Puerto Rican shower

I believe you are referring to a "suicide shower." If so, the contraption is a water heater so that you can have at least semi-warm water while showering. We have one temporari!y until we can install an actual water heater in our home. Our water pressure is great, so maybe yours is gunked up after years of use(?). Another possibility -- my husband tells me that these devices have orifices that adjust the flow. If you remove it, you should be able to open the orifice more. Keep in mind, however, that better water pressure results in cooler water. If you don't mind a cold shower, simply remove the device and replace it with a normal showerhead.

I have not laugh quite so much as I did during the reading of your post Captain.

I have heard there been a few fried customers over the years since it was first invented, but lots of people have them. It is a way to take the chill off the water while saving electricity, not water. I think yours have been restricted or it is clogged.

I too still to this day feel a little funny about using them, but I still do, I hate cold water more than getting electrocuted.

My brother has one in his shower, no water restriction.
Rey

His has an electric plug that plugs in the wall and you plug it in when you are ready to take a shower, in his model you don't have to use it.

I thought....well actually...i was told those gadgets are used to heat up the water.   So essentially it's a hot water heater.

Yes they are water heaters, people use them because a regular water heater uses tons of electricity. These are on demand. A solar heater would do fine also but not everyone can afford one.

I stand corrected mi amigos. It's a water heater!
Didn't realize it....with it having a cord the size of my beard trimmer and in it being so small.
Guess the three different ones I had the pleasure of using were worn out and clogged-up because the few drops 'o water that spit out o' them and tepid temp. were exactly the same.
One shower (which was the most shocking to me in regard to its inappropriate installation had a nonwaterproof open box with no cover /110 plug about 2 " above the shower head with exposed wiring. Seriously. Exposed wiring within inches of water spray...that is ot spray is what it do if it allowed enough water to pass through it.
Doesnt matter really then or now.
At my age a good shock would most likely either kill me or rev up me motor.  I'd still prefer the latter.

I stand corrected mi amigos. It's a water heater!
Didn't realize it....with it having a cord the size of my beard trimmer and in it being so small.
Guess the three different ones I had the pleasure of using were worn out and clogged-up because the few drops 'o water that spit out o' them and tepid temp. were exactly the same.
One shower (which was the most shocking to me in regard to its inappropriate installation had a nonwaterproof open box with no cover /110 plug about 2 " above the shower head with exposed wiring. Seriously. Exposed wiring within inches of water spray...that is ot spray is what it do if it allowed enough water to pass through it.
Doesnt matter really then or now.
At my age a good shock would most likely either kill me or rev up me motor.  I'd. prefer the latter.

I stand corrected mi amigos. It's a water heater!
Didn't realize it....with it having a cord the size of my beard trimmer and in it being so small.
Guess the three different ones I had the pleasure of using were worn out and clogged-up because the few drops 'o water that spit out o' them and tepid temp. were exactly the same.
One shower (which was the most shocking to me in regard to its inappropriate installation) had a nonwaterproof open box with no cover /110 plug about 2 " above the shower head with exposed wiring. Seriously. Exposed wiring within inches of water spray...that is ot spray is what it do if it allowed enough water to pass through it.
Doesnt matter really then or now.
At my age a good shock would most likely either kill me or rev up me motor.  I'd. prefer the latter.

I stand corrected mi amigos. It's a water heater!

Didn't realize it....with it having a cord the size of my beard trimmer and in it being so small.

Guess the three different ones I had the pleasure of using were worn out and clogged-up because the few drops 'o water that spit out o' them and tepid temp. were exactly the same.

One shower (which was the most shocking to me in regard to its inappropriate installation) had a nonwaterproof open box with no cover /110 plug about 2 " above the shower head with exposed wiring. Seriously. Exposed wiring within inches of water spray...that is ...ispray is what it was supposed to do......
Doesnt matter really then or now.

At my age a good shock would most likely kill me or rev-up the old motor.
Either way - I'd be bette off 'cause I'd die in P.R (where I wan't)...or have more energy to enjoy it. Lol.

Sorry. Each time I edited it posted. ?? Guess I'm doing that wrong...too.

The first time we visited Culebra we stayed in a villa that has one of these  shower heaters aka "suicide booths". Man that was a quick shower! This too had exposed wiring. As an engineer I couldn't continue using it and decided for the remainder of the vacation the water heater would stay disconnect. Better cold than dead!

When we just purchased our house, both showers also had these. We disconnected both of them and got used too the cold showers especially after working on the house on a hot day. My wife hated it at first but now says its refreshing!

The solar water tank was just installed and we intend on using it on our next trip!

In Puerto Rico I also prefer cold showers.Probably because of not having A.C.

Also...for those who suppose.
Unfortunately I wasn't drunk and/or stoned when I wrote my post about the suicide showers. If I had been it would most likely been more humorous ....but probably simply stupider.

Honestly I didn't know what to expect with the thread title - haha. 
This is something I was intending on writing about, as it was a new experience for me as-well.

I'm currently thinking about writing a post about ice in P.R....or the lack of it.  Hopefully it will be funny. One never knows.

Captainculebra wrote:

Also...for those who suppose.
Unfortunately I wasn't drunk and/or stoned when I wrote my post about the suicide showers. If I had been it would most likely been more humorous ....but probably simply stupider.

Your issue with editing could be that you are not selecting edit or it could be that you are using the back button. Always go to the latest original you want to edit, select the edit function, this should display the latest version and when done go ahead and do the submission. I do multiple edits myself after posting and sometimes have problems if the Internet connection is a little wonky.

Best way would be to write in notepad or notes (for Mac), read it, make sure it is clear, no typos and that it has the right number of laughs, then copy and paste to the site.

Thanks man.

Funny is always good.

As a retired Paramedic I've experienced so much nonhumorous tragic stuff that I truly appreciate anything that makes life more pleasant. There is nothing better than experiencing good friends/family, food/drink, sex ...and a good belly laugh....but not necessarily all simultaneously.

Captainculebra wrote:

As a retired Paramedic I've experienced so much nonhumorous tragic stuff that I truly appreciate anything that makes life more pleasant. There is nothing better than experiencing good friends/family, food/drink, sex ...and a good belly laugh....but not necessarily all simultaneously.

That would be a very twisted party involving friends and family.

Nanraughley wrote:

I believe you are referring to a "suicide shower"

Maybe it's me but nobody in this world can pay me enough to take a shower with one of those.
There are cooler ways to die..

yea, makes me nervous - I just hooked up a cold line for the beach side shower.    If you wait till mid day, the water is warmed by the sun on the street and the shower is almost too warm sometimes.  Works for me.   

I had one of those scary water heaters  while I was waiting for my house to be built, I ended up putting in a propane water heater, with an in-line water softener to keep the sediments away,  if you don't have some kind of way to keep the sediments out of the water those electric  Showerhead water heaters will plug up with sediment very fast, I had to take mine apart every three months and use CLR  to clean the inside and the filament  because it would clog up so bad

I installed ( or rather the plumber )  water filtration for the whole house.   Keeps the entire house free of sediment and other stuff.

That must be scary. I heard about a heater line that you install for over $200.. Any suggestions if it work?

Yes. In-line water heaters do indeed work very well and are extremely efficient but cost in the $350-400 range. They are electric but not hooked-up as the suicide shower water heaters are and much safer as the possibility of being electrocuted by using one is nil because the hook up to outlet is not in close proximity to running water. In line water heaters only operate when water is turned on at tap thus save $.
In a place as warm/sunny year-round as P.R.  I would recommend the use of solar water heating systems over all other forms.

A tankless water heater is the way to go,  just install it on your main water inlet,  in this warm climate, the water is almost warm enough to take a shower without heating it, almost!, You can buy them in electric 230 volts or get it in  propane gas as I did, for me that was the best option, we often have power losses after a hard rain or storms and even if I lose power I still have  Hot water for the whole house,   Unfortunately where I live, when the power goes out so Does the pumps that pump the city water in,  so I ended up buying a tank for my roof,  running a bypass and adding a half horsepower water pump so that I can still have pressurized water  even when there's no power or water from the city,

Spencerazac wrote:

A tankless water heater is the way to go,  just install it on your main water inlet,  in this warm climate, the water is almost warm enough to take a shower without heating it, almost!, You can buy them in electric 230 volts or get it in  propane gas as I did, for me that was the best option, we often have power losses after a hard rain or storms and even if I lose power I still have  Hot water for the whole house,   Unfortunately where I live, when the power goes out so Does the pumps that pump the city water in,  so I ended up buying a tank for my roof,  running a bypass and adding a half horsepower water pump so that I can still have pressurized water  even when there's no power or water from the city,

Thanks for the tip.
When in Culebra I never desired heated water for showering purposes as the tap water is warm anyway...especialy in Summer.

I'm going to build a home made solar water heater when I find a little time. Basically a coil or two of either copper of black plastic water line, connected to an electric water heater and a tiny circulation pump.
Coils on the roof, circulation pump runs 24/7. When the sun doesn't heat enough the electric heater will.
I think I'll save some $$ on the electric bill.

I'd recommend making sure you add a temperature induced release valve somewhere after the solar panel but before entrance to structure as solar panels can get the water extremely hot with possibility of line rupture if water is not in flow mode.

I'll just put the coils on the roof (no fancy panels -  it will work just fine without that)  and the circulation pump will run 24/7.  The electric water heater already has a pressure release valve and since the heater will be part of the circuit I'll be fine.
In Germany, where I lived for a long time, almost every house has one or more of those tiny circulation pumps in the warm water circuits. The last forever (20 years+) and hardly use electricity (like 3 kWh/month).

Gary wrote:

I'll just put the coils on the roof (no fancy panels -  it will work just fine without that)  and the circulation pump will run 24/7.  The electric water heater already has a pressure release valve and since the heater will be part of the circuit I'll be fine.
In Germany, where I live for a long time, almost every house has one or more of those tiny circulation pumps in the warm water circuits. The last forever (20 years+) and hardly use electricity.

Without actual enclosed panels given heat loss and with a circulation pump running 24/7 you should be ok, but how cost-effictive is running a pump continuously given the whole point is to save water-heating costs?.As you know elctricity costs in P.R. ridiculously expensive and making low cost enclosed panels combined with a $10 safety valve would allow you to not run a pump continuously. ..even a very efficient one. P.R. is not Germany. The suns rays are much more direct resulting in hotter water temps also. Just curious.

Electricity right now is like 21 cents/ kWh. Those tiny pumps consume like 3 kWh/month - 63 cents. Even if it would be double that amount it's still almost nothing.
The pump will cost me 60, 70 bucks, add a couple of hundreds for the the lines and that's all I need.
I could also buy a pump with a timer or use an external timer and run the pump only at daylight, thus saving roughly half of the electricity.
I already have the electric water heater installed. It is a 4 kW heater. Assuming I run it for one hour per day I use like 120 kWh (~ $25)  per month right now. I think my break even point will be reached in  a year, maybe one and a half.

Captainculebra wrote:

P.R. is not Germany.

I know that - I've been living here since 2001 .
In Germany the pumps were/are used to circulate water in the house warm water system, not a solar water heater system. The main reason to use 'm is that with circulation in the warm water system you get instant warm water and save a lot of water.

Gary wrote:

Captainculebra wrote:

P.R. is not Germany.

I know that - I've been living here since 2001 .
In Germany the pumps were/are used to circulate water in the house warm water system, not a solar water heater system. The main reason to use 'm is that with circulation in the warm water system you get instant warm water and save a lot of water.

Don't get me wrong man. I'm not being critaclal...just find your project interesting. I've tried similar in Florida and every time my lines/coils eventually ruptured thus my suggestions + it takes more coil-length/ diameter/strength than one might think to work effectively.
Please let me know your results.

Sounds like some pretty  expensive out-of-pocket initial costs

Captainculebra wrote:

Gary wrote:

Captainculebra wrote:

P.R. is not Germany.

I know that - I've been living here since 2001 .
In Germany the pumps were/are used to circulate water in the house warm water system, not a solar water heater system. The main reason to use 'm is that with circulation in the warm water system you get instant warm water and save a lot of water.

Don't get me wrong man. I'm not being critaclal...just find your project interesting. I've tried similar in Florida and every time my lines/coils eventually ruptured thus my suggestions + it takes more coil-length/ diameter/strength than one might think to work effectively.
Please let me know your results.

Don't worry, I don't get you wrong.

It might be a while before I get to this, there's a lot more on my to-do list but I promise I will report back when I have it up and running.
I'm pretty sure that steady circulation will keep the lines in one piece. The rupture must have been caused by pressure. Since the system as I have it in mind will include the already installed pressure release valve in the heater, over-pressure will not occur. Also, but that' something that needs to be tested, I think the temperature will not get too high.

Well...I'll put it this way.
It wasn't the first time I threw a s___load of $ down the toilet in my effort to save a little...and most likely won't be the last.  I could go on and on sharing details but since the topic is quite depressing... won't.
My woman does remind me on occasion though....but her reminders only make me determined to be more successful on my next "ingenious" hair-brained project.