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Build your own tracking parabolic trough solar heater |
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Video below: Tracking the sun over a full day. It was mostly sunny and windy with clouds racing overhead.You can see that the tracker does a good job staying with the sun even when it is obscured (the dark flashes). I believe that the tracking sensor follows the bright edges of the clouds when it can't "see" the sun, so this is why it wanders a bit under these conditions. With a clear sky, it stays firmly locked on the sun. Time lapse, one pic every 60 seconds.
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Free heat from the sun - Provides about 1000 watts of heat per section. Build as many sections as you need. Used here in a summer configuration to heat a swimming pool. I'll show how you can build it yourself inexpensively with local building materials and simple hand tools. Costs about $150-200 for each 8 foot section. Simple - Flexible mirror sheets are held in a wood and metal frame which pivots around a horizontal collector. The parabolic shape of the collector focuses the sun's heat onto the collector heating the water which follows through. The fluid path has no moving parts, only the reflectors move to track the sun. Smart - The collector starts tracking the sun in the east and automatically follows the sun all day. Efficient - it uses almost no power itself. It hunts very little when cloud cover obscures the sun. Reflectors are balanced so require very little force to rotate them. Safe - Although it concentrates the heat of the sun about 18 times, my tests have shown that failures don't lead to meltdowns or blowouts and you can't normally burn yourself on it anywhere. You do want to wear sunglasses when working on it! Features:
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![]() CNC You can use a CNC router, laser or water jet to make the ribs and hangers. I give you DWG files with the new gen2 book. Or make by hand using templates Rough blank shapes are cut with a jig saw to a pencil line traced from a template and then closer still with a band saw. The parts are then routed smooth, accurate and clean using the template made from the pattern that I supply with the plan book. Vertical drilling is marked and center punched with the template. Horizontal holes are drilled with a hand drill and a simple jig. The big holes are bored on a small drill press. Finally, the ribs are finish sanded and painted twice to seal them for a northern climate for about 5-7 years. They are easily replaced. Very strong and light weight. The plans show you in detail how to make high quality parts. The plan books include a full size, highly accurate pattern for you to use when making your own templates for marking, bandsawing and routing the ribs. With the methods described, it will take you about three and a half hours for each finished part with two coats of paint. |
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My Books |
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