Do USA-people actually perform physics calculations in gallons and all that stuff? Wow.
They do orbital mechanics in US customary units, why would shower flow be metric?
Showering at the South Pole
91–100 of 101 posts
Re: Showering at the South Pole
#92With water being so scarce, what are the toilet bowls filled with? I'm not clear whether all water is rationed down there, or only hot water.
The men's urinals are water-free toilets. The sit-down toilets are low volume-per-flush, I expect. Water isn't exactly rationed -- people are just asked to minimize. To be clear, there is a LOT of water (the station sits atop two miles/3km of the purest ice). What's really being rationed is energy, which is very, very expensive there (the rough calculation I've heard is 10x non-Ice prices, others would know better).
Interesting information, thank you! This was exactly what I was wondering about.
The only part I'm struggling with a bit with is "10x non-ice prices". What does this mean? Are you able to indulge me in additional explanation? Thanks again.
Re: Showering at the South Pole
#93Americans are so weird. Just get a stool, a wash cloth, and a small bucket of really hot water. Much more enjoyable (because it's hot), you can take your time, uses less water.
Must've been downvoted by Westerners.
it's not what you said, it's how you said it. If you want others to listen to you, I encourage you to find ways to express it in ways that they'll hear.
Re: Showering at the South Pole
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's a range of potential things that could develop, like fungal infection, clogged pores, bacterial infection in unknown cuts, etc. Likelihood depends on a number of factors.
This is relatively unlikely at Pole. While you aren't supposed to take regular showers, you're still expected to maintain general hygiene - hand washing, sponge/cloth baths on other days. If you had a cut that was serious enough that you'd worry about infection then you would probably visit medical anyway. Otherwise clean the wound and bandage as you would otherwise.
Trench foot? Athlete's foot? Ringworm? Ingrown hair picked and infected with staph from fingernail? Sure you can deal with it, but regular cleaning is the best way to avoid a problem.
Re: Showering at the South Pole
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
The men's urinals are water-free toilets. The sit-down toilets are low volume-per-flush, I expect. Water isn't exactly rationed -- people are just asked to minimize. To be clear, there is a LOT of water (the station sits atop two miles/3km of the purest ice). What's really being rationed is energy, which is very, very expensive there (the rough calculation I've heard is 10x non-Ice prices, others would know better).
Interesting information, thank you! This was exactly what I was wondering about. The only part I'm struggling with a bit with is "10x non-ice prices". What does this mean? Are you able to indulge me in additional explanation? Thanks again.
The whole station runs on jet fuel (AN-8 kerosene) which is hauled inland from the coast. In the past this was done by aircraft, which emptied their tanks, but now it's mostly done using the South Pole Overland Traverse (SPOT). It takes about a month to get to the Pole this way, so you're paying for a tractor train plus staff and maintenance costs for at least two months (out and back). The alternative is paying for a lot of flying hours which is also expensive. There are now at least two traverses each summer. So the cost of the fuel is mostly in the cost of transportation i.e. very high.
The generators are actually quite efficient. Water is heated as a byproduct of electricity production. I think it's by recovering heat from the engine exhaust.
Antarctica is colloquially referred to as "Ice".
Re: Showering at the South Pole
#96Re: Showering at the South Pole
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
"why not just use a nuclear reactor" might be the most insane "why not just" I've ever seen in my life. :D
Come on, nuclear is not black magic. There are nuclear reactors in submarines and carriers, so why not at the polar station.
Yeah, sure, let's just throw a billion dollar reactor using high enriched uranium which requires tending 24/7 at every single problem.
Re: Showering at the South Pole
#98As water is the actual metered resource at 0.74 gallons per day, I’d prefer having it all poured into a bucket and use that to shower along with a glass or a sponge. It’s much easier to manage, and is pretty common practice in India (albeit with maybe 2 or 3 gallons buckets)
This is absolutely what they should be doing. Just a few litres of warm water and a sponge. Vastly less water usage and just as refreshing as a shower. I honestly think very few people know what a great way this is to bathe.
Re: Showering at the South Pole
#99Am tickled to see this here, having done these calculations myself in the same place several years running (due to summer visits at the Pole for work from 1997-2011). The author doesn't mention workouts. There are good gym facilities at the Pole, and there's nothing like a half-minute shower (the author's "Option 2") after using them. Now that I know there is an appetite for shower recipes, I'll share mine from 2011[…
Did anyone ever engineer the shower heads to reduce the GPM and thus, increase their shower time?
0.75 gpm: https://www.moen.com/nebia-by-moen
Or DIY 2 l/min = 0.53 gpm: https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2019/10/mist-showers-sustain...
Re: Showering at the South Pole
#100This seems preposterous. How hard would it be to put a couple big generators and a winter supply of gas down there? [edit] no, seriously, why is this so difficult? If you can have one generator and one fuel supply, why not have enough so you're not constantly worried about potable water supply? What's the limiting factor here?
Delivering anything to Antarctica is expensive. Maybe people value having other things more, and showering is not that important?
What other things? Water, food and fuel seem pretty basic. Is suffering some sort of prerequisite goal? Can a person not be comfortable at the South Pole in order to go about their business?