Its lifespan? The world's cheapest solar heater of Parabolic Dish type
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- Опубликовано: 16 июн 2023
- This mirror is a combination of this mesh, and this cheap reflective film which is 5 times thinner than a human hair. You might think that winds will quickly destroy such thin film, but it is not, and you will be surprised at the results of my experiments, which I will begin to describe in a minute, and which measured the lifespan of mirrors of this type.
My mirror is approximately 10 times cheaper than similar mirrors, taking into account the cost of this mesh and other parts of my mirror. These expensive mirrors are the basis of more than 100 solar power plants, each of which has a value from several hundred thousand dollars to several billion dollars. My cheap mirrors must form long rows, and they focus solar radiation in this way into similar receivers that have the ability to move from morning to evening. At the same time those large solar power plants work differently, and they use the movements not of small receivers, but of large mirrors which must move from morning to evening according to the movements of the sun across the sky.
So, I made this concave mirror, and then it was constantly under the open sky. Now we see that sometimes the mirror has experienced strong winds, and the wind from the south seems to be the most dangerous.
Then there was winter with frost and snow. Now I show how the snow covered the surface of the mirror and left the mirror without my help during the 1st winter. We also see that I sometimes changed the vertical angle of the mirror to study the conditions for snow to leave the surface of the mirror on its own.
Now I will show one of my experiments, when I placed this newspaper at the focus of my mirror, where it focuses the solar radiation. The radiation did not set fire to the newspaper immediately, and now there is a situation in a minute and a half. This experiment demonstrates that the mirror retains its good reflective capabilities. In a minute, I will show that a similar experiment, but for a mirror aged 10 months, can no longer set fire to a newspaper because the mirror will reduce its reflectance, and now we will see one of the causes of the mirror deterioration.
This is my mirror after 4 months of outdoor use, and we see a lot of white dots of its film. We can compare it with this example of the same film, but new, that has not been used outdoors, and we see that the new film also has white dots, but their number is much less. Those white dots are defects in the thin aluminum layer of the film, and it is obvious that the aging of the film leads to an increase in the number of the white dots and their sizes, and this fact leads to a decrease in the reflection coefficient of our mirror.
Now I show the same mirror, but with the age of 5 months, during a strong wind from the south, and this fact can be seen here. After that, my mirror continued to work during the spring and summer.
Now I am going to do that experiment again, trying to set fire to this newspaper. We see that the newspaper gives smoke, but cannot give fire. This fact speaks of the deterioration of the reflectance of this mirror with the age of 10 months due to the increase in the number of those white dots and due to the following phenomenon.
I just washed this area, and we can compare it with the rest of my mirror which has accumulated a lot of dirt during 12 months of its work in the open air. We know that the expensive mirrors of those large solar power plants have to be washed sometimes, but my cheap mirrors may not be washed, and therefore they are gradually coated with dirt which cannot be removed by rain and snow.
But let's get back to my experiment, and now I am showing how my mirror survived its 2nd winter. Now I am trying to show the dirt on my mirror with the age of almost a year and a half. It is obvious that the dirt accumulates month after month, and the reflection coefficient of my mirror is gradually decreasing because of this dirt, and because of those white dots, and now I will show you the third cause of the decrease in the reflection coefficient.
We see that my reflective film is gradually becoming transparent. I should clarify that this reflective film is transparent mylar with a thickness of 20 microns, but one of the surfaces of the mylar layer is coated with a layer of aluminum with a thickness of less than 1 micron, and the aluminum layer turns the film from transparent to reflective.
It is obvious that rain and other weather events gradually remove the aluminum layer month after month, and therefore the film gradually turns from reflective to transparent.
This phenomenon not only reduces the reflectance of the mirror, but also accelerates the aging of the mylar layer due to solar radiation because that aluminum layer is on the sunny side of the film, that is, on the south side, and therefore it protects the mylar from the solar radiation. 
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dear yurko.. war didn't stop you from experimenting and inventing solar.. you are a brave man.. thank you..
It is a joy to see the scientific method at work. Wonderful video!
Thank you for all the work you've done. People have learned invaluable info from your experimentation.
you should spray a reflective silver paint on the back of a new space foil mirror. Also you can spray a translucent plastic plaint on the front of the mirror giving it more insulation and protection. Additionally, you may use kitchen cling foil (saran wrap) to wrap the mirror in case you need to protect it more. These steps should prolong the life of your mirrors substantially.
Neighbour: "There's a fire in the snow! Ah it's Sergiy again :)"
Дякую пане Сергію за цей довгий але дуже корисний експеримент. Для себе я зробив висновок що при мінімальному догляді за такою конструкцією термін її роботи можна подовжити рази в півтора. Якщо вся система буде як частина приватного господарства, то лагодити її не буде жодних проблем.
Cool project. That is important for the future. Awesome to see you keep going 💚
Hey brother, I found how you can reduce the rate of deterioration of the mylar mirrors/space blanket mirrors.
You have to coat the metal side with gloss black enamel spray paint.
( I don't know how necessary it is for the colour to be black but that's what I saw in that video )
I saw it in a video, if you want I can link it.
I was dying to tell you about this.
But was unsure if you'd find my comment.
Also the method I mentioned, can supposedly increase the reflectance of the mirrors as well.
Great video 👍
I think the added cost of insulating the back with some form of foam , painted white on the face closest to the mirror, but importantly filling the entire square surrounding the mirror surface. Foam being somewhat forgiving but not too much, should allow for the impacts to adsorb away from the reflective material, and the white will reflect some of the light that gets from the holes where the aluminum has dissipated. I think if we can double the use of this method to 3 years, that's slight more cost but roughly double your performance average, so what 7.6x more efficient than the other? Seeing increase in cost, let's say a conservative 7? That I think is a more viable business plan/design.
Nice
I would consider protecting back and the sides of the mirror with 95% transparent mesh to reduce wind, and make a shadow that would reduce plant growth.
Maybe a small roof could be an option,.
Other option could be to buld small greenhouse or box with a transparent front (glass/plexi) and placing mirror inside. That should prevent dust and snow accumulation and could increase lifetime of the mirror. Also would allow to ocassionally clean the front glass/plexi from dust.
Maybe a pipe for heat exchange could also be installed in that frame inside of a box.
One could build a spinning tool and pour concrete into it that will harden with a parabolic surface.
Cheap…..
@@Maxim.Teleguz What's offensively expensive about a wooden tool hanging from a ceiling-mounted motor?
Interesting update. How are the stainless steel sheet mirror holding up? I remember you mentioned them a while back and they seemed like the best option to me.
Also are your mirrors made from chopped up household mirrors still going?
So I've been experimenting with making my own reflectors, and there are plenty of products that claim, "Ohh yeah, this gives a mirror finish!" but they are mostly lying. They give dull shiny surfaces at best. Until I found Krylon "Looking Glass". Rustoluem has a similar product called "Mirror Finish", and either can be used to create genuine mirror finishes on the opposite side of a painted transparent material. I like the Mylar blanket reflectors, but I wonder if you could vacuum form a cheap reflector and paint it into a mirrow, then seal the back with something for something that would gain focus, and durability without destroying the cost savings benefit?
I live in the Philippines and I think, given how long PU covers for the car last, the life of these would be considerably less here. Something much more robust would be necessary.
There is one thing missing in the cost calculation: The costs of pollution. Microplastic and Aluminum (micro/nano) particles finding their way into the food chain.
Yes. I think glass mirrors are the best and the most safe msterial. But expensive.
My main conclusion is that it's possible to be too inexpensive. No more mylar. Surely more robust metal reflectors would be a wiser component for any serious home heating solution.
Interesting... I could see a lot of stress marks on the outside of the mirror. I think the design could be improved if the frame was thicker and it had a back to it, then the wind would have less effect on it. Could the film be preserved better if you could coat it with varnish? Also if it were going to hail you could quite quickly protect the mirror by turning it upside down.
Spolzovoti nada shos smaller mesh shop ni zlamalo plinko (some thing that won’t tear the Mylar a mesh with flat sides. You can maybe get that from hvac units. Not sure what you can get in Ukraine today because of the war but hoping you can still get supplies)
Стальную проволоку нужно закрыть пластиковыми трубками ,тогда они не будут рвать пленку так быстро
Nice experiments ! I prefer still the long lifespan ones, with non corrisive metals sheets, mirrors pieces on concrete like also done on the fixedfocus channel..
Happy to have good news from you !
nice stuff, im thinking put this in a greenhouse and somehow focus the heat from this on to a sand container, it would release the heat at night?
❤ Funny man 👍😎✊
Bonjour et merci infiniment pour cet excellent partage : Une question s'il vous plait : Quelle comparaison peut-on faire entre la réflexion de votre miroir (feuille d'aluminum) ET un miroir classique utilisé dans les autres projet MERCI (..... ) Hello and thank you very much for this excellent sharing: One question please: What comparison can be made between the reflection of your mirror (aluminum sheet) AND a classic mirror used in other projects THANK YOU
Я бы закрыл переднюю часть зеркала прозрачной плёнкой, чтобы защитить зеркальную плёнку от грязи и окисления. Заднюю сторону зеркала я бы покрасил и тоже закрыл бы любой другой плёнкой.
Would painting the back of the film increase its durability? you could use polyurethane roof paint which is already made to resist the sun and weather for at least 10 years. You could also coat the front reflective side with clear plastidip for cars which is UV resistant, tho the later might be more expensive than replacing the film.
How about double layer?
Я вчу англійську і мені зрозуміло. Дякую.
You could start a company to bring concentrating solar thermal energy to Ukraine. CST could help replace Mr. Putins natural gas for the Ukrainian electric and industrial sectors.
would glass or plexiglass prevent wind damage or and debris buildup?
Dear Sergly, what would happen if high absorption black ink is applied to the thermal electric generator's hot side, and what would happen when apply CaCO3 or Ba2SO3 based paint to the cold side?
Also attach the space blanket via epoxy or acrylic or glue onto a flat surface might be a good replacement for curve metal sheet or small mirrors? Such small mirrors or strips of reflectors maybe able to construct a flatter structure like a diffractive lens/ Fresnel lens?
Hy,
if it will rain with "ice" (i do not know the term for this) your foil has no chance against it. Cheap is not always good. Until now, in my opinion the modified Satellite dish is the best solution.
Does it boil water
Please stop using automated voice. Use your own.