HOW I MADE A SOLAR POP CAN FURNACE / HEATER

[AMG7771]

the sad thing is that when you dont have sunlight you have no heat

[axt947]

How many CFM is the fan?

[starkilla21]

hi nice setup and i have a ? what is that box behind the your heater

[warrenlc57]

Thank you so much for your videos!

[stodd32]

hi I like your video. I was thinking if you made one about 4 times the size of the one you made and put it on a roof and went through your roof and tied it into the plentum of an existing furnace and only ran the fan on your furnace would that work.

[Reieuamdu]

ok...now lets make a pop-can air conditioner..

[candlesrb]

Lowe......

Electric heater on sale 29.95

[xoxoXoieoxox]

@candlesrb @1500 watts an hour ill use his system electricity ant cheep =3-

[LaWoman071]

Stainless steel pipes would work and be less toxic... would they be filled with vegetable oil?

[dirtTdude]

@LaWoman071 lady, warm air flowing through a pop can is not toxic, the melting temperature of aluminum is 600 fucking degrees... *sigh* aluminum absorbs heat and cold better than any other material on earth, stainless pipes would be completely inefective and one last thing... don't you think it would be inafecent to heat oil to heat air?

[LaWoman071]

I think this is awesome, but the aluminum cans are cancer causing ... and when heated worse.

The plastics aren't good either...

Redwood lasts longer also.

I love when you're doing tho... Let's find a better way to do this...

[dirtTdude]

@LaWoman071 aluminum cans don't cause cancer, that's ridiculous. if they caused cancer everybody in the world would be dead by now... 'redwood' or sequoia is an endangered species, if you insist on using cedar there are about 30 other varieties but a hardwood will retain heat better than a cedar because its a much more dense wood but most people would use plywood... wish i had more space to ridicule your plastics ignorance and it's capabilitys

[bradyrose]

@dirtTdude One in three people in the USA get cancer in their lifetime. Bisphenol A, found in the plastic that lines the insides of soda cans,does cause cancer, Not to mention the contents of soda itself.

[TheBerserker50]

@LaWoman071 go to Cansolair .. a CAnadian company that originated this process...

[Imachowderhead]

what does the fan run off of? electric?

[frog6418]

Great idea, but may I make a suggestion to make it work even better. Take some duct work from the cold air channel and put it at the top of the door and take a duct from the hot air port and run it to the very bottom of the door, this way you will more effeciantly heat your shop since hot air rises it will heat up all the air instead of just the top of the shop.

[taylordesignsllc]

I have a question, why do you need the cans at all? why couldn't you just spray paint an aluminum box the same size as your unit and just let the cubic feet of air in the box heat up? Do the tubes make the air heat up faster or something?

[texsun10]

@taylordesignsllc Using cans as duct work inside the box gives more surface area to heat. The more surface area you have for the air to come in contact with, the more heat it will gain. Also, this slows the velocity of the air down, which allows it to gain more heat.

[hammercore360]

Do you have a top and bottom open/close valve, to bring air in "heat" than bring hot air out . Or continuous????????

[watcherman65]

excellent video.... ....keep on sharing.....

[onablueplanet]

Great stuff but why does it need a fan?I would have thought it would just circulate the air by its self.

[THEMASTEROFYOU2000]

ok sold me Im gonna make one to see what it does this winter for my shop...wth

[richallenmusic]

@THEMASTEROFYOU2000 hi check out my downspout heater video works well if you get sun

[red2deer]

The 3 dislikes are from the heating oil company...LOL!!

[sheeplvl1]

My question is if you hook this device onto a thermo-exchanger, a device that act like the refrigirator, will you be able to get more cold air outta the thermo-exchanger?

[paulpellicci]

good work....

[ibringthereals]

Looks like maybe the hot air disrupts the cold air intake a little (because it points down). Another fella put a sheath on the hot air fan to make sure it circulates the air away from the low cold air uptake fan...

[pdbpsp1991]

liked this vid showed me a good project

[MrDhandley]

Nice video. Easy to understand too. Great work...very inspiring!

[TheLightNight1]

You could have just bought copper tubing.

[candigirl1970]

HOW DO U CONTROLL THE AMOUNT OF HEAT GOING IN2 THE HOME?WHAT ABOUT COLD AIR?

[Wh47n0w1517]

@candigirl1970

Open a window....lol =)-

[TheDemoclesSword]

sorry chap but it's not the temperature you should be measuring it is the kWh's generated by the outside collector. In winter in the northern hemisphere you would be lucky to get 100 Watts of heating per square metre of surface area. Your demo is a bit like measuring the temp of a soldering iron, yeah it's bloody hot but it won't heat a room.

[cramtoro]

thanks for sharing its great!!

[DavidSTLouisMo]

Rich I use 3 cans put 2 in freezer and cut top & bottom out of the thrird can completely leaving just a ring put it in boiling water it will then slide over the frist can from freezer then reheat the ring part and put the other can on it I start with the top of the can frist when putting on the ring then just keep your cans in freezer and rings in boiling water it is tricky I still run then seam of culk to seal it but it less culk less drying time and alot sturdier try it you will like it

[skittles1854]

God forbid you explain the physics how it works, let alone exactly what it is that your making. No wait it should be able to deduce that from your fragment sentence title.

[supermanlives8458]

@burtonlegand snaking would cause a lot of restriction of air flow. You could just lengthen the time air is heated by possibly using a second unit.

[burtonlegand]

i have an idea. im not sure if it would work well but its and idea. so obviously the sun heats the cans and brings warmer air in. now i was thinking for cooling if i made another set of cans in a case and buried it in the ground. then when it was summer, move the fan to push air through the buried cans to bring cooler air in. sorta like a geothermal for air. might not work well but its an idea, and very cheap. any thoughts?

[aofnyc]

How can I use this to heat up my cold water?

[mikeycbd]

truly amazing!

[101watever101]

cool! nice design!

[dotcombatgames]

does this increase your savings during the heating seasons?

[richallenmusic]

@dotcombatgames hi if i got sun in the winter im sure it would but the sun is behind the hills untill about the 1st of feb thats when mine starts to work it was 24 degrees out the other the heater cut on at 110 dergees and ran about 2 hours at temp of 95

[boleroinferno]

Would it work reasonably well to just put a sheet of black-painted aluminum against the window from the inside?

[richallenmusic]

@boleroinferno try it and see

[MrjackieG]

@boleroinferno The cans give a greater surface area to collect heat versus a flat sheet.

[lhn6856]

great answer,

[AOZXRAY]

@boleroinferno Yes. See Sunshine For Dollars

[solarcollective]

This is GREAT. I love the design. My favorite part was using the beer coosy for safer drilling. Have you tried using MONSTER energy drink cans? They are already black so that would cut out a step for you!

I might try something similar this summer. I'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks again for posting this!

[CommentsSurvey]

How can we do this to create electricity?

[TZMIndy]

That was excellent. Thanks for sharing that. I was wondering, also, what can one do for the night time to keep things warm? Would the primary suggestion be to use as much photovoltaic units as possible to charge a large series of batteries, and use an electric heater?

[EIBBOR2654]

I made one similar to this but larger so I could space the can rows apart about two inches and installed a mirror under them. The cans I painted flat black all around and used the foam insulation on the bottom and sides of the box. I used 10 stacked cans by 10 rows and this set up produced enough heat that it made my small home shop 95 degrees by noon. I live in an open area with no trees and it was a full sunny day with outside temp @ 35 the mirror helps to reflect heat to the back of cans

[richallenmusic]

@EIBBOR2654 cool do you have any pics or videos would love to see

[odenkiller]

i got a "?" .. instead of usen a glue base on the can couldnt you just use duc tape? and how would a 24Volt SOLAR BATTERY MAINTENANCE SYSTEM #735-150-24

would this be over kill or just right for it.. cause i was going too run mine threw a windo on a brace brackets .. cause my place faces the south.. and i dont want too mount it on my wall nor cut holes in the wall .. thanks for your time, or you can email me at dday0518@yahoo.com

[richallenmusic]

@odenkiller hi the duct tape might start to melt and make fumes watch my other vid on cheap easy heater i just put cans in the box it worked great good luck

[thetwistingroad]

@odenkiller If I'm not mistaken, the battery he used was a 12v 14 ah battery. If the system comes with a battery it will probably be alright, but check the voltage output for the devices you're using. If it doesn't come with any batteries, and you can't find a 24v battery. You can wire 2 12v 14 ah batteries in series ( the positive from one battery to the negative on the other, and you're device powered from the remaining terminals), you can achieve 24v 14ah's.

[uafffilms]

Brilliant! Thanks for posting these incredible videos....

[apunkfromatl]

HAs anybody built a combo solar heat system? Using the cans and maybe copper tubing to heat water and air in the same casing?

[richallenmusic]

@apunkfromatl i 've seen a vid on someone trying to do that but they are just getting started

[ianmf16]

How much psace should i make in between the cans and the glass?

[BigDaddyRun]

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

[my2cents0]

Hey Richallen,did you see your vid uploaded in some one else name(Duckworthcaliman6)or just search(solar heater)then look at most recent;They did my vid and ,shoestrings,ssiadio and others;

[TheShineybutt]

you, and most others have lined these cans up in parallel to each other, wouldnt there be a better heat gain if they were connected in series? or perhaps a dryer vent snaked around inside? im new to this, but am interested in heating my greenhouse with it. thanks for your imput. :)

[D0ct0rh4gg4rd]

Sorry, I dont understand why you would want this? If the sun was out and it's warm out, I dont get why you would need hot air indoors?

[richallenmusic]

@D0ct0rh4gg4rd hi its for the winter when its cold

[Mexis25]

@richallenmusic and only for daytime.

[IWILLSURVIVE2012]

@D0ct0rh4gg4rd It's obviously used for supplemental heating during the cold months. Ever think before you type?

[ziggymainer]

@D0ct0rh4gg4rd Two days ago it was a bright, sunny day.... and -5 F

[D0ct0rh4gg4rd]

@D0ct0rh4gg4rd Sorry man, I didnt think LOL.

I live in the UK 9/10 times if its sunny its warm here.

Ignorance is bliss sometimes.

[VictorSeedorsky]

what is in the cups..?? whater or what..?? i wonder how it works.. i'm hydraulic so wonder is there any way to make this working with central heating system..

[shartne]

what sizie is your hole saw for the wood part?

[ChuffChuffWoo]

@zsnowshredder use a small solar panel to drive the air flow 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.

[Kumite0071]

Looks like a great version of a beercan heater...Im in the process of getting off the grid completely, i've got a 2 wind turbines that are almost finished and im looking into a high efficiency solar system that i can build and install as "DIY" as possible...just wondering if you have any suggestions about the solar stuff...Thanks!



[etday05]

it would be awesome if you listed ALL of the material you used to build this thingy, becuase my class and i are trrying to build one but not sure where to start and what we need so please and thank you, and btw awesome video!

[jjohn984able]

what is the average temp on a box that small i made a box that has 241 cans and it pushes out about 185deg i was thinking about making a small box for my fish house

[ihaveaverybadcold]

is that just black paint or what?

[richallenmusic]

@ihaveaverybadcold just black high temp paint like for a grill you can get at lowes or wal mart 

[ihaveaverybadcold]

@richallenmusic awesome thx for the reply and thx for the videos

[aeroflying]

@richallenmusic

Thanks for the video. Would you be willing to make one for an orphan house in a third world country?

[iouman1]

Some one else did this  butt much after you and he was featured on the discovery channel I think he stoll your idea.

[Emulani]

sould be cool having an 18 or 25 cm Computer case fan instead of a fullpower motor to use for the heat transfer

mostly since its on 12 volts and doesnt require that much energy when used

[sagiliciousness]

This is great. How has it functioned when used? Like - is the draw slow enough to allow the air to heat up before entering the indoors sufficient to heat your place on its own on a sunny day? Or - what is the temp.difference in the box, outdoors and inside when the fan has been running for a while? Thanks!

[MvTCracker]

I used a cheap solar outdoor light and computer fan

[gwbonline]

Hi Rich, I hope you have the time to think with me on something. Constructing the box won't be a problem. But what if I don't want to make wholes in the wall to let the heat in and use only existing openings? Maybe you have a way to do this? O don't want to make new wholes when there is a change the box won't work...I love your work and creativity by the way. Keep on going with this!

[richallenmusic]

@gwbonline hi just use a window check out water4fuelh20 videos he did last winter good luck rich

[vchristov]

That is great and Ithank you for your efforts. Shall try to do sometning similar

[samljer]

Brilliant painting it black, first time ive seen it pained black that way.

Im sure that increases the heat alot more then leaving the cans as they are.

[FeralInnocent]

That corrugated plastic stuff is called "polycarbonate" and is not cheap.

[richallenmusic]

@FeralInnocent hi all the polycarbonate i got free from old signs on the side of the road there all over at election time  rich

[braidmeister]

@FeralInnocent - No it isn't. It is called Coroplast & it is polypropylene.

[shoges]

I saw something very similar on a handy man show but there were no cans or electrical components. It was simply a solar collecting box mounted to the side of a shed and allowed to move cool air in and warm air out passively. Vents were manually opened and closed I like the K.I.S.S. method better!

[spike2fei]

so for what do you use this can heater for and in what aplications can you use this

[dalecalder2003]

I'm useless when it comes to DIY but that is a fascinating system.

[Grigretro]

what do you use to cover the cans? is that glass?

[richallenmusic]

@Grigretro hi glass or plastic i have used both

[pervezak]

Use thermal mass inside the house so that heat can be absorbed by it during day time and slowly realeased after sunset.

[minh2817]

Gread video, I will build one for next winter,

Dose it heat up in night time?

Thank you

[richallenmusic]

@minh2817 no heat at night

[RussAimz]

That's really great! Well done, I enjoyed your commentry and know how, thankyou.

[Brnstrmr1]

Nice work,but i believe it more effective if you matched airflow through the unit with the port sizes. That is to say, if you need three can diameters to match the diameter of the inlet/outlet, then place 3 cans in parallel throughout the unit and have a channelling effect so that there are only 3 long channels flowing through the box from inlet to outlet. air is then being heated for a longer distance,absorbs more heat &there will be no restrictions in the air flow if the ports match the ducts

[NOCNOTCAUGHT]

Great job! Where are you located - what state? Far North or Far South? What latitude?

Thanks.

[richallenmusic]

west virginia

[0urGaia]

Think making solar heater out of aluminum cans is not such a good idea. Rays from sun reach us at different frequencies which aluminum doesn't absorb very well. I use to sit on steel plate in park during work breaks which was very hot even on cold cloudy days. So mine will be made of scavenged steel plates or pipes.

[magicyte]

@0urGaia Steel has a lower thermal conductivity than aluminum. simple fact. Btw..if you want more heat you go the copper route...and if you're rich...try gold...or even better...diamonds.

[0urGaia]

@magicyte, but aluminum is is also good reflector of IR which is why its used building industry as an insulator, no? Much too poor for diamonds, guess have to wait for IBMs newly discovered tungstan film which has dendrites that absorb and trap 96% of the energy it receives.

[magicyte]

@0urGaia True...except when aluminum is painted/powder coated black that makes up for that factor. Too bad copper is just too expensive...black copper would be amazing.

[0urGaia]

@magicyte, black reduces reflection visible light not IR. If we could get our hands on military energy absorbing stealth paint then we'd be cooking.

[magicyte]

@0urGaia For sure...but I'm fairly satisfied with the amount of energy we can absorb right now...it's pretty damn good. I'd say our biggest problem is the glass. I'm building mine double pane...but even then it's losing a ton of heat...besides going triple pane I don't really know what else we can do. I was thinking of filling the glass with co2 though...

[magicyte]

@magicyte But after concideration...who really cares about a boost of R1 to the glass...whoopie. I wonder if there's a reflection material that can coat glass on one side that will reflect heat...yet still allow the original visible light through.

[0urGaia]

@magicyte think CO2 is very clever idea. I am not terribly educated in such things but guessing the heat loss is from black body radiation from the cans not from the heated air within the box.. If so perhaps laying 1 inch wide aluminum foil strips couple inches above the deepest line of curvature of the cans might help reflect some of that reflected IR back down at cans instead escaping through the glass.

[magicyte]

@0urGaia Only thing is about co2 is that it could all be bullshit and co2 might do nothing different other than plain old air. I was thinking about car exhaust though....and my other thought was how much heat soil retained...the unit might be heavy as hell...but what if the cans or whatever held soil?...maybe even aspault coating the metal..

[pgm98387]

*****

[tadyman]

could you duct tape them handley?

[Agavegeoff2]

I see from a TV program about the Solar system, The Sun puts about a 1 Kw of energy per square metre of the earth surface.

So should make it easy to calculate how much heat you can expect.

[sc00b3rt]

Easier way.. get a sheet of Insulfoam from Home Depot. Measure you window and make a box out of the foam ONLY. Paint the inside black and cans. Put a ledge across the bottom. Make hole along top and bottom. Insert a small computer fan run by solar charger. Then place this unit into the windows from the INSIDE of the house. It is very lightweight and can be taken down when summer returns. Produces 120-150F heat.

[Sylvia441]

I like your ideal. Can someone make this one & show it on youtube? I close my windows up in the winter anyway & it looks like I'm living in a cave till spring. Can you give more info? Thanks.

[burtonlegand]

@sc00b3rt i was thinking, do you think if we had the cans snake around it would work better? what i mean is, instead of having air go from bottom to top in all the rows of cans..have the air start in one row, when it gets to the top, push the air back down the next row over, and then back up through the following for ever row of cans. that way the air would remain inside of the cans longer. what do you think?

[YTSparty]

@sc00b3rt You would be limiting the amount of sunlight depending on the angle of your window with the sun. I have a slanted roof due south, laying a collector on the roof would like be 10x more effective than simply collecting the heat from inside.

[sc00b3rt]

@YTSparty I think everyones situation would be different depending on several factors. We are lucky enough to have windows facing directly south and our roof is slanted due west. We have no overhangs that prevent sunlight, and nothing blocking the sun on the south side of our house. We get plenty of heat generated via the window method for most of the daylight. We put one up in an east facing window, with larger overhangs and it still produced heat in the early morning hours.

[Agavegeoff2]

Here in the UK we can get a Flue seal Silicone that can withstand 300'c

[joannelarcher]

how much heat does it generate in winter?

[nita4ny]

Hey, I am very motivated by your video. Thank you for putting it here for us. I would like to ask if the High Heat Mortar that you used is performing well. You added that Aluminum Gutter Glue works well too.

My boyfriend and I are excited to build one following your pattern, but he wondered if the glue was made for masonry and would be flexible enough after it cured and was put into use. Thanks again for your video! :-)

[richallenmusic]

hi if i was going to glue them together would use the gutter glue the mortar does start to flake have you watched my loose can heater? works just as good and less work

[TheReelRecords]

Very very impressive work. I plan on making my own soon, goin to start with a small one for my dog's box. Shes an outside dog and lately the temp has been getting down lower than 0 degrees with windchills of -10 to -20. If u get an ideas on how to improve your methods message me =D

[richallenmusic]

cool ideal if you covered the whole thing with cans would help even on cloudy days temps run about 20 degrees higher on heaters please post vid if you make it rich

[whtukall]

The Best Video worth watching so far... Thanks, Dude!

[vidarjens]

nice video

[jmandblake]

Nice set-up guy.

[Agavegeoff2]

Hi,

Has anyone tested different lengths of cans to see if a higher temperture is possible.

I've started to build one that will be 14ft long.

[richallenmusic]

i think the more metal mass you have the better the temp will be good luck moving that thing around, let me know when you get done

[hodgz]

why do people drill the cans when a regular can opener works awsome for this?

[insAneTunA]

Great video !!!

Greets from the Netherlands, iT

[fireseed23]

Would you mind telling me what kind of a bit is it that you used to drill the holes in the 2/4 in the bottom with, and the cans? Is there a special kind of silicon suggested for gluing the cans together? Thanks and great work!

[richallenmusic]

hi if you glueing cans use high heat mortar or silicon but putting cans in downspouts is a lot easyer i have new vid comming out soon . use a step bit or holesaw make a 1 inch hole

[kricotoy]

can u make the video to be granted to be download..?

and thanks so much!! from mexico guerrero

[joshua4511111]

where did you get your fan that you used in the panel? What is the approximate cost? Do you have any idea about where to get 'the cover' for the panel? Polycarbanite? plexiglass?

[richallenmusic]

hi i got the fan on ebay was about 5 bucks. it a old computer fan but you can use any kind of fan ac/dc i used plexiglass i am working on one now with glass cover its much cheaper

[joshua4511111]

Will this setup work lying on its back (ie) I can get a great angle on the sun if I were to lay the solar can furnace at about a 10-15 degree angle laying almost completely flat( (I live in southern Missouri and the sun moves across the sky east to west (and my house is almost exactly directly due South... Your thoughts please as I would like to set mine built before the winter sets in.

[richallenmusic]

yes they work better that way rich

[jmandblake]

Joshua, internet wisdom states to set the collector at 10-15 degree angle to your location and on the south side of its location.. Google you lat and longitude.

[reginaron]

Good clip.

Q: why 3 holes in the bottom ,as opposed to 1 big hole?

Cheers

[1baddiesel]

Where is your snap disc mounted on the inlet side or outlet?

[richallenmusic]

its on the outlet end

[j0430west]

Seems like the battery is superfluous.

The solar panel would run when the cans are getting sun. And I would think dampen that puppy off when there is no sun light so then thing wont set up a cooling convection at night.

[AmericanREPUBLICNow]

I would suggest removing it from the door. The sun will heat what it hits inside the house/shop. By blocking the window with the casing, you are loosing what heat would have been generated in that space.

I would move the heater to the right of the door where it is just siding.

[heidebill]

I like the door Modification, looks good

[younitehumanity]

You ust drink a lot of Bud Lite, huh?

[justinmy300z]

Nice job Rich, I am finishing my 3rd unit. I found old shower doors make very nice covers too and they are a dime a dozen...dont have to sand blast them either. I wil post my video of the creation soon. keep it up!!

[grr250]

How did you make the top and bottom of the frame curved symmetrically (what the glazing sits on)?

[wingnut4427]

You should consider making some panels to go on top of the roof this way it could catch the sun at all possible angels. :D

[richallenmusic]

roof wont work here to many trees to close to the house would have nothing but shadows thanks for your input rich

[RadiancePower]

nice job, skip the can glueing by shoving them end to end in a gutter downspout!:)

[pgm98387]

Question,

Are there any fumes from the glues, plastics or sealent and paint?

[richallenmusic]

you may have on first heating up but after that everything is good all of mine where tested out sjde before mounting so no smell

[321ozzy]

Great informative videos.

Have you thought about placing mirrors to the side of the panel, like they do on solar ovens?

Regards from Mexico

[redrover84]

Have you thought about finding a way to store some of the heat at the panel so this could be useful for say a couple of hours at least after the sun has gone down. Maybe a thick cement fibre panel behind the cans with a space between the rows to allow the sunlight to heat the cement fibre aswell? This should hold some of the heat that is lost by the convection of the air through the cans.

[richallenmusic]

not enough testing yet to know

[thimpsy]

Hey i really like that idea you are talking about in the first minute about the corugated plastic stuff do find that you produce any more heat?

[wrightylaaad]

the idea i got from that was that the corrugated plastic helps release any extra heat stored within the plastic itself, making the heater more efficient?

[emlerron]

Thanks for the quick reply!

[emlerron]

Nice video. Does the high heat mortar

work well for putting cans together?

[richallenmusic]

YES WORKSVERY WELL

[michaelrp88]

Great job! I just posted a video of a 90 can panel with an AC fan. I did this as sort of a test before I sunk good money for a big one for the house. I plan on powering the future DC fan with a PV panel and no battery. I tested 7 fans with the panel in the sun and while doing so I got 135°F on the outport when it was 50° outside. Exciting stuff. Keep us posted and I'll do the same..Feels good doesn't it?

[TheImaginaryElves]

O_o what gave you the idea for that?