Storm Window Solar Panel

9/28 - Well, there's no fixing it. A friend of mine and I tried to no avail. Crap. If you use a vinyl window, make sure to put screws in the vinyl to hold the window in place. Do NOT expect the locks and actual tracks to hold it in place. They won't. As you can see, the track failed after the locks - which if you look closely at the upper left corner - bent and allowed the window to release. Otherwise, the plans at the bottom of this post are rock solid. The vinyl fails between 200 and 300 degrees fahrenheit. So - it got that kind heat built up in it - it works!

8/31/08 - Yes, I know - talk about delayed projects. It's all assembled and was awaiting another strong body to help me place it by the shed.
You know what I found out? The vinyl the new windows are made with isn't capable of withstanding whatever the temp was inside the heater - even with air flowing through. I'm not pleased. I have to now figure out how to FIX it before I start working on installing it.

Well, I'm going to dabble in DIY solar.

My mom and I are building an outbuilding. Or, for those in the architectural know, a backyard cottage (cackle). Just heard about it this term last Sunday. Go figure. It's actually going to be a work shop for a very small money-making hobby. Another term I'd not heard of.
Anyway, heating it is a concern. We're going to have to keep it at a somewhat constant temp of at least 50 F. That means we need a heat source for winter - which is up to 5 months here in upstate NY.

I stumbled upon the following article from Mother Earth News

I know this won't be sufficient for a 24 hour period, particularly when there's no sun - we compete with Portland OR for fewest sunny days and most precipitation. However, every little bit helps and would surely help us save space by having a smaller heater - of whatever type. I'm really against oil since it leaves a film - regardless of how clean it burns or how sealed a unit. No woodstove - not tending 2 woodfires, thank you. Not piping gas and getting into that regulatory hassle. That leaves electric and pellet stove. We might do electric this year and see.

I have insulated it better than 90% of the homes in the US, along with GREAT windows, so heat loss will be minimal. I'm also in the process of insulating the actual house far better, so that will allow for extra electricity to be used out there without disrupting any aspect of the budget, in case the money making part of the hobby doesn't start making right away.

They used old sliding glass door glass. I have an extra window from the shed that I am going to use for the project. Here are my plans that I drew up


This church used soda cans - we have cat food cans! No cutting! (I'm virtually gleeful about this part).

I can't use steel - no gots. But, I have a ton of scrap lumber from numerous other projects. Plus a lot of radiant barrier insulation, fiberglass insulation, and styrofoam insulation. 10/24 - My cousin made the boxes for me - so he didn't go quite by instructions. Pissed me off no end, but I use what I have...


Flat black paint - I may go with a high heat type used for wood stoves just because I know it exists. 10/24 - went with an oil based for durability.

Piping - I'm seriously considering 2 sizes of PVC pipe. Smaller for actual air flow. Wrap with insulation and insert into larger pipe. Did this - worked great!

Wall Openings - Have 2 separate openings in the wall, rather than a single one as many window solar heaters have. One low for cold air return and one high for heat. It'll still syphon the way it's supposed to, but without the mixing of temperatures with a 2 chamber unit as so many have.

Can Arrangement - I was thinking a 'best fit' placement to begin with. Alternate the cans as if making a pyramid. But, with the radiant barriers I have, I'm wondering if purely adjacent to each other would work better, allowing some light behind, reflecting back up onto the sides of the cans for added heating. Comments? I did purely adjacent. We'll see!

Do It Yourself

With money getting tighter out there, I'm starting a reference page for DIY sites, and will branch out as I have time to more specific items - plumbing, auto, carpentry, etc. Until then, the sites will be generalized. There are plenty out there - but if you have one you always end up going to, please let me know. I'm more than happy to spread good news...

DIY.com

DIY 4 Women

DIY Ideas

DIY Network

DIY Online

Bob Vila

Do It 101

Home Time

Google DIY Directory

e-How

You Repair

Solar Heater Works

On the up side - I know my design works.




On the downside, I have found out that vinyl clad windows might not be the best choice for making a solar heater.


Here's the link to the original note regarding my design.
http://kermitsteam.blogspot.com/2007/09/storm-window-solar-panel.html



Yes, it took me awhile to finish. Not because of procrastination, mind you. I have many hurdles to leap over to finish any larger project, particularly if I must rely on someone else for my errands - which is all the time.



So - this morning, I finished putting the cover frame over the window, screwing it in place, calking everything I could think of, and then wheeled it out of the garage - like some monster awaiting the lightening storm. That puppy's heavy.



I can't stand it up just yet, but placed it so it could vent itself easily. Obviously not easily enough. The air in the 2 pipes was sitting around 120. Woo. I was happy happy happy.



I went out after about 90 minutes and discovered the window had opened itself. The words I spoke are not fit for tender ears - which means anyone but mine! I have learned the fine art of cussing better than anyone I know.











I've gone searching for information on vinyl windows. It seems the melting point of the vinyl is somewhere between 212 and 350. I'm guessing the temperature in there was at least 200, so was enough to soften the vinyl to the point of failure.

I'm not thrilled. I'm brain dead at the moment, so any attempts at repair will wait until tomorrow. I'm sure it will involve many screws - hopefully none coming OUT, but rather just being set in to hold the stupid window in place. We'll see.

I'm truly amazed the window itself didn't break. The amount of displacement of the frame and the way the window is set in, doesn't allow for any displacement toward or away from the cans/solar collector tells me the window should have broken. Oh well.

That's what tomorrow is for. I'm still cussing.

Heavy Sigh

I fried the stove.
So much for preserving your own food to save money.
Are orange flames coming out out of the knob for a burner a bad thing?
Thankfully, the seals on the tomatoes I was canning at the time sealed.

I got so pissed at this whole mess that I looked up designs for making a solar dehydrator. Not the purest of logic, but it sure works as a coping mechanism...

This link has given credit where credit is due. All others don't give credit, but use the exact same wording and drawing.

So, I looked around at our boxes, and took a bunch of crap that had been saved for no particular reason and came up with the dehydrator in less than 30 minutes....

Here's the front view. The plastic I used was from the bags the grass clippers were packed in. So yes, a little wrinkly, but reused is a good thing. As I was making the collector portion of the dehydrator, the heat coming out of it was pretty intense, so am not concerned about the wrinkles.










Here, you can see the inside of the collector. If you look toward the bottom of the picture, you can see the light from the hole to let the hot air into the dryer portion. The hole to let cool air in at the bottom of the collector is large, and the hole into the dryer is small. My theory is to give it a convection type breeze. We'll see if it works.

I've got about a cup of berries in to start. The screen is from a broken window screen - metal, so no melting or outgassing. I wasn't very good at cutting the screen - it won't stay in place off the bottom of the dehydrator with the berries on it, so have a couple of cardboard pieces - very small - to help support the screen.



The back of the dehydrator - a shoe box. LOL It already had a small hole in it, so I'm using the lid to help hold the heat in, but the vent hole will keep air circulating through quite well. From bottom front to top rear will assure all of the berries will get hot air over them.

LED Solar Lighting Project

This is from a friend of mine down in KY. He loves to tinker, is incredibly creative and enjoys sharing his project ideas.
This is just one of many that will be posted. He is a huge advocate of reusing - and in very creative ways.

Well I got the latest project done. I bought a 10x10 gazebo to give some shade in the back yard. It was a little dark inside up top. So the idea came to make a chandelier.
Then the idea got better. Make it solar powered.
So I found a chandelier on ebay and got some landscape lights w/ a separate solar panel.
Some rewiring later and it's up and working. It does what I wanted it too, and now it doesn't cost me anything else to run it.
This had 2 LEDs per light. It doesn't light up the inside, but gives a glow that keeps the peak from being a dark hole.

Dryer Lint Uses

Not quite 101 uses for dryer lint
Posted Jul 30th 2007 4:00PM by Lisa Hoover
Filed under household hacks, miscellaneous, crafts, staying green
I do a lot of laundry in my house and, as a result, I accumulate what seems like a metric ton of dryer lint each week. As I fished the latest clump of fuzz from my dryer's lint cup, I got to wondering, "Is there something useful could do with all this?" The only think I could think of was to toss it into my backyard for the birds to use when they build nests. I knew other people must surely have come up with other, more creative, ideas so I decided to find out. What I learned may surprise you:
Thrifty Fun recommends using dryer lint to stuff small hand-sewn dolls or bears. Not only will they smell great, they'll be washable too. Lint bears aren't meant for children though, since dryer fuzz is highly flammable.
The same site also says lint makes a great addition to your compost heap or worm farm. Apparently stray sweater fibers make a good snack for the bacteria usually found in these types of soil.
An artist in Chapel Hill, N.C., uses leftover lint to make paper and then creates small books and framed artwork out of it. Another artist took the idea a step further and formed the National Lint Project.
The Dollar Stretcher suggests using lint to cushion small items for shipping. I'm guessing they mean jewelry or trinkets, not cookies.
There is also a recipe on the site for making non-edible lint-based clay that can also be used in place of paper-maché.
Essortment tells its readers to stuff excess lint into old tube socks and use them as draft stoppers. If you start saving lint now, you might have some ready in time for winter. If you do a lot of laundry, you could have a few made by Thursday.At a time when it seems like everything from water bottles to cells phones are disposable, it's nice to see lowly dryer lint get a second chance at life. Who knew?

Brendon C. said on Jul 30th 2007 @ 4:43PM
It can also be used to help start camp fires.

Mike Schleifstein said on Jul 30th 2007 @ 5:27PM
firestarterstake old cardboard egg cartons and dryer lint and waxa little lint in each egg spacepout in some melted waxlet hardenbrake into individual egg piecesuse two per fire with start your grill (charcoal only of course)light the carton edge with your lighter and watch it get your dinner startedmuch cheaper than standard firestarters and doesn't effect the taste of the food