Hi, I’ve had some good discussions here in the past, so I thought I’d reach out with an idea for a resource I’d like to try to put together for solarpunk writers and artists.
I was talking with A.E. Marling about a story he’s working on, and one of the things he was looking for was uses for old cars.
I think the obvious answer you’ll get from solarpunks (aside for limited use where it makes sense) is to melt them down for your society’s steel manufacturing needs - electric arc furnace smelters running off a green grid, recycling, are about as close to zero emission steel as you’re likely to get, and the metal is already refined so I think you could get pretty tight control over the quality on the output.
But I think reuse offers some much more interesting opportunities. I’m only just starting to learn about fixing cars, but I’ve already been struck by the fact that at least some parts in cars can go into other things. For example, it looks like certain old alternators can be used to generate a wide range of amperage and voltage, suitable for different needs, including welding: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/diy-low-cost-generator-from-vehicle-alternator-alternating-generator.1843/ so perhaps one could be hooked by belts (adjusting speed) to a waterwheel or something?
I feel like a solarpunk society with a really strong library economy might start cataloguing parts of more complicated machines (even salvaged from machines like cars).
And looking for parts commonalities and alternative uses strikes me as a really cool step towards building an open-source manufacturing sphere. Perhaps starting with a database of hardware/parts so they could be identified and repurposed, and alternatives identified.
So the actual proposal:
I’d like to try and put together a list of common car parts which can be reasonably used in other (more solarpunk) contexts. This doesn’t have to be specific down to the model number or include a how-to guide, (though I recognize that some reuses might only be possible with a specific model) just something solarpunk writers could casually drop into a description of a room or workshop, or an artist could put in the background of a scene. Something that shows that this isn’t a scratch-built future, but that they’re repurposing stuff where they can. Think of all the weird ways postapoclyptic movies dress the sets with misused items from the present - we could offer something like that to solarpunk, but grounded in at least some practicality. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them.
Thanks!
edit: I’ve built out a list and it’s located over here: https://slrpnk.net/post/13032570
Relays can be used for anything, and a car contains a fair number.
You can make a pulse jet engine from a muffler parts, but a solarpunk society would probably not do that. :)
Copper brake pipe and cooling radiators can be used as heat exchangers for other stuff.
Air conditioner parts can be reverse-used for Stirling engines or to pump heat in other contexts.
That’s a good list, thank you! I have a couple questions you might be able to answer:
Could you elaborate on the relays? I don’t know anything about them yet (in their intended use or alternatives). Though I am reading up on them.
I know there’s a some benefit in running 12v appliances (intended for campers) with solar panel setups because you don’t have to convert from DC to AC then back to DC at the appliance. Would that work for just using a car’s AC unit to cool a room, or are they built too specific to a car or not efficient enough to justify the work?
Thank you!!
Relays: my use for truck relays is switching on heaters in my thermal storage water tank. Not big ones, though - I use relays rated for 24V and 40A of current. Since they are old, I have applied a safety margin and only let 25 A flow through them, so each of them handles 24 x 25 = 600 W.
As for using DC appliances: benefits do exist. If a household has a low voltage DC battery bank (some do, some don’t) then dropping the battery voltage a few times to power car parts comes with a smaller efficiency loss. In my household, DC appliances are used for lighting, communications, computing, cooling food, pumping water and soldering electronics. The rest goes via AC. I think a car air conditioner could cool some small storage room decently. With big living rooms, it would have difficulty since it’s a small device.
Thanks, that makes sense on both topics, they’re definitely going on the list!
Tim Hunkin’s Secret Life of Components did an episode on Relays, which goes over the different types and the ways he uses them. A great series even for a complete novice!
Nice! I’ll check that out!
Years ago, I used a radiator and water pump out of my old truck to make a campsite heater.
Coiled some copper tubing and built the campfire above that. On the other side of the campsite, I had the radiator and water pump hooked into that. Drove the water pump with an electric motor I salvaged out of an old, electric snowblower and a solar-charged car battery (also pulled from the old truck lol). The water was moving slowly enough that the radiated heat was enough and didn’t need to force it with a blower (it was also under the table which helped keep the heat where it was wanted).
It was ugly and cumbersome, but it was nice to have warm feet on the chilly fall nights while we were playing cards (campfire was just out of the comfort range).
That’s a great example, thank you!
Not the safest example, lol, but it worked.
It may be a good idea to look at what impovershed areas of the world are already doing with “junk” parts. Lots of carts and wagons out there made from old car frames, using torn out seats as chairs and couches, reuse of lights. Old radio units can sometimes be run without the rest of the vehicle. Less likely on newer vehicles that shove everything through the BUS in the touch screen head unit, but older casette deck radio units that were for audio controls only are good candidates. Screens themselves might be able to be reused with clever wiring.
It might sound silly, but checking out old Top Gear’s challenge sections where the hosts frankenstein vehicles together could give some ideas. Also old shows like junkyard wars.
Here’s some thoughts off the top of my head.
There are loads of wiring in a car, that can all be reused.
Depending on the vehicle, the wheels/suspension could be converted to like a trailer or something.
The seats can be pulled out as chairs.
Various pumps can be used for moving fluids (though you’d probably want to be careful with that, hazmat-wise).
The transmission could be rigged up to a wind/water mill to adjust rotational velocity of a sawmill or some other industrial application.
Windows are tricky cause the shapes are weird, but they could be set in clay or concrete or something.
Alternators are definitely useful.
Headlights for spotlights.
This is a great list with a bunch of stuff I wouldn’t have thought of - the transmission reuse is a cool idea!
I think some LED headlights are goood for growing plants. I remember some local news panic piece from years ago about how criminals were stealing headlights for their grow ops. A quick search online confirmed they work fine (probably not worth stealing though) and this post I think suggested a couple other car parts alternative uses I’ll have to go back and get later: https://www.rollitup.org/t/is-it-possible-to-convert-a-headlamp-into-a-grow-light.496815/
Thanks again!
Yeah, if you watch a video on old water powered mills, they had all sorts of transmissions built out of wood, including clutches to turn on and off the power.
The headlight thing is really cool
I dont have an idea for them, but I call dips on the windshield wipers
That reminds me - inside the rubber squeegee part is a long thin strip of good quality spring steel. Lockpicking folks like it for making tools, diy gun folks sometimes use them to make the extractor. I honestly don’t know what to use the rest of the wiper for.
