DIY outdoor soaking tub

[evme]

Has anyone built their own outdoor soaking tub setup? I was looking into building a pool but I don't do well with chlorine and it's just too time-consuming/expensive (and would require taking out shade trees which I don't want to do). However, a soaking tub might be a nice alternative. I don't want to leave standing water because I don't want to have to treat the water with chlorine. My idea is to get a large soaking tub or some other vessel that's big enough for one person. I would then harvest rainwater in a 1000 gallon tank and fill the tub with the tank when I want to use it. I live in southern AZ so could use passive (solar) heating to get the water to the right temperature.

edited to add: I don't have much DIY experience, so I need to keep the setup as simple as possible.

I would just like input: has anyone done something like this?

[Gone Fishing]

I placed a 55 gallon plastic drum (black) of water in direct sun, with the intention of an outdoor shower. Even with 90F+ daytime temperatures, I was disappointed with the resulting temperature of the water.  The top 3-4 inches were toasty warm, but the rest was still quite cool.  At the same time, 100 ft of black garden hose laid across the lawn would produce several gallons of scalding hot water.

To make your system work, I'd image you would need some sort of high surface area pipe exposed to the sun then circulated into an insulated tank.  Please post back with what you come up with and how it works!

[evme]

I placed a 55 gallon plastic drum (black) of water in direct sun, with the intention of an outdoor shower. Even with 90F+ daytime temperatures, I was disappointed with the resulting temperature of the water.  The top 3-4 inches were toasty warm, but the rest was still quite cool.  At the same time, 100 ft of black garden hose laid across the lawn would produce several gallons of scalding hot water.

To make your system work, I'd image you would need some sort of high surface area pipe exposed to the sun then circulated into an insulated tank.  Please post back with what you come up with and how it works!

Maybe something like this?

SOLAR HOT WATER with black garden hose Pondmaster 1200 gph:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S87KDpEUzfE

[evme]

Ok, I realized I don't even need to heat the water here in Southern AZ in the summer, it's so dang hot that the tap water temp is quite comfortable. So that eliminates the heating problem. I still don't want to leave any standing water, so that means refilling each time I use the soaking tub. Local water rates are around $4 per 100 cubic feet (1 CCF) (1 CCF = 748 Gallons). So say I wanted to limit the water cost to $20/mo, that would mean using about 5 CCF or 3740 gallons. And if I refill 10 times per month, that would allow 374 gallons per use -- that's a pretty dang large soaking tub.

Now, I just have to find something that's comfortable, the right size, and not too expensive. I could get a cheap fiberglass tub but I'm thinking maybe a stock tank pool is the cheapest and easiest (and probably do the best outside in the sun). Found an article about it here - https://www.countryliving.com/life/a43074/stock-tank-pools/

Can get a 70 gallon tank for ~$130 on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Behlen-Country-ST214-Galvanized-Approximately/dp/B003B6HHEW). That'd probably work ok, but now I'm getting greedy and thinking I want something larger. Looks like Behlen makes a 6′ Galvanized Round Tank (approx. 389 gal.), so I might try to price that. I'd like to put it in ground but then I'd have to install some kind of pump to empty it right?

Anybody ever used these stock tanks as a mini pool/soaking tub before?

[Gone Fishing]

Use your drained water for irrigation.  If you are on a slope you can bury the tank and run a drain line underground down the slope a bit.  Though, I would imagine the water would be a bit warmer above ground.  How many people do you plan on soaking in this tub? 

[evme]

Use your drained water for irrigation.  If you are on a slope you can bury the tank and run a drain line underground down the slope a bit.  Though, I would imagine the water would be a bit warmer above ground.  How many people do you plan on soaking in this tub?

Just 1-2 people. More than that and I think it would get a bit too crowded :)

[NextTime]

Ok, I realized I don't even need to heat the water here in Southern AZ in the summer, it's so dang hot that the tap water temp is quite comfortable. So that eliminates the heating problem. I still don't want to leave any standing water, so that means refilling each time I use the soaking tub. Local water rates are around $4 per 100 cubic feet (1 CCF) (1 CCF = 748 Gallons). So say I wanted to limit the water cost to $20/mo, that would mean using about 5 CCF or 3740 gallons. And if I refill 10 times per month, that would allow 374 gallons per use -- that's a pretty dang large soaking tub.

Now, I just have to find something that's comfortable, the right size, and not too expensive. I could get a cheap fiberglass tub but I'm thinking maybe a stock tank pool is the cheapest and easiest (and probably do the best outside in the sun). Found an article about it here - https://www.countryliving.com/life/a43074/stock-tank-pools/

Can get a 70 gallon tank for ~$130 on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Behlen-Country-ST214-Galvanized-Approximately/dp/B003B6HHEW). That'd probably work ok, but now I'm getting greedy and thinking I want something larger. Looks like Behlen makes a 6′ Galvanized Round Tank (approx. 389 gal.), so I might try to price that. I'd like to put it in ground but then I'd have to install some kind of pump to empty it right?

Anybody ever used these stock tanks as a mini pool/soaking tub before?

Those stock tank pools are all the rage now.

[affordablehousing]

Yeah I was laughing, all you see in design mags is people using stock tanks as cheap soaking tubs. The plastic ones last longer but don't look as cool. Wood Japanese style tanks are the coolest, but a lot of work. Google it and there are a zillion links to show how to hook up filters and heaters to stock tanks. OR..... if you really just want it to work and don't care about style, buy a used hot tub for $100. You can decide to chlorinate it or brominate it or not, and you have a bonus filter and heater if you ever care to use it.

[AZDude]

Altering the flow of rainwater and then storing it might be illegal, depending on the set up. Best to check it out before committing assets to it.