This is how I made an aluminum can solar heater!

Step 1: Save Cans

Pop cans, beer cans, sparkling water cans, any aluminum cans you can save, save them!

Step 2: Gather Supplies

Once you have a bunch of aluminum cans saved, gather these supplies:

Black spray paint (high heat) mine was for grills.

High heat caulk/glue

wood ( I used 1x4's), and a piece of 1/4" thick plywood for the back

foam board insulation, or other foam/insulation

drill

Wood screws

Glass panel, plexiglass, or tempered glass panel

Step 3: Drill Holes in Cans

Please be very careful with this step!!!

Take all of the pop tabs off of the cans, rinse any leftover soda or liquid out of the cans and let them dry.

CAREFULLY drill holes (I drilled 3 holes in the bottom of each can, with the largest drill bit I had). This is to let air pass through the cans.

I just tried to hold the can steady and drilled with a bit of pressure to prevent the can from going flying.

Step 4: Assembly

Once you have holes drilled in all of your cans, you can begin stacking them on top of each other and securing with high heat caulk or glue.

*You can add as many rows of cans as you like, as long as they fit in the "box" you will be building.

I determined my "box" size by a piece of tempered glass that I had left over from an old T.v. stand. It was 24" x 42".

I had a scrap piece of plywood about 1/4" thick that I used for the back of the box. I then just cut my 1x4's to fit around the edge of the plywood making a frame, slightly larger than the piece of glass.

Note: * You can use regular glass, tempered glass, or even plexiglass as long as the sun is able to shine through it and it is thick enough to keep the heat in.

Take a piece of foam board insulation ( I had mine laying around from the previous owners of our house, I also used some parts of a pool noodle), and cut to size to fit around the back and sides of your box. Use your high heat caulk to seal all holes and edges. When dry use your high heat matte black spray paint to spray the foam insulation.

Next I took another 1x4 board and using a large hole drill bit, mine was 1.5inches, drill holes in the middle of the board for as many rows of cans that you have. For example, if you have 5 rows of cans, you would drill 5 holes in the middle of your board. Attach this board (I used wood screws) horizontally about 3 inches from the bottom of your box. Caulk all edges and/or gaps. We want this to be air-tight!

Then, I used the same drill bit to make a larger hole in the middle of the bottom board of my box ( see photos). I did this by overlapping the holes made by my 1.5 inch drill bit. This is to let more air in. I repeated the process for the top board of my box. This is to let the air out. (More on this in a minute!)

Now you can add your rows of cans. Simply line them up matching the holes in your board that you just drilled holes in and use high heat caulk or glue to secure in place. I added some extra caulk to the backs of the cans to help them stay stable. Now you can spray paint everything in your box with the high heat matte black spray paint. Try to get around all the corners and nooks and crannies.

Once dry you can use your high heat glue to attach your glass to the top of the box. Make sure to make a good seal. Again, we want this to be air-tight!

* Since the tempered glass was so heavy, I had to reinforce it by tying a fitness band around it to keep it in place. If I were to do it again, I would use plexiglass or make a recessed box to hold the glass in place better. It did end up working very well though!

Step 5: How It Works & Try It Out!

*How it works:

When you set the solar heater out in the sun, even on a cool day it can heat up to 160 degrees or so. My solar heater was only out in the sun for a few minutes before it started to really heat up. It was fun to watch and measure the heat as well. I used a meat thermometer to measure the temperature of mine. It was only about 50 degrees outside as well.

When cool air enters the hole in the bottom of the box it is warmed by the black cans and glass, that have been absorbing the sun's heat. The matte black paint is dark so it attracts the sun's rays. The holes in the cans create a turbine effect that spins the air around in the cans as it passes through each can. Warm air rises naturally, so as the air passes through each can, it gets a little bit warner. Finally as air exits out the top hole of the box, and you can feel the warmth!

*Note: Make sure the box is tilted a bit (I leaned mine on a chair), so that the cool air can enter from the bottom of the box.

Also, make sure your box is facing the sun ; )