Solar Furnace

My friend turned me on to this idea last week. I was pretty impressed so I decided to build one of my own.

I already had the 2x6s and some old sliding doors. I am predicting a final cost of $50 to $75. If I decide to use solar panels to power the fan it will drive the cost up a good chunk though.

Here is the sliding door I started with. I decided to go with a single pane set up because the door as it sat was ridiculously heavy and the seal was broken making the glass foggy.



Here is the glass taken out of the frame and the double pane taken apart. It was a beast getting the seal cut.



This is the framework. I don't have it all screwed together yet. I cut a channel in each of the long 2x6s for the glass to slide in and I want to test fit before I get any further.

The glass is 34x76 and it will hold 192 cans. The cans will be painted black like all the other builds out there but I am considering using a either a reflective insulation or just aluminum to line the box with. I think the reflective surface will improve the heating of the cans. Any thoughts? I am still trying to decide how I will close up the header and footer but that is a ways off. I was limited on space so I am going to be stuck using 4 inch pipe for the inlet and outlet. I found a 92mm computer case fan for 16 bucks that I will put in the footer to suck the room air through the furnace. It is rated at 119 cfm though so I think it should move a decent amount of air through.

Glass test fit.


Close up of glass test fit.


All screwed together except the top. the cans have to go in before I finish that.

first load of cans through the dishwasher


jig to keep the cans straight while I glue them together.


hopefully these flaps will make the air more turbulent and swirl through the cans.

Last pic for a couple days.

3 columns stuck together with high temp silicon. 9 more to go.

well I am finally done with the can columns for the most part. I ended up just a tiny bit short so I have to pressure fit a can bottom on each column. from my experience the best way to cut a can is to fill it with water and freeze it. Then use a drill press with a small cut off wheel or a drimel cut off wheel. You will get perfect cuts every time.

This has taken much longer than I expected. I bet It was taking almost 2 hours per column.

I am finally moving along again. painting is not something I enjoy... any ways here are a few more pics:





I have come up with several improvements as I have built this. I will post my ideas after I have this guy wrapped up.

this should about do it for the day. I am just going to caulk up the new joints and call it good. I am going to take it outside and let it bake in the sun for a week or so and clear any paint fumes out. Then I will work on getting it mounted up and the fan put in.

cans fitted up:



Glass in:



top on:



header screwed on:



and the whole thing:

Plans got canceled yesterday so I went ahead and got this thing up on the wall. It was a beast getting it up there by myself but I finally got it as it was getting dark. It was tough finding the studs, I have plaster on one side and this crappy plywood siding over old siding on the other. I used 4 3/8x4 bolts to screw it to the wall and I will add a few more screws just to be safe.

will do. It's still a few months out though. It's been nearly 90 the past couple days.