brunnhilde's shower - part 2

I put the rest the playing with the bath shower head in Brunnhilde after testing to show it is an inferior design to the exterior shower head that also comes with the vehicle.

I later realize I could swap just the shower head/arm without swapping the hoses. Swapping the hoses would require complete removal of the bath sink cabinet which is a major undertaking because one have to re-caulk the sink when done. I really want to make this improvement for the inside bath. The exterior shower is less important especially autumn is approaching.

I prefer the much cleaner design of the exterior shower head made by Rada. It feel much more supple in ones hand - I believe some the main arm is cast alloy instead of plastic.

the stock one in the bath is just too big and ugly for the compact sink

I went and see if the two shower heads are interchangeable. They should if they use standard diameter fittings. Sure enough swapping them is a snap.

this looks so much better and is just the right size for the sink

top view - even in the middle the spray is at the sweet spot of the sink instead of right to the edge

the old big one - you only can use it by swinging it to the far left or far right

profile - classy and understated

What about the lever you have to press for the water to flow? It turns the designer thought of everything. By depressing the lever and slide it forward it locks with a smooth action. In this position the water flow is unrestricted.

lever in the locked-open position

lever in the unlock-closed position

The best improvement of all is the shower performance. Because of the proper sizing of the jets and less of them the flow is no longer like pet pee.

more vigorous flow

old one with dog pee like flow

 looks equally regal on the holder

Sept 06 update
Needing a shower at home, I thought why not use it as an opportunity to test out the newly swapped shower head? Shower I did. As you can see in the two pictures above the Rada spay is much better. While it is no where the flow rate and pressure of a home shower it works well enough for someone that used to rough it with a portable bag type shower that contains 1.5 gallons of water.

Seeing my posts  another James Cook owner pointed out that his shower head in the bath does not look like mine and the spay pattern on his is more like the exterior shower now I swapped in. This seems to point to mine might have been changed out the stock one, either in a well intentioned "upgrade", or because the stock assembly failed.

On this cue I went and search for a photo from other James Cook I looked at when shopping for one. Sure enough I found this photo and the shower head is different. Further the mixer valve assembly too is different. Seems the previous owner has changed the entire faucet and shower head assembly. It is made by Comet which makes the stock fresh water pump for the vehicle.

picture of the faucet and shower head assembly from another james cook - note the clam shell style faucet handle

Sept 07 update
I am getting a lot of hits on this page and to appeal to the wider readers who may want to see some pictures of Brunnhilde in shower as opposed to shower in Brunnhilde here you have them.

brunnhilde is a tall girl

putting on skin lotion to protect her fair skin - waxing

Back to some musing about the challenge of selecting the appropriate shower arm for compact campers with a sensible European water supply system. Base on the evidence I surmise that Brunnhilde originally has a good shower arm in the inside bath. For some reason the previous replaced the entire mixer valve and shower arm/hose assembly with a different one, albeit one designed to used in this low-pressure/low-volume (as opposed to high-pressure pressurized system common in the US). Perusing a couple of German online camper supply stores this replacement assembly is actually more expensive than the relatively simple (to me simple if often good) stock one. Yet it falls short on two most important attributes - 1) optimum spray pattern given the low-pressure/flow constraints of the water supply system; 2) too long and big for used in the sink.

I am very happy with the exterior shower arm made by Rada that came with the vehicle. To me the slightly smaller size than the stock inside one (judging from the appearance I surmise it is also made by Rada). I also like the feel of the sculpted shapes on the grip for fingers when used with soaped hand. While the shower arm is clearly made by Rada it appears to be widely available in German and is sold under different brands (as most frequently in the US too) including Reich. The price ranges from 22 euros for a bear shower arm to 49 euros with a hose and accessories.

bare shower arm

with hose and a fitting

with hose and a chrome guide rosette

I would like to purchase a bare shower arm but from what I read getting it through Airstream in the US costs significantly more - around $80. Further as the specific shower arm is not identify clearly in any drawing or parts catalog, there is no certainty that I would receive what I think I am buying.