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

Tests on various can configurations for greatest heat increase in a solar soda can ThermoSiphon Air panel. There are several examples on youtube of various ways to cut your cans and construct your panels, but I'm looking for the most effective heat gain and the most efficient setup. Construction time will be taken into account, but I'm more concerned about long term heat gain. This video takes you from concept to cutting to assembling through the test results. Next step is to build a full 4x8 panel ensuring that the design doesn't fight against the heat gain, but rather helps to increase it further. Is one sheet of plexiglass or lexan enough, or are two more effective?

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Soda
• Can
• Thermo
• Siphon
• Air
• Panel
• TAP
• passive
• solar
• heater
• syphon
• coroplast
• cardboard
• heat
• collector
• draft

[DrewTracey]

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

[my2cents0]

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

[DrewTracey]

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

[bjetTube]

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

[DrewTracey]

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

[my2cents0]

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

[DrewTracey]

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

[early1900s]

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

[muserwood]

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

[sirfenderjazzmaster]

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

[sirfenderjazzmaster]

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

[sirfenderjazzmaster]

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

1) Metal is a heat conductor

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

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

[WorldlySurvivor]

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

[navajopa31]

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

[itbarthur4u]

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

[1971mgb]

Air is a poor conductor of heat

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

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

[bearboneskentuck]

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