Solar Water Heater for Backpacking Using Water Bottles and a Car Shade

After trying several methods, this is the best method I found for heating up a small quantity of water for rehydrating freeze-dried backpacking food using just the sun as an energy source. My goals were to make a simple but light solar still. This project is inexpensive (<$20), efficient and light. Several options for its construction are offered.

I have heated water to 196 F in the matter of just a few hours.

Step 1 Materials Needed

1 HDPE (Nalgene) Bottle 500 ml size
1 Flexible reflector auto shade (the shinier, the better)
1 Large plastic bottle with a screwable mid-section (This is hard to find. I got mine at a dollar store and it contained a lot of small bungees. This is convenient, but not necessary. You can use a 1 liter soda bottle, a half gallon square water bottle or a large jerky container.)
Metal duct tape.
Regular Ducting Tape.
Self-stick Velcro strips.

Comments

[m2753zz6]

Clear polyesters are a great choice too as they have much higher heat resistance because they are a thermoset material so they don't break down until very high heats are attained. They are also a lot more durable from a strength standpoint and less susceptible to UV degradation unlike polyolefins (PP, PE).

[bondel]

sir iam working on the plastics recycling and trying to adopt this methods in our campus and then aware the people about its usage so, kindly help me sir by sending regarding data to my mail [e-mail] which would be helpful to me alot

[vontzy]

I believe one way to improve the efficiency of this type of Solar Heater would be to remove the AIR between the Bottles for the best Insulation. If the Outer bottles are of stiff Plastic, or Glass, then they wouldn't collapse. There is a very inexpensive hand operated Vaccum pump and "Cork" at the URL below. They are sold for Wine Storage. They are highly portable and you can purchase additional "Corks" separately.

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/vacu-vin-white-wine-saver-vacuum-pump-set-with-1-stopper/9180854250.html?utm_source=NexTag&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=NexTag+Campaign

[gtoal]

That should work if you fit the valve in the lid of a jar type heater, but for the ones where the outer bottle is a coke bottle etc - sealing the bottle back up to withstand vacuum after cutting off the bottom in order to insert the internal bottle just may not be practical.

[RobinHPS]

Hi man,

Realy like this instructable, it's a super-easy and cheap way to positively use solar energy - thanks very much for sharing your handywork!

I really liked this instructable as a potential for preheating water for kettle use. (that's how tight I am about energy consumption!), and am just generally interested in solar water heating.

I also think this would be a good candidate for emergency a kind of water purification through distillation device. If you had another, empty bottle, placed in a colder location (shaded, or maybe buried a little) and a conduit put between the two, I'm pretty sure you would be able to purify a decent amount of water through distillation. Very good for emergency situations, or for use in the tropics, etc. I think there are several NGO's / charities which are looking produce similar devices en masse.

Cheers,
Rob

[zcshiner]

This is a really good idea. I may do this next time I go backpacking with scouts (which is very soon).

Have you thought about suspending the bottle above the reflector so the rays can also hit the back of the bottle?

[kopomeroy]

Yes, this might increase the efficiency but I don't think it would really give you much in return. Maybe instead of waiting 1 hour for hot water it would take 50 minutes. When you're hiking, what's another 10 minutes?

[kingsmanname]

I Like The Idea. Think You Could Use A Bottle That Tennis Balls Come In Instead Of A Mid-Section Screw In Bottle?

[kopomeroy]

Great idea. It would work assuming the size of the inner bottle was suitable for your use.