@zsnowshredder First you have done a fantastic job building your heater. Excellent craftsmanship.
Constructive criticism alert;
The goal when building is not simply to measure a high temp out the exhaust port, but to measure a high temp when moving 300-900cfm of air through the box. If you can run 800-900cfm and the air is warmer then 85 degrees, IMO your design is fantastically successful.
To compare your design with others there are other factors, but raw CFM is a good start.
I think using firebrick just behind the cans and covering the entire rear portion would tend to hold heat a while after the sun fades. What do you folks think?
@007westleysadler The problem with that idea is that the bricks would soak up heat when the unit is first exposed to light for about the same time as it would give heat back after the sun went down. The net result would be zero sum.
should have included before and after (in use) to show it's capacity.. are fins worth the trouble? The hold should be enough to slow down the air...which was proven by richallenmusic, the king of pop can heater presentations!
outstanding!! i just love these types of projects!! kudos to you sir, kudos! :D
Thinking out load for a sec... if you joined three of the columns together, two one end and two on the other (kinda like a big snake:) you could trap the air for longer and heat it more..
Wouldn't smaller holes in intervals provide the same effect as the fins? Plus it would give the air some momentum as it was pushed back into the house.?.?
@OldSkaterGuy You are trying to swirl the air to collect the heat off the inside of black cans, this way the air moves through quickly and grabs the most amount of heat. Google "Hungarian solar heater" for more info.
@zsnowshredder gotcha.. but don't you have a fan blowing the air through the cans? Would not the swirling motion of the fan not keep the air moving in a circular motion throughout the cans? If you pulling the air with a fan I could see the need for the swirls. But not pushing it through.
@OldSkaterGuy as i understand it, the fan blows air into a header tank, its the high pressure of the air in this chamber that drives the air through the cans, so any 'swirling' of the air by the fan is negated once the air is in the header..
A eazy way to go green is to use sliding glass doors that are often free road side or on craigslist, a set will be the same size, and if you get lucky the extursions can be used as a frame, or just buy patio beam extursion, look at a half peice, and it,s perfect for a frame to hold the glass and insulation. this gives a 4x8 collector with tempered glass, that can be hung or set at angel. now if you could remove the air from the box, all the better.
I think you could do with out cutting vanes in the can. Simply cutting a smaller hole in the bottom would make a baffle style centrifuge. It would force the air to rotate like a smoke ring and the cooler denser air would collect in the smoke ring torrid wave etc. each can would be another stage in the process and progressively filter out the cooler air. At least I've seen liquid systems operate like that...
@zsnowshredder G-day. That's brilliant. I like the lid-becomes-helical-flowguide/additional-Heat-exchange-surface... Elegant, & multifunctional.! To collect your reward in the Gift Economy; search 'sunfoil', for a suite of interlocking clips. The "Short-Talk(Update) is best entrypoint. To see NASA listed below a Hillbilly, search 'solar thermal ramjet'.! 'Twas a 5th-order design-priority, but irresistable. Open Source, enjoy. Ciao !
Why do you need heat on a cold sunny day????????????I don't even know how to answer that. If there is no sun, you turn on your regular heater. Watch videos 2 & 3 and learn grass hopper.
A question to anyone knowledgeable enough...I understand the "fins" to create a restriction for heat to build. and to create the swirl effect ..but do you really need to fin every can????
It seem to me you could have the bottom half of the cans wide open at both ends, and than have every other can on the top half have small restriction with (or without) the fins and still get the efficiency and heat desired.............Any thoughts????Pinheads need not respond............
Did the insulation melt see u use sterofon,,, sucks when heated it melts at low heat.Solar panels really gets hot. Id like rock-whole ore stone-fiber sort... But its nice work on the rest...
What about instead of using a Plexiglas cover you used a Fresnel lens from an old-style big-screen rear projection TV? It would amplify the sunlight going in and increase the heat.
@RoguePlanet That is a good idea at first examination. The issue is you are not really increasing the amount of collected sun since the Fresnel would be the same size as the box. Think of it this way, the Fresnel is a focuser of energy. 15 square feet of sun hitting the Fresnel is the same 15 square feet hitting the plexi-glass. Does that make sense?
With regard to the airflow. The blower in a central heating system runs for about 15 - 30 minutes at a time and blows air across a heat exchanger that is over 500 degrees F. The solar heater provides continuous airflow at lower volume and temperatures.
@itbarthur4u Me thinks you may need to have you central system looked at if it is running for up to 30 minutes at a time!!!! Probably something as simple as adjusting the anticipater in the thermostat but could be something worse. My central runs about 3 minutes and is off for 13-15 minutes when I have it going. Sorry for the hijack!
You're right dude!!! The same happened to me,.. I'm getting close to cirrhosis, but she'll be apples. Seriously I made a smaller version of the panel (56 cans= 1 week ongoing drinking) and haven't worked very well,.. 30ºC input, the panel reaches 72º and the output no more than 52ºC. I'll get rid of the cans and use steel sheet and chips,...
@zsnowshredder - Yea, I drink Keystone Light. I don't make solar heaters out of them but I could have supplied quite a few homes with enough cans to do many projects. I just sell them when empty. At this time it is $15.79 for a 30 pack. Beer is good & I would know. - I got a real kick out of you saying soda cans do not work as well, they must be beer cans. I bet you told your wife that so she would go along. lol - Sorry I don't care about the going green thing but I sure do like me some beer.
Hello, the only concern I see with this design is the header and footer being made out of wood. If this design gets upward of 200 degrees would it not cook the wood, and possibly catch on fire? I myself am going to try and tackle one out of sheet metal, maybe insulated like most others, but the guts will be sheet.
@Dante95240 Ignition and combustion of wood is mainly based on the pyrolysis (i.e. thermal decomposition) of cellulose and the reactions of pyrolysis products with each other and with gases in the air, mainly oxygen. When temperature increases, cellulose starts to pyrolyse. The decomposition products either remain inside the material or are released as gases. That's about 450 degrees
@zsnowshredder - That was way too many big words & other complicated stuff for me. I would have just told him that the wood has to get upward of 425 degrees to even start to catch on fire in most cases. Your way sounds much more authoritative & researched but my way fits guys that love beer, like me. Sorry I threw in that big word in there (authoritative) but it just happened. I don't where it comes from sometimes, they just slip out. - - Hope your project is going well. Mine is.
@tockys1 I was woundering why it wasn't working on cloudy days, I thought the thing was broken. Just kiddin....Lower fan speed & lower temps, but still gives a little heat.
@zsnowshredder use a small solar panel to drive the fan - so when there is less sun, the fan sloes down - use 12v computer fans and a 12 'battery trickle charger' solar panel off ebay - job done.
@ChuffChuffWoo Ummmm, I did use a solar fan, watch part 2 & 3. 12v computer fans do not move enough air to heat a building. Think of a central heating system for any house, it would never work using a computer fan. You need AIRFLOW!
Keystone just got a bump up in the Going Green movement.... More like Go Drunk to me, knowing that you'll never pay again for heat.... shout out to the sun, keep doing what you do kiddo'
@zsnowshredder Anyway you can list the name of the products you used like the sticky foil under the cans etc, where did you find the aluminum sheets or any idea in hindsight on what would have worked better or similar for some of the main components. I really want to build one and have procured 2 large sliding glass panels i intend on using as my first attempt but any details on actual materials as far as where they can be obtained etc sure would help. Thanks
@souleeze All at home depot except the dryer vents (ACE). You will need insulation. If you can find the foil backed stuff it's better and you won't have to line it with the heating/ AC foil. You will needseveral sealants/ caulks.....PL300 foambord adhesive(glue insulation to inside of box)...DAP Dynalex 230(seal leaks)... Surebond SB-1800(glue cans together) Watch videos 2&3 for more info.
@zsnowshredder what is the name i would look up for the one way air flow valve to stop cold air from coming in (it only allows air flow one way so it can draw in cold air only) ? I cannot seem to find one anywhere so i assume I'm looking up the wrong name. Thanks, you advice is great and i appreciate it.
@souleeze Where is the cold air coming from? It's a sealed ...insulated... closed loop system, no outside air ever enters the building. You may have about the same energy loss from a window.
@zsnowshredder cold air will be the cooler air in the living space that's is drawn in and circulated through the cans and back into the living space. I just cant find the little plastic valve, check valve or whatever its called that only allows air to go one way so at night i get no cold air coming back in. I just realized the top outlet will have the same problem so how do you get around cold air coming in at night?
@zsnowshredder yeah i guess that would work..better if i can find the solid one and not louvers i think..maybe that is what they are using i seen it somewhere on a video.
do you have it hooked up to a thermostat i am almost done with my box but im stuck on the thermostat wiring i trying to hook up a thermostat to turn on my fan
Is it an air heater? I thought it was a water heater when i clicked on it. Does it store heat energy for use in the night time or is it cold during the day there? What if you ran copper pipes through it would it heat both air and water? How does it respond to seasons? WoW I have a lot of questions now, lol Is there a valve so that it only pumps and doesn't draw heat when it's cold outside ? I am SO building one of these.
i have seen a few ppl try to get a "swirling action" from the fins. i have not found out y that is a good thing yet. hope i dont sound mean or like anyone is wrong i would just like to know y and hopefully give a different opinion on these solar can things. is the swirling something you came up with or did you see it/ learn it from someone else?
i have seen a few ppl try to get a "swirling action" from the fins. i have not found out y that is a good thing yet. hope i dont sound mean or like anyone is wrong i would just like to know y and hopefully give a different opinion on these solar can things. is the swirling something you came up with or did you see it/ learn it from someone else?
@skipjagger I think the swirling action that he is touting is created by the fans is to direct the vertical velocity of the expanding gases slightly horizontal that way it swirls, and gives up a part of its vertical velocity in exchange for some horizontal velocity. That and the fans may act as a tiny air brake against the rising gas.
@skipjagger It's the Bernoulli principle which states that a velocity increase will cause the pressure and temperature to decrease (and vice versa). So by creating the fins so as to act like stator blades on a turbine (which is why I know about this, lol) it redirects the air flow which drops the velocity and creates a greater temperature.
@psynthpriest Translation: The fins make the air inside the tubes move slower so it can get hotter and make a good heater. lol Well said. Turbines are cool.
aaaaand i just watched part 2 and 3 your actually the guy i found out that they had solar fans from lol so thank you!!! im building a panel right now just a little test one im gonna put on a back room in my house. its120 cans much smaller than yours. and al i have to say after cutting and twisting all thoes fins is im glad im done!! god that took way longer than i had thought.(i cut mine and twisted them strait up and down only for more surface aria not for swirilg of air)
when i say cooler you keep the box. i mean only coller because the temperature of the air in the cans will be cooler. look at it from the box temperature point of view not the temperature of the air leaving the top of the box. i dont know how much more efficient it will get buy doing this i couldnt even guess. but if you add a solar powered eletric fan or 2 i feel like it would benifit your average room temperature a noticable amount.
when i say cooler you keep the box. i mean only coller because the temperature of the air in the cans will be cooler. look at it from the box temperature point of view not the temperature of the air leaving the top of the box. i dont know how much more efficient it will get buy doing this i couldnt even guess. but if you add a solar powered eletric fan or 2 i feel like it would benifit your average room temperature a noticable amount.
lets say you leve the box in the sun to keep heating up and up and never run cool air through. it would eventually reach a maximum temperature no mater how long you left it in the sun(obviously if the sun stayed in the saim point in the sky with no cloud cover) it wouldnt get any hotter. so it wouldnt absorb any more heat energy from the sun so your kinda loosing out on energy. so the cooler you keep the box (by running air inside the cans) the more heat energy will be pumped into the house.
lets say you leve the box in the sun to keep heating up and up and never run cool air through. it would eventually reach a maximum temperature no mater how long you left it in the sun(obviously if the sun stayed in the saim point in the sky with no cloud cover) it wouldnt get any hotter. so it wouldnt absorb any more heat energy from the sun so your kinda loosing out on energy. so the cooler you keep the box (by running air inside the cans) the more heat energy will be pumped into the house.
im not sure but i dont hink you want to slow the air down. i think you want it to go through as fast as it can (to an extent) to cause a greater "temperature differential" like if there is cooler air running through it the panel will be "running" at a cooler temperature aka more heat energy will have been transfered into the air. so the air coming out of the box will be at a lower temperature but there will be a larger volume of air. im kinda guessing here so please dont quote me. next post
im not sure but i dont hink you want to slow the air down. i think you want it to go through as fast as it can (to an extent) to cause a greater "temperature differential" like if there is cooler air running through it the panel will be "running" at a cooler temperature aka more heat energy will have been transfered into the air. so the air coming out of the box will be at a lower temperature but there will be a larger volume of air. im kinda guessing here so please dont quote me. next post
im not sure but i dont hink you want to slow the air down. i think you want it to go through as fast as it can (to an extent) to cause a greater "temperature differential" like if there is cooler air running through it the panel will be "running" at a cooler temperature aka more heat energy will have been transfered into the air. so the air coming out of the box will be at a lower temperature but there will be a larger volume of air. im kinda guessing here so please dont quote me. next post
wondering about the total height of your header? I built mine yesterday , (from 2" X 6"),and made my header only 6" high at the bottom & top, then insulated with 3/4" on both top & bottom of inside the header, leaving me just 4.5" high X 36" wide X (4.75" deep), now Im worried this is too small??? Any thoughts??? Figure Id best modify now prior to sealing the glass to the unit if needed.
@vpbubbies The header size is OK, I think your box may be to small, but it's agreat experiment! If you can blow 100-200 CFM through your box before you mount it and get over 120-130 it would be a great heater. Watch videos 2 and 3 to learn from my mistakes
wondering how you joined your cans, using "regular silicone" wouldnt work for "heat" causes regular silicone to remain very soft & fall apart. I went to 6 stores (big box) but couldnt find any "heat sealant"" , Im also affraid of "OFF GASSING" from certain chemicals in different sealants. Any suggestions???
@ShiftingGlobe Solar panels are made of toxic materials as well. Beer cans are toxic when you heat them up?? I know warm beer is toxic, it tastes terrible.
Looks like you did a nice job. I am collecting parts for my first build. I was just curious about the basic dimensions of your box. Width, Length, num of rows, number of cans in a column. Thanks,
Box is 4' x 7' because that's the biggest piece of plywood that will fit in my SUV. You don't need to have an exact size. Build your box, decide where your headers will go and then build your heating tubes to the correct legth. Watch videos 2 & 3
This is cool...however it only works during the day. At night, you are using your conventional heater. I'm thinking about getting one of those outdoor heatmachines since I have more wood for an entire lifetime.
I have filters on my unit and draw air from outside instead of circulating room air & if you ask about health etc, the air is clean & fresh, as opposed to stale air in your house. Do I fell any different after 1 year.. yes..lol
Almost forgot it has been snowing like mad here the last few weeks but I had the foresight to raise the unit a few feet off the roof. It been cold here average below freezing. The first few days after install I had to change the angle to the sun because my temps were over 216 F when it got up to 40 F outside, seemed a little hot. So I went out and by loosening wingnuts I can swivel it. I tilted it up just a hair more now I average 180 to 190 F coming out. Outside temps averaging 20 to 25 F.
I use a sunrise 1050 solar powered fan to circulate the air. The air intake and outlet are expandable dryer venting inside some 8 inch Sonotube with insulating foam surrounding the dryer vent inside so the R factor on those in and outtake tubes is high. You have to use non-expanding foam spray by the way I found out lol. It has only been running for about 1 and a half weeks and I have some things to add like an automatic thermal switch if it get too cold or hot which will be easy.
some older aluminum double paned windows that were removed from a house by a contractor friend. They are square 3 ft x 3 ft. Yeah strange I know. But beggars can't be choosers. I stripped the outer framing and used the sealed glass. That means every three feet there is a aluminum strip that I sealed with high temp caulking. Instead of one long piece of acrylic sheet. I think the double paned glass with retain more heat in the unit anyway.
I'm just using it on my shop, which has no heat. If it's 30 degrees outside, it's about 55-60 in my shop. The heater will def lower your heating bill.
An easy fix for this particular unit would be to make a wooden air tight manifold of sorts built into the end boxes in order that the air will travel only into the first tube then to each consecutively back and forth to each tube, until the last tube then into the workshop. The key is you are essentially making each single tube into one long tube so that the air will pass through all tubes in order to reach the vent exit. This should result in the air growing steadily warmer until it exits.
I've been wondering the same thing. It seems that all of the "pop can" style solar heaters I've seen are built in a way that air isn't traveling evenly through all of the tubes. I've been wondering if you could achieve higher temps by running the tubes in a series from one side to the other like you're talking about, so that the air travels through every tube. It would be more work to build one this way, but would be worth the time if it was more efficient.
Believe it or not the thermodynamic principles are very similar to the mechanical principle of a car jack when you see the equations on paper. Think of it this way. You can try and lift a car in one big lever push which would require a large lever. Or you can jack it up in small increments. Same with raising the temperature of air, you can pass it all at once from one end to the other in one big push or you can circulate it through all the tubes and raise the air temp in each in small increments
With the smaller increments you get a greater efficiency for the work load. In a system as large as the one in this video I wouldn't be surprised if by doing it that way if you wouldn't increase the efficiency by a significant factor. Wouldn't be that hard to alter this solar heater either the way it is well put together. All you would need to do is encapsulate tubes 1 and 2 together at the top then tubes 2 and 3 at the bottom then 3 and 4 at the top and so on. Should make one long tube.
If I was to build one like we are talking about with the tubes all connected, what effect would that have on the temperature inside the box? I would be getting hotter air out of the box, so the box would cool off faster right? I'm looking to build one of these soon and I want mine to be as efficient as possible. Also, what are your thoughts on cutting the fins in the bottom of the cans as opposed to drilling three holes in the bottom of the cans in a triangle shape? I've seen them done both ways
Remember, the more heat you have coming out the vents, think of how much your losing out the glazing, think efficiency not heat. The idea of the fins is ti make a vortex in the air to help it gather (scrub) the heat off the cans in the collector. This works the same way with flat plate back-pass colectors with disrupters in the airflow path.
I have completed a unit since I posted that months ago. Due to the fact that my house only gets sun on the roof because of nearby trees I built one that goes on the roof. Also to keep the roof intact I used the two useless attic vents that were up there to pip the air into and out of the unit, so I didn't have to tear up any roof shingles. My unit is about 3 ft wide X 30 ft long. This is because I got hold of some
You can use a set up to determine the air flow per tube by using a hand held anemometer to check each tubes air flow before you cap off the manifold on one end. To balance the air flow through all tubes you may have to partially block some of the tubes.
A good rule of thumb for any active solar air heater is not to let the air path be over 20 ft. for the collector to be most effective. and believe it or not the more air you move through a collector at a lower temp. makes the collector more efficient. Say you have two collectors running at 100* one is moving 70cfm/min the other is moving 90cfm/min. Which collector do you think is the more efficient one ?
The air intake into the solar heater enters the first tube. Then travels to the other end where the air is channeled into the next tube where it travels to the opposite end and so on until the air passes consecutively into each tube grabbing as much heat as the air can then exiting through the last tube to the solar heater exit to the house/workshop. This was the air is heated to maximum by flowing through each tube and being warmed more in each consecutive tube. You may get better results.
Very nice neat engineering. Here is a potential design flaw. At the beginning of the video you can see that each tube empties into the end boxes. This allows air pumped into the end box to pass through the tubes to the other end heating the air. The air will not pass through each tube evenly. It will depend on how close to the source each tube is how much air passes through each tube.
What you need to do instead of having all tubes come into open headers is to make it so that CONT>>
Nice work! - I'm building one of these, but not sure how worthwhile it is making all those fins. 250 cans X 15 cuts each equals A LOT of snipping. Has anyone done a side-by-by side comparison to prove that the fins actually work??
I'm not sure either, but if you google "hungarian solar heater" you can get alot of info the research that has been done on fins. They are gluing little fins in between every can....Now thats ALOT of work. I just sat in front of the TV for a couple nights cutting cans, was pretty easy.
I guess you mean the holes in the header? I just laid the cans in the box and lined it up with the header. Look in the begining part of the video, you can see where I marked the wood with a Sharpie.
This heater seams great. My question is how do you keep them from overheating in the summer? Is there any other way to use there heat in the summer? Thanks
ive seen a couple of these but never seen the cuts in the top of the cans is that done with every can or the top of each stack? some have said use sand in the cans that would slow the the air current down also right? and keep the heat longer 5*****
The fins seemed to work well, I did the fins on every can (you want the air to start swirling slowly as soon as it enters the row of cans) and I'm very pleased with the high temps it produces. I have never heard of the sand trick.
Aluminum gives off it's heat very easy to the surrounding air, way much better then any other affordable metal. That is why these heaters work so well. Normally you would have to pay a lot of money to get a usable material like the soda cans. I finally realize myself that it is well worth the investment to build a solar heater, and I started to collect soda cans already.
...wow,,,cool, I meat HOT
paulpellicci 1 week ago
did you drink a few of the cans while building this?
muh1h1 1 week ago
Cansolair in Canada?
TheBerserker50 1 week ago
This is for water or just air? For house heating, with warmer air?
TheDuzda 1 month ago
that had to be alot of work to do each can with the swirl and cut out on it.
onebigkahuna69 1 month ago
Do they all have to be regular size or can small (like Sprite minis)ones be used.
newwoman1124 2 months ago
@zsnowshredder First you have done a fantastic job building your heater. Excellent craftsmanship.
Constructive criticism alert;
The goal when building is not simply to measure a high temp out the exhaust port, but to measure a high temp when moving 300-900cfm of air through the box. If you can run 800-900cfm and the air is warmer then 85 degrees, IMO your design is fantastically successful.
To compare your design with others there are other factors, but raw CFM is a good start.
alueshen 2 months ago
I think using firebrick just behind the cans and covering the entire rear portion would tend to hold heat a while after the sun fades. What do you folks think?
007westleysadler 2 months ago
@007westleysadler The problem with that idea is that the bricks would soak up heat when the unit is first exposed to light for about the same time as it would give heat back after the sun went down. The net result would be zero sum.
alueshen 2 months ago
should have included before and after (in use) to show it's capacity.. are fins worth the trouble? The hold should be enough to slow down the air...which was proven by richallenmusic, the king of pop can heater presentations!
ibringthereals 2 months ago
How many BTU are you getting with it on a full sunny day?
ScalerWave 3 months ago
Thats awesome I am getting so frustrated with the rising cost of heating and have been looking for alternatives thank you
rollershutterrepairs 3 months ago
outstanding!! i just love these types of projects!! kudos to you sir, kudos! :D
Thinking out load for a sec... if you joined three of the columns together, two one end and two on the other (kinda like a big snake:) you could trap the air for longer and heat it more..
frackcha 3 months ago
175 degrees is in farenhait ?
what temperature was outside when you did a test?
best regards :)
vatrenikrug 4 months ago
Will it work with thermo glass (double glaze), or will it just get too hot and burn?
madjamfree 5 months ago
Wouldn't smaller holes in intervals provide the same effect as the fins? Plus it would give the air some momentum as it was pushed back into the house.?.?
OldSkaterGuy 5 months ago
@OldSkaterGuy You are trying to swirl the air to collect the heat off the inside of black cans, this way the air moves through quickly and grabs the most amount of heat. Google "Hungarian solar heater" for more info.
zsnowshredder 5 months ago
@zsnowshredder gotcha.. but don't you have a fan blowing the air through the cans? Would not the swirling motion of the fan not keep the air moving in a circular motion throughout the cans? If you pulling the air with a fan I could see the need for the swirls. But not pushing it through.
OldSkaterGuy 5 months ago
@OldSkaterGuy as i understand it, the fan blows air into a header tank, its the high pressure of the air in this chamber that drives the air through the cans, so any 'swirling' of the air by the fan is negated once the air is in the header..
frackcha 3 months ago
@OldSkaterGuy To have a better heat transfer you need a turbulent flow.
CROSSiDARKAT 1 month ago
@CROSSiDARKAT that makes perfect sense. thanks
OldSkaterGuy 1 month ago
A eazy way to go green is to use sliding glass doors that are often free road side or on craigslist, a set will be the same size, and if you get lucky the extursions can be used as a frame, or just buy patio beam extursion, look at a half peice, and it,s perfect for a frame to hold the glass and insulation. this gives a 4x8 collector with tempered glass, that can be hung or set at angel. now if you could remove the air from the box, all the better.
advthinker 6 months ago
I think you could do with out cutting vanes in the can. Simply cutting a smaller hole in the bottom would make a baffle style centrifuge. It would force the air to rotate like a smoke ring and the cooler denser air would collect in the smoke ring torrid wave etc. each can would be another stage in the process and progressively filter out the cooler air. At least I've seen liquid systems operate like that...
unambitious 6 months ago
@zsnowshredder G-day. That's brilliant. I like the lid-becomes-helical-flowguide/additional-Heat-exchange-surface... Elegant, & multifunctional.! To collect your reward in the Gift Economy; search 'sunfoil', for a suite of interlocking clips. The "Short-Talk(Update) is best entrypoint. To see NASA listed below a Hillbilly, search 'solar thermal ramjet'.! 'Twas a 5th-order design-priority, but irresistable. Open Source, enjoy. Ciao !
WarblesOnALot 7 months ago
hi, how many cans tall are they and how big is the box your using? ty
charlie1957able 7 months ago 3
@charlie1957able It is 12 cans high, box is 4' x 7'
zsnowshredder 7 months ago
Parabéns! Obrigado por contribuir com o nosso planeta!
marcucos 6 months ago
@zsnowshredder hello sr. could you tell me what kind of fan normally you used?? tks from chile
geochoros 5 months ago
@geochoros CD Technology solar attic fan....google it
zsnowshredder 5 months ago
@zsnowshredder can i used i PC fan ?? could you send me techical data ?
regards
geochoros 5 months ago
how did you cut the holes into the bottom of the can? the "open" end
ewmegoolies 8 months ago
@ewmegoolies Hole saw drill bit and a drill, drill press would be better & easier.
zsnowshredder 8 months ago
what kind of glue did you use to glue the cans together?
1datesta 8 months ago
@1datesta Surebond SB-1800. Google it, Awsome stuff!
zsnowshredder 8 months ago
Why do you need heat on a cold sunny day????????????I don't even know how to answer that. If there is no sun, you turn on your regular heater. Watch videos 2 & 3 and learn grass hopper.
zsnowshredder 8 months ago
If the sun is out heating up the cans why do u need to warm your house. What happens if there is no sun and you want some heat
MrSheppard1980 8 months ago
Are both headers the same?
geezfools 9 months ago
@geezfools Yes
zsnowshredder 9 months ago
my quistion is, will this hold heat enough heat to last through a night?
dotcombatgames 10 months ago
A question to anyone knowledgeable enough...I understand the "fins" to create a restriction for heat to build. and to create the swirl effect ..but do you really need to fin every can????
It seem to me you could have the bottom half of the cans wide open at both ends, and than have every other can on the top half have small restriction with (or without) the fins and still get the efficiency and heat desired.............Any thoughts????Pinheads need not respond............
Djbentley31 10 months ago
Did the insulation melt see u use sterofon,,, sucks when heated it melts at low heat.Solar panels really gets hot. Id like rock-whole ore stone-fiber sort... But its nice work on the rest...
Ac powered fan ore a solar ?
GamelsmurfXXX 11 months ago
good choice keystone light cans are thicker
brianwurst1234 11 months ago
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1) Hold your breath.
2) Copy all of these steps.
3) Go to two other video.
4) Paste it in the comments.
If you can do all of this without breathing you're a good pot smoke
TheWTFccRADIO 1 year ago
What about instead of using a Plexiglas cover you used a Fresnel lens from an old-style big-screen rear projection TV? It would amplify the sunlight going in and increase the heat.
RoguePlanet 1 year ago
@RoguePlanet That is a good idea at first examination. The issue is you are not really increasing the amount of collected sun since the Fresnel would be the same size as the box. Think of it this way, the Fresnel is a focuser of energy. 15 square feet of sun hitting the Fresnel is the same 15 square feet hitting the plexi-glass. Does that make sense?
IdahoViewing 1 year ago
omg double insulated all the way through the whole box! so bright, so vivid!
Pimpmastahanhduece 1 year ago
With regard to the airflow. The blower in a central heating system runs for about 15 - 30 minutes at a time and blows air across a heat exchanger that is over 500 degrees F. The solar heater provides continuous airflow at lower volume and temperatures.
itbarthur4u 1 year ago
@itbarthur4u Me thinks you may need to have you central system looked at if it is running for up to 30 minutes at a time!!!! Probably something as simple as adjusting the anticipater in the thermostat but could be something worse. My central runs about 3 minutes and is off for 13-15 minutes when I have it going. Sorry for the hijack!
IdahoViewing 1 year ago
WOW!!! thats a lot of beer you need to drink to make this!
rahdzhillaxxx 1 year ago
@rahdzhillaxxx You can only use beer cans (Soda cans do not work as well) So I HAD to drink all that beer. We must make sacrafices to go green!
zsnowshredder 1 year ago 34
@zsnowshredder lol, no victory wothout sacrafice!
shaneeeeak 1 year ago
You're right dude!!! The same happened to me,.. I'm getting close to cirrhosis, but she'll be apples. Seriously I made a smaller version of the panel (56 cans= 1 week ongoing drinking) and haven't worked very well,.. 30ºC input, the panel reaches 72º and the output no more than 52ºC. I'll get rid of the cans and use steel sheet and chips,...
JMEBF 1 year ago
@zsnowshredder
Well of course. Each can needs to be personally and closely inspected in order to assure proper function.
Great work on all fronts
TheHanndave 10 months ago
@zsnowshredder - Yea, I drink Keystone Light. I don't make solar heaters out of them but I could have supplied quite a few homes with enough cans to do many projects. I just sell them when empty. At this time it is $15.79 for a 30 pack. Beer is good & I would know. - I got a real kick out of you saying soda cans do not work as well, they must be beer cans. I bet you told your wife that so she would go along. lol - Sorry I don't care about the going green thing but I sure do like me some beer.
specialks1953 10 months ago
@zsnowshredder Why do beer cans work better than soda cans?
rjc071 9 months ago
@rjc071 I was only kidding
zsnowshredder 9 months ago 2
how did he cut the bottoms @_@
social3ngin33rin 1 year ago
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nice build, basically a bootleg copy of Jim Meaneys invention. but good going all the same
DONNIMETROPOLIS313 1 year ago
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DONNIMETROPOLIS313 1 year ago
Beer can energy - terrific! (or in our house 'diet coke can power') ;-)
ChuffChuffWoo 1 year ago
Hello, the only concern I see with this design is the header and footer being made out of wood. If this design gets upward of 200 degrees would it not cook the wood, and possibly catch on fire? I myself am going to try and tackle one out of sheet metal, maybe insulated like most others, but the guts will be sheet.
Dante95240 1 year ago
@Dante95240 Ignition and combustion of wood is mainly based on the pyrolysis (i.e. thermal decomposition) of cellulose and the reactions of pyrolysis products with each other and with gases in the air, mainly oxygen. When temperature increases, cellulose starts to pyrolyse. The decomposition products either remain inside the material or are released as gases. That's about 450 degrees
zsnowshredder 1 year ago 3
@zsnowshredder - That was way too many big words & other complicated stuff for me. I would have just told him that the wood has to get upward of 425 degrees to even start to catch on fire in most cases. Your way sounds much more authoritative & researched but my way fits guys that love beer, like me. Sorry I threw in that big word in there (authoritative) but it just happened. I don't where it comes from sometimes, they just slip out. - - Hope your project is going well. Mine is.
specialks1953 10 months ago
@Dante95240 Probably not if the wood is painted with that black stuff???
davettalashley 1 year ago
What color of paint did you use. Flat black?
theknightsofparadise 1 year ago
@theknightsofparadise Flat Black high temp BBQ paint
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
Hello from France
Really excellent video and your work
Congratulations
But, the cans, are in iron or aluminum?
what is better for solar heater?
Thank you and good continuation
jeanlucvar 1 year ago
@jeanlucvar Aluminum !
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
@jeanlucvar Watch video 2, I say Aluminum right in the start of the video
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
I wounder what kind of a heat would be pushed out of this with a steel housing , fresnel lens and steel piping or thick aluminum piping.
defiythelie 1 year ago
when it's cloudy day what's happen?
tockys1 1 year ago
@tockys1 I was woundering why it wasn't working on cloudy days, I thought the thing was broken. Just kiddin....Lower fan speed & lower temps, but still gives a little heat.
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
@zsnowshredder use a small solar panel to drive the fan - so when there is less sun, the fan sloes down - use 12v computer fans and a 12 'battery trickle charger' solar panel off ebay - job done.
ChuffChuffWoo 1 year ago
@ChuffChuffWoo Ummmm, I did use a solar fan, watch part 2 & 3. 12v computer fans do not move enough air to heat a building. Think of a central heating system for any house, it would never work using a computer fan. You need AIRFLOW!
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
@zsnowshredder Use lots of them, I once did a project using 12 of these fans :-))
ChuffChuffWoo 1 year ago
Keystone just got a bump up in the Going Green movement.... More like Go Drunk to me, knowing that you'll never pay again for heat.... shout out to the sun, keep doing what you do kiddo'
combustible420 1 year ago
Did you do any calulations to determine the sizing of the unit?
Allen52172 1 year ago
nice job did it smell of beer ? ,p
nutterireland 1 year ago
@nutterireland No...but I did! Seriously, I soaked the cans for several days and then rinsed them in very hot water before I made the heating cores
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
@zsnowshredder Anyway you can list the name of the products you used like the sticky foil under the cans etc, where did you find the aluminum sheets or any idea in hindsight on what would have worked better or similar for some of the main components. I really want to build one and have procured 2 large sliding glass panels i intend on using as my first attempt but any details on actual materials as far as where they can be obtained etc sure would help. Thanks
souleeze 1 year ago
@souleeze All at home depot except the dryer vents (ACE). You will need insulation. If you can find the foil backed stuff it's better and you won't have to line it with the heating/ AC foil. You will needseveral sealants/ caulks.....PL300 foambord adhesive(glue insulation to inside of box)...DAP Dynalex 230(seal leaks)... Surebond SB-1800(glue cans together) Watch videos 2&3 for more info.
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
@zsnowshredder what is the name i would look up for the one way air flow valve to stop cold air from coming in (it only allows air flow one way so it can draw in cold air only) ? I cannot seem to find one anywhere so i assume I'm looking up the wrong name. Thanks, you advice is great and i appreciate it.
souleeze 1 year ago
@souleeze Where is the cold air coming from? It's a sealed ...insulated... closed loop system, no outside air ever enters the building. You may have about the same energy loss from a window.
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
@zsnowshredder cold air will be the cooler air in the living space that's is drawn in and circulated through the cans and back into the living space. I just cant find the little plastic valve, check valve or whatever its called that only allows air to go one way so at night i get no cold air coming back in. I just realized the top outlet will have the same problem so how do you get around cold air coming in at night?
souleeze 1 year ago
@souleeze How about a 4 inch outdoor dryer vent?
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
@zsnowshredder yeah i guess that would work..better if i can find the solid one and not louvers i think..maybe that is what they are using i seen it somewhere on a video.
souleeze 1 year ago
do you have it hooked up to a thermostat i am almost done with my box but im stuck on the thermostat wiring i trying to hook up a thermostat to turn on my fan
jjohn984able 1 year ago
@jjohn984able There is no thermostat, no electricity. When the sun hits it.... it turns on. The fan is solar powered, whatch videos 2 & 3
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
amazing
alicenami 1 year ago
Is it an air heater? I thought it was a water heater when i clicked on it. Does it store heat energy for use in the night time or is it cold during the day there? What if you ran copper pipes through it would it heat both air and water? How does it respond to seasons? WoW I have a lot of questions now, lol Is there a valve so that it only pumps and doesn't draw heat when it's cold outside ? I am SO building one of these.
derman077 1 year ago
@derman077
Whatch part 2 & 3 and it will answer most of your questions.
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
Like it very cool. Nice work too.
imikewillrockyou 1 year ago
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i have seen a few ppl try to get a "swirling action" from the fins. i have not found out y that is a good thing yet. hope i dont sound mean or like anyone is wrong i would just like to know y and hopefully give a different opinion on these solar can things. is the swirling something you came up with or did you see it/ learn it from someone else?
skipjagger 1 year ago
i have seen a few ppl try to get a "swirling action" from the fins. i have not found out y that is a good thing yet. hope i dont sound mean or like anyone is wrong i would just like to know y and hopefully give a different opinion on these solar can things. is the swirling something you came up with or did you see it/ learn it from someone else?
skipjagger 1 year ago
@skipjagger I think the swirling action that he is touting is created by the fans is to direct the vertical velocity of the expanding gases slightly horizontal that way it swirls, and gives up a part of its vertical velocity in exchange for some horizontal velocity. That and the fans may act as a tiny air brake against the rising gas.
xxwarsmithxx 1 year ago
@skipjagger It's the Bernoulli principle which states that a velocity increase will cause the pressure and temperature to decrease (and vice versa). So by creating the fins so as to act like stator blades on a turbine (which is why I know about this, lol) it redirects the air flow which drops the velocity and creates a greater temperature.
psynthpriest 1 year ago
@psynthpriest Translation: The fins make the air inside the tubes move slower so it can get hotter and make a good heater. lol Well said. Turbines are cool.
derman077 1 year ago
aaaaand i just watched part 2 and 3 your actually the guy i found out that they had solar fans from lol so thank you!!! im building a panel right now just a little test one im gonna put on a back room in my house. its120 cans much smaller than yours. and al i have to say after cutting and twisting all thoes fins is im glad im done!! god that took way longer than i had thought.(i cut mine and twisted them strait up and down only for more surface aria not for swirilg of air)
skipjagger 1 year ago
oops sorry about the double posts my computer is acting up i thought i hadn't posted it correctly
skipjagger 1 year ago
when i say cooler you keep the box. i mean only coller because the temperature of the air in the cans will be cooler. look at it from the box temperature point of view not the temperature of the air leaving the top of the box. i dont know how much more efficient it will get buy doing this i couldnt even guess. but if you add a solar powered eletric fan or 2 i feel like it would benifit your average room temperature a noticable amount.
skipjagger 1 year ago
when i say cooler you keep the box. i mean only coller because the temperature of the air in the cans will be cooler. look at it from the box temperature point of view not the temperature of the air leaving the top of the box. i dont know how much more efficient it will get buy doing this i couldnt even guess. but if you add a solar powered eletric fan or 2 i feel like it would benifit your average room temperature a noticable amount.
skipjagger 1 year ago
lets say you leve the box in the sun to keep heating up and up and never run cool air through. it would eventually reach a maximum temperature no mater how long you left it in the sun(obviously if the sun stayed in the saim point in the sky with no cloud cover) it wouldnt get any hotter. so it wouldnt absorb any more heat energy from the sun so your kinda loosing out on energy. so the cooler you keep the box (by running air inside the cans) the more heat energy will be pumped into the house.
skipjagger 1 year ago
lets say you leve the box in the sun to keep heating up and up and never run cool air through. it would eventually reach a maximum temperature no mater how long you left it in the sun(obviously if the sun stayed in the saim point in the sky with no cloud cover) it wouldnt get any hotter. so it wouldnt absorb any more heat energy from the sun so your kinda loosing out on energy. so the cooler you keep the box (by running air inside the cans) the more heat energy will be pumped into the house.
skipjagger 1 year ago
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im not sure but i dont hink you want to slow the air down. i think you want it to go through as fast as it can (to an extent) to cause a greater "temperature differential" like if there is cooler air running through it the panel will be "running" at a cooler temperature aka more heat energy will have been transfered into the air. so the air coming out of the box will be at a lower temperature but there will be a larger volume of air. im kinda guessing here so please dont quote me. next post
skipjagger 1 year ago
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im not sure but i dont hink you want to slow the air down. i think you want it to go through as fast as it can (to an extent) to cause a greater "temperature differential" like if there is cooler air running through it the panel will be "running" at a cooler temperature aka more heat energy will have been transfered into the air. so the air coming out of the box will be at a lower temperature but there will be a larger volume of air. im kinda guessing here so please dont quote me. next post
skipjagger 1 year ago
im not sure but i dont hink you want to slow the air down. i think you want it to go through as fast as it can (to an extent) to cause a greater "temperature differential" like if there is cooler air running through it the panel will be "running" at a cooler temperature aka more heat energy will have been transfered into the air. so the air coming out of the box will be at a lower temperature but there will be a larger volume of air. im kinda guessing here so please dont quote me. next post
skipjagger 1 year ago
wondering about the total height of your header? I built mine yesterday , (from 2" X 6"),and made my header only 6" high at the bottom & top, then insulated with 3/4" on both top & bottom of inside the header, leaving me just 4.5" high X 36" wide X (4.75" deep), now Im worried this is too small??? Any thoughts??? Figure Id best modify now prior to sealing the glass to the unit if needed.
vpbubbies 1 year ago
@vpbubbies The header size is OK, I think your box may be to small, but it's agreat experiment! If you can blow 100-200 CFM through your box before you mount it and get over 120-130 it would be a great heater. Watch videos 2 and 3 to learn from my mistakes
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
wondering how you joined your cans, using "regular silicone" wouldnt work for "heat" causes regular silicone to remain very soft & fall apart. I went to 6 stores (big box) but couldnt find any "heat sealant"" , Im also affraid of "OFF GASSING" from certain chemicals in different sealants. Any suggestions???
vpbubbies 1 year ago
@vpbubbies I used surebond SB1800
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
Great design, however, your choice of materials are toxic when heated up. Pay attention here... Look forward to more video!
ShiftingGlobe 1 year ago
@ShiftingGlobe Solar panels are made of toxic materials as well. Beer cans are toxic when you heat them up?? I know warm beer is toxic, it tastes terrible.
Mabey I should have made it out of mud and rocks.
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
Good job!
Time for a ... ehm... beer? Now, where is my can? ;)
It might help (just a little bit) to also paint the INSIDES of the cans. You can also put some steel wool in there if the heat transfer is poor.
electrique527 1 year ago
why would it help to paint the insides of the cans.?
therealcedz 1 year ago
@electrique527 steel wool would prevent the air from cycloning which is needed for the heat of the cans to effieciently warm the cool air.
FixedByDoc 1 year ago
Looks like you did a nice job. I am collecting parts for my first build. I was just curious about the basic dimensions of your box. Width, Length, num of rows, number of cans in a column. Thanks,
Mark
markdrummond508 1 year ago
@markdrummond508
Box is 4' x 7' because that's the biggest piece of plywood that will fit in my SUV. You don't need to have an exact size. Build your box, decide where your headers will go and then build your heating tubes to the correct legth. Watch videos 2 & 3
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
cansolair in Canada makes these too. how efficient is yours compared to theirs?
bathetcnow 1 year ago
@bathetcnow No Clue
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
This is cool...however it only works during the day. At night, you are using your conventional heater. I'm thinking about getting one of those outdoor heatmachines since I have more wood for an entire lifetime.
younitehumanity 1 year ago
If i make this in small scale for a small room in my apartment - say, 50 cans or less - do you think it will work?
mike2011ca 1 year ago
The only way to know is build it, I was not sure if mine was gona work, I just built it.
See results in video 2 & 3.
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
Has your Styrofoam insulation melted yet? Your probably not using styrofoam, just looks like it in your video. Nicely done.
water4fuelh20 2 years ago
Not yet, I have 200 cubic feet per min blowing through the box, (see video 2&3)
Don't leave your box in the sun with out the fan running, I did melt a little silicon when I did that.
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
wouldnt the large metal objects make things colder like a heatsink?
438426x1 2 years ago
Spay paint a alum can flat black, put it under a glass jar with a oven therm inside. Now put it in the sun. You will answer your own question.
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
Dude...are you an Alcoholic? You drink a lot of Beer! LOL
younitehumanity 2 years ago 2
Soda cans will not work, only beer!
zsnowshredder 1 year ago
I think that thing is gonna catch on fire!!
urbanfirth 2 years ago
Has anyone thought about the health effects of heating the plastic liner that is inside of all aluminum soda cans? Has anyone removed it?
markdrummond508 2 years ago
I have filters on my unit and draw air from outside instead of circulating room air & if you ask about health etc, the air is clean & fresh, as opposed to stale air in your house. Do I fell any different after 1 year.. yes..lol
mostvideosolar 2 years ago
Almost forgot it has been snowing like mad here the last few weeks but I had the foresight to raise the unit a few feet off the roof. It been cold here average below freezing. The first few days after install I had to change the angle to the sun because my temps were over 216 F when it got up to 40 F outside, seemed a little hot. So I went out and by loosening wingnuts I can swivel it. I tilted it up just a hair more now I average 180 to 190 F coming out. Outside temps averaging 20 to 25 F.
Saromatae 2 years ago
I use a sunrise 1050 solar powered fan to circulate the air. The air intake and outlet are expandable dryer venting inside some 8 inch Sonotube with insulating foam surrounding the dryer vent inside so the R factor on those in and outtake tubes is high. You have to use non-expanding foam spray by the way I found out lol. It has only been running for about 1 and a half weeks and I have some things to add like an automatic thermal switch if it get too cold or hot which will be easy.
Saromatae 2 years ago
some older aluminum double paned windows that were removed from a house by a contractor friend. They are square 3 ft x 3 ft. Yeah strange I know. But beggars can't be choosers. I stripped the outer framing and used the sealed glass. That means every three feet there is a aluminum strip that I sealed with high temp caulking. Instead of one long piece of acrylic sheet. I think the double paned glass with retain more heat in the unit anyway.
Saromatae 2 years ago
hi im enjoying getting my beer cans emptied cant wait to try this project
emm876 2 years ago
Would you say this completely heats your house in the winter?
kidjr27 2 years ago
I'm just using it on my shop, which has no heat. If it's 30 degrees outside, it's about 55-60 in my shop. The heater will def lower your heating bill.
zsnowshredder 2 years ago
An easy fix for this particular unit would be to make a wooden air tight manifold of sorts built into the end boxes in order that the air will travel only into the first tube then to each consecutively back and forth to each tube, until the last tube then into the workshop. The key is you are essentially making each single tube into one long tube so that the air will pass through all tubes in order to reach the vent exit. This should result in the air growing steadily warmer until it exits.
Saromatae 2 years ago
I've been wondering the same thing. It seems that all of the "pop can" style solar heaters I've seen are built in a way that air isn't traveling evenly through all of the tubes. I've been wondering if you could achieve higher temps by running the tubes in a series from one side to the other like you're talking about, so that the air travels through every tube. It would be more work to build one this way, but would be worth the time if it was more efficient.
WeirdBeardMusic 2 years ago 2
Believe it or not the thermodynamic principles are very similar to the mechanical principle of a car jack when you see the equations on paper. Think of it this way. You can try and lift a car in one big lever push which would require a large lever. Or you can jack it up in small increments. Same with raising the temperature of air, you can pass it all at once from one end to the other in one big push or you can circulate it through all the tubes and raise the air temp in each in small increments
Saromatae 2 years ago
With the smaller increments you get a greater efficiency for the work load. In a system as large as the one in this video I wouldn't be surprised if by doing it that way if you wouldn't increase the efficiency by a significant factor. Wouldn't be that hard to alter this solar heater either the way it is well put together. All you would need to do is encapsulate tubes 1 and 2 together at the top then tubes 2 and 3 at the bottom then 3 and 4 at the top and so on. Should make one long tube.
Saromatae 2 years ago
If I was to build one like we are talking about with the tubes all connected, what effect would that have on the temperature inside the box? I would be getting hotter air out of the box, so the box would cool off faster right? I'm looking to build one of these soon and I want mine to be as efficient as possible. Also, what are your thoughts on cutting the fins in the bottom of the cans as opposed to drilling three holes in the bottom of the cans in a triangle shape? I've seen them done both ways
WeirdBeardMusic 2 years ago
Remember, the more heat you have coming out the vents, think of how much your losing out the glazing, think efficiency not heat. The idea of the fins is ti make a vortex in the air to help it gather (scrub) the heat off the cans in the collector. This works the same way with flat plate back-pass colectors with disrupters in the airflow path.
gregwest77 2 years ago
@gregwest77
I have completed a unit since I posted that months ago. Due to the fact that my house only gets sun on the roof because of nearby trees I built one that goes on the roof. Also to keep the roof intact I used the two useless attic vents that were up there to pip the air into and out of the unit, so I didn't have to tear up any roof shingles. My unit is about 3 ft wide X 30 ft long. This is because I got hold of some
CONTINUED...
Saromatae 2 years ago
You can use a set up to determine the air flow per tube by using a hand held anemometer to check each tubes air flow before you cap off the manifold on one end. To balance the air flow through all tubes you may have to partially block some of the tubes.
gregwest77 2 years ago
A good rule of thumb for any active solar air heater is not to let the air path be over 20 ft. for the collector to be most effective. and believe it or not the more air you move through a collector at a lower temp. makes the collector more efficient. Say you have two collectors running at 100* one is moving 70cfm/min the other is moving 90cfm/min. Which collector do you think is the more efficient one ?
gregwest77 2 years ago
The air intake into the solar heater enters the first tube. Then travels to the other end where the air is channeled into the next tube where it travels to the opposite end and so on until the air passes consecutively into each tube grabbing as much heat as the air can then exiting through the last tube to the solar heater exit to the house/workshop. This was the air is heated to maximum by flowing through each tube and being warmed more in each consecutive tube. You may get better results.
Saromatae 2 years ago
Very nice neat engineering. Here is a potential design flaw. At the beginning of the video you can see that each tube empties into the end boxes. This allows air pumped into the end box to pass through the tubes to the other end heating the air. The air will not pass through each tube evenly. It will depend on how close to the source each tube is how much air passes through each tube.
What you need to do instead of having all tubes come into open headers is to make it so that CONT>>
Saromatae 2 years ago
Nice work! - I'm building one of these, but not sure how worthwhile it is making all those fins. 250 cans X 15 cuts each equals A LOT of snipping. Has anyone done a side-by-by side comparison to prove that the fins actually work??
777strongcoffee 2 years ago
I'm not sure either, but if you google "hungarian solar heater" you can get alot of info the research that has been done on fins. They are gluing little fins in between every can....Now thats ALOT of work. I just sat in front of the TV for a couple nights cutting cans, was pretty easy.
zsnowshredder 2 years ago
If I put one of these under the earth can't I make coold air run in my house?
ReR0LL 2 years ago
@ ReR0LL
Yes.
Google Passive cooling cupboard
sinsarcasmo 2 years ago
could you pleas tell me the how far apart you drilled each hole for the ends of the cans to into
iamkaven 2 years ago
I guess you mean the holes in the header? I just laid the cans in the box and lined it up with the header. Look in the begining part of the video, you can see where I marked the wood with a Sharpie.
zsnowshredder 2 years ago
This is awesome!
PsyFliChic 2 years ago 2
This heater seams great. My question is how do you keep them from overheating in the summer? Is there any other way to use there heat in the summer? Thanks
Den0Q 2 years ago
The unit does not get as hot during the summer because of the position of the sun.
zsnowshredder 2 years ago
Or just put a cover on it :)
AlcoholLevel 2 years ago
Question,
Did you sand blast the cans before painting? What kind of paint did you use?
Thanks! 5 *****
pgm98387 2 years ago
I did not sand blast the cans. Just 2 coats of high temp BBQ flat black paint.
zsnowshredder 2 years ago
how do you cut the bottoms out of the cans so neatly? thanks
wrightylaaad 2 years ago
Circular hole drill bit. Get them at any hardware store.
zsnowshredder 2 years ago
ive seen a couple of these but never seen the cuts in the top of the cans is that done with every can or the top of each stack? some have said use sand in the cans that would slow the the air current down also right? and keep the heat longer 5*****
patnhat 2 years ago
The fins seemed to work well, I did the fins on every can (you want the air to start swirling slowly as soon as it enters the row of cans) and I'm very pleased with the high temps it produces. I have never heard of the sand trick.
zsnowshredder 2 years ago
Great thanks for making the Vid - Cant wait until the next one - So does it work - Does the glass have to be double glazed - What happens at night
Are Cans better than a metal plate of some heaters
Yours Jacob
jacobchigung 2 years ago
Click on my other videos for results of the test. It shuts down at night abnd is a sealed system, so no problem. I have only tested cans.
zsnowshredder 2 years ago
Aluminum gives off it's heat very easy to the surrounding air, way much better then any other affordable metal. That is why these heaters work so well. Normally you would have to pay a lot of money to get a usable material like the soda cans. I finally realize myself that it is well worth the investment to build a solar heater, and I started to collect soda cans already.
Greets, iT
insAneTunA 2 years ago
Beer cans work better (if your of legal drinking age)......at least that's what I told my wife.
zsnowshredder 2 years ago
hehehe no problem, I am going to get some tomorrow :-)
insAneTunA 2 years ago
Nice job zsnowshredder...
matrixm777 2 years ago
Great design, where did you find the original fin design?
Did you deliverately choose beer cans over soda cans?
Please update soon
Thanks
Glassblade1000 2 years ago
I came up with the fin design after I tried to cut the squares, make the little fins, and then glue them in place....WAY to much work!
Beer or Soda... both will work
Been doing alot of testing--Part 3 coming soon
zsnowshredder 2 years ago
I love the fin idea. I can cut the fins in minute and don't have to cut squares, bend them and glue in place. Great Idea. Is that yours?
bjetTube 2 years ago
I tried cutting the little fins and it was just too much work, so I came up with this design. So far its working great!
zsnowshredder 2 years ago
hey looking foward to finished panel,nice work sofar!
my2cents0 3 years ago