I'm new here...
A couple days ago I discovered
solar pop can
heaters. Its fascinating! I thought
solar heaters were huge things that you could only buy if you were going to spend $5,000-$10,000 or more.
I am definitely going to make some of these things. Some passive and a few large ones for active. I do have a few questions. I will post in different threads once I find the time.
For now, whats on my mind is... why is the entire collector black? As the air is moving through the pop cans (which are supposed to be sealed off completely). What we want is for this air that travels through the pop cans to heat up fast and efficiently. That said, I would think by having everything else black... you're heating up the walls of the collector as well as the insulation. Wouldn't it be better to have double glazing, 1-2" of insulation, and a high temp durable reflective film such as mirror film or mylar?? I know that can get expensive, but wouldn't the extra money be worth it?
Basically, what I'm thinking about doing is to paint the cans black before they are installed in the collector, and then have the entire inside of the collector lined with reflective foil. Therefore light shines in the box and is reflected onto the black pop cans.
Please let me know if this will work, or why it won't.
Thanks!
Shawn