On May 14, 2008, at 10:11 PM, Mike Elliott wrote:

> Not related to Vanagons except in the "useful for camping" sense...
>
> "A Chinese peasant has made a solar water heater - using only beers
> bottles and hoses."
>
> http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2850151.html
>
> It's very nearly the most perfect invention ever in so many ways. A
> cheap source of solar-heater water for showering, and the inventor
> "...
> will build a public bathroom for the village using his invention
> when he
> has the money to buy enough beers." What makes it so nearly perfect is
> that any money you spend on beers can be expensed as cost of goods
> sold,
> and the "manufacturing process" needed to convert beers into empty
> bottles involves drinking those beers.
>
> Maybe there's a way to make a Westy version. Hey Buese? You want to
> help
> develop this into a product? You figure out from the photo how the rig
> works. I'll start "making" beer bottles right away.

I will continue to work on the beer bottles, but might have to start
drinking, I mean making, brown bottles for the design, but until I
have the BZ shelves out the door, NO NEW PROJECTS!

I like a lot of the other ideas suggested & will steal those ideas as
appropriate once the time is ready.  I am designing some projects w/
solar water heat, PV panels & GSHP(Ground Source Heat Pumps)
presently, but of course I rely on my mechanical engineers to figure
out the hard stuff.

YMMV,

Mr. BZ

>