Here is the beginning of my conversion of an LED "lantern" into a fan housing.  The previous experiment was also in it's early stages. I determined the 15 LEDs could operate well for 8 hours off eight rechargeable AA batteries. This was enough information to warrant the sacrifice of this wooden creation to become the basis for the fan housing I needed for the solar collector.

The 8 batteries are just a temporary substitution for the 12 V DC solar power that would drive the fan. First we have to verify that this system will work regardless of the power source. Look closely and you can see the batteries are held in place by the remains of a Radio Shack, radio controlled car. After about 10 years I finally found a real good use for that! I also found a solar battery charger but that only put out 7 V DC. Notice the red wire at the left side of the bottom battery. By just looping that around the appropriate connection (in this case all 8 batteries in series) I can get the total voltage I needed. Nothing here is permanent!

In my effort to not spend a bunch of cash, I looked for a fitting to expand from the measly 1/2-inch diameter PVC pipe entering the fan, and reducing to about the 2-inch "exhaust" end of the housing. For $1.88 I got the necessary fitting for the exhaust end. A funnel for pouring oil into your vehicle.

Sadly, the McDonald's cup really would not withstand the heat, but it's readily available at my place, and is a perfect size. Perhaps I'll hit a dollar store and find some cups that can be slightly modified. Regardless, you can see in this picture above the ridges have been ground off the funnel and it has been suitably ground to size. The open space between the wood frame and the indentations of what is left of the funnel, were blocked with duct tape. What else!  I have yet to build the "housing" to attempt to keep this fine preliminary experiment from leaking like a sieve. More to come.