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Tell us about yourself: “I love to invent and make anything…from sand casting parts out of aluminum, to electronics… you build it, they will come. Princess Auto is the holy grail of do-it-yourself stores.”
What would you do with a large, unused and obsolete satellite dish planted in your yard? Do what Walter did…turn it into a solar-powered hot water heater! A Mylar coating on the dish antenna’s parabolic shape directs the sun’s energy onto a plate where water circulates… raising the water temperature to scalding levels. The hot water then gets pumped to a radiator in Walter’s workshop.
Smart project, Walter! Thanks for sharing it with us!
What is it? It's a 10 ft repurposed satellite dish used for heating a 30 x 50 ft shop.
How does it work? Very well on sunny days. The sun reflects onto a focal point, a plate I cast out of aluminum, in which water runs through heating at about 150 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit (66 to 74°C), then pumped into my shop where it runs through a rad to heat my shop.
The toggle switches control dish positioning, and what else? The dish has 2 actuators ,one runs dish east/west, the other up/down; they have tracking eyes that keep it pointed to the sun. The toggles (double through double pole) are to manually override the auto trackers.
What is the main power source for your project? (e.g. electric motor, gas engine etc.) A 24V battery.
How do you control your project? (e.g. hydraulic control valve(s), electric switches etc.) Electric sensors, relays, actuators, heat pump, fan, wire connecters, switches.
What design/build challenges were overcome? The biggest was applying the Mylar to the dish. I also had to figure out wiring diagrams for relays. The heating receiver on dish was sand casted out of aluminum.
If you had to build it again, what would you do differently? Use chrome vinyl instead of Mylar.
Which Princess Auto location do you visit most? Saskatoon, SK