Sand Battery heater. Create free heat of 500F using solar electricity! Texas Prepper Projects

[@AmbachtAle]

Thirty years ago, my uncles and dad built a house for my grandparents in Fargo ND. They used electricity to heat the house. In Fargo, footings have to be deep and most people have basements. In this case they lined the concrete with insulation and filled it with sand. They ran heating tape through the sand. The local power company had a special off-peak rate. The house was well-insulated and could go for several days in the middle of winter without power. I don't remember how they controlled the sand temperature but it wasn't that hot since the house was always 75 degrees F and there was no control between the sand and the concrete floor.

[@texasprepperprojects]

I was actually born in ND and got family in Fargo!. It was probably just a big thermal mass but I'll have to ask the relatives still in the area if they know more.

[@alanesterline2310]

My hat is off to your family, Texas Prepper and all the amazing people that live in ND. I worked up there for many years and I am amazed how resilient and friendly people up there are. When someone talks about people being the backbone of the our country it these kind of people.

[@ourpeoplespoll1474]

Woulda been nice to see it instead of hearing about it. Great thing about videos

[@texasprepperprojects]

@@ourpeoplespoll1474 What would you like to see?

[@tarheelcountry1868]

If you could explain the original comment @texan prepper, about using this type of thermal mass to heat a basement as original commenter described that would be amazing.

[@passionvoice]

I like the sand as it is inert. Sand is made up of silica so it is a natural insulator to electricity. Yes you can create a carbon trail between the wiring points on the element but it does not result in an electrocution hazard. The sand should NOT conduct at that voltage even at a temperature of 500 deg F. Just one idea, coils for a liquid that can be connected to heating coils buried in the sand could supply heat for water tank or a could heat a home using forced air. No doubt your plaster cured more quickly because of the heat in the sand. Art Ceramic studios use liquid "Slip" it is liquid clay and the molds for the slip are made of plaster. I trained on making molds and think I can help you. Usually garden Gnomes or plates for decoration, small pots or coffee cups with interesting logos, much more popular in past decades. I have made and poured slip into molds. The kiln used to fire the slip into a solid ceramic could be used to make an insulated base for the bottom of your pot for a form you could build a ceramic base to elevate the a little and it would not be on the carpet. If you want to get in touch I am in San Angelo, Texas not far from Goodfellow AFB. I am an old broadcast engineer electrician and sometimes plumber, with solar training and lots of experience ideas. You are welcome to Reach out if you wish.

[@texasprepperprojects]

check out videos 2 and 3 on this! (I went to college in San Angelo)

[@heddie04]

@@texasprepperprojects

[@annwithaplan9766]

Good idea on using slip to create a base. It's good to have experience in different fields. I have been watching videos like this for a while. None of the ones I've seen so far has shown how the actually heated a room, though. I'm thinking that a small fan could work with it, too, that would blow in different directions.

[@PennyBenzon]

I have worked on off peek heating systems for a utility company. I think what you have done was a good experiment. 60 volts at 4 amps is 240 watts 5 hours of sun light that's 1200 watt hrs. i have a space heat that i use in my camper just to keep the bed room warm at night it uses 800 watts on low your heater would be = to running my heater 1.5 hours. not to bad. there are homes that use river rock to heat there home in Canada and with no sun for 30 days it kept the home above freezing. tons of river rock one pound of mass takes 1 btu to change it 1 degree.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks!

[@ashleyorr495]

This is better than school

[@dalemitchell8006]

My favorite way to stay warm in my camper uses a 12 volt heated mattress pad.

[@Mavrik9000]

I'm about 8 minutes in and I thought I'd point out a potential electrocution hazard.⚡The contacts for the wires on the heating element are not meant to be surrounded by any material. The loose sand and/or the fused sand connects them together providing a path for a short circuit.☠ A solution might be some high-temperature silicone gasket material over each terminal separately. Also of concern is the plastic on the wires, it might also melt in this application. So additional insulation around the wires, with suitable high-temperature material, would be a good idea. Or a better idea as "daughy doc" suggests, make a hole in the side of the container and insert the heating element the same as it would be in it's normal application in a water heater.

[@texasprepperprojects]

I was also concerned about that and I do think it is a valid fear. I have multiple fuses in this system in case something like that happened. Thanks for the comment!

[@leonhardtkristensen4093]

Dry sand is non conductive. There should be no electrical problem. Unfortunately sand is also not a very good heat conductor. A water heating element will burn out very fast as it is designed to have water around it. Water is a much better heat conductor. I think a solution would be to have something havey in the centre that is a good heat conductor and then use the sand arund that as an insulator. Water heating elements are only designed to handle heat up to a little over 100 degree Celsius.

[@Mavrik9000]

@@leonhardtkristensen4093 That may be the case, if it's clean and 'only' sand, but I still wouldn't touch it while the heating element is turned on.

[@leonhardtkristensen4093]

@@Mavrik9000 That is allright. Safety first of cause. If it is used with low voltage like 12 or 24 volt it is no problem and if it is used with 240 volt I am quite sure the heating element would burn out in no time. With mains voltages one should allways be very carefull. I have had my fair share of electric shocks and survived but it is true that if not used to it even a smaller shock can give a deadly amout of andrinalin in ones body. It is often not the electricity that kills but the adrinalin that does it.

[@user-kr5953]

You could also drill a hole in the can and stick the element and the wires out, just be sure all connections are protected with electrical tape.

[@uneektalent]

I played with the sand idea years ago but wanted some features that would be difficult with sand so I changed to mineral oil. It can still get up to 500 degrees and yet is easily moved to where it is needed via plumbing. To save on cost I filtered used motor oil several times to clean out all the fine sludge that could clog up the pipes. It gets heated by being pumped through a set of solar evacuated tubes, with the pump being controlled by a low voltage thermostat so it only runs when the tubes are hot. It goes into a highly insulated tank for storage (the battery). The size of the battery determines how long it will work for those cloudy weeks when there is no charge available. As needed it gets pumped into each room where it passes through a small radiator which has a small fan blowing through it. Hot air comes out the front. Each room has an independent pump and thermostat. I'm working on an in-floor radiant system as the next upgrade that will be built into my retirement home. Because it is thermostatically controlled, I can leave for extended periods and not have to worry about my pipes freezing. I love not having a heating bill yet still being quite comfortable regardless of the weather. Another upgrade will be a heat exchanger used for domestic hot water. That will have to be regulated more precisely to avoid scalding.

[@drd1924]

Best idea I've heard yet

[@texasprepperprojects]

Neat!

[@coachgeo]

catch 22....... FIRE.. no this system should not catch fire from anything about the heater ...BUT.... if your home catches on fire some other way..... its mostly a gonner once that oil catches fire (or its fumes) ...... that oil fire will be nasty..... Also if any unburned oil leaks out- odds are you may get a big fine and/or required to pay out the ass for environmental clean up and have EPA all over your ass. be aware as well....... this setup completely invalidates your home insurance. They will not cover "Anything" including things unrelated to this system. Ins. Company Lawyers are paid to find excuses to not pay back out to who has been paying in. They likely will use this heater as an excuse. Not saying folk should not do this.. just be prepared (put $$ you would pay for insurance into high yield savings for example- aka "self insure"). Be honest and straight with firefighters if you have a fire.... they need to know about the system IMMEDIATELY... be aware too the captain may call all his fighters off the job and only do water cannon from distance... for the safety of firefighters

[@danielking2944]

The use of oil sounds interesting. The circulating water radiant floor is becoming more common so it should be easy to incorporate this idea. I’m a little apprehensive about sleeping on top of a pool of hot flammable liquid but with the oil battery surrounding an antifreeze/water heat exchanger ,that more energy-dense storage sounds good.

[@coachgeo]

@@danielking2944 use type oil found in electric oil heaters and/or powerline tranformers?

[@glennwest267]

Thanks for your work. Im working on a similar concept, mine is targeting the size of a fridge, with outer walls design with high temp insulation. Internally I will do a copper coil for heat extration via pumped water, and multiple 220v heating coils. Will do design so sand can be emptied, and filled. Put it on a pad outdoors, as its going to be heavy. My offgrid solar is 24 Kilowatts of power, so this will be my dump load, when my batteries are full, I can redirect during the day to the heat. my house is already designed for radiant heat, so easy to use hot water for it, or pre-heat for house hold hot water and hot tub.

[@shawnr771]

Use a radiator fluid it will raise the boiling point of the water.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Cool

[@texasprepperprojects]

Neat

[@WinkTartanBelle]

This is a pretty cool idea I'd like to mess around with myself. The comment section is GOLDEN! I've used popcorn tins filled with sand, pea gravel and/or bricks with an incandescent lightbulb to set under metal chicken waterers to keep them from freezing. This is somewhat along those lines. Vaseline or cooking spray oil work fairly well as release agents for plaster.

[@texasprepperprojects]

I thought about the popcorn tin since we just got done with Christmas! I've seen several variants of this design including one using tea candles sitting on bricks. Sand is cheap, it's interesting and easy to play with. I'm just so STUNNED at the 500f I got out of it

[@debra-qq1np]

I am wondering how to create a safe place to put something that 🔥 hot. Downstairs is always cold. The heater isn't that efficient if temp drop too far and it doesn't circulate. Downstairs is lightly refrigerated, upstairs is warm. I can see setting up one or two of these to radiate heat Downstairs... but 4 cats 🐈 🐈 🐈 🐈 ...

[@kreynolds1123]

One of the greatest thing about electricity is how easy you can move the energy from one location to another. You can keep your sand battery in one location and use a 12 gauge extension cable to carry the power. Using just one heater element forces it to get very very very hot to transfer heat to the sand. It risks extream oxidizing sortening it's life. Stove heater elements are better designed for extreame heat without being oxidized. It will also have a higher surface area in contact with the sand.

[@coachgeo]

can the sand crystalize?, like his did, into something that can short the element and or start electrically charging the sand causing a shock hazard. I assume sand is not conductive.... but that does not mean something in the sand might be? hence why I was thinking some silicon covered heating pads (like drum heaters) distributed thru the battery may be a better choice?

[@kreynolds1123]

@@coachgeo In short, i don't know about molten sand/glass. I have some educated guesses but I could be wrong. silicon dioxide I quarts glass and sand is a very good insulator.The DC resistance is very very high and there is probably very very very little current flowing through molten sand, even with some contaminates. But if you preheat a piece of glass, and stick it into a microwave, the glass will absorb the microwave and melt. This is called dielectric heating. It happens because silicon dioxide is a polar molecule and when Glas is heated it's free to orientated with the changing electric field likevwater does in a microwave. This also means molten molten glass can capacitive couple alternating currents, although I have no idea how much or how little that is given a resistor heating element but my guess is that the surface area at each end is small and 50 or 60 hz isn't frequent enough to dump much energy though dielectric heating.

[@benfriesen3855]

Yes 👌

[@douglasmcleod7481]

@@coachgeo poke the element in from the top to bury the element but leave the wires exposed

[@THOTHvii]

@@kreynolds1123 The melting point of sand is about 2930 degrees faranheit. This wouldn't be able to be achieved with what he is using if he applied proper heat transference. The biggest issue he is having here and the reason the silica clumped to the element is due to the lack of heat transfer. The element was "building" the heat right in the center and in order to keep from concentrating the heat you would need to do some calculations in order to know how much or how quick to heat up the mass in it's entirety. Also when he molded in a straw so that he could temp probe the mass he just made a small thermal "volcano" where a crap ton of the energy is going to make its way towards, hence heating up the area surrounding the hole first cause the heat to want to escape faster there and not spread homogenously. So the thermal couple between the sand on the element and the energy coming from the electricity in the element was a stronger bond than that of the rest of the mass so therefore it continued getting hotter and hotter. If there was a "cutoff" point in intervals the "hotspot" would have time to transfer that energy to the "cooler" areas hence, making it able to become hotter and more efficient. This heating is governed by the dielectric properties of the material. The dielectric properties depend on the frequency, and temperature.(With sand, moisture content also affects dielectric properties). The dielectric properties of some materials are mainly dependent on temperature, whereby the coupling is increased as the temperature increases. These materials are prone to a thermal runaway effect that is initially caused by low temperature differences in the material. Those areas that have a slightly higher temperature than the surrounding material take up more energy due to better coupling to the high frequency waves. This results in a faster temperature increase, which in turn leads to even better coupling and increased energy take-up, and so on. This thermal runaway can result in local destruction or even melting of the material. Assuming you allow it to reach over 2000 degrees faranheit.

[@kathleentully4361]

We are in Connecticut and really like this idea. My husband & I live in an electrically heated apartment building, so a quiet, non-fume producing solar heater sounds great! We have read through alot of the comments to find suggestions for improvements. Here is our plan: We will be using an old steel milk crate to keep our heater up off the floor, an electric stove element along with the ceramic socket and high temp wires from the stove, (or a hot plate if we can find one) and basalt (igneous) rocks surrounded by sand for a denser thermal mass. We will probably use furnace (refractory) cement to create the top cover and ceramic base for the heating unit, which would allow us easy access to all parts if needed. We already have a few 12 vdc fans salvaged from old computer towers to circulate the air.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Watch all my other videos on this. Short answer, don't bother. An electric blanket will keep you more warm and doesn't use much power

[@nathansmith7153]

Tell your insurance company

[@jamie1799]

thanks for bring up the computer towers. i have a mining rig, that's new. i wonder if it would work the same?

[@jamie1799]

@@texasprepperprojects i'm sure those can be ran off my eco flow over night.

[@texasprepperprojects]

@@jamie1799 Yes but watch my other videos. it's not worth it. An electric blanket makes much more sense

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

awesome job mate

[@l0I0I0I0]

Hey bud! Looks like we frequent the same channels. You should do another?

[@dennisking8892]

My thoughts exactly , thanks to both of you

[@l0I0I0I0]

@@dennisking8892 Hey Dennis. Have you build one of those HHO generators such as the one on your site with Patrick Kelly? Good instructions btw. If it works, I would be interested.

[@dennisking8892]

@@l0I0I0I0 no I haven't made it, good luck . I did also see American cop cars taking advantage of the Tec ,on another KZbin video

[@l0I0I0I0]

@@dennisking8892 interesting! Do you have that vid?. Does it have reliable directions? It's a lot of work so if I'm going to invest that much time and energy, I need to know it is going to work. Biggest concern is hydrogen embrittlement. It very well may greatly reduce the life of the motor which is not worth it unless it's made of 316l stainless which they never are.

[@SustainableCraig]

Thanks for sharing your experiment. I saw another channel trying a similar method. The water heater element just got destroyed from the heat (he could easily break it apart in his hand after it cooled down). He ended up using the element from a stove instead.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Can you link to it? Mine seems to be falling apart also but I'd love to see others!

[@SustainableCraig]

@@texasprepperprojects here is a link www.youtube.com/@off-gridsurvivalmike8120/videos

[@NORSKGARDEN]

What is the link? Looks like it was removed???

[@SustainableCraig]

​@@NORSKGARDEN it was on this channel. Update 5 or so. It was one of his earlier vids before he switched to stove coils www.youtube.com/@off-gridsurvivalmike8120/videos

[@rogerredden1079]

There's already oil filled thermostatic heating devices in the market place so why not run the solar wiring power supply to energize such a device or bury one of these in a box of SAND ????? 😮 😮 😊 😊 ❤ ......

[@itsaboutthyme7149]

I kept getting up to let my cat in, but she wasn’t there 🤷🏼‍♀️. Then I realized it was your cat crying 😂.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Prepper cat George!

[@texasprepperprojects]

regarding 4:58. When I was working on version 2, I actually discovered that the heating element got so hot that it melted the plastic bracket around it, and the wires leading up to it. So, the sand didn't 'fuse' (which would take a lot more heat)... the chunks that I saw were likely parts of melted plastic. Also, check out the 'sand battery playlist' on my channel for follow up videos on testing and your questions answered

[@Struthio_Camelus]

I think I need to look into conductors from an electric oven - they might be able to withstand the heat better.

[@solarsynapse]

Silicone insulated wires can withstand more heat and woven glass should be about the same as the sand.

[@goontubeassos7076]

A three-quarter inch copper coil waterline wound up inside there, connected to a hole in the bottom for air intake and then protruding from the top for air outtake, this would suck the air from the house in and heat it up, you can also get the woodstove fans and fill the sand to the top and put the wood for stove fans in the sand you can use copper lines to help even the heat the sand.

[@goontubeassos7076]

As another thought you can probably line the outside with thermal electric generators to generate more electricity to charge a battery as well to loop the cycle

[@goontubeassos7076]

@@Struthio_Camelus Diesel trucks have a heating element kind of like a spark plug that might work too. Glow plugs.

[@jameshupalo]

I love how you had multiple points of temp measure. Good job and simple yet reliable design. My 2 cents, add a larger heater with more surface area like a range heater or one that comes with wiring designed for really high temps. I would also do like you suggested, drop a pipe into the sand that could be supplied with an air source to be turned on when you want more heat. Please more videos

[@texasprepperprojects]

check out my other videos for more and better testing

[@desertdan100]

I am a Solar Thermal specialist. I live in the Midwest and deal with higher heating loads than you do in your area. I have taught and given talks on Solar Thermal systems and designs. Here is my advice. You can capture or harvest more Thermal energy using Solar Thermal panels or collectors instead of using Electric panels and converting. A Solar Thermal collector is more efficient per Sq ft of area than an Electric. Electric is now around 20 % for a good one and Thermal is around 50 to 80% efficient because it is capturing Infrared energy from the sun instead. Many years ago I helped a man stack concrete blocks in his basement as a Solar Thermal battery. We ducted hot air from a collector through the stack. It worked very well for short term storage. The higher the differential in temperatures, the less efficient the heat transfer is putting it in there. It is quicker to transfer from the hot source to the cool source but it means that you need to have a much greater amount of insulation to keep it stored without losing it. Go to a larger amount of storage medium and build your own Thermal collectors. Keep storing your excess Electric in batteries and then the overage into a Marathon type water tank. It will be more efficient and cheaper in the long run. High temperatures mean high losses.

[@texasprepperprojects]

What are you using as a collector? I'd love to learn more! I've seen several designs out there for solar thermal hot air collectors but can't decide which is the best one.

[@desertdan100]

@Texas Prepper Projects you can easily build your own using aluminum water heater or dryer vent piping, old cans or even Aluminum panning or sheet metal. You just need to use flat black high temp stove or grill paint to coat it to absorb the sun light. Find and use foil backed Isocynurate insulation that is high temp rated. It won't off gas. Build the collector with a back pass air flow or through the duct or can air flow. You can also use a flat plate designed with water running through pex pipe. I built some collectors years ago with copper and pumped food grade mineral oil through them with an expansion tank in the system. Never had to worry about freezing or Boiling as long as it was moving when the sun came out. There was a really good collector that I helped with in maximizing output but the company that made them is now out of business because the owner passed away. They were called Sunsiaray or Northern Comfort panels. They used a special coating on a copper sheet that was kind of like gun bluing. It was 83% efficient at capturing the sun's IR waves. Black paint is around 65% efficient. Look up Cansolar. theindependent.ca/news/how-to-build-a-pop-can-solar-heater/#:~:text=A%20pop%20can%20solar%20heater%20is%20an%20air%20heater%20that,prototypes%20and%20large%2Dscale%20units

[@gaetanoroccuzzo]

​@@desertdan100Thank you, you seem to be very knowledgeable in the matter. I wish I could pick your brain out for a project I have in mind. A house heating system consisting of a roof mounted solar collector piped directly to a storage device located indoors with also some means of heat distribution to other rooms. My main problem is sizing it up. Your expert opinion would be of great help.

[@desertdan100]

@@gaetanoroccuzzo Figure out your needed btu load first. Size your collector according to the available hours of usable sun you have in your area. A good way to think about the design or formula is in watts of energy. Each 12 x 12 inch square foot of surface area the sun gives us can be used as an approx known basis. approx. 110 watts of potential per sq ft. Your collector efficiency details how much you can capture. Solar electric is about 17 % efficient. Solar Thermal can be from about 45 to 85 % efficient depending on the collector type and material it's built out of and the design. This is the trick for efficiency while heating air. I discovered this over many years and used to hold my findings close because I was trying to patent a collector but I gave up and will just share it now even if I never get credit. It takes money and the right people to avoid being shutdown by those who wish to monopolize energy. You need a minimum of 8 cfm per sqft of collector surface and you need to try and maintain approx. an 85 degree discharge temp out of the blower minimum. If it drops below that just shut it down until the collector can heat back up again. Too high of a discharge and you are losing a lot of heat back out of the collector to the outside. Too low of a discharge and you can't exchange the heat to the air or fluid efficiently. Heat moves toward cool. The higher the difference the faster it travels.

[@gaetanoroccuzzo]

@@desertdan100 Thank you. I will treasure what you have explained. I don't exactly know when I will start my project. I am already behind schedule for this year, the good weather is almost gone and I have a lot of preparatory work to do. First of all I need to convert your measurements in metric as I live in the north part of Europe and I am not conversant with your standards but that can be overcome. I am sorry for your decision not to patent your idea, it's a pity. If I can give you my input, you ought to think of it as an investment for the future. Best of luck.

[@Dana-bp1hk]

I certainly hope that we come up with something soon for practical use. We can't depend on outside entities to keep us safe or secure. We need to step up and make it happen ourselves. Look around you, can you communicate with your neighbors. Speak the same language? The infrastructure of this nation is in a great state of disrepair, decades, of neglect. You are the only solution to the work that needs to be done. Thank you for posting this video. We will have to experiment on all facets of safety, security, health, and comfort. Make it happen!

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks!

[@joycehaines2055]

What I have been saying to my family. Looks like I’m going to have to try it on my own though.

[@markholloway9638]

Also, try a “sand hog” element. They are used in water heaters where there is a lot of sediment in the water., they are made of a tougher material and will last longer.

[@rhondamaxinepickett8077]

How about putting it on a 4-legged stand about 30 inches off the floor and use a fan to circulate the heat?

[@texasprepperprojects]

Why?

[@alycemaloney2982]

I just watched another video where they used heat powered fans on top of the sand to spread the heat (the kind you use on wood stoves).

[@texasprepperprojects]

I have seen that same video. It's given me an idea for something similar. Stay tuned

[@kentdesrochers4052]

@@texasprepperprojects if you are interested in that scenario, please consider the idea of using Stirling engines to generate electricity. Say enough to charge a "Power Wall" and to provide juice for the heating element. Also look at the linings for small scale smelting operations and fire brick. I would be very interested how it turns out since I live in a rural area of the Hill Country.

[@michiganengineer8621]

I'd like to add my vote to using the heating element from either an electric grill or an electric range instead of from a water heater. For extracting the heat possibly try running some metal tubes (copper or steel) through holes in the bottom and exiting out through the top of the sand/plaster, convection should get air moving through them. Those tubes probably WOULD get hot enough to burn on contact though.

[@texasprepperprojects]

I've decided to go ahead and give this a try. Stay tuned to version 2!

[@ygrittesnow1701]

Just use a thin copper plate that goes to the bottom of the pail. Then have a thermoelectric fan in contact with the copper plate. This will have the effect of extracting the heat and blowing it with the fan. There are videos of this here on KZbin as well.

[@galenyoung8349]

A countertop, "Griddle", should do the, trick? Why couldn't you just use a, "crock - pot?" It's the same thing, basically?

[@michiganengineer8621]

@@galenyoung8349 Crock Pots USUALLY don't get that hot. Not sure how hot it would get if you bypassed all of the control circuits.

[@ovidius2000]

OrRunWaterTroughPipes.

[@willm5814]

To make it a real battery (saving heat for when you need it), you will want to insulate the heater. Surround the heater with a thick layer of rock wool insulation and make an insulated lid - when you lose power, take the lid off and blow air across the top.

[@texasprepperprojects]

this is my plan for version 2! thanks for the reply!

[@daniellapain1576]

@@texasprepperprojects this will work but you have to encase the rockwool because the adhesive in the rockwool will breakdown at 200 degrees but the rockwool will last up to 1000 degrees itself it just gets messy and fibrous after 200. Ceramic wool for kilns does not have this issue.

[@larrycox6614]

Blow air across the top with one of those electric-free stove fans...can't remember the technical name for them.

[@orangezeroalpha]

@@texasprepperprojects An0ther 0pti0n is fire brick. Generally, l00k f0r pe0ple making diy kilns.

[@JoeGraves24]

I’m imagining copper grounding rods brazed to a copper disc and drive them down into the sand to make a giant heat sink. This would wick the heat upward faster than sand alone.

[@MrConestogaman]

Pro tip: Spray the inside of the bucket top with Pam cooking spray to help with the plaster release. Might also try using mortar or drywall mud instead as it's cheap and like cement when set.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Great idea!!

[@jhilal2385]

Instead of plaster of paris, use the high temperature ceramic bricks that are used to line a fireplace, chimney, or brick oven. These are available at home improvement stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. You could also use those type of bricks to build a base to set the pot on. PS there is a commercial grade version being tested in Finland, and the article said that the sand could be heated to 600 C (1000 F) before it melts.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Nifty

[@aussiebruce0138]

Question: Once sand melts, is it a better conductor because it now has more density?

[@NSWvet83]

BTW this is great! I was thinking of a cheap and easy way to keep my greenhouse from freezing temps.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Check my other videos for testing

[@paulfitzgerald4933]

Great idea, and so glad to see someone thinking out of the modern box. Just a reminder, Bricks have always (or were) always used in the past. People would take a brick out of the fireplace, put it in a cloth wrap and place that into the bed to stay warm. THUS.... You technically could put that element into a frame with poured concrete, then let it dry, and have a handle built in over top so all you do is carry it. Plus you could make an insulating box to go around it. Even could make the insulating box out of glass with a no air in a vacuum. As for the solid fused sand, that's what you find on the beach after lightening strikes.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Watch the other videos in the series

[@jamespatterson3153]

@@texasprepperprojectsJust a thought but there likely are many junked hot water heaters that leak(water) but would hold sand. I would also consider removing the outer jacket and insulation, wrap the entire heater with copper tubing, and then replace the outer jacket for appearance. Water could be circulated through the copper tubing, carrying off the heat that is being lost, and moving it into a second, non leaking hot water heater.

[@texasprepperprojects]

@@jamespatterson3153 check out my part 2 video for why I didn't do this

[@jensenchavez265]

Wood stove surface temperatures range between 500°-800°F. I could see using some firebricks and a welded steel box. The power requirements wouldn't be trivial but it's do-able. Neat concept, thank you for sharing.

[@jeanmariegerard5979]

Hi,l'm so very happy to see your video,can i write your compoment that you to built this batery

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks for the tips!

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks!

[@volbster2]

Excellent work TPP, you think like I do but we are not Physicist. I worked in corporate tech for 35 years and have performed many experiments many involving temperature measurement of devices. You took all the important measurements and answered my questions. I've had a great interest in sand batteries and this is the first good video that demonstrated practical concept.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thank you. Check out my follow-up videos for more tests and measurements

[@marcothehammer]

Great video! I'm fascinated with the idea of storing solar heat gain directly. It seems like a reasonable and worthwhile endeavor. Any dense material can hold heat. All materials have their own unique physical characteristics. Dry sand is a great idea because anyone who's walked barefoot on a sandy area knows how hot it can get. Water is another dense material that will hold it's heat, although it tends to give up it's thermal energy quickly. Water is nice because it flows through pipes and can carry the heat from one place to another. I once read watched a video about storing heat in paraffin oil. It's most outstanding physical characteristic I can recall is that it doesn't boil until 500 - 600 degrees fahrenheit! And it flows through pipes and hoses. I read one comment from someone who would set a 5 gallon bucket of paraffin oil on his wood stove in the evening as the fire burned out and it would keep giving off heat much longer than the stove itself.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Check out my other videos. I dont think this makes sense on a small scale

[@murphyaustin9096]

I am not such that I would put flammable material near a stove!!!!!!!!!!

[@marcothehammer]

In a proper container, I would imagine it's as safe as you make it. @@murphyaustin9096

[@andrecordero6958]

this is really good , just please don't forget that sand expands a lot because of quartz in it , also sand as an element expands since I remember 5% expansion so if you put a cover that tight to it , it could explore in the worst case of just split your pot ! be careful

[@texasprepperprojects]

check out my other videos for testing

[@tehapu7358]

Sand shouldn't expand at all, right? Isn't it glass?

[@svgs650r]

@@tehapu7358 no, it will expand, it's the law!

[@duanehamilton496]

Nice video and fun experiment. I think that the large stainless steel surface area is wasting a lot of your heat. Heat is radiating off the pot while you are trying to charge it. That is why the surface of the pot only gets to 90 some odd degrees. I think that you need a fiberglass insulation jacket around the pot while charging, to be removed when you want it to radiate heat. It will absorb and radiate better if you paint the the pot black inside and out.

[@texasprepperprojects]

check video 2 and 3 for follow up

[@chewyfingers1288]

I’ve a similar idea using an electric smoker I bought off a local auction for $5.00 This year for thanksgiving sales I invested in solar panels and battery.(battery for propane furnace in case of outage). The smoker has heat control where it will cut out at a certain temp. Copper tubing will distribute the heat through the sand as it can be used for directed air or even water. My 2cents Great vid!

[@texasprepperprojects]

Full setup showing solar panels coming soon! I just need to wait for the sun to come out!

[@Mavrik9000]

Please continue these videos on experiments with sand batteries. I've been thinking about designs and the next least expensive alternative. Here are some alternative supplies and materials, and some facts about large commercial sand batteries: 1. For a heating element a single burner hot plate seems perfect. They have thermostat controls, and the heating element could be removed and extended with wires. 2. For an inexpensive metal container there are metal tubs and buckets of various sizes. 3. Rock and some concretes have slightly better properties than sand. They are almost twice as dense, have higher heat capacities and higher thermal conductance. So pieces of those surrounded by sand will work better than just sand. *If the speed that the sand heats up or the bulkiness of it is not a concern then the information below doesn't matter too much.* If however, the speed of heating or the overall size of the system matters then the next part might be helpful. *Other Materials:* 1. The specific heat capacity of sand is 830 J/kg K. Its density is 93.6 lb/ft3. Its thermal conductivity is 0.25 W/m K. (Yes, it is that low, so it's very slow to heat up.) 2. The next least expensive solid substance, I can think of, for a thermal battery is Iron/steel. Its heat capacity of 460-540 J/kg K, depending on the alloy. It's about 5 times as dense as sand, at 492 lb/ft3. Iron alloys have a thermal conductance of 15-53 W/m K. (The softer less expensive types have higher numbers.) 3. Aluminum, with a heat capacity of 900 J/Kg K is more than double the Iron alloys but is more expensive. The density of Aluminium is 169 lb/ft3. Various alloys of aluminum have thermal conductivities between 150-190 W/m K. (So it heats up quickly.) It's not a bad option, especially if one is willing to melt it into ingots. 4. Fortunately scrap metal exists, but finding a source and pieces of the right size and thickness might be difficult. Cutting the metal would probably be necessary in most cases. 5. A regular store item would be iron disk weight plates, which are about $2 to $3 per pound. *Large commercial sand batteries:* 1. Sand has a high thermal capacity, but is a poor conductor of heat for a solid because it is not very dense, and each piece has minimal contact with the others. 2. In the large versions, they get around the poor heat conductance by speeding up the heat transfer with high-pressure heated air. Air is pumped through open pipes that run through the sand. 3. The pumped air method is not feasible for small in-home versions, at a reasonable cost.

[@SmallVansBigWorld]

I think since sand has these properties, of heating up and down slowly is what makes this works so well. It's more about storage rather than transmitting the heat. An equivalent alternative is water, but that has it's down side, as he mentioned.

[@clintw9114]

@@SmallVansBigWorld . H2O has the best heat capacity for liquids, so sand and water would send the heat evenly to the sand and help have better temperature over all. Thank you @Mavric9000

[@Struthio_Camelus]

@@clintw9114 At temps over 100C how long is the water going to hang around?

[@Mavrik9000]

@@clintw9114 Water would evaporate, so you'd have to seal the container, effectively creating a pressure cooker. So that would be dangerous, without a proper pressure relief valve it could explode.

[@clintw9114]

@@Mavrik9000 . yes it will go boom if sealed. you are running it uncontrolled, no temp regulation so the element will not last long. The heating element is made to heat and be cooled by what is is in, if it is on max at all time they will only last so long, if you add a temperature regulator to it so it stops at 200f it will last years. At 200F just under evaporation of water the sand that hold more heat and fully heat up and the water will help add heat to the room faster. I have had to deal with this type of element in oil jacketed and water jacketed cook pots, holding lines, they fail fast when dry. I hope this helps. If you do add water please make sure the back of the connectors are out of it there are live and that is why the sand seemed to melt around them, they could of been arcing. They are made to be out in air. Don't need any one getting shocked.

[@charlessutton5400]

Getting positive feedback from Robert is an instant subscribe. I was going to anyway. U rock.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks!

[@alanesterline2310]

As stated below a stove element would do better. You might consider building two of these if they will heat up in 2 to 2.5 hours and you have 5 hours of direct sunlight. Heat one and bring it into the space you want to heat and have the other one heating. While they are heating have them as insulated as possible so very little heat is lost. Better yet have them in your garage if any wall faces South, bring the wires in thru a thimble to a correctly sized breaker and have pigtails to connect to the battery. Think of it as having two batteries for your drill, while one is running the drill the other is recharging. Doing it this way it doesn't have to wait for a grid down situation to be used. If it is going to be cold Saturday night, heat up the batteries Saturday afternoon, if it is going to be sunny, and let them give off heat as long as they will that afternoon and evening. Means less power from the power company.

[@TheNightwalker247]

Or you could run a cable to both heater locations

[@roman_abelardo]

Cuánto horas de calor me suministra una botella de 1 litro con agua, y cuántas horas si fuera arena sola 🤔?

[@texasprepperprojects]

check out my follow up videos

[@mb-3faze]

This is called a storage heater. The commercial ones use thermal 'bricks', computer control for heat release and fans to blow things about. If you want to power the heating element directly from a solar PV array, make sure you match the load resistance (the resistance of the heating element). It will be about 4 to 20 ohms and this should match the apparent PV terminal resistance at the average sun intensity. You do this by measuring the current and voltage and dividing the two. For a quick guess at the resistance, take the VOL (open loop voltage) and the ICL (closed loop current) readings from the label on the panel and divide the VOL by the ICL. However, the VOL changes depending on if multiple panels are connected in series and the ICL depends on how many panels are connected in parallel. The reason why you want to match the load and source resistance is for the best efficiency. A mismatch will significantly reduce the effectiveness of transferring solar energy to heat energy. At the temperatures you measured you are going to burn out the heating element. The highest that element is expecting to get is 212F since all it does is heat water. The alternatives are nitinol wire used in electric kilns and electric bar heaters. It's cheap enough and the good thing is you can tune the load resistance by simply having more or less length of wire since the resistance is just a function of length. To get the heat out, you could put a coil of copper or steal pipe in the sand and just blow air through is. The air could be scorching hot so be careful. Don't put any liquid in the coil - whatever it is it will probably just boil, expand and blow up.

[@texasprepperprojects]

great technical information!

[@joeferreira657]

His nuts, but cool

[@SmallVansBigWorld]

I plan to try to use the heating element from an electric stove, which can handle the higher temps.

[@texasprepperprojects]

@@SmallVansBigWorld I am going to do so as well for version 2. Stay tuned!

[@barryrhodes8829]

The sand is releasing the heat slow, insulating would slow the heat release more. Leave your kettle inside use an extension cord for the connection between solar panel and heating element, get the most out of the panel. I use this same setup to keep my greenhouse from freezing temperatures.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Neat!

[@joegallo8205]

I've just been turned onto this method of heating and I think using an old hot water tank would be a great container. They're insulated and they even have a pre-installed electric heating element. I'd be happy to watch you make it first. LOL!

[@texasprepperprojects]

check out my other videos for testing and builds, as well as some questions answered

[@zippythechicken]

hot water tank is optimal but you don't fill it with sand you fill it with water.. search solar hotwater heater on yt .. its a better solution.

[@joegallo8205]

@Zippy TheChicken Interesting to continue using water in the tank rather than sand. Does water retain heat as long as sand? I know sand and stones have the ability to capture heat and hold the heat for a long period of time. If water has the same heat retention, then there is definitely no need to fill it with sand.

[@gene328]

Electric hot water heater elements need to be in water or they'll burn out pretty quick.

[@joegallo8205]

@Gene328 Thanks for the insight. Just to clarify, I was only talking about using the hot water tank as the insulated vessel given its construction. I always assumed a different and more robust heating element would be needed as opposed to the stock heating element.

[@bdjm8595]

I've been thinking of doing the same thing, thanks for doing this proof of concept!

[@texasprepperprojects]

watch all the videos in the series. I try several different things and do actual testing later.

[@gigmaresh8772]

Have you ever seen a Swedish sleeping closet? I built mine out of PVC and an emergency camping blanket. Using a 45° connector for an 8" length attached to the wall with conduit hangers. Then used boiling water to curve the pipe for the arch. Bedtime - flip the arches away from the wall - toss the emergency blanket on top - set up the ceramic fan to blow in - sleep snuggy withe the furnace set just below 50° Fold it all up in the morning 😀

[@texasprepperprojects]

I tried to google this and didn't come up with anything. Please link a video to this idea.

[@devonvos]

If you decide to give this another go, next time, you might want to get some heat resistant piping (preferably something flexible) and then thread it through the sand. Have both ends poking out the top and then get a small fan to blow air through the piping. I bet money it would generate a nice warm, directable stream of air instead of just having to rely on just the radiative heat it's generating.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Watch my recap video for more details about v2

[@Quinn2277therian]

retired plumber / pipefitter just looked up large container's like small silo which I can foresee lots of ways unused heat could be trapped. thanx TPP

[@texasprepperprojects]

Very cool!

[@greggmcclelland8430]

I think the biggest design challenge with heated sand is the wire insulator and element insulator melting. If they have ceramic insulators, its fine. You need high temperature wire insulation inside the sand. Also, crimped connections will live where soldered connections will melt. The beauty of this is that you can keep the sand indoors and insulated and put in a temperature switch that cuts off the electricity before the components fail. You could put an insulation blanket over the sand container to regulate the heat into your house. You could also use a thermostatically controlled fan to turn on automatically to control the room temperature. You could charge a battery with the solar and when the battery is full, dump the remaining heat into the heat battery. Then use the battery to run a fan etc. Its good that you tried something. Most times all I see is someone buying an expensive gadget and doing a review.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Check out my follow up videos

[@robertjones1730]

technically since sand is not electrically conductive you can have exposed solid copper all the way to the heater contacts

[@texasprepperprojects]

@@robertjones1730 true

[@simonmasters3295]

​@@texasprepperprojectsno, don't do that, because then you reduce the resistance produce less heat within the sand and transfer the resistance to the wire or fuses which will melt

[@NotoriousPyro]

Just drill a hole in the side of the pan and put the element through there. Either that or buy a tank designed to boil water with a heating element that can withstand the heat of boiled sand...

[@russell7489]

LOTS OF FUN! Heat distribution might be limiting heat storage. Sand isn't like water after all, no convection, lower conduction. Also, a water tank coil is only going to be rated for 180 degrees max. Any time after that it could fail, short circuit. Certainly you want to research, call manufacturer? That you got so much higher in small scale test is interesting though. Multiple heating coils might be needed, to keep wiring simple maybe to separate panels Heat loss via the pit surface might also be resulting in the stable and max surface temp, as it might be radiating heat at same rate of capture. Two ways to deal w that. Rockwood insulation 'cozie' to drop over unit when it's storing energy, or sizing container so outside ends up at room temp 70, 75, 80 & at core 200 plus. Another way to use off the self parts as intended, keeping warranties intact might be... 20 gal water heater 200 gal uninsulated water tank rated to 180 the highest you'll get from most water heaters Circulating pump A couple of thermo sensors for storage tank Optional circulation fan(s) battery powered. Install tank in heavily insulated room or closet. If adj to room to be heated open door to heat room. If remote, like in basement under room, install 2 floor vents one w duct to near bottom storage room & open two vents, natural circulation will bring up heat as cold air at floor sinks into basement storage room. ALTERNATE EMERGENCY HEATING Do you have a basement? If so... Rip up landscaping 5 feet out from house (a good idea to limit mold, rot, fire hazard at house) dig out slope from -4 inches at house to -6 inches 5 feet from house. Install tightly fitting 2 inch foam, NOT BEAD BOARD, ground water contact rated foam, cover w soil or gravel to orig grade. Landscape as desired, flower bed, garden, small shrubs - leaving a 2 ft area around house to hard surface w pavers. Optional - gravel good filter fabric drain pipe to take water from edge of foam board away from house. Your basement will now be at typical ground temps no matter most outside weather. If sufficiently North or in mountains might need more insulation. These temps are 45 - 65 across US. Install battery powered circulation fan between heated area & basement open door to basement for return cold air. Your house should remain at least in 40s a week in worst weather. Bonus, if in hot area, your now cool summer basement will reduce cooling load. Heating climate, your standard heating system will work less.

[@texasprepperprojects]

check out videos 2 and 3 for more testing

[@pedjamilosavljevic6235]

Good video ! I haven't read trough all of the comments , but I've seen some god suggestions for improving the sand battery. I would suggest that you get rid of copper water heating unit , because it will fail shortly at that temperatures and go with stainless steel ones (like from hot plate , or (even better) small electric barbecue grills - bigger heating surface) . Other suggestion would be to drill holes in the bottom of the caldron and to make electric connection outside of the sand container and prevent wires from melting and burning. You can also make hole for thermometer on the bottom too (with some insulation between edge of the hole and heating unit and thermometer probe). Also , fine sand works better (like silica sand) and couple of coils of flex metal hose (about 2" diameter), within heated sand , will do great for convection heating (blowing hot air) , with a small fan on one end.

[@kmoecub]

I would skip the electric heaters altogether and use a solar hot water system instead. That would allow the sand battery to be tied in to a radiant heat system throughout the house.

[@pedjamilosavljevic6235]

@@kmoecub it is not comparable temperature vise. Also , hot water system is a - system , while this can be stand alone unit (and portable , depending on a size and weight).

[@slamdunk58]

Flex metal hose is a great idea!

[@texasprepperprojects]

agreed

[@bessemsgerrit4746]

Hi, Nice project. You could turn the pot upside down. Make an entrance at the bottom for the thermometers and the heating element. They Will be at the cool bottom side and the warmth will be trapped on top. No chance of any heat to leak through the lid. Secondly add insulation on the sides and insert U shaped tubes from bottom to top and back . Blow cold air through the tubes to extract heat. So you control when you want it. Use air to extract heat. With a fluid is more dangerous because it will boil. Extracting heat allows you to setup the sandbattery stationary elsewhere and increase its size and capaciteit. The Hot air could be used to heat a secundairy heat exchanger Linked to a central heating system. You will have thus more control over the maximum temperature in the secondairy heat exchanger.

[@kreynolds1123]

He is dealing with so much heat in some spots, he might have a problem with oxidation of metals. But maybe he can run some copper pipes down the outside and coil inwards along the botyom and drill some holes on the bottom of the copper coils and force air through slowky and let the air filter through the sand.

[@kreynolds1123]

If he had a more distributed heating element with a larger surface area, a mineral oil could withstand 500-600f. It would fill the airgaps reduce prevent oxidation of metals in the heating element and better distribute the heat to the entire body of sand. Downside is while it may end up holding more heat, the sides would get hotter more quickly and it wouldn't hold the heat as long.

[@texasprepperprojects]

maybe

[@Photocollector2010]

I like this. Will start experimenting on it myself. This seems to be one of the cheaper more reasonable ways to create extra heat. Thanks!

[@texasprepperprojects]

Check my other videos for testing

[@DMetcalfe92]

Hey, I really like this idea. I was looking, and an oven heater element is a similar price, but is probably better designed for these sorts of temperatures.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Check out video 3

[@olddanb1]

Excellent project. A slide stating all electrical ratings and dimensions would help viewers immensely. Thanks.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Ok, thanks

[@kgsalvage6306]

Maybe run a coil of copper pipe in the sand then circulate water through a radiant baseboard heater. I think going a little bigger would be better. Make a stand to keep it up from the floor. Make it so the elements thread into the bottom then the wires would not be in the sand. The only issue is powering the circulation pump. Would be a really cool project. Hopefully it wouldn't boil the water and pressurize the system.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Check video 2 and 3

[@paulbrouyere1735]

Twenty something years ago I made a solar parabola for heating water. You just initiated a new idea for heating mass, like bricks, or sand which gets in an insulated container. Temperatures are much higher than water. And transportation can be in batches, without leaks.

[@texasprepperprojects]

neat!

[@graymage7744]

heating element should be install through a hole in the side or maybe cemented into the plaster on the vertical, so wires are not in contact with hot sand this would overcome some issues you have with shorting out or melting, there are a few ideas i could give on better heat transfer but this would require more detail than i would like to go into right now, overall good idea

[@texasprepperprojects]

Check out video 2 for my reason

[@Nellyontheland]

Great explanation and experimentation. There's something even greater here that we learn. A greenhouse that normally needs an underground pipe heater (huge thermal mass on the floor) or simple fuel heaters to keep the plants alive over winter, now only needs a few hour's worth of sunlight to charge the heatsink and thence allow gradual radiated heat to emanate overnight until the next day. With a simple automated air fan to remove the initial OVERHEATING of the greenhouse in the day, one now has hands free heat for starting those greens off in the spring or helping to keep the peppers etc over winter. Cheers 🇬🇧

[@texasprepperprojects]

Neat!

[@MrSeebobski]

Well between your information from the video and also all the information in comments the idea popped into my head is to make like three separate sand batteries and then put them under my RV and then insulate with a pink foam around around the RV would work great and being the metal container in contact to the ground the ground would also become a battery under the RV so the sand battery only has to be as big to hold the heating element this way you could run only the bedroom area overnight off batteries and and program the living area to come on and shut bedroom off couple hours before you wake up couple of solar panels will always be cheaper than having to buy propane to run the big buddy because I am using one and through a three-week cold snap with lots of rain I burn through a 20 lb tank pretty quick.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Sit tight for my testing of version 2. Might be of benefit to you

[@karlbanks2653]

@4:07, you confuse plaster of Paris with ceramic. Plaster of Paris is NOT a ceramic, it’s a gypsum based material.however, it can withstand working temperatures up to 2,200DegF so well within the temperatures you will be working with. Thanks for the video 👍🏻 great instructional 😀

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thank you

[@Mavrik9000]

Insulate [the exterior of] the bottom, to avoid scorching the surface underneath, with Rockwool maybe over cement backer board. Also, add a removable insulated lid over the top, and maybe some aluminum fins as you suggest.

[@texasprepperprojects]

stay tuned for rev 2 coming soon!

[@Mavrik9000]

@@texasprepperprojects I meant the exterior. I made that edit to avoid any potential confusion.

[@Mavrik9000]

@@texasprepperprojects Also, an oven thermometer or one of a higher range would be helpful with these experiments.

[@texasprepperprojects]

@@Mavrik9000 Agreed. That's why I bought that meat thermometer, which I maxxed out!

[@Mavrik9000]

@@texasprepperprojects Amazon has more than one analog deep fry probe thermometer that goes up to 500°F for under $10.

[@barberton3695]

Great research. Great comment section. Need this sand battery and a thermoelectric fan for relief during power outages in the hot desert regions

[@texasprepperprojects]

Nope. If your in a desert, then direct solar-battery-inverter is FAR easier than dealing with this mess

[@barberton3695]

@@texasprepperprojects thanks for your response

[@MrHVAC503]

What a great idea! I plan on using the remainder of heat energy from residual wood/embers after cooking on a rocket stove to heat a sand battery which will drive a TEG fan. I figure it’s a great way to maximize the efficiency of heat output from the rocket stove.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Neat!

[@jameskniskern2261]

Okay, anyone who does this needs to treat the thermal battery like a wood burning stove! Air gap insulation, heat shielding from anything that could be combustible. Radiant heat can, and will start fires a distance from your sand battery. Please do not set it on 2x4s! Set it on stones, bricks or glass blocks, with an air gap between for air flow. I wouldn't set it directly on top of carpet either. Unless you have a concrete board between to take the heat. My wood burning stove is set a base layer of glass block, then a thin concrete board (shower wall type) and then the stove sits on that. There is plenty of air flow under the concrete board to keep it below 90F. Radiant heat can (and does) start house fires. So just be careful with it. That includes keeping curtains, furniture and anything else that can catch fire at least 3 feet away from the sand battery.

[@texasprepperprojects]

neat idea

[@FreemanFreeman-q4o]

Im just starting the research on thermal batteries and really appreciate your offering here, TPP. One thing I'm noticing though is you and others suggest maybe using galvanized garbage cans. The zinc in galvanized steel becomes toxic at temperatures above 392 F so I'd recommend "Against" heating anything galvanized in future videos. Thanks for your great videos! Im looking forward to seeing some of your other projects.

[@texasprepperprojects]

I addressed this issue a few times. I do know about the toxic nature of those cans. While the sand has been 500f, the actual container has not gotten to that temp. But it is a real and valid concern that people should be aware of.

[@wilsonfineart]

Seems to me such a thing is most valuable if you have a space you'd like to keep from freezing (like a grow room under LED lights) that gets no direct sun. You could put heat battery in the grow room and the solar panel a good distance away where the sun shines. It's not obvious to me how you'd convert the heat contained therein into electricity. Well done.

[@Katie-sx5kf]

A Peltier element will convert heat to electricity or vice versa.

[@TheNightwalker247]

Peltier element or steam turbine or steam motor for mechanical power. But its most efficient when used directly for heating

[@texasprepperprojects]

i'm already using solar

[@texasprepperprojects]

I'm already making electricity with solar

[@JB-ro7kv]

:) this sounds like fun going to add to my bucket list of projects.... thanks for followup video - I recommend to watch it as well

[@texasprepperprojects]

Sounds great!

[@earljohnson7443]

Well done, my concern would be the wires. they were made to be out side the water heater and not subject to such high heat. maybe drill a hold in the side and install like in a water heater. just my thoughts.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Check video 2

[@benfriesen3855]

Thank you so much bro, I have uncles in Texas but I'm in Canada were we really need this, I love your heart 💖🙏👌😎

[@texasprepperprojects]

You are so welcome

[@Kognitosan]

Use a little fuel to raise the temperature initially. Use a parabolic reflective surface to direct the heat to where you want it. Make sure it covers the top. So hood it.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Check video 2 and 3!

[@hardergamer]

Nicely done, I built one just 4-5 weeks ago.

[@texasprepperprojects]

thanks

[@lillybee2877]

That is so cool.i love it

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks!

[@calvinflager4457]

Great experiment! Currently (pun not intended) I have a 500 gallon water tank heated by solar thermal panels. The hot water is then circulated through tubing in the house floor for radiant heat. After recently discovering the heat storage characteristics of sand I'm considering replacing the water in the storage tank with sand and using several dispersed heating elements powered by solar electric panels. Tubing filled with water would be buried in the sand to absorb the heat and be pumped through the radiant tubing in the house floor, as it is now. If you know anyone who has tried this sort of thing, I'd really like to be able to contact them. Thanks for the video.

[@texasprepperprojects]

I really want to try this but don't have the room for it in a rental. When I lived on Florida it was common to use roof top pipes for hot water and hottubs

[@dmitryplatonov]

Just stick with the water. Water will be able to store more heat.

[@michaeljoncour4903]

i am currently working on a 300 gallon sand heat store to cook on and hot water, you could pump oil around instead of water, i am working through issue of elements burning out, i am also using a lot of scrap steel a bit of aluminium and copper in the sand, i also need to figure ot how to support and insulate the base, its a three legged ss milk vat.

[@zenzen9131]

I would personally use the PV panels to heat water in an insulated tank so you could then either use it later as domestic hot water or pump it around radiators to produce room heating. Yes, sand holds more heat but hot water is far more usefull in a domestic situation in my view :)

[@texasprepperprojects]

stay tuned...

[@W1ldSm1le]

Sand actually doesn't hold more heat. Water has a specific heat over 4 times that of sand. The sand would have to be almost 850 degrees to hold the same amount of energy water does at 190. We assume that water holds less because it's far more conductive and produces steam that cools it off quicker. The only materials that have higher specific heat than water are liquid hydrogen, liquid helium and liquid ammonia. For obvious reasons none of those things are viable because of their silly low boiling temperature. If you want this demonstrated for your self take an infrared thermometer on a hot day and find some sand on the ground that's 140 degrees and touch it. It will be hot but will cool off almost immediately because of shade/dispersing it's energy into your hand. Try this again (don't actually try this again) with 140 degree water. It would be very painful and you would get 1st/2nd degree burns.

[@grzmil1]

@@W1ldSm1le Exactly as you said, I've done calculation and at best, for the same volume, sand will hold 12% more energy. It is however not worth it, besides the complexity of doing it and high temp risks, energy losses will be far greater then extra 10% energy stored.

[@matthewconnor5483]

Sand doesn't explode like steam will so I'm makes the whole system a lot easier to design and maintain.

[@koaasst]

i made one of these with a bbq grill charcoal igniter thingie. got the sand to like 600, and so far the element is still staying red hot all night long. (i got on the free nights electricity plan, itss fun with automation)

[@texasprepperprojects]

Fun!

[@Cynthia_Cantrell]

Sand starts fusing into glass above 3000 deg F. That is a sure sign that your heating element was WAY too hot! That heat degrades the life of of the heating element quickly. It's a sign that the heat is not conducting through the sand quickly enough to keep the heating element in a reasonable temperature range. Some ideas to consider that will help spread the heat out - which will heat up the sand faster, and extend the life of your heating element: Screw the element into a the center of a large round metal plate that is ~1" smaller than the diameter of the pot. Make sure it has a solid contact with the metal with a large nut. The thicker the plate the better. Thick plates may get expensive, but multiple thin plates will work fine. This quickly spreads the heat over a large area and lowers the thermal resistance to the sand, heating it up quicker. Use multiple heating elements connected in series, or parallel if the panels can handle the low impedance. 2 heating elements cuts the power to each element in half, lowering its max temperature, extending its life, and helping spread the heat out over more area. It would be best if each heating element had its own heat spreading plate, but if the elements are electrically isolated, they can be mounted on the same plate. Instead of a water heater for your heat source, consider using coil heaters for a stove top. These have a lot more surface area than a water heater loop, and naturally spread the heat out more. You can stack several layers vertically in your pot, each separated by an inch or two of sand. They are pretty cheap and readily available. I'm not sure how possible this last one is, so it may not be practical - it could take some investigation. It would be great if the heating element itself could be solidly attached to a metal heat spreader. Perhaps crimping on some aluminum flashing material. But I would check first to see if their is a voltage drop across the SURFACE of the heating element when powered first. If there IS a voltage drop, attaching plates to the surface will just short out the element, and possibly melt the plates with the current going through them, so check for that first. In case you're wondering, no, I have not built one of these before. However, I've been an electrical engineer for over 3 decades, and spreading extra heat around safely is a regular part of my job. Good luck on your next build!

[@texasprepperprojects]

fun ideas, thank you!~ I am integrating some of these ideas. I'm also trying to stay on a bit of a budget for now so people can follow along. I do think that a 'heat sink' will help spread things out. @desertsun02 Just used copper strips, but I think I have a better idea. More soon

[@crossthreadaeroindustries8554]

What you need to do is convert a wood stove into your sand battery so it is more aesthetically acceptable/pleasing. Do everything you did but get a cheap, used, burned out wood stove from ebay. It may not be able to hold burning wood but it is good enough for this use.

[@texasprepperprojects]

I got something similar on the way soon!

[@vicz8899]

Why not use a stove top coil heating element? More surface area.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Check video 2 and 3

[@mtnwolfman88]

I use to build conveyor belt dryers with ceramic heaters. Your element melting problem is similiar to some problems we had. Biggest problem was at wire to element hookup. Cure was high temp nickel wire and high temp crimps from wire to elements.

[@texasprepperprojects]

I switched to silicon wires

[@robertgaines-tulsa]

I'm not sure if water heater elements will last long. They are designed to be immersed in water, and they will burn out in short order if run dry. Electric burner elements should be more reliable. I'd also suggest using wire leads that are insulated in fiber glass for the heat resistance. For a lid, using a lid the pot came with should work better than one made out of plaster. They made lids with holes if you want to try that. You can drill holes in the top of the pot and put rubber grommets in the holes to protect the wires from the sharp metal. You could also use a high temperature thermostat to switch off the element to keep the sand battery from overheating. If you use any insulation in the pot, fiber glass or mineral wool insulation would work the best.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Agreed. Check video 2 and 3

[@corneliusbuckley8897]

Love the simplicity

[@texasprepperprojects]

thank you

[@TinyGoHomes]

Figure out how much power you gain approximately per day. Divide that by 12. That’s how much power you can use every 2 hours in a 24 hour cycle. Match those numbers with a long lasting heat source. Match those numbers too the right size sand battery. Make the heat rise after charges so that fan can disperse the heat until the heat is gone. You will need a high cycle battery too complete the system but I bet it’s quite efficient. I feel like your idea is linked too efficiency in some way. I love thinking about these things. I got a 98 in advance chem at one point before I left school. Would love to have a chat with you about it 👊

[@texasprepperprojects]

I think that this is about thermodynamics and heat gain.. and what the best way to release that is. The 500F temp I got was nuts, but it needs to be released slowly and in an intelligent way. Stay tuned for rev 2 and rev 3.. But feel free to email me to discuss more!

[@TinyGoHomes]

@@texasprepperprojects ok. I just subbed. Will stay tuned. Have you thought of making the sand hourglass out after over time? Might be an easy may too time release the heat.

[@TinyGoHomes]

@@texasprepperprojects super cool topics 👏👏

[@TinyGoHomes]

@@texasprepperprojects heated sand waterfall? 😂

[@robertroberts5218]

I'm in the Greenville area I know you're "cold". Love the video. Great DYI. Your stated solar panel production in factory spec at 70 degrees. Expect a little less. You should still make your goal though on most days. Suggestions: to hopefully prevent sand making glass at the terminals add paragin wax to fill space between sand grains and also take advantage of phase change increased thermal capacity and discharge time. Playground sand will have less room fir wax than coarse sand/beach sand. Set the pot on a cast iron trivet or a low rot iron plant stand. Convert a defunct 40 pound or bigger propane tank or heavy/thick galvanized steel trash can. Furnace bricks on bottom or your plaster of paris. Set heating element vertically in center and try to get equal distance from top and bottom of element as distance to walls. Thus, the suggestion of propane tank. Heating elements come in a lot of lengths. A little math will give you the optimum length for the actual container you choose. You need more thermal capacity than you can produce. Not much, but more. Once the system is saturated things will start to warp, melt, rupture, go south. Add a loth of extra insulation to the wires. You need more protection than your theoretical may temp. Or, seperate the wires and chase out of the vessel on opposite sides. The sand and wax are non-conductive so bare wires are no big deal as long as they can't arc at the element terminals. After the first run, this isn't an issue as the new glass will prevent it. But, until then, you could short the system and fry your electronics up stream. Radiator fins on the outside might help. Or, burry a thick wall cpper coil in the sand and circulate fluids to a used truck radiator with the OEM electric fans still on the housing (step down the fan speed). This could branch off and heat multible bedrooms through the night. I love your idea. I wish you all great success. This is just me spit balling some ideas while driving home from work. I hope some it might help and that it all makes sense.

[@texasprepperprojects]

check my 2 follow up videos for reasons why I did what I did, and testing of those ideas

[@davebean2886]

Why did the insulation on the wires near the heating element not melt?

[@texasprepperprojects]

great question. i dont know

[@Hawk0057]

A light layer of cooking oil around the edges of the pan will help your plaster of Paris slip out much easier

[@texasprepperprojects]

That's a good idea!

[@SmallVansBigWorld]

A small but perhaps very important detail is to use some wire heat shrink around the screws where the wires connect to the heating element. It probably melted the sand from there potentially being a short through the sand. This will give you longevity to your installation. Keep up the great work, hoping to see this on a even larger scale soon! I have 55 gallon metal water barrels that I use 120v heating element to heat the water for inside my greenhouse. Connecting 2 large solar panels in series gives me 80-90v and it works perfect.

[@SmallVansBigWorld]

I hope this video goes viral. People need to see this. I only found out about sand batteries recently.

[@texasprepperprojects]

agreed on this. I'll improve on the next one

[@niconico3907]

I don't even know how the wire insulation didn't melt at these temperature.

[@ThirdEyePhilosophy]

This would be amazing to offset insane heating costs in my cabin. Have a stove I could set it on that is gas and made to radiate heating. Fantastic job man! Would love to see any updates on this as a system.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Check out my other videos. Short version, it's not worth it. Can you do geothermal?

[@ThirdEyePhilosophy]

Good to know, and great thought. Appreciate it. It’s super rocky soil out here and a big water table 40 ft down, so geothermal would have some big challenges here.

[@miken7629]

More interested on how long the heat lasted after power removed. Would need to last 20 hours.

[@texasprepperprojects]

my basic tests show about 4 hours, but stay tuned on that front!

[@ericsumma7654]

I have some experience with in-line water heaters and have had problems with 'hot fire' thermal breaker trips. In short, without sufficient heat removal the element can exceed it's design and burn out. The clumping of sand around an element indicates this was happening. Some form of thermal regulation would be needed to keep the element from burning out. Also sand transfers it's heat primarily from conduction, not convection, so I would consider placing the element closer to the center instead of close to the bottom.

[@texasprepperprojects]

thanks! check out videos 2 and 3 for more details

[@MJ-ge6jz]

Very interesting. Though of getting a aluminum water trough used for live stock, filled with sand, and use multiple heater laments. You can stick steel rods or angle iron in the sand as radiators. Could go as far and placing some ducting over the radiators and a small house fan to push heat into the home?

[@texasprepperprojects]

check out video 2 and 3 for testing of this

[@donalddalley7274]

Others found that water heater elements don't last long. Another person used stove ring elements. You also have a way to let any internal moisture out.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Look at my other videos on this

[@billlyell8322]

I would suggest using cement board instead of wood to create a trivet to set it on. Not a lightweight solution but it would not burn or melt.

[@leslieapplegate65]

That was my thought. Cement board or similar.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Agree

[@texasprepperprojects]

Agree

[@anthonycali6880]

I like it, but I was thinking, maybe can make use of crock pot. I actually use toaster oven, espresso/coffee maker, rice cooker, boil hot water, using my 200AH lithium batteries and 400W Solar Cells, can generate actual like 275W. I'm in New England area, so I'm sure you'll have no problem once you get this sand battery concept down. If portable you can paint black and also just leave in the sun, and compliment with solar cells. Then roll into house.

[@texasprepperprojects]

In rev 2 I'll use a trash can with thinner walls. I do think that if you have direct sun you can 'boost' the heat in the sand on top of the electrical heating.

[@jumboegg5845]

Sand is not very thermally conductive, in fact its a good insulator. The sand close to the heating element was probably extremely hot, but the heat did not disperse through the whole medium. Would be good if you could tap into to that hot spot in the middle, while the rest of the sand is basically insulating the system so it could stay hot for a long time.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks

[@mateo_dequ]

nice experiment man. there was a guy in europe who was doing similar thing but on bigger scale. He dug a huge whole before building his house, filled it with pipes and sand, thermal insulated from the sides and top, built the foundation slab and the house over it. Instead of photovoltaic solar panels he used Solar water pannels installed on the roof to pump the heat down to the thermal mass under his house. This sand was being heated throughout the summer and the heat was realeased in the winter warming up the interior of the house.

[@texasprepperprojects]

I think geothermal would be better. I just don't have dirt in Texas

[@whatifididthis...1236]

Nice work, I built a similar unit before seeing your video, some of the comment suggestions are great and I wished I had read them before building mine. I used a Tesla pancake coil to generate a constant energy supply at a very low level, mine gets nowhere near your high temps but perhaps mine is a little more efficient electrically. Keep up the great work.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Cool, thanks

[@danchadwick1495]

Beautiful work here! Thank you for your share! In a future project, you might look into aircrete in place of Plaster of Paris. I'm considering tubing and a compressor to dump heat from a server and a turbine to convert it to electricity. The server converts 3kW to heat, and I'm wondering how much I can convert back. Sand can take 830kJ/kg/°C. I'm planning to run the heat from the server into the compressor, then the sand battery, and then the turbine, the exhaust from the turbine then goes through a vortex tube resenting the remaining heat back to the loop and the cold into the server. My ultimate aim is to process 1MW or 2MW. It will be very interesting to see how much electricity I can recycle.

[@texasprepperprojects]

I think i'm going to use concrete for the next build. It's actually cheaper than plaster of paris

[@kentdesrochers4052]

Now you have me thinking of possibilities. Let us know how your work goes. I think you're on to something in regards to small scale/business waste heat recovery and power generation that would work well in the suburbs and rural areas.

[@fishyerik]

Nice video. Interesting fact, water holds about 4 times more heat per degree, and same mass, compared to silica sand. That means you'd need to heat the sand to over 600 °F in order to store the same amount of heat per pound as water at 212 °F, assuming 70 °F ambient. Sand and water both has their pros and cons for heat storage, but if you're just want to keep your ambient temperature from going too low I'd say water would be slightly more practical in most cases. About heat dissipation, you will dissipate the heat you've stored no matter how you do it, what you can change is how fast it gets dissipated, the amount of heat can't be changed by how it's dissipated. Heat and temperature are different things. I would make heat storage of sodium acetate, like in those "rechargeable" hand warmers. It is fairly easy to make, and doesn't have to be extremely expensive. Obviously way more expensive than sand or water, but that doesn't say much. The upside is that you can "charge" it when ever you have excessive heat or electric power that you can turn into heat, store that heat practically indefinitely, just activate it whenever you want it. I promise you this: you don't want to rely on the energy from a couple of solar panels to keep you from freezing to death during a snow storm. When the sky clears up you probably want to use the power from the panels for other things. If you still want to use that power for heating you can get a bit more heat by freezing water in a DC freezer, the freezer then act as a simple heat pump. The ice needs to be removed afterwards, otherwise it will suck up that extra heat when it melts.

[@douglasmcleod7481]

erik where did u get your info on heat storage ? are you saying a bucket of sand at 600 will dissipate the same amount of heat as same size bucket of h2o at 212 ?

[@fishyerik]

@@douglasmcleod7481 Mass = weight, not volume. It's called specific heat capacity, and any material has a certain amount of heat per unit of mass and per degree temperature difference. It varies a little depending on temperature, but yes, a pound of water at 212 °F will emit about the same amount of heat that a pound of silica sand at 600 °F will, to reach 70 °F in both cases. And it's not my info, it's very basic science. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_heat_capacity If you don't trust wikipedia you can try any relevant science book.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Yup

[@texasprepperprojects]

Yup

[@texasprepperprojects]

Yup

[@NdxtremePro]

This is a very cool experiment. One thing you don't explain well in this video is the relationship to heat/temperature and energy density. You mention the higher potential of heat storage for sand vs water, but not the caveats that come with it. First, the amount of energy a substance holds predicts how much energy it takes to heat that substance to a certain temperature. Water holds roughly five times the amount of energy as sand per unit of mass. So at the same temperature and the same weight, the water is holding 5 times as much heat energy. This means, you need to either use 5 times the quantity of sand to make up for this, or raise the temperature of the sand by 5 times to get to a comparable energy density. Sand can meet this requirement. I will use Celsius as it makes seeing the relationship easier in this case. Water boils at 100 C under normal atmospheric pressures. Sand melts at roughly around 1500 C at the same pressure. So, you can store 3 times the heat energy in the sand vs the water, and sand is as cheap as water, practically. Here come the buts. 1) Do you have anything that can hold the sand at that temp? 2) While letting you get the heat out without melting the transport medium? 3) What temps do copper and other pipes start melting? 4) What temp will the element start melting? 5) Can you hook it up to a heat pump instead since they can transfer heat more efficiently? 6) Will you use water or air to transport the heat? 7) Why did I mention atmospheric pressure? The answer to 7 is, we can change the boiling point of materials by changing the pressure they are under. This is the trick heat pumps use to work more efficiently. It takes less energy to bump up or down pressure and let the steam move itself than to pump the liquid. And liquids can hold more energy if you put them under more pressure. So, in homes where we already have water pipes and storage tanks, where we have the tech and products, and we can pressurize water to boil at twice the temp, we can achieve similar results to what is practical with sand. Now, in the world of large scale installations, this could be different.

[@Struthio_Camelus]

Copper melts at 1084C, common alloys likely lower, iron a bit higher. The pressure required to double the boiling point of water is 225 PSIA, about 15 times the pressure at sea level. That isn't 'residential tech, or products,' it's 'cutting people in half with live steam when a coupling fails' pressure.

[@NdxtremePro]

@@Struthio_Camelus I agree it is not ready for home use, but we can use that feature of pressure to store more energy in water. At safer temps than 1000C, which I didn't even remotely address. Copper also starts to warp and bend at much lower temps than that, so would it get compressed from the weight of the sand?

[@Struthio_Camelus]

@@NdxtremePro I don't now how sand would behave at those temps, but if it's a concern, I'd cast concrete or refractory cement around the copper tubing.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks!

[@julianjagers4900]

Very interesting. I made some tests with my father to. But try it with a PCM (phasechangaterials) material as Sodium acetate. Coconut oil works as well. From solid to liquid state. But your test is very interesting, there are many experiments with sand. Non explosive, non toxic and cheap.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks!!

[@WIZ56575]

It is extremely well done ,you should definitely finish following up I was so much expecting that follow up that I will Subscribe to your channel just to see that follow up Thank you so much and we will be doing this experiment also with some twist of our own again excellent video can't wait to see more.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thank you!!

[@gigmaresh8772]

Anything that will hold sand and a 12 volt immersion heater (remember that one that plugged into the cigarette lighter socket and you plopped into your coffee cup) Now get fancy, or cute or even nostalgic. How about in a decorative milk can ($18 online) or a terracotta chiminea, or rustic - a 14" SPARK pot belly stove. A 12 volt hot water element is good too. Most can be supplied with a small solar panel to a car battery and then to the heater. Small for the bathroom. Larger for the bedroom. Great big for the living room. Be sure to get some heat powered stove fans to circulate the air 😅

[@texasprepperprojects]

The problem is the voltage conversion. Also the fact that you can get 37 volt used panels so cheaply online now.

[@David_Mash]

Run the exhaust from your buddy heater through a pipe that runs through your sand battery

[@texasprepperprojects]

why?

[@David_Mash]

@@texasprepperprojects to collect and harness waste heat

[@ZsOtherBrother]

Excellent video, and some of the comments are very creative and useful, too. Thank you.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Glad you think so!

[@FatherOfTheParty]

Great project. How long do the water heater elements last at that heat level? They're not designed for sustained heats of over 200 degrees F.

[@rdizzy1]

If you had a bigger one it would be better to use a heating element from an old electric stove top, idk if it will run properly with those specs he needs though.

[@texasprepperprojects]

That is a great question I can't answer. But for $10, they aren't expensive to replace and you don't have to run it for very long. I presume that since I'm running it at a lower voltage level that it's designed for it would be OK, but I honestly do not know.

[@FatherOfTheParty]

Not a criticism, just an honest question. As someone else mentioned, it might also be interesting to use something like and electric range heating element since they're designed to run at high temperature for extended periods. They can be purchased for ~$20 as well. I think this is an interesting project with some useful applications.

[@rdizzy1]

@@FatherOfTheParty Also, considering this is a prepper type channel, they are something very easy to rip out of a junk electric stove, even in a junkyard or something. You could even use the one out of your own electric stove if you have one of the older ones without the glass tops.

[@tommak6516]

@@FatherOfTheParty 10 years ago I had to replace a heating element in my oven. It cost me $30 online (which was 1/2 the cost to buy from a brick and mortar store). Since that was 10 years ago I think they might even cost more now. $20 seems very low.

[@hatemalokla7236]

I am interested in the idea and it would be good if practical designs were implemented to be used in homes and other facilities. In any case, your efforts are appreciated.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Watch the other videos in the series

[@benjaminp6924]

What holds heat longer a bucket of wax or a bucket of sand

[@Mavrik9000]

I would guess wax, but you'd have to do some complicated calculations to know for sure. It also depends on if you mean the total heat or to maintain the temperature. Wax is about half as dense but it has almost 3 times the heat capacity of sand, and its thermal conductance is slightly less. Wax: Density 960 kg/m3, Heat Capacity 2200 J/kg K, Thermal Conductivity 0.2 W/m K. Sand: Density 1500 kg/m3, Heat Capacity 830 J/kg K, Thermal conductivity 0.25 W/m K. It costs about 50 times as much as sand. It melts, (boils, and burns,) at much lower temperatures, so it's not really suitable for an in-home heat battery.

[@Struthio_Camelus]

@@Mavrik9000 Good! Now do mineral oil. 😉

[@Mavrik9000]

@@Struthio_Camelus TLDR: You'd need about the same volume as sand but it costs about 15 times more. These details are surprisingly hard to find. Mineral Oil: Density 875 kg/m3, Heat Capacity 1670 J/kg K, Thermal Conductivity 0.136 W/m K. It would work as a heat storage 'battery' but the thermal conductivity is low, so it would absorb and release heat very slowly. It is used in oil-based electric heaters for thermal mass, and in transformers for cooling. Both are sealed. Mineral oil burns so it would be unsuitable for an open-air/container heat storage system. For an in-home heat storage and release system you would need a well-sealed metal container, and large external metal fins for transferring the heat quickly to air with a fan. For a similar cost, you could buy (new) steel, which would be more compact, due to its high density. And there would be no need to worry about it being sealed.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Don't know