This is our setup as you said a drum on a fire.


My mate goes right out in the sticks no camp grounds for him, he has a heat exchanger on his land cruzer, the hot water from his heater hose goes through a copper coil, which heats the water  thats pumped around from a 160 litre tank under the cruzer, he clips a shower pole & head onto the bullbar & connects the hose to a fitting coming out of the grill, the water temp is controlled by the the heater tap slide inside the cab, he has a small nylon shower tent if there are people around.
Trev
Aus

I also use a keg on the fire, with a twist.....
the keg has 16 meters of 3/4" copper coils in it.
& external fittings as follows:-
One 3/4" cold line in & two 1/2" lines out - one goes through the coils (hot) & one tees off & comes straight back out (cold)

Hook a DAVEY FIRE FIGHTER pump to it & you have hot & cold running water at house pressure!

Or at a caravan park you just hook a hose to it.

The keg gets filled with water & heated up, then when you pass water through the coils the heat transfers into the flow.
because the top of the keg is open to atmosphere, you can boil the t#ts off the thing & never generate enough pressure in the lines to blow one!
you simply adjust your temp, at the taps in the shower like you would at home.

If I dont have a good water supply I revert back to my old system.

Take a woolies tub (great for storing your camp ovens in!!) & part fill it with shower temp, water ( the keg also has a tap on the bottom)
put a 12V submersible sump pump in the water with a rose attached (or a bought camp shower or caravan pump) then stand in the tub & have your shower, the water will stream off you & back into the tub to be used again so you have plenty of time to get clean.

The pump in my old system is a bought camp shower, it could do with a bit more pressure (OK if your 4 foot tall), I would sugest sourcing a 12V shower pump from a caravan joint!!

hope this is usefull

Mick,

The KISS principle again (Keep it Simple Stupid), I've had all sorts of setups and am now back to the four litre bucket over the fire and a shower bucket on a rope and pulley, one of boiling water and two of cold is about the right ratio, works for me and my long haired mate and mother of my kids !
Not often we camp near other people but I do have a shower tent for the odd occasion and an old plastic bread crate (Thanks Tip Top) to stand on so I don't get red clay between my toes, all the mod cons !

pd

Mick
I think your hot water set up is great..... but to heavy for my out fit...and I have tried open buckets and drums but I found this suits my needs... stainless steel 22 litres? boiler just keep topping it up. Retains it heat overnight. Plenty of water for canvas bucket shower and washing up.
Muzz

I'm hear'n y'a guys.

But the pot of hot water near the fire rings warning bells for me!!!

Either way you need to heat water, With young kids & some loose "intoxitated" adults roaming around I think its better to have it away from the focal point of camp - almost hidden!.

Its OK on our ride weekends to put the keg on the fire but the family weekends are a different thing.....I need to take toilet & all !!!!!!! can you believe that???????? ..............the bush suites me just fine!

This system came about because I often take the pump to water a mini bike track near camp to keep the dust down & speed down for 1/2 drunk adults on mini bikes at night.

So the pump is already in tow & the keg was used for a water boiler anyway on the trips which go for more than 2 or 3 nights..........(1+1 =2)

All in All, it has worked out to be one hell of a set up, the next step to long term bush sustainability is a 12V ice machine & I might never come home!!!

Mick.