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Galleries and Store Rooms » Solar Dehydrator » Solar Dehydrator Illustrated Plans
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Introduction
The Walnut Creek Enterprises Solar Dehydrator is a unique innovation in dehydrator
designs. It uses the power of the sun to dry large loads of herb, seed and foods. The drying
is accomplished in the shade without sunlight burning the vitality out of your herb or food.
Sunlight is converted to circulating hot dry air to accomplish the dehydration. A typical full
load is about 100 square ft. of drying space. About 10 times that of “home dehydrators”.
Its solar efficiency is unusually high due to a number of interrelated innovations. Though
large in capacity, the efficiency allows a wonderful portability to be built into the design.
A reality of solar powered devices are those not-so-solar days and of course the nights.
Slower static drying is designed in to continue without any sun and a simple electric heater
interface allows rapid drying without respect to the sun.
In December 1999 a new section was added about adapting the dehydrator for winter use.
Not only can you effectively dry herb and food during sub-freezing sunny weather, you can
do it indoors and heat the room as well. Its convection air flow requires absolutely no
electric or other energy to bring in hot air. Probably the most amazing aspect is that it
doesn’t cost hundreds of dollars - and you can build it yourself. A practical piece of
on the outside of the frame. Fill these out with scrap wood so that the entire frame has a
surface to attach the panels. The rear corners can be done a couple of ways, but which
doesn’t matter as long as both side and back panels have a solid corner to screw into.
need to switch the air flow. The switch is a piece of Masonite or other sheet material that is
attached with hinges to a bottom cross bar. When tilted forward it seals off the main
collector so that hot forced air from the electric heater goes only up into the screens. When
tilted back for solar use, no seal is required as long as the heater porthole has a cover.
We recommend tying down the diverter when back in the solar position, since if it
accidently falls forward, collector air flow is stopped. In full sun a blocked collector may get
hot to the point of doing damage. The lashing is best accomplished through the heater
porthole, that way you do not need to remove the drying screens. The lashing can be as
simple as ‘eye’ screws on the upper diverter bar and on the porthole frame, using cord to
tie down.
The diverter panel has two full width horizontal bars that provide rigidity. The bottom one
also acts as a seal. Install two hinges on the bottom cross bar so that their pivot center is
in the middle. Once the panel is fitted properly in the forward position, let its bottom edge
rest on the cross bar and screw the hinges to it. Now whenever tilted forward, the edge
touches and seals against the cross bar. A tight proper fit in the forward (electric heat)
position is important so that your costly electric drying heat goes up into the screens rather
than out the nose of the collector. The corners will need to be notched in to clear the
frame. Don’t cut away any more than is needed for front fit. It will stop against the rear
legs when swung back. The upper edge of the cross bar should contact the front upper
cross bar in the middle or lower, and clear the low angle collector heat exchanger panel.
You may be able to devise a tight corner fit, but we just stuff rags into the corners when
we switch to electric. They can be reached through the heater porthole. Once the panel is
fitted you may want to screw boards to the vertical outside edges, between corner notches,
to prevent warp.
Copyright WCE 1998-2004
dryer. Fumes from wood, coal, kerosene, etc. would contaminate the herb, seed or food
being dried.
Adapting an electric heater is quite simple. Frame in an opening for it to fit into and then
devise a way to secure it from falling in or out of its opening. We had a number of plastic
bodied heaters that we use in the winter, so we just adapted for them. In our case, it was
just a matter of utilizing the flex of the plastic bodies. They just press fit into the correct
size holes. You may not be so lucky, but while adapting them, remember: 1. You’ll need to
get to the controls from time to time. 2. You’ll need to cover up the porthole, probably
from the outside, when you switch back to solar. We just stuff rags (carefully) into the
gaps and handle hole to seal ours in. We suggest you maintain a flat clean outside face and
put any brackets or ledges inward.
You will need to cover the porthole for solar use. If the heater sets completely inside you
may be able to leave it installed. We remove ours. The cover can be a simple screwed
down piece of panel or a more elaborate internal part of the diverter that seals when the
diverter is back in solar position. The seal doesn’t need to be super tight since solar mode
doesn’t generate much vacuum or pressure, and the diverter panel is a partial blockage.
Keeping rain and its runoff out is also a consideration when creating a cover.
Wheels
Portability is a considerable asset to this kind of solar device. You can put it where the sun
is best. Use it to tote around screens. Take it where you are loading screens. Most
importantly, you can aim it at the sun from time to time to get maximum efficiency. We
estimate an over 20% boost in efficiency if re-aimed about every 3 hours verses stationary
South facing orientation. Fall, Winter and Spring use is even more affected by positioning.
Even if you don’t have time to aim, the portability is a joy in itself.
All you need is a couple of matching wheels, a 4 foot axle rod and some tubing for an axle
spacer. We use new 7 inch all plastic ‘lawn mower’ wheels that cost under $5 each at
discount stores. Their axle hole is 1/2”, so a 4’ piece of 1/2” cold rolled steel rod is the
axle. The axle spacer between the legs is 1/2” electrical conduit. You may need to hunt for
the 1/2” rod since smaller hardware stores may only carry 3’ lengths. Try machine shops,
welding shops or farm supply stores.
To install wheels, just put a wheel on the floor next to the leg, stick a pencil in the axle
hole and mark the axle location (centered on the leg). Drill holes big enough for the axle
and cut a couple inches off of each leg. Cut the spacer tube to fit between the legs - minus
two washer thicknesses. Install tube with washers against each leg and slide the axle
through. Install washer / wheel / washer; and cross drill the axle and put in cotter or hitch
pin. Cut off any extra axle length and you have it.
Any 6” - 10” pair of wheels should work fine. You’ll just need to adapt axle size etc..
Wheels over about 10” are liable to turn into annoying obstacles unless you fashion a way
to move them more under the dryer base. If you fancy (or need) big spoke wheels, you’ll
need to construct some extra framing off of the back legs back to the frame bottom. An
illustration shows a possible large wheel installation. The extra framing for the inset axle
would need to be double or triple laminated boards and should be flush or inside the
established outer frame face. Don’t move the axle forward past the middle of the screen
platform or balance and stability will get weird. Our 7” wheels work fine on fairly solid
ground with 12 loaded screens, and can navigate turf, the occasional small rock and mole
tunnels. If you you will be using on soft, rocky or uneven ground; those big spoke wheels
may be a good investment.
The Handle
With wheels, a front handle is a necessity, but may be useful even if wheels aren’t used.
The handle is simply a 1 x 3 or 1 x 4 - 42” long that has a hand recess cut into it. You’ll
need a sabre or keyhole saw. Be sure to round and sand the outside and hand area edges.
Use an extra good piece of wood to make it. Attach from behind with plenty of screws. Glue
would be a good idea as well. The hole shown is for the work stand set-up chain to pass
through. It can be added later.
Paint
Before the heat exchanger is installed, at least the collector interior must be painted.
We recommend flat black exterior acrylic house paint inside and out. The blacker the
better. Most labeled ‘flat black’ is more like dark gray. It will work, but it’s worth a couple
of extra dollars to have extra black pigment added if possible. We recommended black
outside since when the sun strikes and heats a side, that heat contains and adds to the
interior heat. This isn’t a big necessity. Even if the exterior were white, the total efficiency
change would probably be on the order of a few percent. If you want to be artistic or
colorful on the exterior - go for it. The sun would never strike the outside bottom or back
during operation, so anything can be done with these surfaces and it will have no effect at
all on efficiency.
The interior alone will use up a quart or more of black house paint. The course side of
Masonite really soaks up paint. If you’ll only have one quart of flat black, start at the front,
paint only the interior and save the area just below the screen platform and behind the
diverter panel for last, in case you come up short. The entire base should be sealed inside
and out with exterior paint. Color isn’t extremely critical except that the collector interior
be flat black.
The first step is to paint the rim on sides and front white. This prevents heat buildup
between window material and the rim, which might degrade the window material. The
material we use is flexible transparent vinyl. We get it at a store called ‘Fabric Warehouse’.
Judging by the three digit store number, there may be one near you. If not, try fabric
stores or shops that repair convertible car tops or boat tops, or plastics suppliers. What we
get is about .010 thick and costs $2.50 per 4 foot wide yard. You’ll need two yards. The
light transmission is quite good, but visually it is about like looking through a rainy day
windshield without any wiper.
Installation is a breeze. Just staple it to the side rims, stretching moderately as you go. In
the front, roll it over the edge and staple to the front face above the handle. In the back,
pull it under the cross bar and staple to the back of it. You’ll have to carefully cut in the
corners where it changes from over to under. Trim off the surplus material with a razor
knife. If you can find stainless steel staples, they are the way to go. You may want to cover
the side rims with 1” x 1” ‘L’ wood corner molding to give you edges to set screens on
when you are loading them. We paint the molding with white house paint.
Other more conventional glazing materials could be used as well. Unless you already own
it, they will all cost more than the vinyl. Glass is traditional and has great light
transmission, but we would probably break it about 4 times a season around here. If its not
hail or rocks from the mower, freak wind gusts blow the lids off - most of the time they
land on the collector window! The vinyl can tolerate any of these challenges. There is also
sufficient flex in the unit that it could crack untempered glass.
Rigid window plastic should work great. If price is not object; hard coated, UV inhibited,
1/8” polycarbonate (aka Lexan, Tuffak etc.) would be the ultimate window material. (It
scratches very easily if not hard coated.) You might be able to find the 3 1/2’ x 5’ piece you
need for under $150. Acrylic (aka Plexiglass etc.) is cheaper, but it softens at a much lower
temperature - boarder line for our use. It is also somewhat brittle, so 3/16” would be about
the thickness needed. Avoid styrene unless it is free - melt down is likely if collector air
flow was ever stopped in hot sun. The needles on our thermometers were buried by sun
hitting the collector with the diverter closed. It was over 160 degrees F. Styrene melts at
around 140 F, acrylic softens but recovers at 170 F, polycarbonate is good to over 260 F
(and the wood ignites at something over 450 F). We aren’t sure what temperature that this
vinyl can take, but we haven’t lost a $5 window yet - to heat or anything else!
Drying Screens
The drying screens start with a simple frame made with 1” x 2”, or larger, wood. Fiberglass
screen is then stretched over one side. Cut your frame pieces as square as possible. Drill
clearance holes for installing 2 screws through each end of the long boards. Use framing
corner clamps, if available and install 1 screw at each corner. Then twist and tweak to
square and flatten as you install the second screw in each corner. The flattening can be
done for the final 2 screws by standing with frame on edge between legs, pressuring with
heels or knees to take out the twist as you drive the screws.
Use 30” screen and cut 45” pieces. With frame flat, center it and staple once in each
corner, pulling lightly. Stand frame on side and pull the screen around the side and staple
once in the center of each side, pulling tight on the second opposing side. From the center
out, staple down each side pulling tight. Do one pair of opposing sides, then the other pair.
Fold the corners and staple down. Hammer down any high staples. The drying screens are
used screen down with the frame being a surrounding lip. For heavy load items, a cross
divider bar can be installed with screen stapled to it underneath.
We don’t paint our frames, but if used for food, sealing with white paint might help
cleanliness and allow easy spotting of possible contamination. Light colored screen is also
good for the same reasons.
screens. The more opening the more suction (to about 12” max). If the wind goes into the
opening, circulation will be impeded or even reversed. Try to keep the opening direction
away from the wind. Wind hitting from the side is fairly neutral. Aim the collector for the
sun and the lid for the wind. A good gust of wind from behind can flip the lid clean off. One
of ours went about 30 yards one time. If there is any chance of gusty or high wind, lash
the top down. We put 6 screw ‘eyes’ around the screen platform edge and use bungee
shock cords and sash chain to hold things together in wind and during transport.
Work Stand
This was one of those “gee it would be nice if...” after thoughts that turned out to be a real
asset. When drying a bunch of screens you inevitably need to ‘shuffle the deck’, sometimes
a couple of times a day. The most dried loads are best on the bottom As loads dry they
shrink so you can combine contents of 2 or more screens onto 1. The expansion chamber
keeps ‘hot spots’ to a minimum, but once in a while turning screens helps. Where to set all
of this? That big collector surface is just the right width to set two stacks of screens --- but
it slants too much and they slide off. We made a stand that splits the slant between
collector face and screen platform. Not enough slant on either to cause slides. You can
shuffle screens, load/unload screens, even wash roots since the collector still slopes and
drains. All at a convenient work height. We put some FM in it as well. Pull a ‘T’ handle and
it sets itself up! Lift the front and the stand folds itself out of the way and all is back in
solar position again!
It’s easy to make. Make the ‘H’ leg frame. Attach with 2 hinges. The cord from the middle
cross bar is an elastic "bungee" shock cord that folds it up. It is a long stretch medium
strength, the type usually cloth covered. The set up ‘cord’ is a light chain that goes through
a hole in the handle. Chain is used so a link loop can slip over a nail or screw on the handle
to effectively safety lock the stand legs down. A guide/leverage board for the chain is
mounted on top and extending out from the front bottom cross bar. You may need to
experiment to get the optimum position and length. An over travel stop chain is a good
plan. It stabilizes things and prevents accidently ripping out the hinges. We also put a set
of eye/hook gate catches between the front legs and the closed stand, to lock the stand up
and secure during transport. The handle is a ‘T’ type like on lawn mower pull starters.
If everything is balanced and working smoothly, when you pull the handle up it will
simultaneously lift the front and set up the legs. At worst you might need to lift a bit on the
front handle when there is a heavy load of screens. When the retraction elastic cord is
setup correctly, unhook the pull chain, lift up the front and the legs will fold back out of the
way.
Copyright WCE 1998-2004
Tips
--- If you are loading the screens heavily, you should stir or “toss the salad” once or twice
a day.
--- If rain shuts you down. You can wait out a day if the load was nearly dry. If the load
was fairly wet, use auxiliary heat, or mold or deterioration will occur.
--- Cloudy days still provide about 20-25% of the energy of the full sun but cannot crisp
dry a load. Use auxiliary heat if cloudy conditions last more than a day or two. A fresh wet
load in cloudy times should at least be partly dried with auxiliary heat to avoid
deterioration.
--- Bringing the loaded screens (or entire dryer) into a closed garage or similar will help
avoid problems during wet weather.
--- Some succulent difficult to dry foods are probably not suitable for this dryer. Sliced
fresh tomatoes, for example, will likely spoil before drying. Obtain a good book on
dehydrating and use it as your guide. NEVER consume food that may be moldy or spoiled!
--- After fruit and vegetables are dry, 1/2 hour at 150 - 160 deg. F in an oven, can kill any
bacteria or insect intrusion. If fully crisp dry, little if any nutrition should be lost.
--- Some herbs and vegetables suffer damage if exposed to high temps when they are
fresh wet-and-green. Try to keep temps. under 110 deg. F until fairly dry. Open the lid
wider or partly cover the collector to reduce temperature.
--- When drying food that has a potential to spoil, it may be best to use solar in daytime
and auxiliary heat at night to avoid problems. Particularly on the first night when moisture
is still high.
--- Bringing into a shelter, such as a garage, at night will help prevent re-hydration from
high night humidity.
Copyright WCE 1998-2004
There is one very critical limiting factor to dehydrating food, herb or root in cold weather. If
it’s frozen it won’t dry. Raising the ambient temperature lowers the relative humidity,
which does the actual drying. As surface moisture dries, internal water is wicked out and
the inside dries as well. If it is frozen, moisture cannot wick to the surface. So, in the
winter, increasing the collector’s ambient temperature rise becomes a new objective. The
higher the rise, the lower that the outdoor temperature can go and can still continue
drying. The sun is much lower and shorter lived in the winter, but there is still a lot of
energy to work with. The available energy depends on how far North that you are located.
Our Ozarks are about mid way. We have five months of “wood stove” heating weather, but
most of the winter days have temperatures going above freezing and sunlight is usually
abundant with 6 or more hours of usable solar output. These days and this solar unit work
well together. Up around Canada, the results may sound fairly marginal. But read on
Northerners - there still may be something for you. You are not doubt masters at the use
of insulation and will see improvements beyond our suggestions.
Note: The process known as “Freeze-Drying” is a high tech energy intense process that
requires a tight chamber under high atmospheric vacuum. Being frozen and drying
efficiently are a contradiction under normal conditions.
The normal summer configuration utilizes high air flow to aid drying. The high air flow
limits maximum temperature - which is correct in hot weather. Many herbs and foods are
damaged by temperatures over 130 degrees. Live seed and fresh wet herb are best held to
no more than 110 degrees. Keep these upper limits in mind for winter use as well - they
can be exceeded!
The first step is to make a cover for the air intake. The opening needs to be fully sealed,
but the lower openings of the heat exchanger tubes must not be blocked. Be sure that
there is at least 1 1/2 inches of clearance in front of them. They will still need to draw in air
to circulate. The cover restricts the intake air to the hotter internal air - which greatly
increases its overall temperature rise. The cover is made of four 1x3x42 inch boards and
masonite strips that form an “L” as viewed from the side. End caps of masonite are added
to complete the enclosure. Ours are attached with three screws for easy summer removal -
two under the handle and one in the work stand chain guide. You will need to remove or
refit the work stand pull up chain. Caulk the cover joints, paint and install weather strips at
the fit up edges as gasketing. (Don’t use polyethylene foam as it may melt )
This intake cover is the primary winter adaptation. It is something like the covering you will
see on some truck radiators in the winter, so they run hotter. Just like the radiator, if it is
in place in warm weather - the collector will get very hot! Even with proper upper venting,
expect a 60 degree rise over ambient temperature. That’s 140 degrees on a warm 80
degree day. If venting is blocked, the ambient rise could go high enough to ruin a vinyl
collector window! To be on the safe side, it would be a good idea to cover the collector
window with an opaque tarp until in actual use.
We need to establish a controlled source of input air for the heat exchanger tubes. They
will create an upward internal air flow as they heat up from the sun, resulting in a suction
at the lower openings. The downward slope of the floor directs cooler heavier air from the
expansion chamber floor toward the lower input. The heated air rises to be released, but
flow is restricted unless an outside source is allowed to replace it. The amount of
replacement air determines flow rate and temperature rise, so it needs to be adjustable.
You will need more restriction on a cold afternoon, but more flow on a warm one. Direct
input of cold outside air into the exchanger tubes would reduce the obtainable ambient
rise, so we will buffer the input air by mixing it with warmed air. If you have installed an
electric heater porthole and its diverter panel, you have a ready made adjustable buffered
air input. Varying an opening at the porthole and/or how far forward the diverter panel
opens, will create a controlled source of outside air. Just make a new porthole cover with
an adjustable opening up to about 6 inches diameter maximum, and block the diverter
about 6 inches from being fully open to the collector. You could also make a control rod
that sets the panel opening to experiment with the effects of variations. If you haven’t a
diverter and porthole, construct a baffle wall and cut an opening in the back and make an
adjustable cover for it.
Now we need to consider our hot air exit. Your summer lid may or may not close tight
enough to limit air flow. Try it before making anything new. The screen stack itself is
probably the more significant consideration. Unless you are a very meticulous and exacting
carpenter, there will be gaps and leaks between screens. These leaks were insignificant to
the high air flow in the summer, but should be eliminated for winter use. Probably the
easiest and most effective solution is an “overcoat”. Establish a maximum screen stack
height and use it whether all screens are filled or not. Construct an insulating and sealing
wrap-around outside cover. It could be a fabric blanket or a rigid box enclosure, but it must
tolerate weather and not create a contamination hazard. Fiberglass or bare wool blankets
are a bad plan. A blanket with an outer plastic wrap would resist rain. A rigid outer box is
actually one of the best long term solutions, though it will cost more time and money up
front. The lid itself should close fairly tight and have fine adjustability to be barely open. A
corrogated steel top will need to be sealed to eliminate the corrogation gap leaks and be
insulated underneith the metal with at least some plastic film. Metalized mylar like
emergency “Space Blankets” are made from, make good thin insulation that is very heat
tolerant.
The collector body should be insulated as well, so it can retain internal heat as well as
practical. All insulation goes on the outside. The bottom and back are the most significant
surfaces since they never add heat from the outside by the sun warming them. The sides
are not nearly as important since as the sun strikes them morning or late afternoon, they
heat up adding and holding in internal heat on that side. The thin foam board which is
installed behind brick walls should work well for insulation. Metalized mylar film seems
rather minimal but is significantly better than nothing. (The experimenter with a few dollars
to spare, might actually build “side collectors” that add heat in the sun yet insulate fairly
well in the shade. Something similar to the low light angle collector on the front. This would
create self adjusting early/late boosters eliminating much of the need for aim adjustments!
You will need more polycarbonate sheeting and must consider structural compromises.
Considering the significance of that little low light angle front collector, it is likely a worthy
line of experimentation.)
The collector window is very important for serious winter use. The higher the quality, the
more heat that gets in. A thicker window traps more heat as well. Vinyl film will work, but
1/8 inch polycarbonate with hard coating is about ideal and will take the weight of snow
quite well. Double glazing will let a bit less light in, but traps heat much better. Since the
heat exchanger tubes direct much of the heat without relying on the window to hold it,
double glazing probably will not yield enough gain to justify the expense. This is
particularly true of double polycarbonate, however vinyl over (and protecting)
polycarbonate might equate well. A vinyl window costs $5 and may last 2 years. A
polycarbonate window costs about $100 and should last 5-10 years. That $5 piece of vinyl
on top could well double the life of the polycarbonate since the vinyl takes the dirt,
scratches, impacts and absorbs part of the damaging UV radiation. A 3/4 inch separation
between double window panels should work well. Polycarbonate handles heat to 270
degrees, which is well above any temperature that this collector could develop - even
closed tight in the summer heat. Polycarbonate is the way to go if you want to be care free
or experiment with high temperature dehydrating in the summer.
Your black interior surfaces effect efficiency. Most flat black paint is more like dark gray - a
lot of light is reflected instead of absorbed. Have extra black pigment added to the paint if
possible and compare samples for blackness - and heat production in the sun. The paint
used on heat exchanger aluminum should be thin and sprayed on. Military or camoflage
paint may produce the best black - but compare samples if practicle. Dirt reflects! Remove
the collector window, clean and lightly spray paint over black surfaces before winter use.
Dirt, debris and bugs mostly accumulate during spring and summer usage. Be sure to
install the low light angle collector. It is a necessity to best utilize the low angle of the
winter sun.
Now an odd twist of caution. An insulated, maximized, collector will be much more efficient
than a quick summer version. Great for winter - but watch out for July! Keep an eye on
peak temperatures and be prepared to partially cover the collector. Be sure to remove the
intake cover before day high temperatures exceed 80 degrees.
Copyright WCE 1998-2004
drying can begin. Two, taking dryer loads in at night and out in the morning, to protect
them, is a lot of extra effort. Three, it’s no fun working out in the cold.
About the best you might expect to do, to deal with this situation, is to wheel the entire
loaded dehydrator in and out of a garage each day.
If you are fortunate enough to have a convenient South facing window, you may be able to
build what some would consider the ultimate winter solar dehydrator. You can back the
collector under the window and port the output into the comfort and convenience of a
sheltered space. Not only does it dry your herbs and food, but it adds FREE heat to the
inner space - without any electric or additional energy of any kind. And the adaptation is
cheap!
The ideal location would be a window facing South to Southwest, with its opening being
just higher than the collector top. The inner space would be unheated or minimally heated,
but above freezing. The temperature requirement is due to the fact that convection flow
only happens when collector high temperature exceeds the inner space temperature. For
example: Say it’s a zero degree day outside and the collector produces a 60 degree rise, so
60 degree air is produced. If the inner space is 70 degrees, no convection flow can be
produced. If the inner space is 40 degrees, there is a 20 degree rise above the inner space
temperature and good convection circulation is produced. The ideal location is likely a
garage or outbuilding or unheated room - that needs the extra heat as well. We suggest
using a window because it is easy to adapt the opening, but ducts could also be run
through a wall.
Of course it makes a great deal of sense to run the extra heat into a living space to
supliment your heating needs. You just must realize that below a certain outdoor
temperature, it will not add heat indoors or circulate. You can expect about a 60 degree
rise on a clear day. Cloudy days derate to about 25% on average, yielding only about a 15
degree rise.
You need the same intake cover, insulation, and collector window as mentioned above. The
input and output is rather different. They become a pair of 6 inch diameter ducts passing
into the inner space. The lower duct is the input and feeds in cool air behind the diverter
panel or a similar barrier. The output from the solar collector vents into the upper duct.
They are pictured as over/under, but they can be side by side. They can be situated right,
left, or centered. They can extend up as needed, but the output should not drop down
unless it remains a tight unreleased flow, and then rises well above the collector output
height before it vents free. The more twists and turns in the ducts, the more that flow is
impeded. If the sun strikes and heats the cool air input duct, it may backflow and stall
circulation - especially if heated inside the collector. Ducts can be insulated metal, but
plastic is better since it won’t conduct cold into the inner space at night. Installing tight
cutoff dampers in both ducts will allow you to close out any possible cold air that might
back flow at night or during cloudy periods. Under ideal conditions, back drafting cold air
shouldn’t happen even if the ducts are open. Fireplaces, furnaces, wood stoves, exhaust
fans, etc, can create back drafting from leaks in the collector or air ducts. When you fully
close the dampers, it’s a good plan to cover the collector window with an opaque tarp to
avoid accidental overheating. Covering the collector window at night also keeps frost off
and allows the earliest start. White reflective frost is slow to clear and it prevents the
collector from warming and defrosting itself. Do not try to scrape frost from the collector
window - you will damage the plastic.
Partially closing down a damper on either duct reduces flow and should create more
temperature rise to maximize use with colder exterior weather conditions. The output can
simply pour heated air into the inner space or be directed into a simple cabinet containing
dehydrator screens. The dehydrator “cabinet” can be a stack of summer screens on an
enclosed box base or be an actual cabinet of other size. The dehydrator cabinet should be
above the output duct height to maintain best convection flow.
The output is quite impressive. Our original test setup utilized a “summer dirtied”,
uncaulked, uninsulated collector with leaky steel ducts, and a 2 year old patched vinyl
window - into a loose window adapter. (About the worst efficiency likely.) It connected into
a 9 x 12 utility building with a 6 1/2 foot ceiling - R11 insulation all six sides, but it has
some noteable thermal leaks. The collector ambient rise was still 55 degrees at 2 pm in
early December and it maintained at least a 20 degree rise in the building for over 12
hours. (This included latent heat held and released by the enclosed mass after sundown.)
The solar powered convection flow blew its heated air for over a foot horizontally out of the
end of the output duct. This ambient rise brought the collector output air down to 15%
relative humidity - which was a new record in low relative humidity here in our moist
Ozarks. There were no other sources of heat or even unshuttered window openings.
Another similar unit heats an office used primarily in the afternoon and evening - where it
has very noticeably reduced the need and cost of other heating.
The versatility of this simple solar device is quite amazing. All summer long it quietly sits
out by itself drying herb and food, and then it docks into a building to do more drying and
provide warmth. All this without a single watt of synthetic energy or any moving parts!
Copyright WCE 1998-2004