miss_thenorth
Frugal Homesteader
Someone posted this on BYC--thought some might find it interesting here. http://www.coloradowindpower.com/page.php?26
solar heat from pop cans
- Thread starter miss_thenorth
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roosmom
Almost Self-Reliant
Miss_thenorth,
This looks pretty cool. Do YOU think it would work at all up here in the great white north? I showed it to hubby and he told me to try to make it.
My poor chickies are cold, but it would only work on sunny days. We dont have many of those in the winter.
God knows we have enough pop cns, DH is a pop drinker
.
This looks pretty cool. Do YOU think it would work at all up here in the great white north? I showed it to hubby and he told me to try to make it.
My poor chickies are cold, but it would only work on sunny days. We dont have many of those in the winter.
God knows we have enough pop cns, DH is a pop drinker
.ScottyG
Lovin' The Homestead
Neat! Very sophisticated idea, but reminds me of the simple trick a friend used to use (that the gardening types here probably already know) where he put 2-liter bottles full of water around his tomato plants... so the water would heat up in the sun all day, and then keep the 'maters pretty warm at night. Not a huge difference, but enough to make the tomatoes ripen a little faster and last a little longer into the autumn.
Zenbirder
Frugal Vegetarian Farmer
That was kinda cool! My chickens have a solar heated chicken house. We had an old solar water panel not being used for years and were able to mount it on the south side of the coop. It circulates water to a tank we made from an old medical drum, which sits inside the house. The house never came close to freezing last year, even down to zero outside at night. Good thing because we have running water inside the house.
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miss_thenorth
Frugal Homesteader
Well, you are a llittle farther north than I am, but I think it might work. We get enough sunny days around here, and in my experience, the sunnier it is, usually the colder it is. I think it might be worth a try.roosmom said:Miss_thenorth,
This looks pretty cool. Do YOU think it would work at all up here in the great white north? I showed it to hubby and he told me to try to make it.
My poor chickies are cold, but it would only work on sunny days. We dont have many of those in the winter.
God knows we have enough pop cns, DH is a pop drinker
I am going to keep my eyes open for supplies for this. If nothing else, it might just give me something to do in the cold winter months, and if it works--bonus.
How do you all heat the chicken coops with the solar heaters. What I am asking I guess is does it have a blower on it or is it like a heat bulb sort of thing.
I will need one for my chickens this winter. We have to put a door on the coop as well.
I will need one for my chickens this winter. We have to put a door on the coop as well.
roosmom
Almost Self-Reliant
Miss_thenorth,
My DH brought home a window for me yesterday so I can make the Solar heater. I have to save some popcans first as we actually dont have enough. I will need to buy the fan. I have my doudts it will work up here in the frozen artic lol. I will TRY to keep you posted.
My DH brought home a window for me yesterday so I can make the Solar heater. I have to save some popcans first as
we actually dont have enough. I will need to buy the fan. I have my doudts it will work up here in the frozen artic lol. I will TRY to keep you posted.patandchickens
Crazy Cat Lady
Coopy, the design described on that website uses a small fan to blow the air through (they say they are running it off a small solar panel); I have seen other very very similar designs that are entirely passive and rely on thermosiphoning (hot air rising into your building at the top, cold air entering at bottom).
The thing about a thermosiphon is that you need to have the opening(s) into the building close off as soon as the heater stops meaningfully heating. This is sometimes achieved with very lightweight plastic flaps (like, from a plastic bag) in front of a grille, hung so that when air tries to flow backwards thru the system the bag sucks against the grille and blocks it off... but I am not sure how far I would trust that, esp. in a chicken coop. At the very least, it would require a certain amount of jiggering around to get it more or less working right.
Roosmom, I think it is DEFINITELY worth trying as long as you have a way of definitively closing it off when it's not heating -- even a weak Northern winter sun carries considerable heat. I mean, even in Dec and Jan, your car DOES get sunwarmed inside the passenger compartment -- and the pop can heater type thing is a much smaller space much better adapted for heating up rapidly. To maximize efficiency, you may want to make sure that the unit is tilted to match the position of the sun, rather than mounting it flat against the wall.
I would make one except that I have a sorta lean-to-greenhouse style run on the front of my coop building this year that I am going to *try* to run as a heating device -- we'll see how it works.
Pat
The thing about a thermosiphon is that you need to have the opening(s) into the building close off as soon as the heater stops meaningfully heating. This is sometimes achieved with very lightweight plastic flaps (like, from a plastic bag) in front of a grille, hung so that when air tries to flow backwards thru the system the bag sucks against the grille and blocks it off... but I am not sure how far I would trust that, esp. in a chicken coop. At the very least, it would require a certain amount of jiggering around to get it more or less working right.
Roosmom, I think it is DEFINITELY worth trying as long as you have a way of definitively closing it off when it's not heating -- even a weak Northern winter sun carries considerable heat. I mean, even in Dec and Jan, your car DOES get sunwarmed inside the passenger compartment -- and the pop can heater type thing is a much smaller space much better adapted for heating up rapidly. To maximize efficiency, you may want to make sure that the unit is tilted to match the position of the sun, rather than mounting it flat against the wall.
I would make one except that I have a sorta lean-to-greenhouse style run on the front of my coop building this year that I am going to *try* to run as a heating device -- we'll see how it works.
Pat
Colored Egg Farmer
Way Too Many Chickens
I'm going to have to try this. Once the snow start flying I'll have a lot of indoor time to use.
My DH first snubbed his nose at this but later said that if I can gather up all the stuff he would try it!! I do not get a lot of sunshine here in NE Ohio but, if it is super cheap to make and gives heat at least 5-10 days out of a month from Oct-April and we do not have to have on a heat light in our chicken coop those days it will be worth the time to make it.
