DIY Solar Heater

[crawldood]

I see people wonder about "snaking" the cans in the solar furnace.... Somethings I've learned in my air conditioning class are.... The more temp difference/the more loss there will be. A (calculated loss per ambient temperature vs. furnace temperature "heat moves to cold" and the amount of insulation in the heater will determine heat loss) You also need to know how many cfm (tons) your building requires (Manual J) :-) a small bathroom requires no less than 50 cfm :-) although..... Conventional

[bothecat1966]

well done, excellent.

[thegenrl]

how much was the glass and where did you find it?

[ramrod573]

@thegenrl The Plexiglass was 3/16 thck and was probably the most expensive part. I think a sheet was about 60 dollars. good luk with your project Ramrod

[000Winter000]

Ramrod573, do you have written step by step instructions for this? Possibly with pictures too?

[ramrod573]

@000Winter000 No step by step ins only pix are on utube. I used 4x8 sheet of plwoodfor back and made it fit to that. I have just put a small furnace fan on to get enoujgh heat out . It seems air flow is the biggest thing to work out so you can get the heat out . Today was warm 38degrees but panel was putting out 110 degree air into garage Pretty cool huh? Good Luk

[HorizSvcs]

Any do-it-yourself project is inspiring. But this is especially so. With winter around the corner, this video definitely gives some food for thought.

[ariana29x]

why did you not snake the air through all the cans (link all cans with tubing ) more time for air to travel and heat?? bottom to top

[bradkrit]

@ariana29x If he did that the cans would have heated up too much. The higher the temp of the cans and air, the more you are losing through insulation and the plexiglass. You want to get the heat out as quickly as possible to avoid losses, so a lower temperature, but higher flow rate is actually better. Remember its about air volume and temperature, not just temp.

[ariana29x]

@bradkrit well then insulate more and use a double glazed sheet instead of plexiglass. use a solar powered fan to drive the air. i still say snaking the cans (perhaps 50% of them) would create more heat . so what if you lose a bit through insulation , provided you are producing lots more.

[bradkrit]

@ariana29x Think of it as a system though, the only energy going IN is from the sun over that surface area painted black. Letting the air cycle through longer will get it hotter, but you will have slower flow so your total energy will be the same if you have good insulation like you talked about. I guess snaking some cans if you want very hot air would be good to heat water or something, so you can store the energy overnight? Also remember that snaking the cans will kill your natural convection

[ramrod573]

@ariana29x  I dont know exactly what you mean about tubing

[ariana29x]

@ramrod573 tubing as in..any kind of hose or something to link the cans. arrange them horizontally . the air goes across left to right and is then turned by a tube, then back right to left on the next level up. etc etc.

[SuperInventer]

Great Job, saw many vids, but your vid inspired me more to create heater... also heat can be converted to electricity and there are many ways to do so also. So i will work on both.

[qcages]

awesome! this is one of the most successful heater builds i've seen so far! I'm collecting cans to make a small prototype by this winter to see how it goes in my location.

[ramrod573]

@qcages Thanks Have fun building your heater and good luck

[qcages]

@ramrod573 Oh, one question about your build. How thick was the glass you used?

[ramrod573]

@qcages plexiglass was 5/16 i think

[onesojourner]

Can you comment on the 80 cfm fan? are you happy with the output?

[ramrod573]

@onesojourner I ended up going up to an old style furnace fan that had the pulleys and belt and got the rite pulley ratio to get the air movement I needed. I was havin trouble gettin the heat out so had to go a lot bigger on the fan good luk

[chburnett2]

I checked all the floor vents in my house and the hot air that comes out is about 130 degrees f. It seems to me that if you were to add a second intake and exhoust vent that you could double your air flow and the air temprature should still be high enough to keep you comfortable while the sun is shining. Give it some thought...

[mikegarde]

In addition to @problah question, how has it held up during the summer months? Do you/should you make something like this portable enough to move indoors?

[ramrod573]

@mikegarde Yes I move it indoors in summer.

A freind has made a cover to put over it though and says it works well.

[D3ltaStar]

That's the gayest thing I've ever seen.

[duaneafields]

@D3ltaStar Checked a look in the mirror lately?

[problah]

That's a really good idea! How well does the glue hold, and to what temp have you tested it to before failure?

Thanks!

[laithnour]

the only thing spoiling the video is that daft song that is playing in the background

[duaneafields]

@laithnour Daft also defined as... Scot. merry; playful; frolicsome. Fail

[abbscobutsna]

Do you have a step by step instruction available?

Or know where I can find some??

[900amm]

Top Marks ! Look great Greetings from a very snowy Scotland.

[2112andy]

thats awesome! what about for a vw bus??

[nordrecordsuk]

thats great, is it still going ?

[ramrod573]

Works good although it has been a cloudy winter so far

[jab0805]

Great video! Awesome results.

[marsL001]

love your box dude,....looks professional and neat

50 stars

[wiboater4]

when it's cloudy does the fan still kick in? Mine quits when the sun is weak.

[ramrod573]

I have a stat on mine that kicks in at 110 degrees and off at 90

[wiboater4]

I have the same snap disk, but seems like if there isn't direct sunlight it drops down in heat quite a bit. Mine usually stops running around 1:30 pm this time of year. I'm in Wisconsin.

[ramrod573]

Maybe you are moving too much air through your heater cooling it too much Im in S Dak.

[Bigjohnnywad]

Where would you buy the thermostat at?

[Bigjohnnywad]

Where did you buy the thermostat at? How much for it?

[JuniorSamplesUndead]

I was able to use a regular manual can opener to remove the tops and bottoms of my cans - Just another hint for DIYers out there. ( granted no turbo effect using this method)

[ramrod573]

Glad to hear that worked out for you, I might try it on another one I am doin. Have you seen the video about how they put the cans inside an aluminum downspout and not glue the cans that way. He replyed that he thought he got more heat and was easier to build. ????

[scarlejr]

Great Video! wow, 235 degrees! that's stunning! can't wait to make a larger one!

[Kntryhart]

Excellent video!

[viking1au]

Thanks for reply; that is a cold part of the world. Looks like a large barn to heat.

[wyattlisadana]

HAVE YOU HAD ANY CANS POP OUT?

[viking1au]

Looks cold out. Where are you located?

[supergokue1]

Looks nice, good job.

[carlosgaspar74]

did you experice foam melt down?

[wyattlisadana]

what type and thickness is your clear lense. this is truly the most efficient way to use the sun hands down. I'd love to see more from ya.

[centervilletn]

ive built mine from corrogated tin instead of cans...it was quicker...it pegs out around 185 degrees...set up flat on my wall...facing south....im going to build one like this one ...more details would be great ...a drawing would be even greater...

my advisers told me to put the pannel on a lattitude plus 15 degree slant for most effective heating..any thoughtS?

[ramrod573]

I saw you built one out of corragated tin. Did you build another one a different way ( tin cans)to see which would get you more heat?? Also do you think vertical angled towards sky makes much difference?? I plan to exkperiment on mine soon to see if I can tell much difference. tks

[wiboater4]

When there's snow on the ground I would think vertical would get the reflection off snow to get more heat.

[vlevesque2000]

I'm thinking of building one of these for my garage. Let's up know how it does maintaining the temp in the garage.

[richallenmusic]

GOOD HEAT THIS IS FUN STUFF LOOKS GOOD

[michael970]

great video stay warm maybe you can build more and heat your house I bet your already in the process