Bird House that uses Recycled Aluminum Cans

I ran across this post this morning and thought this is the best way to reuse aluminum cans I have ever seen.

I used to make candle holders out of the pop cans though that was a lot harder than using them as sheets of aluminum for projects or roof tiles.



How to do this!




source

This is how to use these aluminum sheets as roof tiles:

These can be used in the future for roofing birdhouses, dog houses or people houses.

Make roof tiles

Anne - That's really cool.  I particularly like the little birdhouse that resulted.

In the spirit of permaculture, I would emphasize choosing a use for aluminum cans that takes maximum advantage of their innate qualities.  Sort of like the textbook exercise "let's brainstorm what is the chicken-ness of a chicken," let's brainstorm "what is the can-ness of an aluminum can?"

- Cans hold liquid.
- Cans are tubular.
- Cans stack reasonably well.
- Cans are ubiquitous and often free.
- Cans are thin walled.
- Cans can be easily penetrated, perforated, or cut.
- Cans can be easily crushed, since they're mostly air.
- Cans are easily recycled (or they used to be, but in any case we want to do better and upcycle)
- Cans are made of aluminum.
- Aluminum resists rust.
- Aluminum is a good conductor.
- Aluminum is half-way malleable.
- Aluminum is light weight.
...etc.

The longer you go on and the more intensely you think about it, you can probably come up with more.  But my point is that the more of their innate qualities you can capitalize on with your upcycling design, the better.

In your design, for example, you took advantage of "often free," "made of aluminum," "aluminum is half-way malleable," and "aluminum resists rust."  Not bad.

But you also started by deconstructing the cans into flat sheets.  So you put extra work into undoing all of the innate attributes associated with their pre-existing shape.

Here is one idea that uses the cans in their natural can-shape: can-stack solar air heaters.  You can find a ton of videos on YouTube about these DIY projects.  There is even one small company that sells them commercially.  In this link, a DIYer indexes and compares multiple different online case-studies of different heater builds.  A good place to start!

https://stonehavenlife.com/7-diy-pop-can-solar-heaters/

Very cute.  Aluminum makes great plant markers. On a soft surface use a burnishing tool or even a pen.  If you want to go the extra mile write it backwards and when you turn it over you have raised letters.  
It also makes great decorations. I cut aluminum cans into the shape of leaves, painted them green and added them to a trellis I made.  I was happy with the way it looked.  Next time I do a project like it I will double or triple the area I put the hole to attach it.  Strong wind would sometimes rip them off.
We save our cans and recycle them for Christmas money, but I also like using it for projects, it's so easy to cut, and mold, and do fun stuff with.

Matthew Nistico wrote:
In the spirit of permaculture, I would emphasize choosing a use for aluminum cans that takes maximum advantage of their innate qualities.  Sort of like the textbook exercise "let's brainstorm what is the chicken-ness of a chicken," let's brainstorm "what is the can-ness of an aluminum can?"

The longer you go on and the more intensely you think about it, you can probably come up with more.  But my point is that the more of their innate qualities you can capitalize on with your upcycling design, the better.

In your design, for example, you took advantage of "often free," "made of aluminum," "aluminum is half-way malleable," and "aluminum resists rust."  Not bad.

But you also started by deconstructing the cans into flat sheets.  So you put extra work into undoing all of the innate attributes associated with their pre-existing shape.

Here is one idea that uses the cans in their natural can-shape: can-stack solar air heaters.  You can find a ton of videos on YouTube about these DIY projects.  There is even one small company that sells them commercially.  In this link, a DIYer indexes and compares multiple different online case-studies of different heater builds.  A good place to start!

https://stonehavenlife.com/7-diy-pop-can-solar-heaters/

Part of the "pre-existing shape" is it's thinness, and possibility of liberating a sheet of a certain size (depending on the can) from the whole can.
Another attribute of aluminum is a melting point that is attainable with hardware store tools (not industrial equipment) which opens the possibility of casting a new complete object, or even just a new rough shape to work further. Whole cans or scraps from other reuse ideas could be melted into new shapes.

I've been working on a soda-can heater design (for quite a while...years...) which uses a few innate qualities of the cans, to avoid the use of glue. With one end removed, the thin wall is flexible enough to allow another can to nest inside with just a friction fit. The neck of the can is smaller and has a rim which has possibilities for attaching into a manifold/duct, possibly using the plastic snap-on 4/6-pack holder thingies as a fastener. The base of the can is thicker and holds it's round shape better, as well as having a smooth corner to slip another can over. Of course, the tubular shape, and conductivity.

Jen mentioned cashing them in, which is an attribute that metals have over many others, that there's cash value. In states with refundable containers, the refund often exceeds the intrinsic value of the container's material. It's a bit more mercenary than a creative reuse of a material/object/shape, but has many positive environmental benefits.

As in most permie threads, this is great out of the box thinking.  So...as is my wont, I looked at the potential issues.  Aluminum is soluble in slightly acid water which can include acid rain.  In my part of the country, the soil and ground water will slowly eat aluminum cans.  The issue with that is that the solute resulting is potentially toxic.  The valance of the dissolved aluminum is the same as that found in the neural tangles of Alzheimer's patients.  Add to that the fact that most metals tend to accumulate in the body over time and I would resist using this for any foodstuff contact or water used for human/animal consumption.

Now that we have the negative aspects covered, to the better stuff.  When looking at the good conductor aspect, that applies to energy and to electricity.  Rolling these sheets and compressing the resulting bar would allow one to make good connectors for electric fence gates, or for sacrificial anodes to place on top of batteries to protect the wiring or battery terminals.  I have used pennies for the sacrifice in the past.

If one were to use a drill to punch holes opposite each other on each can, they could be strung on a wire and then wrapped around a stove pipe to create a secondary radiator that pumped heat drawn from the pipe around the room.  Taking the sheets, a couple of holes through one edge would allow stringing on a wire and wrapping around a pipe.  The sheets would appear to create a great heat sink That could be attached to a computer or electrical case to pull off excess heat.  Useful when one does not use AC in the recent warm temperatures.  Another use would be around a pipe running heat into a hot tub to increase efficiency of heat transfer to the surrounding water.

PVC pipe coils are an inexpensive and oft used method to gather solar energy to heat water.  The down side is that if UV light hits PVC , it can cause degradation over time.  So, use the tube nature of aluminum cans.  Cut the ends to make a tube that can be slipped over the PVC pipe and then use a couple of flat pieces to form the can tube around the PVC line.  This increases heat transfer, makes more efficient use of the void normally found between spiral pipe and protects the PVC from deterioration by UV.  Painting the cans flat black would amp up the heat acquisition above the regular black PVC while allowing it to increase its lifespan.  Depending on the diameter, it may be necessary to create overlap or cut the flattened can to fit more tightly in a circle.  Trial and error will show one which method of creation, whether all cans on tubing prior to bending or as the tubing is placed in a coil will result in the fastest construction method for each project.    Once the can has been flattened on each side of the tubing, it is suggested that a short slit be cut on each end where the flat starts so that cans can be interlocked for continuous overlap.

Richard Henry wrote:

Taking the sheets, a couple of holes through one edge would allow stringing on a wire and wrapping around a pipe.  

Richard, you've raised some excellent points and good ideas for upcycling. Unfortunately, I'm genuinely having trouble picturing what you mean with the stringing and wrapping. Is there any chance you have a picture of it? Or could you draw and post a simple diagram. I've got a spot where something like this might be useful, but would prefer not to spend a bunch of extra time on trial and error, if you've got a picture handy!

Richard is concerned about toxicity - I've also heard bad things about aluminium, luckily cans are internally plastic coated. Aluminium quickly gains an oxide layer to protect it from corrosion, but this is dissolved by either acid or alkali. Sugar and oil protect the aluminium.
Aluminium and silicon are both common elements in rocks and soil, so I wouldn't worry about it corroding in the garden.
Aluminium is flammable - in the UK we had a residential tower block, with cladding including aluminium, disastrously burn down: the chimney effect encouraged a small fire to become an inferno.
I've used old drinks cans to make plant labels, as Jen does. Good kitchen scissors cut through easily, and if you want a hole for threading a wire through, a paper punch works for a single sheet. Recycle the paper bits out of it first! A dead pen to write on it is fine, but it's not very visible. It's also difficult to erase. On the plus, I've had them years with no loss of readability.

Jay asked if I had a photo or drawing.  I had neither, but hope this quick sketch helps. The top view is just to orient one on the pipe to which a heat sink would be attached.  The four lines show how the flat aluminum could be set up.  Imagine a number of flat aluminum plates strung around the pipe.  The side view shows one edge of the flat piece with a folded edge with holes for the wire.  The folded edge should increase heat transfer in/out of pipe.  The front view shows the location of the holes along the folded edge.  Using just one edge allows the heat sink to radiate nicely as the outside greater circumference will provide more air space for heat transfer.  Please let me know if greater detail is needed.  

I have  not uploaded an attachment to this site before, so hope it works properly.

Richard Henry wrote:

Jay asked if I had a photo or drawing.  I had neither, but hope this quick sketch helps.

Thanks Richard!

So as I thought, you've got the "fins made of tin cans" sticking out perpendicularly to the pipe along it's length. I'm wondering if it wouldn't make better contact with the pipe if I tried putting a wire at the bottom as well as the top of the straightened bits of can? If the folded edge is in firm contact along its whole edge, would that improve conduction of the heat? (High School Physics wasn't my strong suit.... and it was a *very* long time ago!)

I am wondering if anyone has made this birdhouse and gotten a PEA BB? Or made the roof tiles for the PEA BB?

https://permies.com/wiki/168956/pop-roof-tiles-PEA-BB

I would love to see your birdhouse or roof tiles so please post some pictures.

Matthew Nistico wrote:In the spirit of permaculture, I would emphasize choosing a use for aluminum cans that takes maximum advantage of their innate qualities.  

Matthew, your right, how about making a safe?



https://permies.com/wiki/168955/pop-safe-PEA-BB-metalworking

Kenneth said, "I've been working on a soda-can heater design

Matthew and Kenneth, here is one, especially for both of you:

https://permies.com/wiki/168947/Create-pop-alcohol-stove-PEA

Jen said, "Aluminum makes great plant markers. On a soft surface use a burnishing tool or even a pen.

Jen, here is one:

https://permies.com/wiki/168925/Pop-plant-labels-PEA-BB

Richard said, "this is great out of the box thinking.

Speaking of boxes, Richard, here is one you can make:



https://permies.com/wiki/168951/Small-box-fitted-lid-PEA


Everyone, here are a couple more that use aluminum cans:

https://permies.com/wiki/168953/Open-top-tray-compartments-PEA

https://permies.com/wiki/168954/mirror-PEA-BB-metalworking-sand

Jay Angler wrote:Richard Henry wrote:

Jay asked if I had a photo or drawing.  I had neither, but hope this quick sketch helps.

Thanks Richard!

So as I thought, you've got the "fins made of tin cans" sticking out perpendicularly to the pipe along it's length. I'm wondering if it wouldn't make better contact with the pipe if I tried putting a wire at the bottom as well as the top of the straightened bits of can? If the folded edge is in firm contact along its whole edge, would that improve conduction of the heat? (High School Physics wasn't my strong suit.... and it was a *very* long time ago!)

Jay, sorry for the poor placement.  I drew a dotted line "pipe" on the upper part of the flattened aluminum sheet with the intention that it would be understood that it was a 90 degree rotation of the side view that showed the fold on the edge of the flat.  The wire was deliberately moved out from the fold bend for clarity, but I expect the bend of the folded flat sheet would be the best location for the wire and if one imagines a curved line from each of the holes heading up and around the pipe, it should be seen that the system does hold at top and bottom of the flat heat sink sheet.

Not all pipes can have a complete circle of heat sink and yes, the better the contact with the pipe at the folded edge, the greater the heat transfer.  It should be possible to crimp the wire to hold any partial heat sink for special geometries.  If one had the time, a very tight pack at the pipe would create a really massive heat transfer unit that could be stacked for greater efficiency.  In my state, each can has a 5 cent return price which makes recycling a more economic return than developing projects using the cans.  I do have to say that too many of those who drive too fast in wooded areas also seem to not care about the refund.   I have about 1,600 feet of road frontage that requires regular patrol to police the garbage throwing crowd.  Not only that, but someone threw a mother cat and 6 kittens on the side of my road frontage.  A neighbor and I tracked down all of them and rescued them from being fox/coyote bait and are now working to get them fostered.  We have 8 rescues at our place already.  Sorry, had to rant about the uncaring among humanity.

Apology accepted for the rant - happens around here too, and cans don't have feelings, but mother cats and kittens do!
Yes, here pop cans have a 10 cent bounty, but that's Canadian money. Many people still don't think it's worth their bother. Considering many homeless and low income people pick them up, I personally wish they'd up it to 20 cents! Here many of the "tossers" are people drinking and driving, and I accept rants about that too - I've met innocent bystanders who suffered the consequences of others alcohol levels and it can ruin lives.

All that said, the cans get melted down to reuse, so if permies in appropriate ecosystems use them intelligently for other purposes, I'm good with that. And if the ones they use are rescued from the side of the road, even better. I could rant about how bad pop is for people too... ;-)