PARABOLIC DISH MIRROR PARABOLOID HOMEMADE SOLAR CONCENTRATOR
on Apr 21 in Lowes DIY
PART 1 OF THE DIY PROJECT. SCRAP 70 GALLON WATER TANK I FOUND ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.
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EXCELLENT explanation! THANK YOU:-)
Dan
@bean432 It has to do with the molding process, every mold that has only one side will have a ‘finished’ and an ‘unfinished’ side on the molded part. fiberglass by itsself is really quite rough but will take on the finish of whatever it is laid to wet, in this case the concrete. The more time that is spent preparing the plug (concrete in this case) the better the finished side of the molded part will be, since you want a substrate that will eventually make a mirror, smooth is good. Make sense?
an engineer friend uses duck tape on the molds to avoid the resin to stick to the mold and it gives a very smooth finish.
Bet your are their #1 non-commercial customer
for recycled concrete
I was wondering if plaster would be a viable option on this to save some weight for handling and finishing?
@alexbimos NOPE, concrete base recycled, only small amount of portland cement. Your computer you are on has 100+ the waste in creation of one dish. Use the dish 10 times to cook with vs electric and your carbon offset is done. Everything, other than living in a cave requires something taxing natural resources. The goal, make something usable.
Problem with what you show here is simple…You have used a tone of toxic products that just kill this planet …it’s all nice but not at all GREEN
i dunno seems like alot of waste to make something thats supposed to save
bean432……think it ALL THE WAY THROUGH dude. If he would have just waxed the inside of the end of the vessel then put fiberglass into it he would have THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF AN INWARD FOCUSED MIRROR hence…….the rays of the sun would be SCATTERED.. NOT BROUGHT TOGETHER
Because then the inside of the parabolic dish would not have been as smooth. Its smoothness is a key factor in how effective it is.
Dan, thank you for making this video. It’s great to know the process of making a parabolic mirror.
At 1 ton of CO2 per 1 ton of concrete….500,000lbs is A LOT for 1 person!…How’s your “co2 foot print” going there Dan? LOL Just teasing mate…I’m sure there is an environmental “bent” to the build..
Did you measure the shape of this parabolic tank end?? Is it in fact a parabolic shape or just a dish?..EG: will it concentrate the suns rays or merely reflect them??
Cheers
why didn’t you just wax in the container at the start and put the fiber glass in it rather than making the big cerment thingy?
That will work with water and cement would work with some forming help. You would get the general shape, add more water so it is mushy. It would take a rater elaborate system as any off balance issues would be impossible to fix as it would be very heavy.
I think filling a pool and turning a 12 dimensional parabola in the center would work better.
Thank you for the great comment. What do you think?
This may be a stupid question, maybe someone has already tried this.
What if you fill a 4-6ft diameter rigid plastic pool with very fine concrete mix.
Once the pool is filled to 12-18in of mix, rotating the pool with a motor
at a very constant rate of spin 30 60 revolutions per minute the cement will harden into the shape of the depression.
Question, once the cement sets, will it have formed into a parabolic shape? or a cone shape?
Why is not the finished product shown at the start of the video so you know if you want to watch it?
is everything you do have to be “recycled” per say?
pretty cool, actually really inscructional, unlike loads of other “instructional videos” on the web. i think simple but efficient methods like these are somewhat forgotten in the highh tech world of alternative power sources. Is that really parabolic? surely only if the bottom of the tank is parabolic, but is it?
watch?v=FZh-CRneIII
that is an interesting way of living. i wish i could do that.. (lol u cant do those kinds of jobs in ny apartments)
i noticed that automobile windshields seem to have a somewhat parabolic shape. Do you know of any certain windshields would be feesible to make a parabolic mirror or be used as a mould to make a fiberglass one?
i wonder if u sell the mirror…
Hi,
Thank You for the nice comment:-)
I have some parabolas, they are a bit better but it really does not make a big difference. Spherical shapes produce the same temperatures within 5%. The time factor, making several is better than 1 perfect IMHO.
The reflective surface is what delivers the most power.
Dan
Hi Dan, absolutely love your channel. Question, I see you are using existing shapes of pot lids or the bottom of this tank as your parabolic shape. Would imagine they were not designed for this purpose, why don’t you let’s say use the parabolic formula to make the most efficient parabolic dish or does this not really matter so much for solar purposes?
Hey I would like to see you do a project with an old satelite dish there is a 12ft one for 100 bucks here in Vegas..