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Old 04-03-09, 09:36 AM   #11
jwxr7
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I've been slowly cutting the materials to size for this project. I came up with a cookie cutter way of cutting all the holes in the manifolds where the absorber tubes connect. I found a metal can of the right diameter and sawed the end off so I can twist it down thru the foam board and remove a plug. It works fairly well. I have to use a blade to finish the cut on the foil on the other side. Here are some practice cuts.Click image for larger version

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And the tube fits well.Click image for larger version

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Old 05-06-09, 09:40 AM   #12
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I got a little more done over the weekend. I need to finish it to make room for my saturn sc2 project. I don't know if I will get time to do a wind power project for a while . I'm making sure I finish this solar panel before getting too involved with the car. The panel is farther along than the picture shows. I have almost half of the tubes stretched and cut to length with some paint on them. The side insulation is installed too.
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Old 05-06-09, 09:45 AM   #13
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here are the 2 glass panels I'm planning to use (not the smaller shower door). Also the completed tube manifold pieces.
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Old 05-26-09, 11:32 AM   #14
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Any updates on this project? I'm pretty anxious to see how this all works out!
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Old 06-14-09, 03:38 PM   #15
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I haven't been getting much done on it. I did move it to a more convienient spot. I have all the tubes roughly cut to length and painted. I think the thing that's slowing me down is the manifold front metal. I bought a coil of roof flashing that is wide enough to use, I just don't know how I want to attach it yet. I also cut the 2 tube manifold pieces in half lengthwise to make it easier to set the tubes into place on assembly. It's hard to get motivated on a heating project when it's warm outside.

I should just get it done, summer sun will help me test it.

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Old 07-30-09, 03:11 PM   #16
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Here's an overly compressed picture of some progress I made on the panel.
Here I'm basically dry fitting all the parts ignore the baffle placement in the manifolds. I plan to spray more paint on some of the tubes. I need to do some testing after I install the manifold front covers and hold the glass down to the front. I will be deciding where to put the inlet and outlet as well as how many tubes to run in a parallel circuit by moving the baffles around in the manifolds. I ended up buying a 12ft piece of aluminum material that is flat to use for the manifold front covers. It should be alote easier to install than coiled flashing.
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Old 07-30-09, 03:43 PM   #17
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Wooo, its coming together! Still anxious to see how this works. What are the dimensions of the box?
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Old 07-30-09, 07:42 PM   #18
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it's about 65" x 67"
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Old 04-26-10, 09:23 AM   #19
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I will finish this someday .

It's pretty close to done I just need to seal it up enough for testing and get the glass retained. During testing, I will decide on a fan system and thermal controls. After that I need to decide real hard about drilling a couple big holes thru the shell of my house . I think that has been my biggest hang-up, besides having too many other things going on. I may end up using a couple of windows for the intake and exhaust.
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Old 05-04-10, 01:04 PM   #20
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I used a Mother Earth News article to design and build a solar air heater at my house. It took me over a year, due to having too many projects at once. Plus, I over-engineered it to death. I stuck it in the window (~45 degrees outside) and in about 30 minutes it was putting out very low flow, but 105 degree air. Decided it needed a solar powered fan. Didn't buy the fan. Didn't cover the glass when summer came. Did look at melted solar air heater in mid-summer.

You might consider having a way to cover it in the hotter months, I know I wish I'd considered that.

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