solar air heater

[guruji243]

Why are you pulling air from basement? I think if you circulate in the house it's better.

Thanks for sharing

[ibringthereals]

Excellent presentation, clean product... very time consuming.

[wobmed]

i used a heat resistant silicone. the tube said it was good to 300 degrees Fahrenheit

[geochoros]

@wobmed hello from chile

in the solar heater... where do you put the fan???? inside the house or inside the box ??

regards

[1datesta]

what kind of glue did you use to glue the cans together?

[allwortht]

Hi, Looks pretty simple like you do it, i'm sure its more work than it looks like:-)

you said it was 20 degrees F? How cold would this work? would it work at -20 to -25 celcius.  right now it 17.7 degrees F

[jeanlucvar]

Hello from France

Really excellent video and for your work

Congratulations

But, the cans, are in iron or aluminum?

what is better ?

Thank you and good continuation

[jjohn984able]

where can get o a snap disc control and how does it work is it hooked up to a solar panel or something else

[yzerman1997]

Could you tell me an online source for the snap disc control? Thanks.

[ferryman54]

@yzerman1997

Google?

[vpbubbies]

did you have any issues with the foil-backed foam "melting" ??? I too used foil-backed foam, but it melted the first day and completly deformed itself. Just wondering.

[wobmed]

@vpbubbies no melting on mine. I used a good quality polyisocyanurate from Dow

[MrTpengineer]

@vpbubbies You should use fire resistant foam, high end foam will be resistant to heat.

[united4mi]

thats what I like here, good sounds alllround is this good music and clean stuff!! why do leaders kill for oil???

threres not inuuff place for everybody because they taken all the f,n land !!!! rock on richy allen,sorry not the same site; love to you all.

[Redshift21]

@vpbubbies You could use dry wall on top of the foam to act as a thermal barrier but that would also increase the weight somewhat, or you could build the unit with a wooden inner and outer skin with a foam core, less complex would be to just pony up the money and get god quality foam from the outset.

[yzerman1997]

what is your source for the snap discs? online? about to start my first heater soon. did Lowes or Home Depot carry the insulation you needed?

Thanks and great job.

[kinbigbird]

I made use of some tools I have that pushes out on the bottom of the can 1/4 inch so it will fit into the top of the next can then I made a cutter tool that is placed on the bottom tap it in and the outside fan shape is done I then remove the tools and make the cross cut with the 3/4 inch chisel bend a little,Fan shape is done.The tool is a automotive ball joint press fixture. the cutter was made with flat shaped stainless steel.Thanks again hope to help someone with the glue togther process.

[kinbigbird]

Im in the process of my 4x8 foot pop can heater project Im going to heat a 2.5 car attached garage im useing a 6 inch round in line duct booster fan rated at 250 cfm on the inlet and a ajustable thermostat for a attic fan it can be ajusted from 60 to 120 for the on and auto shut off at a 9 degree drop from the set temp I plan on the fan shape in the bottom of the can also the more you get the air moving inside the can along the walls the more heat will be picked up THANKS FOR ALL YOUR TIPS!

[mabtka]

Hi, well done!

What is the airflow and what is the cubic feet of the room?

[wobmed]

with a 4" outlet the air flow is about 900' per minute that would be 80 CFM. The room I have it in is 12X12X8 but has 3 large doorways leading to three other rooms about the same size. I estimate it produces4000 BTUs of heat per hour and runs for about 520 per year

[mabtka]

Thanks, and good luck saving energy (and costs).

By the way a calculate my CO2 emission reduction as 0.7*3400 BTU = 2.2 lbs CO2.

Correct?

[wunwinglo]

Great video. Thx.

[kidjr27]

Do you just let the fan run all the time?

[wobmed]

The fan is turn on and off by a snap disc control. When the temp inside the unit get to 110 degrees it turns on the fan and when it goes down to 90 degrees it shuts off.

[checotahbill]

where did you get your polycarbonate. approx. cost . thanks

[jdwoods2008]

@checotahbill

i got some 'misprint' ones from my local sign shop for free

[stivako100]

@wobmed

do you have a wiring diagram of snap disc control and info. of it as well

[tcbink]

I'm getting ready to build one myself and found your videos very helpful. Thanks 5/5

[tonyfromnewjersey]

where did you get that snap disk t - stat haveing trouble finding with the temp settings that are right for this project also it is a dc snap disk right

[wobmed]

I made it 7 1/2" deep to allow for the 1/2 plywood and 1 1/2" insulation at the bottom. Next unit I will use only 1" thick. A 1" air space between the cans ans the insulation (which I now do not think is necessary ) and a 11/2" air space between the cans and the glass to slow down heat loss from the cans to the outside cold air, could be less.

Yes the snap disc is a thermo switch that closes the circuit at 110degreesF and opens if at 90DegreesF

[viking1au]

Why is it 8" deep (203mm) when dia of cans is only 65mm or there abouts? I take it the snap disc is a thermo-couple switch. (?).

[wobmed]

the snap disk turn on and off the fan and is located in the top chamber of the unit. I have it wired with 14/2 electrical wire. It is tough to explain the wiring without be able to draw it out. Basicly the snap disk is wired like a switch.

[CanKaraoke]

When you have more volume of circulating air in the box the temperature will drop and you get more Btu from it to heat your room. How do you connect the control disc to the fan?

Thanks, great experiment.

[wobmed]

The intake floor register is located about 6' below the output. The unit heat up the area of the room that is why the 80 d intake. The house air temp is usually around 65 d and the sun bumps it up to 68 d. I have a ceiling fan in the room and with it on it help more the air around. If I could install it again I would install the intake in another room.

[ozartdotus]

Sorta confused. "Fanteck Exhaust fan pulls air from register in floor n pushed it through unit into house" & "Floor duct taking air in at 80d." The air u r heating is already at 80d? Is the "outlet" high up on room's wall? Wouldn't it be possible w fan to have the heat come in at floor vent? Have you disconnected house heat sys from room registers? Great looking box.

[Kapanyanyimonyok84]

Maybe if you would leave out the top air collecting area and u cut the outlet just above the lower collecting area but insulated from it, the air should take a longer way inside the box. ( go up to the top and go back down till the outlet, between the cans ) This way the heat increment would be higher......just an idea

[wobmed]

You can go up and back down as long as the run is not to long. I wish I had a more powerful fan to push the air thru faster. They say the cooler you run the unit the more btu's it will produce.

[mabtka]

Correct due to the density of the air in "colder" state.

See my air heater. It only draws outside air.

[trouts4444]

Nice video presentation. Nice job on the box. Thanks

[321ozzy]

Great to have some numbers, I see that your furnel is huge, though placed at a place with some shade of the trees.

Having the outlet temperature between 80 and 120 F is an amazing result.

I am going to build a furnel myself to heat up some rooms here in Mexico.

The winters are getting colder and we do not have central heating.

Congratulations with your profesional looking furnel.

[dontlookatme9999]

Great system and video, will this snap switch work on a 12volt ,dc ,100cfm,computer cooling fan hooked to a small solar panel? It says its for higher voltage ac power. I'm electrically challenged. All i want is panel to switch to fan. Thanks Steve

[wobmed]

The disc will open and close the circuit. It does not matter ac or dc, 12 volt or 110 volt. Good luck with your unit hope to see it posted after it is done.

[matrixm777]

Very nice looking unit. Welcome to free heat!!

[wobmed]

great score getting and recycling the poylcarbonite sheet. I want to build more units and I am going to look to salvage stock for them to keep the cost down. I have an adjustable speed control on my unit and have it on the highest it will go and wish it went higher. The say if you run the unit cooler it has less heat loss and puts out more btu's. I am trying to get my hands on a anemometer so I can measure how many cfm's it puts out to calculate the BTU output.

[centervilletn]

i believe you will get more heat if you reduce your fan speed/volume..give it a little more time in the box i expect you will get 120 to 160 degree output..you have an excellent design... you box looks great btw...and your video was very well done...

[centervilletn]

great job! i built one using corogated gavalume roofing material instead of cans..i live in the southeast and figurd we get good sunlight and it should be pretty effiecient...my 32inch by 72 inch heater boost the air 100 to 120 degrees...depending on the temp. of the intake air. I lined my box with foam insulation and alum bubble paper..and glazed with a 3/16 inch piece of polycarbonite recycled from a sign company. my box was made from metal 2x6 from local hardware store, backed with plyboard.

[oformeat]

hey any chance of seeing your version of this, i am thinking of using corragated iron thanks

[centervilletn]

ill get a picture of it for you....my temp. increase was estimated and since i posted i up a themometer in it and actual show output over 140 degrees...suprised me ...i was told if you put it at an angle that is = to you latitude =15degrees you get 30 percent more heat...mine is flat on the southern wall

[oformeat]

Thanks look forward to it, i think you tube is great, so many great ideas and so many clever people,

[wobmed]

I like the bow in the Lexan it looks nice but I was concerned how to flash the top the unit when it sat against the house. I cut the Lexan 1/4 inch small around all sides to allow for expansion. I did not silicone it down. I set it on a rubber weatherstripping held down by the aluminum angle. It has remained surprisingly flat minimum rippling. Thank you for posting your project it helped me design and build mine.

[my2cents0]

Hey Wobmed-nice job!i made my first one w/curved lexan cover,but im making next one w/flat cover.any prob ,i know the lexan was like a wet noodle,until i gave it a little bend?

[wobmed]

Hello bjettube, yes the snap disc control is a simple and inexpensive way to have the fan on the unit turn on when it heats up and off when it cools down. It cost about $10 I got it at Grainger stock #2E245. Wobmed

[bjetTube]

Great job! Can you explain the snap disc control. Does that turn the fan on and off?