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The newly constructed and painted hot water tank is moved into position near where the bathtub will go. It's been secured with rocks around its base, the Holloway Bar dragon's been painted onto the end, the wood is chopped, and the water is hooked up. We're almost ready to go now!
The fire's lit and is starting to build a little heat. The propane tank welded inside reduces the capacity of the converted oil tank (now a water heater!) by 50 or 60 gallons - but you're still looking at a hot water capacity of some 200+ gallons - probably about 1,000 litres or so. That's a lot of hot water!
If you've ever run your domestic hot water tank out of hot water (isn't that a lovely surprise when you're in the shower?), you probably know that it takes a little while to heat up the water. This tank is no different. As with most things in the wilderness, it does take a little effort to get this running so that you can have a bath at the end of a hard day. But, all you have to do is make sure the tank is full of water (this is fed from the outlet of the turbine generator, which gets its water from high on the mountain behind camp) and light the fire when you're on your way to the Wizard gold plant for a day's mining. Then, after a hard day at work, you can lounge around in the tub for a nice, relaxing soak. The water is gravity fed and quite hot after simmering all day, so you do have to mix the hot water with a little cold water, just like controlling the shower temperature.
There's nothing like laying out in a bathtub with a seemingly endless supply of hot water, staring up at the stars when the night skies are clear. This is mosquito country, so you might think exposing all that flesh is a bit risky - and it is! But, you can duck under the water and they can't get at you.
The tub has worked well for the past couple of years, but like anything, one is usually not enough. So, last summer, the project was expanded slightly with the addition of a second bathtub. Some enjoy the peace and quite of a solitary soak in the Holloway Bar outdoor bathtub, but others like to have a tub with their best friend...
