Beer bottles make solar heated water....

lorientgirl

That's nothing! when I went to the Greek islands in the early 80s. We stayed in a little house where the owner had rigged up a oil dum on the roof and fixed pipe to a shower head to it. Cold showers in the morning but lovelyand warm in the evening.I reckon it could work here too in summer if the weather is nice!

ben500

Quasar wrote: »

It would work with any glass bottles, but perhaps light coloured or clear glass is best as it lets in more sunlight which is what does the heating.

Shame on you Quaser for not paying attention in science.

orlwaysbroke

The clearer the bottle the better the solar radiation will pass through the glass and into the liquid (remember we want hot water not hot bottles) - the dark surface needs to be behind the collectors.

To make this system hugely more efficient enclose the collectors in a "box" with a clear lid and a black insulated base.

That way the heat will be conducted in the most efficient manner.

Sadly the only simple way of stopping the water freezing is to empty the water out when there is a high risk of freezing over night and refilling in the morning - if the box system is used, then any solar radiation will be efficiently used to prevent the water freezing uring the day (mind you - the water is unlikely to warm enough for a real shower).

500yearvision

Now, I've studiously drunk 60 odd bottles of Czech beer (in brown bottles)... all I need to do next is figure out how to connect the bottles together.

Has anyone got that far yet? Any tips?

Thanks!

navig8r

picture from Seymour's book on self sufficiency in 1970's.so not such a new idea .

dave

alex£

I think that the Chinaman should get an award for reducing emissions from China (bearing in mind China is currently building 2 coal fired electricity generators a week)!

Re- the technicalities- the box idea is great as it would reduce heat loss, as is the idea of a black surface beneath the bottles. An easier version could be made using plastic bottles (though may suffer UV damage after a while) which wont break if the water freezes. Also, put some sort of expander in the system to allow for water expansion (which water does when it freezes and when it heats!).. erm... maybe I'm getting a bit geeky!

Quasar

ben500 wrote: »

Shame on you Quaser for not paying attention in science.

Thing is, I keep a few clear glass bottles of water on my window sill and in the summer sunshine they warm very well, so... I use the water for things such as washing dishes etc.

Never tried dark glass bottles though.

500yearvision

navig8r wrote: »

not such a new idea

Think it's the beer bottle element of the project that makes it.

So, anyone have ideas on how to join beer bottles up together?

Ta!

cazrobinson

series of tubes from beer making kit? linked together in a mat?