's a pretty big unit that holds over 500lbs of media. The basic design wouldn't need to change if someone wanted to make a smaller shower.

One last note... The top edges of the expanded pvc did get a bit "weathered" looking because of the UV but not enough that I would change anything.