Comments on: Building a solar heater for the RV http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html Becoming debt-free is the first step to building a better world. Financial independence is the second. Doing what YOU want is the third. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:07:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: sputnik http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-17687 sputnik Thu, 28 Oct 2010 04:22:26 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-17687 I am a full-time rv'er and I have been eyeing these clever things as well. Just like everything else in an RV, there are "special" requirements. Like I would like it to be as light & small as possible. Well, small may be a bit much to ask, although I have about the equivalent of a 60-80 sq. ft. room to heat, so something a little smaller may suffice, mine will be about 2'x 5', due to material size availability. But as far as light goes, I believe I have the answer. Obviously the (whatever) cans & headers are pretty light. But a wood enclosure that size will not be particularly light. Initially I thought of styrofoam, but it's only rated for use up to 165F, does nasty things after that. However, they have that new generation of insulation available at Home Depot, rated to 250F. Most folks say they don't exceed 220F, these heaters, even in summer. It also has a great R value, 5.9 for a 1" thick panel. Thermasheath it's called. http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Materials-Insulation-Sheathings/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xhbZbaxx/R-100549260/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 The stuff is exterior rated, but it's just foil covered, we'll have to see. Alternately, there are coatings you can buy, kinda like hard candy coating but tougher, made just for styrofoam, should oughta work here I think. Anyhow, something can be done if the foil isn't enough. Home Depot also has clear polycarb panels made by SunTuff, supposedly pass light as well as glass (although solar sites rate it a little lower). Unbreakable is another "special" RV attribute. This post is over a year old by this time, I wonder if Jacob needs some help emptying those cans? Would love to see his results, I make enough mistakes when I have complete directions. I was thinking I might be the 1st RV'er to do it, but would gladly give up 1st place to learn something from my dinette seat, instead of who knows how many wasted hours. So just thought I would add my 2 cents worth, in case there are any other RV'ers out there thinking of the same, took me awhile to weed thru all this. From the responses here, not sure if this is about RV's or not. Survivalists, heck, we're all survivalists, especially in this lifestyle ;) I am a full-time rv’er and I have been eyeing these clever things as well. Just like everything else in an RV, there are “special” requirements. Like I would like it to be as light & small as possible. Well, small may be a bit much to ask, although I have about the equivalent of a 60-80 sq. ft. room to heat, so something a little smaller may suffice, mine will be about 2′x 5′, due to material size availability. But as far as light goes, I believe I have the answer.
Obviously the (whatever) cans & headers are pretty light. But a wood enclosure that size will not be particularly light. Initially I thought of styrofoam, but it’s only rated for use up to 165F, does nasty things after that. However, they have that new generation of insulation available at Home Depot, rated to 250F. Most folks say they don’t exceed 220F, these heaters, even in summer. It also has a great R value, 5.9 for a 1″ thick panel. Thermasheath it’s called.
http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Materials-Insulation-Sheathings/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xhbZbaxx/R-100549260/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
The stuff is exterior rated, but it’s just foil covered, we’ll have to see. Alternately, there are coatings you can buy, kinda like hard candy coating but tougher, made just for styrofoam, should oughta work here I think. Anyhow, something can be done if the foil isn’t enough.
Home Depot also has clear polycarb panels made by SunTuff, supposedly pass light as well as glass (although solar sites rate it a little lower). Unbreakable is another “special” RV attribute.
This post is over a year old by this time, I wonder if Jacob needs some help emptying those cans? Would love to see his results, I make enough mistakes when I have complete directions. I was thinking I might be the 1st RV’er to do it, but would gladly give up 1st place to learn something from my dinette seat, instead of who knows how many wasted hours.
So just thought I would add my 2 cents worth, in case there are any other RV’ers out there thinking of the same, took me awhile to weed thru all this. From the responses here, not sure if this is about RV’s or not. Survivalists, heck, we’re all survivalists, especially in this lifestyle ;)

]]> By: Gravity Gardener http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-6708 Gravity Gardener Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:55:42 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-6708 I have seen this concept several times across the internet, but wanted to build my own. I used Black plastic pipe used for french drains to get the same effect for my heat chamber and it worked pretty well. No drilling of cans. This stuff works. Take a look if interested. http://gravitygarden.com/powergarden/?page_id=11 I have seen this concept several times across the internet, but wanted to build my own.

I used Black plastic pipe used for french drains to get the same effect for my heat chamber and it worked pretty well. No drilling of cans. This stuff works.

Take a look if interested.

http://gravitygarden.com/powergarden/?page_id=11

]]> By: Scott Lovingood http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5662 Scott Lovingood Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:41:08 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5662 I made one for my garage bay last winter minus the soda cans. I used two by fours and the clear sheets that Lowes sells for greenhouse covers. Took the reflective aluminum coated bubble wrap often used to insulate water heaters as the back of it. Painted it black. Pull air from the bottom of my garage and used the garage door at night to insulate it and keep air from cooling off in it. I kept my garage over 20 degrees warmer than last year and I do not face south fully. This year I plan on adding the aluminum cans which greatly increases the surface area and improves the efficiency of the device. The main problem most houses have with solar heating is lack of thermal mass in the house. Air is a very poor holder of thermal mass. A better system (though more complicated) includes a liquid or solid thermal storage system. You run water through the solar collector, through a heat exchanger in a storage system (usually a salt water insulated containter), a second heat exchanger runs into the house and using liquid tubing underneath the floor panels to transfer the heat in. I have seen it houses but never in an RV. With a stationary one it might be possible to create one. http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/SolarShed/solarshed.htm contains some details on one guy's design in Colorado. I made one for my garage bay last winter minus the soda cans. I used two by fours and the clear sheets that Lowes sells for greenhouse covers. Took the reflective aluminum coated bubble wrap often used to insulate water heaters as the back of it. Painted it black. Pull air from the bottom of my garage and used the garage door at night to insulate it and keep air from cooling off in it. I kept my garage over 20 degrees warmer than last year and I do not face south fully. This year I plan on adding the aluminum cans which greatly increases the surface area and improves the efficiency of the device.

The main problem most houses have with solar heating is lack of thermal mass in the house. Air is a very poor holder of thermal mass. A better system (though more complicated) includes a liquid or solid thermal storage system. You run water through the solar collector, through a heat exchanger in a storage system (usually a salt water insulated containter), a second heat exchanger runs into the house and using liquid tubing underneath the floor panels to transfer the heat in. I have seen it houses but never in an RV. With a stationary one it might be possible to create one. http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/SolarShed/solarshed.htm
contains some details on one guy’s design in Colorado.

]]> By: George http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5659 George Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:06:07 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5659 I've been saving my pop cans to do this on a larger scale for my insulated workshop (1500 sq ft, ahem, so many, many more panels required). The main idea is to bring the temperature above ambient during the spring & fall after the sun sets, which would be the most likely time I'd spend in the workshop, after being at work during the day. During the summer, I'd drop shutters over the whole affair. I’ve been saving my pop cans to do this on a larger scale for my insulated workshop (1500 sq ft, ahem, so many, many more panels required).

The main idea is to bring the temperature above ambient during the spring & fall after the sun sets, which would be the most likely time I’d spend in the workshop, after being at work during the day. During the summer, I’d drop shutters over the whole affair.

]]> By: Jacob http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5658 Jacob Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:32:20 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5658 @Laurie - We have sun almost all year around. We can not turn the RV, so we have the situation you describe at the end. In the winter I used to open the blinds to the front windows to get some passive heating. I think this will help. @Laurie – We have sun almost all year around. We can not turn the RV, so we have the situation you describe at the end. In the winter I used to open the blinds to the front windows to get some passive heating. I think this will help.

]]> By: Laurie http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5657 Laurie Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:25:07 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5657 Your solar heater idea is interesting, but seems impractical to me. I've lived in an RV for six years. In my experience, when the sun is shining (necessary for your solar heater to work), it is more difficult to COOL an RV than to heat it. When the sun is NOT shining, your solar heater won't help. We move a lot (currently stationary for two months in Oregon while we volunteer as trail hosts in return for a beautiful, full-hookup site in the Columbia Gorge), and know that the MOST important method of controlling climate in the RV is siting, use of awnings, and use of 12v fans. I can't picture the circumstances where a solar heater would be much of a help on a sunny day - when you are not likely to want more heat! I guess it would be useful in winter if you were unable to face south or west - but only in a sunny climate. We spend much of the winter in the southwest and find that facing south warms us adequately. On cold mornings, before the sun revs up, we dress warmly and I do any baking or cooking for the day. The heat thrown off by the propane oven takes away the morning chill (not for free, though). How/when do you picture using the heater? Your solar heater idea is interesting, but seems impractical to me. I’ve lived in an RV for six years. In my experience, when the sun is shining (necessary for your solar heater to work), it is more difficult to COOL an RV than to heat it. When the sun is NOT shining, your solar heater won’t help.

We move a lot (currently stationary for two months in Oregon while we volunteer as trail hosts in return for a beautiful, full-hookup site in the Columbia Gorge), and know that the MOST important method of controlling climate in the RV is siting, use of awnings, and use of 12v fans. I can’t picture the circumstances where a solar heater would be much of a help on a sunny day – when you are not likely to want more heat!

I guess it would be useful in winter if you were unable to face south or west – but only in a sunny climate. We spend much of the winter in the southwest and find that facing south warms us adequately. On cold mornings, before the sun revs up, we dress warmly and I do any baking or cooking for the day. The heat thrown off by the propane oven takes away the morning chill (not for free, though).

How/when do you picture using the heater?

]]> By: Ken http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5655 Ken Sun, 12 Jul 2009 02:58:46 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5655 Are you planning on installing a check value for the inlet to avoid it drawing air out of your RV when it is cold? Ideally, if you really wanted to make it as useful (and permanent) as possible, you would put a check value on the inlet and a two-way value downstream of that. This would ensure that hot air doesn't leak out the RV when it is cold and also allow you to shut the two-value when you don't want/need the heat. After some quick googling of 'low force air check valve', I found some check valves that might work. Are you planning on installing a check value for the inlet to avoid it drawing air out of your RV when it is cold?

Ideally, if you really wanted to make it as useful (and permanent) as possible, you would put a check value on the inlet and a two-way value downstream of that. This would ensure that hot air doesn’t leak out the RV when it is cold and also allow you to shut the two-value when you don’t want/need the heat.

After some quick googling of ‘low force air check valve’, I found some check valves that might work.

]]> By: MoneyEnergy http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5654 MoneyEnergy Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:18:37 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5654 @Alex, thanks for that site link. Can't recall if I already knew about it or not - seems familiar. They have a ton of forums there - looks like a busy site. @Alex, thanks for that site link. Can’t recall if I already knew about it or not – seems familiar. They have a ton of forums there – looks like a busy site.

]]> By: Alex http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5653 Alex Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:08:53 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5653 @ MoneyEnergy: I'm not sure. Before reading it, I would check whenshtf.com, and make extensive plans to buy preps (I'm a teenager). But after reading it, I just got so sick of it and can't even think about it anymore. re: toilet paper- use wash clothes ;) That's an extensive list. Thanks for the link. @ MoneyEnergy: I’m not sure. Before reading it, I would check whenshtf.com, and make extensive plans to buy preps (I’m a teenager). But after reading it, I just got so sick of it and can’t even think about it anymore.

re: toilet paper- use wash clothes ;)
That’s an extensive list. Thanks for the link.

]]> By: MoneyEnergy http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5652 MoneyEnergy Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:51:17 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5652 Here's a slightly related, but interesting post it seems some of the readers here might like: The 100 Things Most In Demand in an Emergency (taken from the war in Sarajevo) http://ow.ly/h3q6 (scroll down to the purple shaded area) - interesting point (obvious?) about toilet paper being more in-demand commodity than gold... Here’s a slightly related, but interesting post it seems some of the readers here might like:

The 100 Things Most In Demand in an Emergency (taken from the war in Sarajevo)

http://ow.ly/h3q6 (scroll down to the purple shaded area) – interesting point (obvious?) about toilet paper being more in-demand commodity than gold…

]]> By: Knobby Kabushka http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5651 Knobby Kabushka Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:46:43 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5651 The other thing I wanted to add was I got more info from this 'solar heater for rv' post of yours then from 'Emergency' The other thing I wanted to add was I got more info from this ‘solar heater for rv’ post of yours then from ‘Emergency’

]]> By: Knobby Kabushka http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5650 Knobby Kabushka Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:43:01 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5650 Well, 'Emergency' didn't fire me up... Got more info. out of US Army Special Forces Medical Handbook and Small Wars Manual. Well, ‘Emergency’ didn’t fire me up…

Got more info. out of US Army Special Forces Medical Handbook and Small Wars Manual.

]]> By: Solarfruitcake http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5649 Solarfruitcake Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:41:49 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5649 Forget about drinking the beer and those cans.. I purchased some really aluminum solar air heater profiles from solarwindowheaters.com. It only took me 4 hours to build a 36 x 48 solar air heater and the rest of the day I enjoyed my homemade brew.... Forget about drinking the beer and those cans.. I purchased some really aluminum solar air heater profiles from solarwindowheaters.com. It only took me 4 hours to build a 36 x 48 solar air heater and the rest of the day I enjoyed my homemade brew….

]]> By: MoneyEnergy http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5648 MoneyEnergy Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:14:05 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5648 @Alex - that's interesting - how did that happen? Do you guys also know about the "solar-powered light bulbs" that Brazilian guy made from old pop bottles? There's a video on YouTube about it (in Portuguese, but you can still follow it visually). When I have my own house I'll definitely be using some solar panels - it's wise to diversify our energy sources, anyway. @Alex – that’s interesting – how did that happen?

Do you guys also know about the “solar-powered light bulbs” that Brazilian guy made from old pop bottles? There’s a video on YouTube about it (in Portuguese, but you can still follow it visually).

When I have my own house I’ll definitely be using some solar panels – it’s wise to diversify our energy sources, anyway.

]]> By: Alex http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5647 Alex Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:55:33 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5647 Ironically, after reading Emergency, I lost interest in survivalism. hmm. Ironically, after reading Emergency, I lost interest in survivalism. hmm.

]]> By: Jacob http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5645 Jacob Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:51:11 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5645 @Seth - Hopefully, by the time "winter" arrives, I should have gone through 120 cans or so. @Seth – Hopefully, by the time “winter” arrives, I should have gone through 120 cans or so.

]]> By: Seth Miller http://earlyretirementextreme.com/building-a-solar-heater-for-the-rv.html/comment-page-1#comment-5644 Seth Miller Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:13:52 +0000 http://earlyretirementextreme.com/?p=1898#comment-5644 I'd enjoy seeing some pictures when it is finished. I've been curious about the solar projects. I’d enjoy seeing some pictures when it is finished. I’ve been curious about the solar projects.

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