passive solar heater for trailer

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Wolf
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:39 pm

passive solar heater for trailer

Post by Wolf » Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:50 pm

I'm trying (so far without success) to find any info on building a passive solar heater (for air, not water) using 55 gallon drums... When I was in college some years back someone saw something similar, changed the design somewhat, & built a mini version, maybe 2' x 2', which generated a surprising amount of heat. The basic idea here is an air-tight box with 1 or 2 55-gallon drums inside filled with rocks. From either side, the box is triangular; the sides, back, & bottom were plywood with a plexiglass face angles up towards the sun. The plywood & drums were painted black. There was a vent (or maybe two) on the bottom, & one (or two) more on top. These vents would be connected to vents in the floor & top of the wall in the mobile home. And, after sundown, the vents in the house could be closed. I was hoping to find any information on the number of steel drums, or size of box, needed in a cold, wide-open country to sufficiently heat a 2 or 3 bedroom trailer house. Also, I'm wondering if this other guy's idea that venting was needed at the top & bottom was really neccesary - I'm thinking perhaps one vent at the top of the box, or two for a larger box, might be adequate. Any ideas??

techman
Site Admin
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Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:49 am

Re: passive solar heater for trailer

Post by techman » Thu Oct 11, 2012 1:36 pm

Hi, more vent area means more air flow. I never heard of such a project, but it sounds interesting. I have heard about a lot of various projects where you heat up a mass with the sun during the day and allow the heat to flow back out at night.

The whole thing needs to be insulated very well. Best is if even the plexiglass window is somehow covered with a 2 inch thick sheet of foam insulation at night.

I have no idea what size you need for your home. These things are not precise. But I do know that my little passive solar window heater worked very well in a single window in winter on a sunny day.

I think it would be easier, cheaper and more reliable to build up a cement block or brick wall on the sunny side of the trailer. Paint it all black. Put a wood frame in front of it and put plastic sheeting on that. The sun shines and heats it up during the say. At night you collect the heat. Through vents.

But water collectors are even better from my studies. Use your 55 gal drums to heat up water during the day and pump it through pipes into a radiator inside the trailer. Basically your complete concept, but with water instead of stones.

Hope this helps some. Please feel free to ask questions any time.

Wolf
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:39 pm

Re: passive solar heater for trailer

Post by Wolf » Sun Oct 14, 2012 3:47 pm

Thanks for the info! You've given me a lot to think about. And, I'll probably be back here with more questions before winter actually sets-in!
Maximum warmth with minimum expense is exactly what I'm looking for!!

Wolf
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:39 pm

Re: passive solar heater for trailer

Post by Wolf » Sun Oct 14, 2012 3:47 pm

Thanks for the info! You've given me a lot to think about. And, I'll probably be back here with more questions before winter actually sets-in!
Maximum warmth with minimum expense is exactly what I'm looking for!!

McMillan
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:01 am

Re: passive solar heater for trailer

Post by McMillan » Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:08 am

Hi Wolf,
I have been researching active solar heating for some time and last year I build a do-it-yourself pop-can solar panel heater. This is a great diy passive solar project, and very simple one so everyone could do it. It has enormous power (almost 2KW) and you should definitely try to build one. There is a great on-line guide at diy solar panels. I would also keep in mind that beside building a solar heater, you are recycling pop-cans as well, so there is a huge benefit for the environment.
Last edited by McMillan on Sat Apr 18, 2015 10:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

SolarSam
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2014 8:51 pm

Re: passive solar heater for trailer

Post by SolarSam » Tue Sep 16, 2014 9:11 pm

Passive solar is a great start! I've built lots of active solar colectors , though, and they do make a lot more heat. There are tons of designs and approaches. One company is pushing a product called Okapi. It's for active solar heating, you know, with fans and such...totally different approach, but worth a gander.

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