BajaNomad - Inexpensive brilliance

Inexpensive brilliance

motoged - 10-11-2011 at 12:28 PM

Lighten up....

http://www.wimp.com/lightenup/ :light:

BajaWarrior - 10-11-2011 at 12:34 PM

Oh man, I've been doing it all wrong with that solar junk and expensive batteries, now where is my hole saw? :lol:

mulegemichael - 10-11-2011 at 01:11 PM

a very very cool idea!

EmeraldDawn - 10-11-2011 at 01:41 PM

That is so good!

mcfez - 10-11-2011 at 01:54 PM

Whoever came up with this idea was brilliant

nbacc - 10-11-2011 at 02:02 PM

Very cool!!!!

vandenberg - 10-11-2011 at 02:13 PM

Very clever.
I remember a friend of mine who had natural lighting from a gadget that looked like a fixture. Went all the way from a pitched roof entrance, through a column, into the ceiling fixture and, without any power, supplied light to the whole room.
Anyone remember this?

BajaBlanca - 10-11-2011 at 02:23 PM

brilliant. I also heard about a guy in Brazil who puts chip bags - silver side in - which keeps all rooms cool during the summer heat and warm during the winter nights. You put the bags covering very wall. also ingeniously simple.

DianaT - 10-11-2011 at 02:45 PM

Thanks---that is great!

woody with a view - 10-11-2011 at 04:25 PM

that's cool. how long before the plastic gets brittle and cracks?

vgabndo - 10-11-2011 at 04:53 PM

Woody, from the looks of the house there was little danger that a water leak would ruin the Persion carpet. :lol:

A new lens would be free.

Hey, would they also keep flies away like a bag of water????

Vandy, I think this may be what they used...

http://www.solatube.com/

motoged - 10-11-2011 at 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
that's cool. how long before the plastic gets brittle and cracks?

I dunno....but the replacement "bulb" is inexpensive and fairly easy to replace...

Woooosh - 10-11-2011 at 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
Whoever came up with this idea was brilliant

brilliant indeed. What were they cutting the hole with?

BajaNomad - 10-11-2011 at 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vgabndo

Hey, would they also keep flies away like a bag of water????

I'd never heard or seen of this before... but we just visited "Cafe Cafe" on Blvd. Lopez Mateos in Ensenada a few weeks ago... and he had bags of water hanging from the ceiling... asked him why, and he told me it prevented the flies from coming in the store.

DENNIS - 10-11-2011 at 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaNomad

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/...

I've also seen plastic milk bottles full of water on lawns to keep dogs from peeing all over it.
I don't know if that works either.

David K - 10-11-2011 at 07:13 PM

From that link:

Debunking the Water Bag Myth

There are plenty of people who don't think water bags can repel flies. Critics often classify this theory in the realm of old wives' tales and modern superstition. They chalk success stories up to confusion between correlation and causation.

Imagine a traveling salesman offers you an irresistible bargain: For only $19.95, he'll give you a belt buckle that can prevent shark attacks. You wear it for a week and, sure enough, no shark bites. Does this mean the magic belt buckle works? Is there an actual correlation between wearing the belt buckle and avoiding sharks? Is one the cause of the other? To properly measure this, you'd have to consider how often sharks attacked you prior to wearing the buckle, and the various other reasons sharks may be leaving you alone.

If all the factors are not taken into account, hanging water bags used to repel flies may seem to work due to the placebo effect. In medical terms, this is when people who think they're being treated for a condition feel better, even if that treatment treats nothing at all. The same effect could occur for people who think they are treating a pest problem.

But what if the situation is even worse? What if the placebo actually increases the problem being treated? When Mike Stringham, professor of entomology at North Carolina State University, investigated the use of clear plastic water bags as a fly deterrent, he encountered just such a situation.

Stringham conducted a 13-week field trial by installing commercial, water-based optical fly repellants on two egg farms. Stringham measured the fly activity based on the spots of regurgitated material the flies left after feeding. He concluded that areas equipped with water bags actually experienced higher levels of housefly activity.

However, the study was not conducted under natural lighting conditions. Its purpose was to determine whether the water bags could be used to decrease fly populations on egg farms. The study didn't explore the possibility that direct sunlight increased the water bags' efficiency.

So do bags of water lower the number of houseflies around homes and restaurants? There are reasonable explanations that argue yes and significant evidence that proves no. Regardless, you can still find water bags hanging near restaurant patios and backyard porches across the globe.

ncampion - 10-11-2011 at 07:26 PM

So great, all you need to do is live in a tropical latitude house with a dirt floor and a corragated steel roof to reap the benefits of this device. Don't see much use outside the 3rd world - make that 4th world.

shari - 10-11-2011 at 09:00 PM

Juan is stoked to use this newfangled light thingy in our little shower room at our cabin in San Roque...it's a dark little room and this will be perfect for it!...3rd world indeed :light:

AmoPescar - 10-11-2011 at 09:34 PM

Vandenburg...

Maybe it was a 'SOLATUBE'
http://www.solatube.com/residential/index.php

The amount of light they redirect is pretty substantial. Really a good way to light up a dark room!

Miguelamo :yes:

Quote:

Originally posted by vandenberg
Very clever.
I remember a friend of mine who had natural lighting from a gadget that looked like a fixture. Went all the way from a pitched roof entrance, through a column, into the ceiling fixture and, without any power, supplied light to the whole room.
Anyone remember this?

Iflyfish - 10-11-2011 at 11:42 PM

Brilliant! A blinding flash of the obvious!

Iflyfishinaweofsomepeoplescreativity!

motoged - 10-11-2011 at 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ncampion
So great, all you need to do is live in a tropical latitude house with a dirt floor and a corragated steel roof to reap the benefits of this device. Don't see much use outside the 3rd world - make that 4th world.

Please remember that a significant portion of this planet may be considered "third world". Not everyone can retire to Baja... :saint:

Marinero - 10-12-2011 at 06:07 AM

Quote:

Sure do! A friend of mine had a couple in an old house is Sacramento, Ca. Lit up a very dark bath and hall all the way through a very high attic.

mcfez - 10-12-2011 at 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Marinero

Quote:

Sure do! A friend of mine had a couple in an old house is Sacramento, Ca. Lit up a very dark bath and hall all the way through a very high attic.

greengoes - 10-12-2011 at 07:15 AM

Don't forget to add the bleach to stop the algae from forming in the bottles.

For those people, living in constant drab it is a miracle. For most of us remember the old saying, "A skylight puts a hole in a pefectly good roof."

Pompano - 10-12-2011 at 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Marinero

Quote:

Sure do! A friend of mine had a couple in an old house is Sacramento, Ca. Lit up a very dark bath and hall all the way through a very high attic.

And another sure do!

A buddy of mine who has a home in Costa Rica has used this and says it works great, plus he loves the simplicity...not to mention the economy!

http://www.top10costarica.com/

wilderone - 10-12-2011 at 08:47 AM

"Whoever came up with this idea was brilliant"
What took them so long to figure this out. The sun has been around for a long time.

David K - 10-12-2011 at 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by AmoPescar
Vandenburg...

Maybe it was a 'SOLATUBE'
http://www.solatube.com/residential/index.php

The amount of light they redirect is pretty substantial. Really a good way to light up a dark room!

Miguelamo :yes:

Quote:

Drove by the factory yesterday!

Barry A. - 10-12-2011 at 09:03 AM

I have 5 of those solar light tubes in my house-------mine are called "SOLA TUBES", and I love them. They even transfer moon light into the house when the moon is full and bright.

I have one each (8 inches) in the 2 bathrooms, and one in the hall, and two big 14 inch diameter one's in the living room and kitchen. Only use elec. lights at night with these things--------and they are relatively cheap.

There are other brands that are even cheaper, but I opted for the SOLA TUBES since they appeared to be the best designed, to me.

Barry

DianaT - 10-12-2011 at 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Barry A.
They even transfer moon light into the house when the moon is full and bright.

Barry

Is there a way to "turn them off" if you don't want the moon light at night or if you want dark during the day?

Really like the concept.

[Edited on 10-12-2011 by DianaT]

Barry A. - 10-12-2011 at 09:36 AM

That's never been a problem for us, Diana, but we are not hyper-sensitive to light at night.

The only way that I know of to "turn them off" is to put something over the rooftop dome where the sunlight enters the "tube". We have never tried that. There is no heat transfer, so presumably you could block the light with something put on the ceiling to block the light!?!?!?!?!?

Like I say, that has never bothered us. People that are not aware of them are startled when they first come in our house, tho as they are VERY bright, especially during the summer months when the sun is directly overhead---------me??? I love the brightness as I am partially blind anyway (or so Meredith tells me) :lol:

Barry

Skipjack Joe - 10-12-2011 at 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wilderone
"Whoever came up with this idea was brilliant"
What took them so long to figure this out. The sun has been around for a long time.

Cut a hole in your roof and you've got it. Getting light when the sun is up is no bigge IMO. Maybe I'm missing something. Store the light in the bottle and emit it when it's dark - that would be noteworthy.

EmeraldDawn - 10-12-2011 at 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Skipjack Joe

Quote:

Originally posted by wilderone
"Whoever came up with this idea was brilliant"
What took them so long to figure this out. The sun has been around for a long time.

This invention is not useful for most people living under "western" conditions, but for people living in shanties, who can't afford glazing and can't have an open hole in the roof to let in the torrential rain, and for whom putting on an electric light during the day represents a major expense, this is a godsend.

woody with a view - 10-12-2011 at 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez

Quote:

Originally posted by Marinero

Quote:

Sure do! A friend of mine had a couple in an old house is Sacramento, Ca. Lit up a very dark bath and hall all the way through a very high attic.

i have personally, with my own hands, installed at least 500 of these on composition shingle roofs. 4/12 pitch is perfect! less than that and it gets tight. in new construction we devised a method even the manufacturer hadn't thought of or listed in the instructions. i called for clarification one time and the guy was stumped by my question. they never considered new construction techniques!

they are awesome! in fact, i wrote a step by step for BajaGringo a couple of years ago. he may still have the file or if you need some help with your install i can help.

if you are in san diego i can install them for you or if you know your way around a sawzall and a caulking gun, just ask!

[Edited on 10-12-2011 by woody with a view]

nbacc - 10-12-2011 at 05:43 PM

I saw this on the national news just the other night (Diane Sawyer) and thought it was fantastic as they just used a clear water bottle! And the water bag has never worked for me and I have tried several times......maybe I should not have used ziplock or do flys care?. hummmm. Nancy

Bob and Susan - 10-12-2011 at 07:07 PM

well if you live in one of those metal roof "ovens" i'm sure its great

but for most of us in baja on the hot side it would be way too hot

the heat a plastic bottle with water in it would generate
would lose the benifit

even our double "pain" windows generate too much heat

i'll stick with batteries and regular electricty
and thickkkkkkkkkk cement or some kind of sealed foam

Barry A. - 10-12-2011 at 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
well if you live in one of those metal roof "ovens" i'm sure its great

but for most of us in baja on the hot side it would be way too hot

the heat a plastic bottle with water in it would generate
would lose the benifit

even our double "pain" windows generate too much heat

i'll stick with batteries and regular electricty
and thickkkkkkkkkk cement or some kind of sealed foam

Bob & Susan--------There is absolutely no heat transfer with 'SOLA TUBES' I can assure you (and it gets VERY hot in Redding, CA)--------don't know about the plastic bottles, tho.

Barry

Bob and Susan - 10-13-2011 at 12:50 PM

yes those solatubes are very good...ive seen them in action but...

water heats up

and then it heats the room

in the situation of the metal roof...the bottles are probably great but

for me no way

and who would live in a metal roof place in the desert
an oven for sure