The background of the invention.

On visiting low cost housing projects, I noticed two points that could help people.

There were no gutters to collect rain water and no means of heating water. The first problem is easy to solve, but heating water costs money and/or time.

That is when the seed was planted to develop the portable solar water heater, which I have patented. SolBuddy was born.

SolBuddy

TM

Click here to a The smaller the SHADOW the more the SolBuddy is in direct line with the SUN.

·         It will require that the SolBuddy is moved from time to time to be more in line with the SUN.

·         By knocking a sturdy stick (not supplied) in the ground it is easy to lean the SolBuddy against it and move it as required to follow the SUN..

The two caps on the SolBuddy are to control the water flow when pouring water out.

One cap is loosened just enough to allow the water to flow at the rate required.

At an ambient temperature the water temperature will rise between 100% to 200% in strong SUNLIGHT..dd text.

How does it Work?

SolBuddy is a rotomoulded LLDPE plastic panel with a capacity of 5.5 litres of water.

The SolBuddy is first filled with water the caps replaced and tightened. The panel is then put in the SUN facing the SUN at an angle to the SUN.

To get the angle correct observe the shadow behind the panel. The smaller the shadow the better the angle to the SUN.

The shadow behind may be to the one side, so turn the panel more into the SUN.

So remember there are two angles up and down and side to side. A sturdy stick in the ground is ideal to lean the panel against. Move  the panel about every hour to gain maximum SUN.

After two hours the temperature should be almost double the ambient temperature. Be careful of the HOT water when opening the caps, it can burn. There are two spouts for good reason, ease of filling (no air locks).

Controlled pouring out by removing one cap and opening the other a bit until an even flow begins. To obtain higher temperatures quicker use a shiny mirror or any shiny material to focus more light onto the panel.

The shiny material must be the size of the panel or bigger ( See picture of reflector and panel ).

This way you are doubling the SUNLIGHT to the panel. If you want to pasteurize the water, I supply a wax filled transparent tube unit that is left in the panel.

It melts at 65°C, killing water borne bacteria. The wax falls to the bottom of the tube at 65°C,so you have an indicator of temperature reached. The wax indicator unit is reversible to be used over and over again.

Where there is NO potable water, this is of great use. A type of hay bag can be made to place the panel in and retain heat for longer.

The benefits of the SolBuddy panel are many, think about it.