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A Strong Simple Sun Tracker
A Strong Simple Sun Tracker
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step 3: Wrap it up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
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http://www.instructables.com/id/A_Strong_Simple_Sun_Tracker/
intro: A Strong Simple Sun Tracker
Build a big array of mirrors for a solar collector and you still have one problem, it has to follow the sun as it travels across the sky. Solar trackers are expensive and
complicated. Heres one that is simple, cheap and strong.
You can make it from parts found in the hardware store and garage sales.
First you need to know some navigator and sundial facts. As the Sun travels across the sky daily its astromonical position is called "right ascension"
This Sun Tracker will move the position of a solar array, heliostat or solar furnace as it makes its daily trip across the sky.
The other change your collector has to make is its altitude which changes as the season changes. This adjustment can be made on a weekly basis, and an automatic
adjustment isn't usually necessary.
I will keep you up to date with the progress of my prototype equitorial mounted solar furnace with more pictures and add ons.
I felt the neccesity to publicize the Strong Simple Solar Tracker as an inspiration to anyone else that might be thinking about building a large solar furnace, but were
intimidated by the tracking drive.
Now that you know you can make one cheaply and quickly, maybe you'll be tempted to take the plunge.
File Downloads
http://www.instructables.com/id/A_Strong_Simple_Sun_Tracker/
step 2: Its all together
Just screw it all together, use the holes in lugs to wrap the stripped ends of the wires in . You could use solder to secure them, its optional if you don't know how to solder.
Just make sure the feed wires are tight. Tape them up.
Image Notes
1. Hook the feed wires to the holes in the prongs and tighten. Solder if you want to . Observe polarity. Tape it up.
http://www.instructables.com/id/A_Strong_Simple_Sun_Tracker/
step 3: Wrap it up
Like a sore thumb. Leave a space for the sensor opening to look at the Sun and make sure the adjustment ring is loose.
Image Notes
1. Tape up the entire assembly, leave the sensor window and the adjusting ring uncovered.
File Downloads
http://www.instructables.com/id/A_Strong_Simple_Sun_Tracker/
step 6: Building the base
The base or carriage of the Sun tracker was built out of scrap lumber and an old set of wheels from a rusted out garden cart. This is what it looks like upside down.
http://www.instructables.com/id/A_Strong_Simple_Sun_Tracker/
step 9: The Dobson Mount
This is the rotating part of the Tracker, when it is inclined to the angle that is parallel to the equator, the frame mounted on the hinges will track the Sun.
http://www.instructables.com/id/A_Strong_Simple_Sun_Tracker/
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Comments
12 comments Add Comment
http://www.instructables.com/id/Clock-Based-solar-tracker-experiment/
Just a thought
http://www.instructables.com/id/A_Strong_Simple_Sun_Tracker/
david williams says: Sep 8, 2008. 11:16 AM REPLY
You've got the letters CW at the bottom of the diagram, which suggests that the shaft rotates clockwise as seen from the bottom end. In fact, it should go the
other way, clockwise as seen from the *top*.
The "altitude" of the sun is its angle of "elevation". Its azimuth is essentially its compass bearing.
At the equinoxes, the declination (latitude) of the sun changes by about three degrees per week. If you adjust the tracker only once a week, it will be
significantly off at the end.
Also, the seasonal movements of the sun are not just in the north-south dimension. There are east-west movements too. So the periodic readjustments of
the machine will have to include movements in both directions. The east-west motions essentially involve moving the clock forward or back. Between early
November and mid-February, it has to move back about half an hour.
David
This is a work in progress, so if you see anything that might not make this work, speak up before I screw up.
Basically, your machine is okay. Apart from the little things I mentioned earlier (especially the direction of rotation!), it should work just fine. Like the
gnomon of a sundial, the axis of rotation should point to the (north) celestial pole, which is very close to the Pole Star. The machine has to rotate,
clockwise as seen from the north so as to compensate for the earth's anticlockwise rotation, once every 24 hours. I have a machine something like
yours which just uses an old alarm-clock mechanism. An additional 2:1 gear slows the rotation down from once every 12 hours, for the hour-hand of
the clock, to once every 24 hours. It works very well.
As you already know, you will have to adjust your tracker in the north-south direction every few days to follow the sun's seasonal movements. You
will also sometimes have to set the clock ahead or back a bit, even if it keeps perfect time. This is to compensate for a rather complex east-west
movement of the sun. If you know about sundials, you will have encountered this by the name "equation of time". Relative to clocks, sundials are not
good timekeepers, especially during the (northern) winter, when sundials lose about half an hour between early November and mid-February. I
suspect this is why sundials are almost unknown in the southern hemisphere, where this inaccuracy happens in summertime. I was in Chile a few
years ago and found that nobody knew what a sundial was! I built one, and amazed some people.
I would urge you to try to think of all possible problems before you spend money on building the machine. For example, are there going to be electric
wires going to the rotating part of the tracker? If so, you'll have to arrange some way to ensure that the wires don't get wound up tightly and broken
after the machine has made a lot of rotations. You'll have to use "slip rings" which are tricky and expensive, or make the machine rotate in the
opposite direction from time to time to unwind the wires.
Have fun!
David
-- This is single-direction only, right? So the mount must be manually returned to the start position at the end (or the beginning) of the day.
-- Electrical tape isn't a great solution for outdoor circuits (in fact, it's use in general is fading.) You can find other threaded sockets with wire connectors (like
lamp sockets), or maybe re-use a cheap worklight--which would have a sturdy cable already attached.
As for retracting, I can always find a way to reverse the actuator or move it manually. Not a big deal.
Are you planning to build one of these? If you haven't started yet, something to consider- old/broken sewing machines are a good source of fairly strong
mains-powered electric motors and usually come with an adjustable speed control (ie foot pedal), and you could fix the pedal on at a slow speed so that the
motor doesn't suddenly jump when the light switch turns it on and overshoot the sun's position.
Also, have you considered clouds? IDK where in the world you live so clouds might not be an issue :P but if the switch is designed to be on in direct sunlight
and off otherwise, cloud cover will confuse the machine. Mind you, if you have a lot of clouds then solar furnaces aren't really worth the effort.
http://www.instructables.com/id/A_Strong_Simple_Sun_Tracker/
Cowboywindmillbuilder says: Sep 4, 2008. 3:48 PM REPLY
I live in the fifth sunniest place in the United States. Check the NOAA stats for zip 89429. We are lucky to get 7 inches of rain a year. If clouds are a
concern, I would think about another night light in a enclosure only the sensor would be outside and trun on in the dark, shutting down the movement.
Keep on reading the plans, this is an ongoing project, I just thought the Simple tracker would help out anyone else thinking about building one.
http://www.instructables.com/id/A_Strong_Simple_Sun_Tracker/