Soda Can Thermo Siphon Air Panel (TAP) passive solar heater collector

[muserwood]

Screw the cans, just build the insulated double pane glass box, and fill it with black rocks. Not only does it make heat, but it holds it longer. You're welcome.

[sirfenderjazzmaster]

If you want better results, build each configuration a small box, complete with insulation and test. If you don't want to do that, build one box, and test in front of your lamp using each configuration. Honestly I don't think the type of holes in the cans matter too much. So long as the air is flowing through them, absorbing the heat from the cans; the process should achieve the same results.

[sirfenderjazzmaster]

So: the whole box heats up, then the metal from the cans conducts the heat from the box to the air inside the cans. If you take away the insulated box, the cans will simply conduct the small amount to heat that they do receive from the sun (or lamp) back into the atmosphere. That is why your last experiment failed.

[sirfenderjazzmaster]

Ok, I really want to point out a couple of things. Please know that I really appreciate the fact that you took a good amount of time to make this video.

1) Metal is a heat conductor

2) Without the insulated box, your results will be insanely minimal (as we saw in the last test)

The whole idea behind the process is that heat comes from the sun, heats up the box and you exchange the heat to the air inside your house. The black from the cans really only serves the purpose of heating the whole box.

[WorldlySurvivor]

I wonder if anyone has tried a denser material like steel, or thick aluminum pipe that would hold more heat, it would stay hotter longer when the sun goes down. Or maybe put a backing of concrete patio stones behind the cans. I know that would be a real heavy bitch to put up but it may be worth it.

[DrewTracey]

I conceed that using the tap water to heat the outer can was a DUMB idea... enough comments on that part of the video already... Sheeesh :-)

[navajopa31]

You could put the second can in ice cold water to shrink it.

[itbarthur4u]

If you need to heat can with water I suggest boiling some water on the stove to save energy.

[1971mgb]

Air is a poor conductor of heat

swept surface area of the aluminum is the best way to increase transfer

So why not use 3" aluminum flex tube? Pained black would increase surface area by 100% along with output. Would cost more of course but would also perform better.

[bearboneskentuck]

I appreciate that you went to all this effort however I was wondering about the amount of water you wasted just to put two cans together...Perhaps boiling water and putting it in a insulated steal bowl and dipping the cans into the super hot water would be more efficiant...Thank You

[215alessio]

I was asking myself the same questions the whole day, and I really don't have the means to see wich one is the most efficient.

I am happy you did this experiment

But maybe with only 3 sodacan's battery is not enough, you had to put some 10 lined up and that would make the difference

why don't you shielded the carton box with alumium/silver paper?- to reflect the light off the box

[joerond]

a waist of watter DUDE try to figure it out a better way to do it, glue them together work just fine

[BigMoneyTexas77701]

Try boiling some water, instead of wasting so much water

[214jcf]

heat a pot of water on the stove and use less water?

[Darqk]

you should be an auctioneer you talk so damn fast lol.

[timeshifter07]

does this really work

[kanz8024]

Your last atempt for a controll of which style works the best needs to be rethought out.

You need to put an encasement around each one and yes paint the iinside black.

So that you create the greenhouse effect and keep the warm air trapped until ready to exauset.

Does this make sence.

Let me know which one works the best.

[MrEnergyFree]

check my videos I have done something similar. Look for MrEnergyFree.

[sabriath]

The best way to properly test the difference between the tubes is to stick a small fan at the top, then individually put it in front of a heat lamp with the bottom over an ice cube. Measure the speed of the fan as the "exhaust" exits the top (the ice should slow the rate down). Change the ice between tests. Also take not in how quickly the ice melts, there should be a correlation between the data points to verify the test.

[599891]

Thanks for the data. Now I think I'm just gonna use gutter downspouts and eliminate all the cans and glueing. A friend of mine is a gutter man and I can get all the old ones I want.

[madtrexman]

I left a comment on one of your other videos that was supposed to go here. I am trying to figure out if the "fins" are needed to swirl the air in the can tubes. We are building a 4 x 8 heater. Hope to put solar powered fan in it.

Nice video. We cracked up when the cardboard was hotter than the cans.

[moondancerrecords]

best test for can tubes. Cut a 4" pvc pipe the lenth of the tube plus 6", then split it lenthwise,top to bottom, and paint the inside of one of the halves. Tape a piece of plexiglass , 4" x the lenth of the pvc onto the pvc face. What you have now is a one tube heater, that you can use to test in real world circumstances. If you test with a fan, put it at the top , as the air should be drawn up, not forced up. I found it stayed hotter ,longer with the fan pulling up.

[moondancerrecords]

In order to make this test work, you need to make the can tubes 15 cans or what amount you will be using in your completed project. Also, look not only at the temp, but at how long you get that temp before the tube cools off. In my tests, the fins made no dif whatsoever, waste of time.

[moondancerrecords]

If you are doing 200 cans, you are going to waste a huge amount of water. I do like this method, but a pan of water on the stove with 1/2 gal of water is much more practical.

[NVJames22]

I didnt see this question, so im posting it. When you set up your second test minus the fan, aren't each of your samples now closed (dead air) systems, not allowing air movement through the holes to determine the effectiveness of the design?

[basilenglish]

would putting a central core down the middle of the cans not keep the air to the outer surfaces where it is hottest, also if you fitted a fresnel lense to heat the central core should make it more efficient? Possibly some spirals on the center core for circulating the air!

[homertalk]

try mexi-cans

[rayofminneapolis]

it seems to me you are not understanding the process of heating the air over some sufficient amount of space. The experiments you're doing are not of significant volume. By now you've probably figured it our huh?

[Weyyne]

Have you built the bigger columns yet and tested the openings? I am currently constructing one and would like to know the results of which hole pattern seems to be best. Thanks!

[777strongcoffee]

Thanks for this vid. Seem a little rude-n-crude, but at least you tried to actually put some of these can designs to the test. Everyone else has there pet designs, but I rarely see actual performance comparisons being made.

[scottprovost]

The thin can material is good at letting heat in but a poor heat conductor for conducting heat into the can space because it is so thin.

It is best to leave the cans open on the ends so air flow is less impeded.

Cans should be stacked 4 feet for longer for the thermal siphon to work well and aluminum foil should be used for reflecting the son light to the sides and back of the can.

The heat should be collected at the top of the cans. The heat should be used with cool air entering the bottom.

[CanKaraoke]

What is a optimum number of can in one column so that we can have the maximum temperature at the outlet of the cans?

Without full open end of the can, how do you make a tied connect between cans?

Thanks

[early1900s]

Do they not have water metres in your area? This seems silly to me, wasting all that water - Whats wrong with glue?

[kevrs2]

its not a wasted of water ,you do it only once DOPEY

[321ozzy]

Thank you very much for your clear, step by step experiments and their (astoishing) results.

I will check out your other vids too.

Keep up the good work : - )

[Valllick]

do you even need the cans cant you just build a bid black box

[junkyardnut]

do it make you wonder why there is still so many lazy bozos still relying on dirty firewood for home heating??

[mostvideosolar]

I luv my heater..peaked 49 celsius today,,outside temp 3..lol

[WulfBand]

Part 1.

Your a patient man.

I am starting my can collection too.

I might suggest that to get a fair reading of your individual systems that you run a cheap piece of pvc away from each box to a distance of 8' and put your thermomiter in and test there.

I have been also thinking about a design that would incorperate a simple solar cell fan like the ones they sell for car windows to cool the car. Their cheep on ebay and recirculate the heat back to the bottom.

[Happiness2is2in2You]

I think the perpose of the cans is to give the incomming air time to heat up before it exit back into the house. The holes should not make that much of a difference.

Your fan speed might be more important. The slower the fan, the more time the air has to be heated. With a fast fan you will want a bigger solar collector. If you want to increase the speed of the air, then you will want a smaller hole. Just think of water in a hose.

[tgrassel70]

Great experiment! just started getting interested in "green power". If you haven't abandoned the pop can option all together I had an idea. What if you placed something inside the cans to act like a heat sink to hold to heat better? Like maybe copper scrubbing pads, like choreboy or I think Home Depot sells them in bulk. Just an idea. Thanks for the great video.

[steviebboy69]

i wonder if you used say an old car/truck radiator.

they are black so absorb heat. have fins and handle high temps. maybe even if you could reflect heat onto it using alumium foil . i wonder if you could heat air as well as water?

[centervilletn]

Idea:

Use alum gutters painted flat black...put a piece of pot scrubber like material in the top of each gutter/tube (damper) to retard the speed of the air exiting the tube...

This method should be much easier than using cans.(the gutter is corrogate and has more surface than a can)....and should slow airflow down enough to effectively increase the air temp to maximum level while still permitting enough volume to be effective heating for your home...

[Jaymz996]

Thanks for the video. We're in process of making a 276 can heater. 23 rows X 12cans high. Size was determained by a sheet of 5'x5'x1/2 glass I found. Can opened the tops and cored the bottoms with a 1-1/2" hole saw. Cans are stacked and primed and painted with high temp paint.

Hopefully find time to make the box this week. Then venting, fan, and termostat work.

I'll post a vid when it's working.

[jeffery19677]

I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment about needing a glass faced boc.

The greenhouse effect is what makes those types of heaters most efficient. I would consider building a small box sized to fit 3 columns of 3 or 4 cans. That way you can experiment with different designs without working yourself to death..

Remember..Thomas Edison found over 1000 ways to not make a light bulb before he figured out how to make one....later someone else made a flourescent bulb..now we have LED's.

[ZTron57]

The first LED was invented around 1905. It just took 90 or so years for people to stop buying into Edison sales pitch...

[maggielovesgod2]

Lots of big word drew... but very cool experiment. I was wondering about solar heat and stuff like that. Very Awesome though.

[my2cents0]

all panels can get those temps,i got 210 once,but now i have a stronger fan,120cfm and operating temps are 110-130,middle of day here in wisconsin.paint is not worth the money,flat black high heat paint is what i will use on next panel,im building now.

[DrewTracey]

Awesome - thanks for the tip - I'll save my money - Please show us some footage and the efficiencey results of the new one you put together when its finished :-)

[centervilletn]

go to an auto parts store and get flat black "header" paint..1200 degree...will stick to anything...

[bjetTube]

Thanks for testing the theories. I have wondered the same things. There is a lot of work to build the fins. I omitted them. I pushed cans together using the same procedure minus the hot water. Didn't like caulk. I'm trial testing today. Have you built a panel?

[DrewTracey]

No I don't have the panel built yet. I don't have as much spare time to devote to this as it requires. Next step is to make a full column of each design so I have a greater test sample, to hopefully give me a wider spread in my tempature results. I'm very interested in the black paint that "My2Cents0" used on his panel... Thurmalox Solar Collector Coating... the data sheet is very interesting and he is getting higher tempatures than anyone else I saw on youtube. Please post a vid of your results

[my2cents0]

great that your making these test.check my heater out.

[DrewTracey]

Wow... you are getting great output. I'm curious how close you are to the equator as you are getting GREAT heat output compared to other YouTubers. If you are in the northern half of the country and getting those results, I want to attribute it to the Thurmalox Solar Collector Coating you used. Can you tell us more about that stuff?