CANADA: SMALL, SIMPLE & CHEAP SOLAR OIL TO WATER HEATER DIY (Idea For user: GPS)

[BuickDoc]

I don't know about simple or cheap, but Canada is not small...

[luc59457]

@BuickDoc Those words weren't referring to Canada.

[MrXstacey]

should have painted the tubes black, other than that, well done



[MultiBlenderman]

Get rid of the foil. You are reflecting the heat AWAY from the oil. The black container is good, oil is good, tube is good. Now cover it with clear anything. This little unit will work pretty good then.

[luc59457]

@MultiBlenderman How about another pyrex cover, with a fresnel lens for the top as well, double heat penetration. I've mentioned this a while ago.

[luc59457]

@CommentsSurvey You are quite welcome. I meant both

[CommentsSurvey]

@luc59457 : I realized the part about the "oil" after I watched the rest of the video! So I removed my comment, but thanks for responding. Looking forward to more of your videos.

[meadman718]

Does tin not reflect heat back? Wouldn't a black surface be more effective? Just curious.

[luc59457]

@meadman718 Tin as a result also holds heat less long. I think the key to this is not how fast it heats up rather, how long it can hold the heat. Things can be scaled up to provide this result. Pyrex is better at containing heat than tin, but takes longer to heat. The bottom surface where the sun is concentrated is Flat black. The top could also be used to provide heat, by using a Fresnel lens or simply the sun shining on Tin. Pyrex would not be the best at top because heat rises...

[luc59457]

@meadman718 ..And a pyrex at the top would be less efficient than a thin metal like tin because heat can penetrate through tin much faster than pyrex. So Pyrex and other materials that take longer to heat will also have the result of holding heat in longer.

[definitionofis]

I read somewhere that you can fill the copper pipe with sand before bending and it will prevent kinks.

[luc59457]

@definitionofis That seems to make sense. I know it can be a pain to try not to kink the pipe, I had a bit as you can see.

[aasirulfazil]

@definitionofis

filling sand

its true

[HTDEAO]

You can use sand to bend the pipe but must falow some steps

1º plug one side

2º start filing the pipe with dry sand

3ºcompact the sand by vibrating the pipe (ex hiting it with some thing or agains the flor in a vertical position)

4º when the pipe gets fuly loaded plug the other side hit it hard to get tingth.

5º now you shoul bend it with out geting the pipe damaged

[getareeljob]

@definitionofis or use a propane torch to make it soft and use welding gloves

[HTDEAO]

@getareeljob

the rigth procedure is

1º heat the pipe with the torch

2ºafther the pipe gets red hot get some wather on it(this will put the coper realy easy to bend)

now bend it frealy in any direction by hand and with a cold pipe

[luc59457]

@HTDEAO You only need that method to bend the first round... The rest can be done by hand towards the outer one.

[datzfast]

@definitionofis can you fill with water and freeze then bend?

[definitionofis]

@datzfast I have never tried that. Ice might break unevenly and leave kinks. It is a good experiment, though.

[hongkongfooyHAZE]

spray the top black...matt...bbq paint

spray over the foil and the tape.....

i see a water heater...i want it painted black..no colors anymore...etc

[a1mint]

The pipes are too shiny. There isn't enough meaningful surface area for solar energy to get absorbed into.

Much better to have a *much* larger surface, painted all black for maximum absorption, and then zig zag the hose through it. The hose doesn't need to fill the entire surface, as long as it gets to absorb enough heat. Cold water goes in, warm water comes out. Store in insulated tank, and you could have a free warm water shower in the morning.

But the key is surface area here.

[luc59457]

@a1mint For the top, a Fresnel lens doesn't have to penetrate the pipe. Instead, The surface of the Pyrex on both sides can be painted flat black. The lens can be mounted separately to focus around the center of the Pyrex, so both sides get heated simultaneously with the top cover to help hold the heat. With good oil and a sunny day, I can get the oil above scalding in 10 minutes. The more oil added, the longer it takes to cool. I recommend something double this size, would be perfect.

[luc59457]

@luc59457 I would double the size of the mirror too. This will really help! I have the film for it, I just need something that would make a good shape other than a large satellite dish. I would make steam on demand and constant even when sun is down for a while.

[a1mint]

@luc59457 The more effective square inches you're capturing sunlight with the better. The more energy it absorbs the better (make every black obviously).

[a1mint]

@luc59457 Think of the energy that you're trying to capture. You have a certain given amount of surface area that's being fed energy from the sun. A lens would only help as long as the physical size of the lens is large. But the lens isn't large, so it doesn't help.

When you make the box larger, there is more energy to tap from.

You want to absorb as much of that energy as possible. So, make everything as black as you can.

Rolling up things tightly is completely counter productive.

[luc59457]

@a1mint Yes, I agree, making it all black will be even more effective. Ty.

[IronHorsez88]

are you using a parabola to heat this device from the bottom?? confusing video, no details.

[IronHorsez88]

Let me get this straight- you are heating oil with this apparatus?!!? What is the purpose of the oil. Please tell. It looks like you are insulating the copper AGAINST solar heat, not to get it hot, but to keep it from getting hot!!!

[luc59457]

@IronHorsez88 The purpose of the oil is to hold heat for longer. Oil, once heated, will stay hot longer than water, and longer than the pipe being heated alone with water passing through it. As heat rises, it is good to cover the top with the best thermal resistant material possible. The tin foil did not achieve the best outcome as heat was being lost fast through it.

[luc59457]

@luc59457 The concept is shown, improvements can be made.

[trailkeeper]

Would it help if the aluminum foil was insulated with something like "insulation foam"?

[ufguitar]

I think that it will work much better by painting black the foil as foil will instead reflect back the light!

[luc59457]

That was the plan originally, obviously I would not shine light on just the foil, that is like shinning a mirror on a mirror. If anything from the top, I would add another clear top cover, probably pyrex again, and allow the rays to penetrate the oil directly. The blacker the oil the better, the higher the smoke and boiling points, the better.

[a1mint]

As sjh7132 hinted, you want it to absorb energy, not reflect energy. Tin foil will bounce of much of the infrared heat waves.

Also, you're trying to make it compact. It'd be better to have an as large area as possible.

Go to Home Depot, and buy a cheap 8x4 and planks for the sides. Make a large flat container out of it. Line the inside with plastic. Use large strong plastic sheets normally used to finish basements with - vapor barrier, also at Home Depot (or Rona).

Then zig zag that hose through

[a1mint]

Then fill with dark oil, or else water with a dark food coloring dissolved in it.

Not sure if the oil will perform better - it might.

Ceil up somehow using same vapor barrier plastic (clear).

Large is the key, not compact. You can also add a couple of large panels covered with foil to reflect more sunlight onto the core heat pickup area.

This could potentially slowly fill a hot / warm water tank. Take free warm showers...

[luc59457]

Well the tin foil would be on top and heat rises so it would not be that usefull at all. Even if the foil was painted black, it would help but not much. As for size, I do not want to go too large, as the larger, the more heat dissipates. Also, oil will definately perform better, that is a no brainer, because it has much higher of a boiling point.. Water does not get much more than 110C.. Afterwards it just evaporates.

[luc59457]

I am worried that too much heat directly on the oil might auto ignite it.. Otherwise I am worried that it might circulate too fast and not be able to reach much more than 100C. 100C is good but I would like it to maintain much higher than that.. So when water passes through, the pipes will have a long drop in temp before it can no longer be used. Oil holds heat longer than water also. Boil some oil on the stove and see compared to water. I can get around 300c with my med. Mirror in Canada.

[a1mint]

No way it will ignite. The sun does not have enough heat for things to get that warm at all.

[luc59457]

Maybe not around here, some oils only handle around 170c.. I've done my research, but some Safflower should be more than enough, refined or particially. Also Some deisel oil will withstand much higher. It is "not only" a matter of the sun it is also a matter of the size of mirror which will depict the approx amount of heat at the most effective focal area. (environmental factors also) Yes the water can reach that kind of temps with larger mirror. And no I don't want to go too large for pyrex.

[luc59457]

The mirror will need to be at least 60" for something interesting. I would like to get one about 8 feet diameter.

[luc59457]

Pyrex is really not going to be that much larger. 2-3x's at most. It is going to be designed differently. It will probably be stacked rounds of copper coil. It is very inexpensive if you can get a large parabolic shape for a good price. the rest is of little expense. Any ideas for the parabolic shape? I need something at least 5ft. Around 8 would be best.

[a1mint]

An umbrella could assist in creating a large paper mashe dish. Then varnish it, and then glue tin foil on it...?

[luc59457]

I use Chrome Film tape for vehicle patching. It comes in rolls and doesn't get messed as easy as foil.

[luc59457]

I was thinking about those large patio umbrella's and mashe it.. That would be much more affordable than a large dish I would think.

[luc59457]

Might be a bit tricky to mashe the inner part to get it perfect, I'm not sure.

[a1mint]

Sunrays get bounced away using tin foil. In effect is isolated you from the rays. I definitely think it's a big mistake to try to pick up sun rays with tin foil. It does the opposite what you want it to do. Dark colors absorb the rays, that's what you want.

Also, yes, you want large, because you want it to absorb more rays. More pickup means more heat taken from the sun rays.

[a1mint]

Also, the boiling point of water is 100C. You can not have liquid water at 110C unless you increase the pressure.

But the water will never reach anywhere near that kind of temperature anyway.

[sjh7132]

Maybe you could leave the pyrex clear and use black (used) motor oil. Then the oil would heat up directly and the pyrex would be a layer of insulation.

[luc59457]

Excellent comment sir! I have thought about this using (used motor oil) I have an earlier video about "where used motor oil ends up" So that was a consideration for some time now. Thing is I need a fresnel lens for the top or if I heat from bottom which would be optimal, I need a new pyrex, since this one is painted now. Next time I am going bigger. I will try double the size, I don't think I will need much more than that for a consistent temperature with constant full flow out of this pipe coil

[luc59457]

I will go around double the rounds of copper also to start off with, with the next pyrex.. I figure double the size will still be a nice size... I will either go for a second mirror, or a rectangular one instead so I cna have a longer bea,. If necessary, I can go up to 3 more rounds x (7), so 4 in all = 28, with a pyrex of this height, double the circumference. Their is only 7 rounds in this

[luc59457]

sets of rounds is what I meant and sorry for the typos I think you can still get the idea.

[hoosherdaddy]

hmm, doesnt make sense to me, are you going to heat it from the bottom? why not encase the entire thing in pyrex and heat it from the top, wouldnt that be much easier?

[luc59457]

It makes perfect sense.. Both Top and bottom would be neccessary to have the best effects.. Top may not work better, it all depends.. Since this device pretty much has to rest horizontal for it to work properly, the sun will need to be positioned properly for best results with fresnel lens on this.. In Canada it is not too good for the winter. I have more options with parabolic mirrors in this case, but indeed heating from the top also will help. I have mentioned this before.

[luc59457]

Greenpowerscience shows a system similar to this with a fresnel lens on the top.. He explains the advantages and disadvantages and also leaves a hint to this video.

[ohmslaw111]

nice work.

[JULYINJULY]

HMMM,

Sound angry at the tube. Neat video anyway.

[10blood]

lol internet drama >.>

[goofy775]

I feel as if I'm missing out on the drama.. whats going on

[ZED74]

looks good , if you want more heat i suppose a thinner pipe and some fins or something to collect more heat for the pipe ? The weather in the uk wouldnt be much good for this , only a few hot weeks a year lol

[luc59457]

The sun can still provide some good heat if it is contained and direct. For larger household versions, you would first off require thicker copper pipe in coil.. You will want this as close as possible to loose less heat. Have outer pipes well insulated. Use/make a tracking device. Have a 40 gallon holding tank inside your home. Have a Feed, cold water, going through sys. and a feed after the coil, back down to the tank. It should be direct hot water and trigger on/off (flow) by spec temp reached

[luc59457]

as close as possible to your home.

[luc59457]

No, it is thin enough as it is.. I want to be able to pass through a decent pressure at some point just to see. I have to also be considerate that it is thin and I am going to use an outside faucet.. So, I will only be able to turn it on slightly and check first. lol

[luc59457]

Also, I doubt this little mirror alone could provide enough heat, but a "larger" one, or two or three medium ones might just be enough. Their are other alternatives, for your area. This is more for the desert but I get some decent temps up here.. I can't wait to test in the winter and perhaps test with more mirrors.

[GREENPOWERSCIENCE]

Great video! Look forward to seeing it in action.

[luc59457]

I am also keeping in mind, another cover for the top, not too sure what yet, I am thinking a clear one, probably pyrex again.. I am thinking about using a fresnel / convex lens to heat from the top if this does not meet my expectations, though I am unsure how much a fresnel or convex lens will help since heat rises. But if the top cover is clear, that might work. Gotta get that oil hot first before I run water through the pipes.. I am thinking at least 5 minutes to get everything hot, we'll see.

[anyonefindAMERICA]

A fresnel lens will boil that oil in 5 minutes. Check out greenpowerscience on yt.

[luc59457]

Depends on the size, depends on how much oil, depends on how strong the sun is, and a mixture of these criteria.. You have made a poor statement.

[luc59457]

I have seen some of his, yes, And I am still waiting for a video similar to this from him.. He is taking his time it seems =)

[luc59457]

As you can see, this video is for him.