Camping Hot Tub

Sitting around the camp fire at a lake has left us too hot on one side and freezing on the other. 
Drunken idea - A hot tub would keep us warm all over. 
It would also get the girls in thier bikinis!
How will a 10x10x2ft body of water be heated and kept hot? 

Don't forget to comment, rate and share! :D

Caution!

This intsructable is how to build a Camping Hot Tub and is for entertainment purposes only. 
Safetey first!!! It involves power tools, fire, electricity and water.  Recreation can be very dangerous.   
I am in no way liable for anything you do, damage to vehicles or equipment,
loss of life, accidents that may occur, fines incurred, acts of god, etc.
Leave it the way or better than you found it! Clean-up and don't start a forest fire!

DO NOT CUT DOWN TREES!

Goals:

Transportable hot-tub equipment.

Tools:
Chainsaw
Shovel
car/truck or Generator

Materials:

Tarp 20x20
copper coil 5/8" OD. (outside diameter) @ 100 ft.
hose 5/8" ID. (inside diameter)
hose clamps, Get more than you need!
Washers
Power Inverter
pump 1/12 hp utility continuous operation
Large pond pump
large hose
Rocks (should be on the beach or in the river)
strong metal baskets (look around at thrift stores)

Step 1 Location

Find a really awesome camping spot. Either near a lake or river preferrably within 100 ft or less. Send the minions out to gather wood for the fire. The more the better.  We burn a utility trailer load every 3 hours.

The tub needs to be close so it can be filled and refilled as needed.

Comments

[raygris]

Hot rocks can work fine. You do have to choose your rocks (smooth, hard, no cracks) This method has been used for centurys in sweat lodges.
Anouther method:
A friend of mine used his truck as the pump and heat source for a portable carnival "dunk tank". The tank was an old wood hot tub.
He diverted the radiator hoses to a scrap radiator that was submerged in the tub. Quick and easy. One person setup. 2- 2.5 hrs start to tubbing.
.

[spaztec]

I applaud the pot-of-fire. It made my day.

[hogey74]

OK this is awesome. I am promoting you to honorary Australian. You just need to let off some illegal fireworks or develop a new type of spud gun and you can be a full citizen.

[player2756]

Thanks mate!

[blomeclown]

Great instructable although I wouldn't try it. Not because it's a bad idea or dangerous or destructive to the environment (all comments that have already been made) but because my idea of roughing it while camping is when the pizza delivery is late to a 40 foot Airstream trailer.
This is aimed at the commenters who post the "I would have done.........." or "You should have..........." comments, NOT at the ones who post the "I made one of these but I........" comments. You know who you are and you know what the difference is. Player2756 had an idea, worked on it and did it. If you think you have a better way, post a frakkin instructable. Just give Player2756 some credit even if you disagree with his methods.
There were several comments made about the extra work that may have been needed to make this tub the way it was made. So what?? I can't think of a better way to spend time at a lake than to work your butt off doing something and then relaxing with a cold beer and some cuties in a hot tub. Kudos, Player.

[yerdadh8sme]

You sir are my freaking hero! That is AMAZING! Now if I can convince my fellow campers to help me do this we will be in business! I literally just set up an account here so that I could thank you for this idea.

[player2756]

Its lots of work but is fun at the end of the day!

[camphikefishbike]

I read in a book called 'Cabin Fever' about a solar water heating system that used flat black painted copper pipe in a 4" deep frame with a glass cover. Instead of using a pump he put the top end outlet pipe to just below the surface of the water and the bottom inlet to the bottom of his tub (actually it was a horse trough) . The heat stratifies in the water pushing it upwards and starts circulating all by itself! I'm definitely going to make a mini version of this and use a 5 gallon bucket, then attach a shower head to it. Oregon's not a particularly sunny place this time of year so it'll take awhile before I can test it. So keep a look out for my first instructable soon. Thanks for the idea and happy hot tubbing!!

[fzbw9br]

just get an old 30lb propane tank, using all necessary precautions, make a top fill stove out of it with a wide base, and set it in the middle of the tub, add wood and light.
you control the temp by the amount of wood fire

[timbit1985]

Using a small rocket-stove type setup with heat exchangers in the combustion chamber would be more efficient :)

[player2756]

I would love to read about/see it in your Instructable.

[bryandhispup]

nice! someday this will be the starting point I build upon. Hope to have an 'ible on in soon! :)

[mvanduker]

Nice, I have been doing this for years. It's a lot of fun.

[mvanduker]

Nice, I have been doing this for years. It's a lot of fun.

[Houdinipeter]

this looks a lot more efficient. can you post an instructable of this? or explain how to make the coil?

[player2756]

looks about the same but with some spacers. The reason I didn't use spacers is because of differing melting points and general heating and cooling.

[sbrown1]

Great...

[gareth.collier.1985]

you could try and use a secondry heat exchanger, as in what a combination boiler uses.

then you are not going to open up the system on the car/van each time to use it, your just going to tap onto the heat exchanger.

im a gas engineer and it is whats used in combi boilers to heat up the hot water in your home.

[player2756]

Like this?
http://www.industrial-boilers.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/boiler-heat-exchanger.jpg

I will probably do a revised ible this upcoming summer some time, maybe end of winter, that will include something like this.

[gareth.collier.1985]

no that's not it, that works in the same way to using the copper tube in the fire.

i cant find a diagram at the moment to show you, and i am no good at drawing on a pc to show you either.

the closest thing for you to look at for the idea is a hot water cylinder.

if you where going to try this, i would reccomend getting an industrial heat exchanger as it will have a bigger flow rate and you dont want to over heat your car because it cant dump enough heat quick enough.

sorry if this is confusing for you but i do find it hard to explain things in general and worse at 3am.

good luck and as long as there is enough heat in the cars radiator fluid, then this would work, or at least get it to a nice warm temp.

[gareth.collier.1985]

so you get the idea ( i hope )

[zack p]

nerd

[mark6147]

Love it, might just put one in my back yard. I'm in the country who cares. GREAT IDEA! This is what I enjoy seeing, not things like how to tie two strings together....GREAT JOB!

[Jeffkill09]

your awesome, great job. enjoyed the steps

[yizi]

(removed by author or community request)

[Sly-Delvecchio]

You safety guys make me laugh. Teeheehee.

[pfiddle]

Laugh away - but stay away from any rock that can hold water. No other natural element can expand so much or so fast. Water boils (turns to steam) at 100C wood burns at 2700C - go figure. To give an example steel melts at 1800C !

[pfiddle]

Some rocks will explode and there igneous rocks are best.
This is a system ancient Irish (and presumably many others) used to cook meat. They are referred to in Ireland a Fulacht Fia
(see; https://sites.google.com/site/craggaunowenproject/Home/fulachta-fia).
They are marked on every detailed OS map. Just about every parish used to have one (at least).
More recent research now shows that they might even have been used for beer-brewing and also for bathing. - Hopefully not at the same time!

[chibiwind]

the more you now

[samlovin]

Really cOOl....

[chrslefty]

thats a sweet idea !! thanks for sharing .

[jrbuilta]

Well done. But I see no beer. I bet there was some consumed when the work was done and tub was warm.!!

On and ditto on the honey on the left thing too.

[danemrstrm579]

Hot idea wwith hot women

[player2756]

Thanks!

[deckard1]

Wouldn't mind making "friends" with the honey on the left, but I digress. The 20lb propane tank and portable hot water heater seem to be the most efficient way to get up and running fast. But if you go to that extent and have $$ falling from ones hiney might I suggest an inflatable solution to your endeavor.

http://www.amazon.com/Palm-Springs-Inflatable-Bubble-cover/dp/B003P6J9US

Somewhat negates the whole instructable aspect just a bit.

[sniper5050]

Agreed with the "honey on the left" comment.

[egoods]

That, like most hot tubs, is "portable". The hot tub built into my deck is portable. While the inflatable aspect is intriguing camp sites have way too many things that would poke a hole in that. And moreover a decent power source would be a serious issue. My tub runs on a dedicated 240V 60 amp circuit. I doubt that tub requires anything like that, and it may even run on 120V, but it's going to draw a pretty heft amperage load. You'd really need a 5,000watt+ generator to even get 240V. At that point you're really not camping because you're hauling a stupid amount of equipment with you (I'm looking at you fancy trailer folk).

[abadfart]

you could use some pipe for a frame or eave an old inflatable pool

[Stalker]

I would personally not advise the hot stones method. Rover stones, that have been submerged in water for some time tend to retain some of that water inside of small cracks etc. Once heated the water could be turned into steam too rapidly for it to escape, causing the stone to explode.

[spooninbrian]

That depends on the kind of stone it is, sandrock is the one that explodes. Other stones should be fine