vegthreads

This is one DIY green project where we actually encourage you to drink a few beers before hand. Actually about 50. That’s approximately the number of cans you’ll need to build this solar heater powered exclusively from your used brews. But before you get started first things first, please wait till the wife isn’t home to start this project. Alright now that you got your bases covered gather up the following supplies:

What You’ll Need

• 50 aluminum cans. I know I didn’t have fifty cans lying around my house so I suggest you either stock pile up on cans for the next few weeks or head to your local liquor store and just buy them from the store clerk.
• A can of black spray paint. Feel free to test your graffiti skills on a basement wall whiles your at it. Note vegthreads will not be held responsible for your poor graffiti skills.
• Plastic tubing. Grab at least five feet from your local hardware store, more if you plan on pipping the heat your ugh beer heater generates further.
• Wood. Not that kind of wood! Two by fours and some plywood are what you want here.
• Something to make a hole in the cans with about the size of your thumb. A pocket knife works just fine here.

Alright guys now on to the fun part, drinking the beer! Ugh I mean building this beer heater generator thing.

How To Build it.

1. First use your wood to construct a wooden frame. The frame should roughly be about 50 inches by 15 inches. Next cut a piece of plywood this size and nail it to the back of the frame. what you should now have is something that looks like a shoe box missing its lid.
2. Alright next grab some caulk and run it along the edges to create a tight seal.
3. Now take your cans and create a hole about the size of your thumb in the bottom of 45 cans. Also remove the tab. For the remaining five cans poke a hole the same size right in the middle of the can where the Pepsi/Coke logo is. These cans will go on your bottom rack and will draw the air in.
4. Alright now start placing your cans inside the frame. Use caulk or super glue to hold them in place. Remember to put the five cans with holes in the middle on the bottom row. Likewise try to line up the hole in a cans bottom with the opening at the top of the can. When you get to the top row make sure you leave an inch of two of space so the air can flow to your outlet hole which you will drill next.
5. Alright almost done. Drill an outlet at the top of the frame the diameter of your plastic tubing and run the tubing to whatever location you want the heat to go.
6. This is the point where I spray painted by cans. You really can spray paint the cans at whatever stage you like but I chose this point because all the cans were already nicely in place and I could easily spray paint the frame while I was at.
7. Your done! Just put your heater unit out in the sun and enjoy heated goodness to wherever you ran your pipping.

How It Works

Alright guys I no scientists but I sure the majority of you already know how this works. For those of you who don’t I’ll explain in 3 simple steps:

1. The air is drawn into the mechanism through the openings in the five bottom cans.
2. The sun heats the can and this heat is ultimately sealed at least somewhat inside of the can by the black paint. As the air passes through the cans the air in turn is heated as well.
3. Finally warm air rises so as the air heats up it travels out of heating mechanism to your desired location. Nifty eh?

What To Expect

If you thought our homemade Poop Composter performed great wait till you experience the rush of warm air put out by your beer solar heater thing a ma jigger. Typically you can expect the air to be about 15 degrees fahrenheit warmer then the air outside. Not bad eh? I have mine piped to warm my feet while I’m at my computer. The best part about all of this is your using useless items that would have ended up in the dump to make some useful. That’s ingenuity baby!

Additional Help

If you need anymore help just contact me or for a detailed how-to including photo’s just click here.