Passive Solar with Soda cans, gutters, or ducts

HearthForYou

I geek out on this kind of stuff. I've discovered these a number of years ago but haven't had a space to try them yet. I'm wondering if anyone in this forum has actually built any form of these solar air heaters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXN_1Kf18_I

They seem to work but I'd love to "meet" someone who has actually built and used them, especially if you're in snow country. :)

Jens the Beekeeper

I did not build something like this but I used to use a black pipe laid in spirals to heat the water of the kids pool. This worked fine.

HearthForYou

@Jens Making hot water with a hose in the sun is such a great easy way to do so. A regular hose works well for quick hot showers for two.

tomandcara

@HearthForYou Cool video. I liked the fact she mentioned the effects of off gassing from materials she use, like the paint and the wood. @Jens I had a friend that heated his above ground pool with black garden hose. This was in the 80's and I didn't think of the effect of the leaching of chemicals from the hose into the water at that time, but I sure do now. It was in the 90's I became aware of the effect of cooking food in plastic in microwaves putting xenoestrogens into the food that made me re-think heating water in hoses for the pool.

bcabrobin

I want to make something like this to keep the water tanks from freezing. Thank you for sharing!

frogvalley

I did build something like it and it worked. It was an experiment in my kids room in the window. I had holes at the top and bottom to let air in and out. It covered the window so I only kept it up about a year.