Hi @andyhudsonsmith, I’m interested in the possibility of printing your shield, but don’t have access to a 3D printer myself. I’ve had a look online for 3D printing services in the UK, and the cheapest I can find is upwards of £60. Any suggestions for where I might be able to get it cheaper?
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I found this at a local garden shop and converted it to a shelter. Cost was $25 at summer close out.
https://www.gardeners.com/buy/wood-shutters-lantern-with-led-timer-candle/8592509.html
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I built one for under $15 (for paint and a bracket) using scrap wood we had sitting around and a little time. Photos of Air and Installation post 63 or so has a photo and a link to the Audubon birdhouse that I saw in a hardware store and basically copied.
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I picked up one of those lanterns and discovered it uses MDF for the base and top. MDF doesn’t hold up well in the rain. I did try it out in the sun one day and the temp was a few degrees higher than the Air I left on the shaded porch as a comparison.
Have you had it out in the weather? How has it worked for you?
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Sadly mine suffered the fate that MDF does in the rain, it expanded and held water. So sadly it was not a solution - which is why i then went on to print my own enclosure and thats holding up well so far - its further back on this thread for more details and the files are online…
Andy
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Sorry for the delayed reply! The quote will be due to the time they take to print - each section is approx 3 hours so it books up a 3d printer for the day (actually longer than a day as prints often fail).
Thats not much help I’m aware - if it helps i could put aside a day and do my best to print one out - at the moment i am out and about but could sort out a day in the next couple of weeks (no charge as could view it as a test)…
Andy
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Hi Andy, that’s a fantastic offer. Thank you very much 
. I’m more than happy to help out and test in anyway I can. Let me know when you get a chance to print it (no rush), and I’ll PM you my address details etc.
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Just starting the print - i am back in the office next Tuesday (got a years sabbatical doing data/environmental sensors/making physical displays so not in much at the moment) so can post it then - could you pm my your address?
Andy
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Hi weather enthusiasts,
I thought it would be a quick job to cut up a couple of louvre doors that I found on the side of the road. It was quick to cut and bolt it up but the several coats of paint took quite a few days. Completely out of scrap and old paint using stainless coach bolts I had lying around for $0, it should last a while. I intend to include a clear corrugated roof to speed up drying time.
I dont know if birds or possums might use it due to no floor (to be tested like this first) and if I get keen I might add a forced ventilation system. But first I will trial it higher than conventional on the side of a palm tree trunk where the breeze will be greater.
cheers Ian
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looks great, you should not use a forced ventilation in this kinda screens. I have one (bit bigger) and it is perfect. Forcing air true sometimes has inverse effect. Remember the idea is to have a ‘normalised’ environment, not the coldest, hottest or most humid one. Just try to get a situation that can be compared between places.
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Lifting the screen onto its support bracket bolted to a palm tree:
Mounted with Air slightly visible from below:
The new setting. I have mounted it up the tree because everywhere lower around the garden has less air flow and lots of leaves which I suspect at times increase’s the humidity. Up here there are still some leaves around, and some light reflecting up underneath, and only a few meters from the house wall. I have chosen this location trying to get maximum natural air flow, while still above greenery rather than a roof:
cheers Ian
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Nice job Ian.
Rick Comito
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nice tree too 
(we don’t have palmtrees)
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I knocked up something similar using plastic air vents. I have a “floor” which the Air is fixed to but it’s aerated to allow plenty of air flow.
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Nicely done.
Rick Comito
This is my red neck engineered Air enclosure. I used 2 cat litter buckets nested together upside down. This created a double layer roof. I placed PVC piping through the roof into the enclosure and capped it with a stack vent. Ran piping through enclosure with 45 degree fittings on the outside and perforated inside. Large holes drilled on bottom. Fastened to 2 x 4 and placed over yard. All fittings were sealed and enclosure painted white. Glued a devil duck on top. Unit hinges and for extra protection it’s bungeeed shut.
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I’m ready to start down the “Rabbit Hole” that is a home-made Stevenson screen. My current AIR mounting location is in the shade of an overhang on an outbuilding. It’s about a foot away from the underside of the eave. But the eave is made from 1x4 boards, covered with tar-paper and asphalt shingles. I was surprised how much the warmed surface of the underside of the eave heats the AIR’s temp artificially. Radiant Heat Transfer. So it seems to me, that part of the trick to making a screen is to have multiple layers on the enclosure around the AIR. And there needs to be airflow between each layer. What am I missing here?
I’ve attached a picture of my current setup.
I’d suspect you’re still going to have heat problems there no matter what you do. If the air around the unit gets warm, moving that warm air in+out of a Stevenson screen isn’t going to make it any cooler.
Suggest finding a place that is ‘really’ in the shade, or alternately going the Stevenson screen route in a relatively shady place that won’t catch radiant heat if the fence next to it gets hot due to sunlight etc.
I had the same problem with the overhang by my front door. It’s always warm up high where there’s no insulation in the overhang, so the morning’s sun warms it up and it stays warm up high. Not enough airflow there regardless of temperature.
I built a cheapo bird-box type enclosure with scrap wood and painted it white and put it outside on the other side of the house where it stays shady the longest til at least noon or later, and have had no problems since.
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