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Once while traveling through the southern US I saw a DIY solar hot water heater made from an old Chevy, that was up on blocks, painted black and the proud owner had run 200 feet of garden hose through the interior. It provided enough heat for his family to shower he said.
From the "Weird Asia News" blog we get the story of a man who made his family a solar hot water heater from 66 recycled beer bottles. He should have called, I could have helped him empty the bottles.
Weird Asia News:
A Chinese farmer has made his own solar-powered water heater out of beer bottles and hose pipes.
“I invented this for my mother. I wanted her to shower comfortably,†says Ma Yanjun, of Qiqiao village, Shaanxi province.
Ma’s invention features 66 beer bottles attached to a board. The bottles are connected to each other so that water flows through them.
Sunlight heats the water as is passes slowly through the bottles before flowing into the bathroom as hot water, reports China Economy Network.
Ma says it provides enough hot water for all three members of his family to have a shower every day.
And more than 10 families in the village have already followed suit and installed their own versions of Ma’s invention.
Via: BoingBoing, Wierd Asia News
Hits: 10624
Comments (16)
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written by Jack, June 14, 2007
Would such a thing work in colder climates and seasons? Hot showers are one thing in the middle of a hot summer, but...
Still. Its pretty cool.
Still. Its pretty cool.
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written by Luis, June 14, 2007
Very interesting idea; though not certainly new. I remember some similar designs (and many other useful ideas) in John Seymour's books.
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written by Solar, June 14, 2007
I love the idea of creating solar panels from recycled goods, its much beter than mass producing solar panels in factories.
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written by Jack, June 14, 2007
Looked into solar water heaters. What a cool lo-tech! Perfect for my Californian weather...why aren't these everywhere?
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written by Jack, June 15, 2007
I've heard that water heating makes up about 30% of home energy use, and that in California solar water heaters can supply about 70% of hot water needs. Assuming no additional extra energy costs for solar water heaters, that's a 21% reduction in home energy costs/use/contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Not bad. And its supposed to pay for itself within a decade, or less, and last upwards to 40 years. like i said, a cool lo-tech
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written by kballs, June 15, 2007
LOL, the story about the old Chevy was better than the beer bottles, but they are both interesting.
Actually in the colder (below freezing in winter) climates you have to use a glycol solution that runs through the solar collector, then it runs into a "hot water tank" in your house to preheat the water that goes into a more traditional water heater (or can also preheat water for tankless water heaters). You get less effective heating in winter... and if it snows you gotta get out there and sweep off the snow (same with photovoltaics actually).
So in warm climates these systems can be pretty cheap and easy to build and maintain, but in colder climates they are more complex and expensive while at the same time being less effective.
Actually in the colder (below freezing in winter) climates you have to use a glycol solution that runs through the solar collector, then it runs into a "hot water tank" in your house to preheat the water that goes into a more traditional water heater (or can also preheat water for tankless water heaters). You get less effective heating in winter... and if it snows you gotta get out there and sweep off the snow (same with photovoltaics actually).
So in warm climates these systems can be pretty cheap and easy to build and maintain, but in colder climates they are more complex and expensive while at the same time being less effective.
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written by Glass Girl, June 15, 2007
Here's a materials tip: If you want to make one your self just use clear non-alcoholic glass bottles. Firstly, the green and amber bottles have iron in them which is a great absorber of heat, sounds good at first, but this actually means the glass itself is absorbing all of the heat and not the water. Secondly, ultra-violet rays while bad for beer (alcohol in general) is very good for heating water. Green and brown glass again is good at absorbing the ultra-violet, but even the clear bottles will sometimes have a clear coating on them to block out the ultraviolet (if it doesn't that's why it tastes so bad), so you'd maximize your efficiency by using something like ice tea bottles.
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written by Tracy, June 15, 2007
I gave away a surplus radiator on Freecycle recently to a guy who was going to be making a solar panel out of it. What an amazing use of an object that was collecting dust in my shed!
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written by Mike, June 16, 2007
And think, if you need to repair or enlarge your solar panel all you need to do is drink more beer. The green and amber color of the bottles is actually to block out light in the blue range which interacts with the iso alpha acids(that's what makes it smell skunky) formed by the hops during the boil so I don't know if the color would have much effect on the heating of the water or not.
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written by josh beijing, June 20, 2007
stupid question: If the glass gets hot rather than the water, doesn't the heat from the glass go into the water? Like, y'know, when you use opaque black hoses on your roof for the same purpose? yes, black absorbs heat, but that heat doesn't just hang about. That's why goths hate summer.
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written by Hun Boon, June 29, 2007
This kind of "cheap but ugly" solution is only used because they can't afford an electric heater. So guess what will be the first thing they junk when their lives improve?
Many of us might marvel at how innovative they are, but I doubt any of us would rush off to do the same. :'(
Many of us might marvel at how innovative they are, but I doubt any of us would rush off to do the same. :'(
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written by Alex, July 01, 2007
And when they can afford an electric water heater, along with many millions of others, we all pay the price. Most of that power will come from conventional coal-fired power plants. Maybe most of us wouldn't make a heater out of bottles, but greater wealth doesn't need to mean relying on polluting energy. Solar can do a world of good, even as a supplement.
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written by john, August 22, 2007
Thats tight as hell, at least that man cares enough about his family that he was willing to do anyhting for them to have hot water. I dont see how they cant have hot water on thone nice ass houses, you can see them when u look behind him 8)
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written by Solar Panels, April 25, 2009
Great idea! I think temperature could be from 50 to 70. That is enough for shower or something else... I saw a guy who was making and selling solar water heating systems of coca-cola banks.
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I wanna see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal"
(Rolling Stones, Paint it black, 1966)