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We use cloth nappies and have to do a
large family size of drying most days. My
wife would dry on the line but has two
problems, firstly you have to be around for
washing lines, its hard to leave the house
in anything but the best of weather.
Secondly my wife doesn't like the way
'everything
ends up as stiff as cardboard',
definitely not good for nappies. For me I
think the electric dryer also less hassel
than a washing line. You can load it up at
night before you go to bed.
The solar dryer would be a glass box
about the same size as a normal electric
dryer. The back and bottom of the dryer
would be a nice matt black.It would sit
outside the house in the yard. Inside the
box would be a wire drum with a lid/door,
with an horizontal axis. Clothes would be
loaded by lifting the top lid and opening
the wire door. A small (7 * 5 inch) solar
cell drives the wire drum round like a slow
minuet hand.
Cloths would be loaded at any point, the
sun would heat the inside of the glass box
like the interior of a car (sans leathered
seats). On hot sunny days the clothes
might dry quickly but even on a sunny/
cloudy day you might get a good dry over
the day. If it does rain well no problem.
my first idea be gentle.
A plastic solar clothes dryer
https://www.youtube...watch?v=DKi3KG6Ii7o
muffin fan [popbottle, Mar 08 2015]
[link]
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Interesting. On clothes lines, of course, it is the wind much more than the sun that dries the clothes. Perhaps you can incorporate the wind into your design as well? |
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This idea isn't a million miles from simply "hang your wet clothes in a conservatory". Which would also get my bun. |
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Unless you vent or dehumidify it, you've just invented the greenhouse dresser. |
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1. If you take them off the line and throw them in the drier for a minute or two they become soft. |
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2. You could dispense with your solar cell and wind your solar drier up. It could have a spring. If you are not blowing air thru, you probably will not need to turn it as much. |
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3. A box is a good shape for a drier with blowing air but maybe not for this. A large, thin flat box would be best. I envision the front being glass. The next inside layer black. The clothes rest on a wire mesh and are held against the black metal part. The back is open. |
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I think the idea you propose would work better as an autoclave than a drier - it would get hot but I am not sure where the steam would go. |
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Not bad, but I kind of doubt that you are going to get enough power from a small solar cell to turn over a twenty kilo load of wet nappies. |
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//twenty kilo load of wet nappies// |
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Ug! Glad I don't have kids yet. |
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Not a bad idea, though. I wonder if you could use heat convection to drive it, or maybe a windmill? |
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Speaking on inventions. [inventorist], that polyacrylamide they put in disposable diapers is a wonderful invention. I have at least 3 ideas posted on the HB based on the stuff. Now in the days of greenhouse gases and global warmings, perhaps it is not such a bad thing to fill landfills with carbon. |
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As pointed out ventilation is an
absolute must, perhaps a padlock and a
long chain might also be useful as the
dryer is back yard item. I quite the
concept of a chemical that changes
colour in the presence of water, so if
the drying is finished the words ‘dry’
would stand out in say blue. |
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How about an outer box – when closed
the dry looks like a garden item and
when open the sides lie down exposing
mirrors that reflect light in to the box?
Depends on how quickly you want
things to dry and what the maximum
temperature we should let clothes/
nappies reach. |
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What kinds of temperatures do people
find their parked cars reaching ( and
where?) |
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//Ug! Glad I don't have kids yet.//
Yes, it's a shame, for they would love to play in it. |
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The wire drum may need to be hamster-assisted. But that may mean even more nappies. |
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Oh darn. I have a sketch at home of much the same device - with a couple of variations. There is a long, shallow, sloping solar box outside the drying chamber itself, which generates the hot air for dryer. Air is drawn through the system by a solar chimney at the top. And the drum is turned by a windmill. |
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