Neighbor S very carefully drove the glass cover for the heat exchanger to the Lair this morning. And between the two of us…
…we got it ten feet in the air and mounted on the box.
So now I’ll be monitoring temperature over the next couple of days, as different sky conditions ensue. Right now it’s pretty cloudy though not completely overcast and normally the water would be no more than tepid, especially with breeze. Now the breeze should stop being a factor, and hopefully the inside of the box will capture and hold the heat. So in an hour or so I’ll break out that thermometer Big Brother sent me and we’ll see what happens.
Besides gravity, what holds the glass in place?
I’m really interested to hear your results!
The hope that gravity will be enough.
It’s quite heavy – but we did discuss how much of a mess will result from a direct hit from a big enough dust devil. I might get nervous enough to pick up a roll of plumber’s strap.
Strap that puppy down!!!
I don’t remember Bernoulli’s equation off the top of my head, but if we ballpark 15 sq ft and 100#, it’ll take less than an ounce of negative pressure per sq inch to suck that thing off the frame. That wouldn’t take a very strong wind. I’d hate to see you forego hot showers for the want of a little strapping.
BTW, if my little cactus greenhouse (built almost identically) is any indicator, you’ll be enjoying hot water well into the winter months as long as you have a few hours of halfway decent sunlight.
Another vote for anchoring that glass, and for the same reason!
Instead of plumber’s strap try some aluminum angle from the hardware store with foam sticky back tape between it and the glass. You can easily get two four foot lengths and pop some holes through the side and screw into the walls of your heater exchanger/