Make a Solar Bottle Bulb

Posted on 07 March 2015 at 07:50

1
Pick up empty plastic soda bottles. Remove the label and thoroughly wash the inside and outside of the bottle. Keep the bottle cap.
2
Pick up a gallon of distilled water and a gallon of bleach. The water acts to scatter the light, and the bleach prevents algae from growing inside the bottle.
3
Grab household industrial sealant as you will need to seal the bottle to sheet metal.
4
Purchase sheet metal--enough to surround the bottle and lay along the top of the roof, and pick up a small handsaw.

1
Measure the circumference of the top 2/3 of the bottle and transfer the measurements to your structure’s roof.
- Cut a hole in the roof using your handsaw.
2
Transfer the same measurements to the extra piece of sheet metal. Draw a circle for the bottle measurements and then draw a large square around the circle.
- Cut out the square and the circle on the sheet metal. Test placing the bottle through the circular hole. The bottle should fit snugly, allowing 2/3 of the bottle to hang down through the bottom of the sheet metal.
3
Fill the bottle almost to the top with distilled water. Don't overfill as you will need to add bleach.
4
Top off the bottle with bleach, approximately 3 tbsp. Allow the bleach to permeate through the distilled water without shaking the bottle.
5
Add the cap to the bottle and tighten.
6
Slide the bottle into the sheet metal and add sealant around the base of the bottle. Make sure you add a liberal amount of sealant in order to avoid having rain or other outside elements escape through the hole.
7
Drop bottle through the hole in the roof and allow the sheet metal to keep it in place.
- If possible, add sealant to the sheet metal to adhere it to the roof.

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