solar air heaters

Solar air heaters copied design from Starfire solar and Richallenmusic. These are 33"X 75" each, 6 inches deep. The downspouts were 10 ft aluminum cut in half. There are 12 pop cans stuck inside the downspouts. The tops and bottoms are cut out on the one on the left but only the bottoms on the one on the right. I used a beer can opener to puncture the sides of the top cans so air can flow thru to the top heat chamber. The downspouts are caulked at the top and the bottom to seal off the heating area outside the downspouts. the top and bottom air chambers are also sealed off with foil heat tape. I noticed when it gets hot the tin on the face of the top air chamber would buckle a little so on the left one I added a 1X2 over the tin after it was foil taped to help hold it better. The fan is an old condenser blower from my furnace that puts out a lot of CFM. I don't know the exact amount but it seems to handle both heaters without a problem. Home depot sells a 4 in duct boost fan for around $25. which would probably work ok and would be cheaper. cost was under $100. each including screws , paint , etc. I used tin cans that were 4 in dia. to go thru the wall. (La choi sweet sour chicken). with the high speed blower they run steady for about 4 or 5 hrs at this time of year.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Solar
• air
• heaters

[ScoutCrafter]

Very nice!!! I can't believe that big piece of glass is only $3-!!! Here in NY it would be way more! ;)

[wiboater4]

@ScoutCrafter The glass came from a used storm door at Habitat for Humanity resale store. That's why it's so cheap.

[awomansworld123]

Nice job and the set up looks great. The only thing is...I wish someone would start from the beginning of their build and show the materials in raw form. Then do a step by step because even watching a few vids if youre not familiar with downspouts, snap disc thermostats, how to install fans, etc this stuff sounds a tad bit foriegn. LOL. Great video though I loved it. Thanks for sharing

[wiboater4]

@awomansworld123 I usually am in a hurry to get them done so I kind of forget about the video part. But there are video's out there that will pretty much answer your questions you just have to search. Richallenmusic is one source. He goes into pretty good detail on them.

[richallenmusic]

very neat looking job what kind of temps are you getting?

[wiboater4]

I have a lot of air volumn so they don't get real high when it's running. Highest was around 115 degrees running. I just put up another video explaining a lot more. The panels are about 37inches by 6 ft. each. The one on the left has the cans without the tops cut out and the one on the right has the tops cut out. Instead of cutting the cans like you I used a beer can opener and punctured the sides of the top and bottom cans inside the downspouts.

[wiboater4]

Credit should be given when it's due. your helping a lot of people out.

[STARFIRESOLAR]

THAT IS A GREAT LOOKING INSTALLATION !

Thanks so much for the props you gave to richallenmusic and myself. I'm very happy to have been an inspiration and I'm sure Rich is also.

Best of luck in your future efforts!