DIY passive solar thermal heaters

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landyrubbertramp

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Does anyone have any experiance with DIY passive solar thermal heaters ive seen this on youtube and other sites and it seems to look like a good idea esp for us off grid wildcampers.

imagesCAXWOMWD.jpg
 
I cant see the photo that well if it is like the solar heater I have for the pool water here its a nightmare
 
You need to run a water pipe through a clear pipe with a vacuum between them and then run them both through a much wider pipe with about a third of it removed down its length. The outer pipe you line with foil as a reflector. The idea is to concentrate the sun on the centre pipe but insulate it from the cold. How well it works depends on how big an eyesore you build. :)

Richard
 
Drew said:
I think the idea for this came when someone thought about how the inside of a car is hot on a sunny day. A bit of extrapolation and you can easily make a solar heater. Thing is your van, if it has windows, will do this already so I don't know how much you would gain, only one way to find out
http://www.reuk.co.uk/Make-a-Simple-Solar-Air-Heater.htm:D
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Ye olde greenhouse affect has been used for many years "Downunder" in passive solar heating, mainly in housing. Not really practical for the motorhome bulky panels, electric pumps (you can't rely on thermo syphon effect) 2 way valves etc as already said how big an eyesore do you want.
Might as well buy pv panels and stick an immersion element in a tank of water, you're still using the same old sun.
 
thanks for the reply guys, i wasnt think from a point of view of heating water i.e pool or for a shower or just general hot water i was thinking more for warm air to put into the van motorhome etc. i can see whereByronic
is coming from but i just thought sumthing sat 6ft x 3ft and about 6 inches in width would be ok on a van roof aalot on the site use lines of coke cans painted blk with blk back ground and sum instalation and then have a fan on each side one push air one draw air most use a chesp computer fan and sum activate the fan if a thermostate so when it get to the right temp kicks in then once most of the air is drawn out and get to same as room temp it cuts off
 
A bit bulky and an eyesore on motorhomes, I would have thought?

Though if you want an example of simple passive heating that works, RickVanMan (youtube) takes loose 10L containers, paints them black, fills them with water, and puts them on his roof on a sunny day. By 5 or 6 o'clock he has a supply of nice warm/hot water to use in his van shower.
 
Drew said:
Sorry link didn't work
Make a Simple Solar Air Heater - Solar
Try this one
Click to expand...

Firefox said:
A bit bulky and an eyesore on motorhomes, I would have thought?

Though if you want an example of simple passive heating that works, RickVanMan (youtube) takes loose 10L containers, paints them black, fills them with water, and puts them on his roof on a sunny day. By 5 or 6 o'clock he has a supply of nice warm/hot water to use in his van shower.
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thansk for reply ff yes i thing ive seen that some where but im thinkin more warm air for heating on sunny cold days. kenspain on thease used in propities high up inland where u r in spain i.e cold but very sunny conditions
 
basildog said:
Loads of Bulgarians use old house radiators up on the roof of their summer or mountain houses for showering etc !
And they say we have a better standard of living here ? Hands up how many of you have a second home in the mountains for summer use ?
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YES sorry i have,:cheers:
 
kenspain said:
YES sorry i have,:cheers:
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I suspect the op means Bulgarians buying second homes in Bulgaria. How many English folk can afford a second home in England? Many English can afford a second home in Spain but it's not quite the same thing. The way things are in the housing market in Spain at the moment they'll be giving homes away with every kilo of chorizo!
 
True so many cheap property's here now. which is good news for some of us. but sad news for many who have lost money on the sale.
 
kenspain said:
True so many cheap property's here now. which is good news for some of us. but sad news for many who have lost money on the sale.
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Yes, now may be the time to buy, but who knows, tomorrow you might get 2 properties for the price of 1.

The question that worries me is... who now has the possession of the debt (British Banks?) on the outstanding mortgage money lent for all these second and first homes?
If a lot of "owners" default or are defaulting on repayment does it mean that will I get even less interest from the bank... yeah I know, of course I will!
 
As a matter of interest,
is there much use of solar panels in Spain?

I would have thought so, as the climate seems suitable.

Btw, the radiators in Bulgaria, are they filled with water, or how are they used, please?


sean rua.
 
Byronic said:
Yes, now may be the time to buy, but who knows, tomorrow you might get 2 properties for the price of 1.

The question that worries me is... who now has the possession of the debt (British Banks?) on the outstanding mortgage money lent for all these second and first homes?
If a lot of "owners" default or are defaulting on repayment does it mean that will I get even less interest from the bank... yeah I know, of course I will!
Click to expand...

Here now the banks have been told that they must go after anyone that defaults on a mortgage don,t matter what country your from the government here now have an agency i think is called European Debt Recovery or some thing like that a friend that lived here i our village move back owing the bank money and it took them 6 months to find him now he is paying 300 month plus back.
 
kenspain said:
Here now the banks have been told that they must go after anyone that defaults on a mortgage don,t matter what country your from the government here now have an agency i think is called European Debt Recovery or some thing like that a friend that lived here i our village move back owing the bank money and it took them 6 months to find him now he is paying 300 month plus back.
Click to expand...

Great idea... in theory. But you can't get get anything from someone who has nothing, or possibly an offshore bank account. Look what happens in the UK, defaulter declares bankruptcy then taken to court and pleads poverty (true or otherwise} the court orders repayment of £10 a month!
Do you really think in Spain they're actually going to chase up these banks? I Speak/Read Spanish and even if you don't I'm sure you pick up English language copies of Sur, Euronews etc. and note how many Alcalde(Mayor) and other employees of the Ayuntamientos are awaiting trial or have been sentenced.

It's a joke, they get away with millions and get a suspended sentence, oh and sometimes a fine, about 25% of their ill gotten gains. A strategy not disimilar to that used by the utility companies in the UK, except their executives don't even get a suspended sentence.
 
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