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Table of Contents
Cheap and Easy Solar Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Step 2: Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Author:velacreations
VelaCreations
Off-grid for over a decade and loving it! VelaCreations.com/blog.html - latest updates and projects.
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Step 2: Considerations
There are a few variations on this design, depending on the materials you have available and the type of room you will be heating.
FAN AND VOLTAGE
For the fan, you need to find a small, quiet unit that is capable of delivering at least 100 CFM. If you can find one of these that uses 110 VAC, then you dont need
anything else. Most small fans of this type are 12 VDC, which means that you need a converter from 110 VAC to 12 VDC. These converters are readily available from
junk or surplus electronics, and are commonly referred to as wall warts. The converter should output at least 12 volts DC, and double the amps your fan is rated for.
This gives enough room for the fans startup surge.
SIZE OF PLASTIC
The first problem you may encounter is the size of your transparent, corrugated plastic. If you can find a 4 feet sheet, so much the better, as that will match the size that
the insulation comes in. However, if you can only find a 3 feet wide piece, dont worry. You can still use this design, but you will have to cut your insulation down to fit it,
and then adjust the metal channel walls, so that they too match the new size.
HEIGHT OF THE ROOM
The next issue is the inside height of your room. You will have two holes through your south facing wall, one at the top and one at the bottom. Air will be drawn from the
bottom hole into the bottom of the heating unit outside. This is because it will take less energy to heat the air from inside the house than from outside, as it will already be
warmer than the external temperature. The air that has been heated by the unit will then blow down into the room from the top hole. The problem with this is that, in order
to make the most out of your heater, you will want the distance between the outside edges of the two holes to be about 8 feet (a little less is OK).
If your room is eight feet tall, construction of the unit will be easier, cheaper and more efficient. Easier, because you will be able to cut a hole through the bottom and top
of the heaters backing (insulation), instead of having to go out through the sides of the heaters wall, which is more complicated. Cheaper, because you will need less
4 dryer vent, as it will be going straight through the houses wall, instead of having to curve to the side before going inside. More efficient, because the temperature
inside the unit will match the air coming into the room, whereas if you have to go to the side, you will lose a little heat through the extra dryer vent. You can compensate
for this by painting the exposed vent black, or, even better, wrap it with insulation.
During the course of this article, we will be mostly describing how to attach this unit to a smaller room. For a start, it is probably more common to have rooms that are less
than eight feet tall. Secondly, it is more complicated, and therefore requires a little more explanation. However, wherever the instructions differ for a tall room, we will add
notes in bold.
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18.
19.
Out of the last piece of 10 ft. channel, cut out two 4 ft. lengths. These are the top and bottom of the box.
Cut four pieces of molding, about 12 long each.
Screw two into the inside of one 4 ft. piece of channel, about 6 from either end, and 1 down from the top (for the plastic to rest on).
Do the same with the remaining pieces of molding and 4 ft. piece of channel. [If you have an 8 ft. tall room, as described in Step 1:Considerations, you can
skip to the next section]
Draw two rectangles on the inside of each piece of channel. The rectangles should be about 2 x 4, centered both horizontally and vertically, and about 1.5
apart.
Take one of the 24 x 13.5 pieces of sheet metal and lay it of a flat surface.
Along one 24 length make marks at 2, 6, 7.5 and 11.5 from the right-hand side.
Do the same along the other 24 length, also from the right-hand side.
Make a chalk line along one 24 length (parallel with the marks you just made), 2 in from the edge.
Do the same along the other 24 length, but only 1 in from the edge.
Draw a line from each of the marks you made to the chalk line closest to it.
Cut out the two rectangles that have been formed on each edge, the first being 4 wide and 2 from the end, the other being 4 wide and 1.5 from the first.
Place the side of the sheet metal that has deeper rectangles on the back of the channel, lining up the rectangles of the two materials.
Clamp and put some metal screws in along the 4 length of the rectangles.
Now bend the sheet metal so that it forms a tube, and line up its shallow rectangles over the holes of the channel.
Clamp and put some screws in all around the rectangles, including the overlap.
Now you want to make two caps, one for each of the manifolds you just made. You will be using left over pieces of channel to make a roughly circular shape (itll
actually be more pill-shaped). It wants to include pieces of the upright parts of the channel, as these will be uses for tabs. You also want to make two extra tabs on
the flat part, which you can bend up. Look at the photo above for clarification.
Place these caps on the end of the manifolds that you want sealed (the opposite end of where the dryer vents will be entering the house). Make sure all four tabs
are on the outside of the manifold.
Screw the cap in place with metal screws.
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17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
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tomatoskins says:
This is so thorough! I love the detail that you put into it. I love all your instructables! Keep up the good work.
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