patrick_g
Elite Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsborn
Pat
You made reference to a DIY waste oil heater do you have the plans or could you send some info on this unit? I would be interested in making one for my shop. PM me if you don't want to send it in this thread.
Thanks
No problem, dude. IF you don't have time to read this whole post just skip to the bottom and use the Sanders link. Otherwise read on.
It was pure DIY. It was made from about a 20-25 gallon pressure tank (thick steel, rounded ends.) It was on a angle iron stand to bring it up to a decent height. It has a pretty standard gate valve near and above one end to regulate the gravity drip of fuel. The stack is on top of the other end. There is a damper in the end next to the drip to control the entry of air. The flue pipe was run out a modified window. The fuel tank is above the "firebox" and although I have never met the guy who built this I suspect the tank is heated by the stove so even heavy oil should feed OK.
I have seen a few oil burners with drip feed before and the ones designed to burn diesel without a blower had a ceramic bowl to catch the drip and actually contain the burning fuel. OF course those "store bought" models were not nearly as heavily constructed and needed the bowl to handle the fuel and not wear out the thin materials from which the units were constructed.
I once bought a diesel wall furnace (small cabin heater for a boat) without a blower for the firebox in anticipation of buying a particular sailboat with a Jimmy 4-91 diesel aux engine (if I recall properly) but the deal went sour and I still have the unused diesel cabin heater. I suppose it would burn waste oil too but haven't taken it out of the box (it is over 20 years old now.) I may put it into service when I enclose the open side of my 21x48 shed on the side of my garage and shop.
There is a well tested design for making a heater out of a used metal drum. One version uses a second drum above the first to capture more heat and not let it go wasted up the flue. You buy a cast iron door with hinges and cast door frame. You cut a rectangular hole in the end of the drum to insert the door. While these were originally intended to burn solid fuel if you put in a ceramic "fire bowl" sitting maybe on some fire brick, they should burn waste oil just fine with a drip system.
In the olden days I would have recommended some asbestos cloth in the bowl as a wick to increase the surface area of contact between the air and the fuel and to allow the fuel to get hotter than the surface of a liquid. There is probably a good substitute for the asbestos but I don't know any product names. You could scale this version down from the 55 gallon drums originally used to maybe something like 25 gal. if space is tight. I do recommend the "second stage" barrel on top of the first as it recovers lots more heat before it goes up the flue.
You should be able to find pix of these if you Google.
I Googled on "wood burning heater 55 gallon drum" and found a Mother Earth News item suggesting that a used water heater tank is better than an old 55 gal drum as it is several times thicker. I concur. You should be able to get plans and the door I mentioned on the net. You might have to do a little adaptation to convert to liquid fuel.
Here is a set of pictures showing construction of the double drum style I recommended. The top drum probably wouldn't have to be a water heater but it wouldn't hurt.
River Spirits - Steel Drum Wood Stove 101
http://www.crest.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/apro/Heat/Heating Stoves LO-RES.pdf
...and then it occurred to me to Google on waste oil heaters and again Mother Earth and many others had plenty to say!
Mother Earth: Waste Oil Heater 2
Improved version.
Roger Sanders' Waste Oil Heater
Pat
__________________
Originally Posted by jsborn
Pat
You made reference to a DIY waste oil heater do you have the plans or could you send some info on this unit? I would be interested in making one for my shop. PM me if you don't want to send it in this thread.
Thanks
No problem, dude. IF you don't have time to read this whole post just skip to the bottom and use the Sanders link. Otherwise read on.
It was pure DIY. It was made from about a 20-25 gallon pressure tank (thick steel, rounded ends.) It was on a angle iron stand to bring it up to a decent height. It has a pretty standard gate valve near and above one end to regulate the gravity drip of fuel. The stack is on top of the other end. There is a damper in the end next to the drip to control the entry of air. The flue pipe was run out a modified window. The fuel tank is above the "firebox" and although I have never met the guy who built this I suspect the tank is heated by the stove so even heavy oil should feed OK.
I have seen a few oil burners with drip feed before and the ones designed to burn diesel without a blower had a ceramic bowl to catch the drip and actually contain the burning fuel. OF course those "store bought" models were not nearly as heavily constructed and needed the bowl to handle the fuel and not wear out the thin materials from which the units were constructed.
I once bought a diesel wall furnace (small cabin heater for a boat) without a blower for the firebox in anticipation of buying a particular sailboat with a Jimmy 4-91 diesel aux engine (if I recall properly) but the deal went sour and I still have the unused diesel cabin heater. I suppose it would burn waste oil too but haven't taken it out of the box (it is over 20 years old now.) I may put it into service when I enclose the open side of my 21x48 shed on the side of my garage and shop.
There is a well tested design for making a heater out of a used metal drum. One version uses a second drum above the first to capture more heat and not let it go wasted up the flue. You buy a cast iron door with hinges and cast door frame. You cut a rectangular hole in the end of the drum to insert the door. While these were originally intended to burn solid fuel if you put in a ceramic "fire bowl" sitting maybe on some fire brick, they should burn waste oil just fine with a drip system.
In the olden days I would have recommended some asbestos cloth in the bowl as a wick to increase the surface area of contact between the air and the fuel and to allow the fuel to get hotter than the surface of a liquid. There is probably a good substitute for the asbestos but I don't know any product names. You could scale this version down from the 55 gallon drums originally used to maybe something like 25 gal. if space is tight. I do recommend the "second stage" barrel on top of the first as it recovers lots more heat before it goes up the flue.
You should be able to find pix of these if you Google.
I Googled on "wood burning heater 55 gallon drum" and found a Mother Earth News item suggesting that a used water heater tank is better than an old 55 gal drum as it is several times thicker. I concur. You should be able to get plans and the door I mentioned on the net. You might have to do a little adaptation to convert to liquid fuel.
Here is a set of pictures showing construction of the double drum style I recommended. The top drum probably wouldn't have to be a water heater but it wouldn't hurt.
River Spirits - Steel Drum Wood Stove 101
http://www.crest.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/apro/Heat/Heating Stoves LO-RES.pdf
...and then it occurred to me to Google on waste oil heaters and again Mother Earth and many others had plenty to say!
Mother Earth: Waste Oil Heater 2
Improved version.
Roger Sanders' Waste Oil Heater
Pat
__________________