Sunday, August 28, 2011

Showergy 2.0 Construction Updates

Hey all,

As the title of the post suggests, I shall just be putting up the construction updates. All in all, it seems to be going well.

Update Part 1:
Michelle and I made the first 3'X3' frame on Friday - and based upon that model, I constructed two other frames (dimensions: 2.5'X2.5' and 2'X2') after three painful days of blisters from shaving PP-R pipe-ends and Tangit PVC glue peeling skin off. Totally worth it!

Fig. 1: The three frames (dimensions: 3'X3', 2.5'X2.5' and 2'X2') and their relative sizes

The frames are made from 20mm PP-R pipes (the commonly used PV substitute here), were cut using the PVC blade, held together in frame by T-fittings made of the same PP-R material and for the purposes of this experiment only, stuck with Tangit PVC glue. (In the future, we aspire to have inter-locking systems that are strong enough to hold up the shower without the need for glue). As it currently stands, each frame takes 5-6 hours to build from scratch, but we shall also be looking at Process Optimization Methods soon. The solution perhaps lies in alternate design or materials.

Update Part 2:

Along with the construction, I'm also running a solar shower heating experiment (using the Super Solar Shower kit purchased from a camping store). The bag is to be filled with water (although the capacity is 20l , I'm currently using just 10l - which is the average amount of water people in the slums of Kwa Njenga use) and to be left out in the sun for a minimum of three hours before use.
Day 1: Water seemed to get pretty decently warm (would estimate around 30 deg C) when left outside in the sun
Day 2: No sun today, hence the water is pretty cold. Hasn't heated up at all.

The reason I'm running this side-experiment here is that once we go back to the States we can test out the exact mechanism, but to have an idea of the exact climatic conditions here would be difficult. Hot water demand appeared quite seasonal here, the highest demand being in the winter months (ie. right now) but the main issue with that seems to be that 1. the weather is erratic 2. oftentimes, the sky is overcast and the surroundings cool/cold (solar heating may not be the most efficacious of options in this case). We can definitely talk more about it at uni!


Fig 2: Super Solar Shower kit (includes shower container bag, control valve and shower head)

If you guys have any suggestions for construction, please let us know! Once Michelle's back on Tuesday, we're going to the slums to ask people what they think of the size of our frame and to see how well it fits within the house, how comfortable people feel inside it, etc. We shall also inform them that this is by no means our final product, and merely a prototype - so their suggestions would be more than welcome. We think that sounds like a good rounding off plan, what say, Team (Awesome) Showergy?

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