Solar Evacuated Vacuum Tube 100 ounces of water boiling

[repawnd]

I must admit this concept is new to me but I just had a thought, if you connected this to a steam engine do you think it could possibly be more efficient than solar cells?

Or maybe a stirling engine would be better because it could still run even if the water has stopped boiling.

[luc59457]

It would be nice to somehow eliminate the need for a solar tracker. maybe with Fresnel lenses all around in small enough strips, on a clear square box around the Vacuum tube? Maybe it can stay horizontal and sun will always be concentrated somewhere on the tube in that moment of day but not everywhere? One less moving part is always better to me.

[rainbowsalads]

CryotechFlex make vacuum piping, its chrome but could be painted black to shine a fresnel lens or trough mirror on. that would be cool to try out. (counts pennies in jar).

[rainbowsalads]

@rainbowsalads

ignore that, it wouldn't work . needs the glass on the outside. duh!! : /

[mrgreenbeans]

hi dan, can you get them with it being open at both ends,and longer. i would like to use this on a parabolic trough.

[DragonSpeak707UTube]

You could make a smaller one with a drip system on it for coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.It would need a pressure release for the steam.

[AlbertLloydy]

Impressive! A slightly modified version of that can be used to boil a good amount water without the use of lenses and reflectors!! Now that's something to ponder about.

[bnewton81]

Ahhhh, nothing like a nice glass of boiling water to quench the thirst.

[SSparks555]

Not only insulating properties over-night, but it has the ability to collect heat from the sunlight that bounces off of the clouds. It does not have to be in direct sun. I had, the one that was loaned to me, on the front porch and it generated heat, even in the shade.

[KyleWGlenn]

Where did you get that tube? I really really REALLY want to know.

Thanks,

Kyle Glenn

[lefty0mtl]

Would have been nice if you had thrown a thermometer in there for some hard data... Vac tubes are Awesome!

[SixCards54]

I want some of those and I don't even own a house =)

Very cool! Or hot... I like it!

[bluejay331]

If the industry was smart they would use these to bring ethanol to temp for gassing off to recollect. This would eliminate the energy used to gas off ethanol (180f) thus lowering operating costs of the ethanol plant.Resulting in a cheaper product for the people.

[bluejay331]

If the industry was smart they would use these to bring ethanol to temp for gassing off to recollect. This would eliminate the energy used to gas off ethanol (180f) thus lowering operating costs of the ethanol plant.Resulting in a cheaper product for the people.

[CncObsession]

@bluejay331 If they were "smart", they wouldnt have used our food grain for fuel. Now food and gas will be more expensive.

[HTTAPBIH]

Dan, Keep up the good work. I was going to try one of these tubes in a trough last year, but the price was a little high for me at the time. I started a true parabolic trough last year, but a hernia brought me down for a long while. I am eager to see how it works for you and I can learn from your testing. Thanks for youe efforts!

[rainbowsalads]

the trough+ vac tube experiment will very interesting.

[screamingservers]

@rainbowsalads I think the tube would blow unless water was moving pretty fast. Most troughs use metal pipe.

[rainbowsalads]

@screamingservers Thanks for your reply. Would be great if they made these as an actual vacuum pipe then water could flow through. Although it would be possible to use a trough mirror if the vacum tube was outside the focal point so it is not so harsh. otherwise yes it would probably explode. lol : P

[ZeroFossilFuel]

All of you complainers, stop whining. Yes these have been around a while. Yes they retain heat. Yes they work on cloudy days. Not everybody has seen these. Not everyone is quite so perfect as you. It's important to present them everywhere possible.

Dan, pay no attention to the peanut gallery.

[Response166]

Very cool.

[feezbeest]

Where are you people from, Mars? :) I guess it's natural for these to be popular in a continent that inherently pays higher energy prices... These tubes have been around for a while now, same for the end products made with them... The most efficient set-up seals off the tubes and centers a heat pipe inside each tube. The heat pipes join in a header tube where coolant (water) flows through to absorb the heat from the heat pipes. And yes it also works on cloudy days, even freezing winter days. :)

[Utubeheck]

These tubes (when properly designed) will collect something like 95% of light energy per square unit of light coverage. Typical photo voltaic cells are about 12%-17%. I like this application of solar energy since it would take up far less square footage, and I believe the manufacturing is less impact (environmental) than semi-conductor solar cells. I would like to get some of these, but they are kind of spendy to get in the U.S.

[shartne]

cool you can use them for your hot water heater

[RCvolunteer1978]

the next big hurricane i really wish I could stay with us I am disabled over 55 and is on our county (32750) disaster team we had a big crisis April 01 this was no joke in a trailer park of over 266 about half of the electrical power was down for three days four people had to be sent to the hospital due to no electrical power many on Oxygen generators and dealt with heat exhaustion

[2pichi76]

tnx

[TerriInBC]

Awesome!

[erastoolivas1]

greetings from... TIJUANA BAJA CALIFORNIA MEXICO... GOOOOOOOOD VIDEO .. awesome... ,,congratulations.. see you later

[youtubasoarus]

Very impressive that it could manage to boil. I don't know why we haven't developed a technology that takes advantage of that yet. 

[m715fm]

@youtubasoarus It has not been developed because once you buy the system you don't pay anyone else. You would receive free heat and hot water from the sun. There was a guy working on a solar panel that collected ultra violet rays instead of sunshine. UV is around even on cloudy days....

[feezbeest]

@m715fm Newsflash: these vacuum tubes work even on cloudy days, you don't need direct sunlight, just daylight will do. Of course the thermal yield will be greater when it's sunny.

[TheWebock]

I always enjoy your videos. And it's a whole lot cheaper to watch than conduct experiments myself. Thank you.

[infinitetease]

Very cool Dan!

If you like this idea, check out Blazing Tube Solar

[ricansdoitbetter2012]

looks cool, they'd prob work better elavated and gravity fed.

[shazizz]

Where do you get the tubes?

[tdronet]

Let me know when you get them I will buy one from you.

[2LateIWon]

Wow cool

How hot was it that day?

[erikdravn]

Incredible video!

[mysteryman141]

Why is vacuum spelled with 2 U's?

[proudyke]

@mysteryman141  because that's the correct spelling of it.

[JonnyFlash80]

@mysteryman141 Umm. Because that is how it's spelled in the English language.

Why is knife spelled with a K? :p

[dzgfdg]

@mysteryman141 well I don't know about you but Vacum doesn't seem as appropriate

[th3dig1tal0n3]

Hot water in every season!!

[marthale7]

Dan, that looks like a GREAT canidate for a thermosiphon. Look it up!! thanks for sharing!

[ribar3]

I'm all new to this so I have a question. Could this be a cheaper alternative to solar panels for heating water, adding the cost of pumps and all the other equipment you need?

[dismutased]

@ribar3 abolutely! In fact many solar hot water systems use evacuated tubes (google solar hot water system evacuated tubes). It's definitely a more efficient way of harvesting heat energy from the sun.

[crimsonhalo13]

This is a different model from the ones I've heard about, but still VERY good to see it in use!

There are ones selling overseas from China which use a silvered layer to trap sunlight, and apparently at least one of the manufacturers said they were rated for cloudy day use, and in some cases even winter service. If anyone finds any useful info please pass it along or post it!.

[locouk]

My parents have 2 sets of 1o of these on their roof, and they have to put a blind across them on really hot days or when they go away. They cut the heating and hot water bills alot!

[myozone]

Wonder how long it'll take you to bust the tube !

[CaliberMengsk]

My question is, does it generate enough steam pressure to maybe power a small steam engine as a generator. Might be able to cut down on electricity consumption a little that way, and it's purely green.

[callmeshane303]

Dan...

I want to make some tubes and put some vacuum inside it.

Where can I buy a box of vacuum from?

Do the come in individual packets, or is there like 10 to a box?

[toranamunter]

will it still boil in winter? if its below freezing outside?

[AlexGrim]

That's pretty neat, I'm sure many 3rd world countries need those for drinking water.

[kitrana]

well yeah it would hold it's heat it's basically a thermos

[Slayermachete]

Dan I am very scared for you. You are so brilliant, that when the aliens come to take the best and brightest of us, that they will only take you.

[CncObsession]

@Slayermachete Its the probing by the aliens Dan is scared of, or is he?

[bamboo4tameshigiri]

Very cool. 

[Supralobe]

Reminds me of bodum glassware, amazing insulators but fragile.

[ward26102]

That's great. What does a tube like this cost?

[d3adp001]

Did you happen to do a btu or better joule calc for the temp rise?

[cdltpx]

I had one in the sun today just a mirror behind it and I stuck my 21 inch one in a bucket of dirt to hold it and it reached 180 degrees in about an hour or so. This means you can pasturize water simply by filling a tube and letting the sun work I didn't use a cap like you to insulate I need to build a holder and collector for it I wilsh we were neighbors I have ideas and you are the hands on type I have no shop at all oh well may have to start building things. Great video Dan What $ do 5ft cost.

[buttkracken]

How much drink water can you get if you run if through a condenser? Maybe coil a hose in a bucket of cool water, drain in a container.

[wandreeff]

where does one get the tubes?



[ward26102]

Great video Dan.! Where did you get that tube? Did you buy it or build it? Is it more efficient than the beer bottle evac tubes you built? :)

[GREENPOWERSCIENCE]

@ward26102 Hi,

They have been around overseas for years. This is factory made and more efficient because the vacuum is very good. I am working on getting a bunch from a seller overseas where the are made. I have bought a few locally but they are never packaged correctly and shippers usually break them. I will have some in about 2 weeks.

[TheBetterGame]

@GREENPOWERSCIENCE any idea what those might cost when you get them?

[CaliberMengsk]

@TheBetterGame His site link says "USA $27.99 + $14.00 shipping" so... I would guess about that.

[csxconductor100]

@GREENPOWERSCIENCE what is the cost of 1 tube 

[decycle1]

@GREENPOWERSCIENCE Jimmy carter actually had them installed on the white house.Ronald Reagan did away with that.

the vacuum tube is also omnidirectional so it only needs to point south and it collects heat throughout the day does not need to be adjusted for sun position

[Anothercoilgun]

I second the first comment.

[JoRdAnIsToCoOlFoRyOu]

So cool.