How to heat an unheated garage in winter time? The simplest answer: make a potbelly stove. This unit has a simple design and works great on wood, coal, sawdust, etc. However, the motorist does not always have a sufficient amount of such fuel. But used engine oil is usually available. For many car enthusiasts, a do-it-yourself potbelly stove using waste oil has become an excellent alternative to a conventional wood-burning stove. However, such a stove is used not only for garages.
The principle of operation and advantages of such a stove
Fuel combustion in a waste oil furnace occurs in two stages. First, the fuel poured into the tank burns. The resulting gases are mixed with air. At the second stage, it is this gas-air mixture that burns, so the potbelly stove during mining consists of two compartments.
The furnace design includes two combustion chambers, in one of which waste oil is burned, and in the other - a mixture of oil vapor and air
The first compartment is a tank into which used oil is poured. It burns at a relatively moderate temperature. Above there is another compartment, designed for the combustion of products mixed with air, formed during the combustion of waste. Here the process occurs at a much higher temperature, it can reach 800 degrees.
An important condition when building a potbelly stove for mining with your own hands is to ensure air access to both combustion chambers. For this purpose, a small hole is made in the lower tank, which serves to fill fuel, as well as to regulate the air supply. The hole is closed with a special valve. Secondary air usually enters the upper chamber through small holes (approximately 10 mm), which are drilled in the pipe connecting the tank and the second combustion chamber.
Read also how you can build a stove-stove for a garage and a summer house, which can be heated with wood, peat or waste:.
To ensure access of air to the second combustion chamber of the potbelly stove during mining, it is necessary to make small holes in the pipe connecting this chamber and the oil tank
The ability to use almost free fuel from waste oil is not the only advantage of such a unit. Thanks to the high combustion temperature, it heats the room quickly and efficiently. If the device works correctly, it does not emit any unpleasant odors or substances hazardous to human health, therefore, from an environmental point of view, a potbelly stove during mining is considered completely safe.
However, the use of flammable substances in such a stove, for example, gasoline, solvent, etc., may pose a danger. It should also be remembered that some types of used transformer oil can release compounds harmful to health when heated.
Drawing of the simplest and most popular waste oil stove (click to enlarge)
Step-by-step manufacturing of the stove according to the drawing above
Owners of waste furnaces stock up on fuel in the summer. To do this, place a container in the garage into which the used oil is drained. By winter, quite a decent amount of fuel accumulates in it. Used oil can be obtained inexpensively or completely free from auto repair shops, service stations, etc.
In our next article you will find instructions for making an exhaust furnace from a gas cylinder:.
Remaking a potbelly stove for working in mining
Owners of a conventional potbelly stove who decide to switch to heating with waste oil can make some changes to the design of their existing unit. When figuring out how to convert an ordinary potbelly stove for mining, you should take into account the operating principles of this unit, i.e., provide a secondary combustion chamber and air access to both chambers. Here is one option for such a modification:
- Weld a waste oil tank from sheet iron.
- Cut a hole in the stove for air supply.
- Install a valve that will regulate the flow of air into the fuel tank.
- Instead of a chimney pipe, install a pipe with air holes.
- Make a secondary combustion chamber with a removable upper part.
- Connect the secondary combustion chamber to the pipe with holes.
- Install the chimney pipe.
Of course, the vent of an ordinary potbelly stove must be closed when switching to mining to ensure proper draft. If desired, the vent and the potbelly stove hatch, through which firewood or coal is loaded, can simply be welded shut. In this case, the oil will be supplied to the furnace through a view. The oil is ignited through the same hole. However, more convenient option loading fuel, it will probably be possible to remove the fuel tank from the stove. In this case, it makes sense to think about creating universal stove, which uses waste oil or firewood.
This diagram clearly demonstrates one of the options for constructing a potbelly stove during mining. The more accurately the finished unit matches the engineers’ recommendations, the better the stove will work
Universal option: firewood + mining
Sometimes circumstances dictate the need to use different types fuel. To do this, there is no need to keep two units in the room at once. There are models of universal potbelly stoves that can easily switch from firewood and coal to used engine oil. The following video describes in detail the device and operating features of this model.
It’s not difficult to understand how to make a universal potbelly stove during mining. The lower tank of such a stove is an ordinary wood-burning stove with grates, a compartment for collecting ash and a chimney. At the top of this compartment, a container for waste oil is installed and a view with a damper is made.
The modernized lower compartment is connected to the secondary combustion chamber with a special pipe, which has holes for air and the ability to close them if necessary. The chimney pipe comes out from above.
If you need to use such a unit as a potbelly stove, you need to remove the oil container and close the view, as well as the holes on the pipe. After this, you can burn wood, coal, sawdust, etc. in the stove. To switch to exhaust heating, perform the steps in the reverse order:
- Install the oil tank.
- Open a view.
- Open the holes for the intake of secondary air.
After this, you can use used machine oil as fuel in the potbelly stove.
In order for such a stove to operate safely, it must be cleaned regularly. For this top part The secondary combustion chamber is made removable. It is cleaned in accessible places, and the chimney pipe is also tapped to remove accumulated soot. In addition, accumulated dirt from the oil tank should be removed regularly.
You may also find useful material about general principles operation of furnace equipment using waste oil and safety rules: .
When operating a homemade potbelly stove during mining, some owners of the unit encounter a number of problems. For example:
- heating of the room occurs unevenly;
- During combustion, the waste boils and splashes out of the tank;
- there is a smell of smoke;
- fuel burns too quickly, etc.
The problem of uneven heating of the room, when it is hot near the stove and cold in the opposite corner, can be solved by attaching a special “labyrinth” to the secondary combustion chamber. A pipe is taken out of this labyrinth, on which a small fan is placed. This design allows you to direct a stream of hot air in any suitable direction. Thus, it was possible to increase the air temperature in the garage to 15-20 degrees Celsius at outside temperature-35 degrees.
If a home-made stove for testing does not heat the room evenly, you can attach a special “labyrinth” to it, which will allow you to properly distribute the heat by supplying a stream of air in the right direction
In many ways, the operation of a potbelly stove during mining depends on the correct draft and size of the unit. Therefore, it is recommended not to make a stove “by eye”, but to use accurate drawings and try to comply established dimensions. It should be remembered that the higher the capacity of the fuel tank, the faster the oil will burn, i.e., its consumption will increase.
To ensure that the waste does not hiss, does not bubble, but burns calmly, it is necessary to use machine oil that has previously settled and has not been drained a couple of hours ago. In addition, it is recommended to fill the fuel tank no more than two-thirds full.
When operating any mechanisms, technical oils are used. When used for their intended purpose, they do not burn and remain flammable. Instead of recycling alternative option Their reuse is a potbelly stove using waste oil, which you can make with your own hands.
Let's try to figure out how a potbelly stove works and what materials are needed to make it. We will also talk about popular models of homemade stoves and share the secrets of their successful operation.
The operation of a potbelly stove is based on the phenomenon of pyrolysis. Such a furnace, where the fuel is waste oil, has 2 main compartments: a tank and a combustion chamber located on different levels. The first is intended for pouring waste and burning it.
In another compartment, located above, combustion products of waste mixed with air are burned. At the first stage the temperature is relatively moderate, and at the second stage it is much higher - up to 800⁰.
When making such a stove, the main task is to ensure that air flows into both compartments. It enters the first chamber through an opening designed for loading liquid fuel. The hole is equipped with a special damper, through which the volume of air supply is regulated.
Despite the fact that the design of the stove is very simple, increased demands are placed on the chimney of a potbelly stove. To effectively remove combustion products, you need to prepare a straight pipe with a diameter of more than 10 cm and a length of more than 400 cm. Bends and horizontal sections are extremely undesirable. In addition to its intended purpose, the pipe also serves as a residual heat exchanger
Air access to the second tank is provided by holes with a diameter of about 9 mm. The efficiency of a properly assembled potbelly stove reaches 90%. Visually, different potbelly stoves may differ from each other in both shape and size, but the principle of operation is the same.
The power of a potbelly stove is proportional to the volume of the lower tank. The larger it is, the less often you will have to add mining. Sometimes this container is made very massive, holding about 30 liters of used oil.
Improving the simple design of the stove during testing provided the opportunity to invent a unit for arranging a garage in which it would be pleasant to wash your hands hot water, or a small private bathhouse:
Image gallery
Making a potbelly stove from a gas cylinder
Another design option for a waste furnace is a self-made potbelly stove based on a 50-liter gas cylinder. In addition to this main element, you need to prepare 2 steel pipes with a wall of about 4 mm and a diameter of 10 cm. One of them will remove burning gases, and the second will act as a heat exchanger.
To this should be added a 4 mm steel sheet for the hood above the heat exchanger and the partition separating the evaporator and the combustion chamber. For the evaporation chamber itself, you will need a brake disc from a car with such a diameter that it fits into the cylinder without effort. A piece of 0.5-inch pipe is needed to transport oil to the combustion chamber.
A used cylinder makes an excellent potbelly stove. Although there is no gas in it, it is better to play it safe - keep the cylinder outside for a while with the valve open. Soap suds are applied around the outlet hole. When it stops bubbling, the valve is twisted, if it is removable; if not, the condensate is drained in another way
In addition, you should have in stock an equilateral steel angle with a shelf of 50 mm and a length of more than 1 m, a 0.5-inch valve, clamps for sealing - 2 pcs., a hose, any cylinder equipped with a needle valve.
The work of creating a potbelly stove is carried out in a certain order. First, the container is turned upside down and a small hole is drilled in it. A measure such as wetting the drill and the drilling site with oil will prevent sparking.
The valve is dismantled using a gas or adjustable wrench. After freeing the vessel from all residues, it can be cut and welded
Empty the container from gas condensate. Drain it carefully away from your home, because... his bad smell lasts a long time. Then the workpiece is filled with water, after which it is drained again, thus removing any remaining gas. Since the mixture is explosive, there should be no open flame nearby.
Cut out 2 rectangles of the same width in the cylinder body, equal to 1/3 of the diameter of the workpiece. The height of the lower rectangle is 20 cm, the second, located 5 cm above the first, is 40 cm. To separate the chambers, a circle with a diameter equal to the internal diameter of the vessel is cut out of a sheet.
In its middle, a hole is made for a pipe with a diameter of 10 cm. This part will separate the combustion chamber from the heat exchanger.
A burner is made from a pipe 20 cm long and 10 cm in diameter. Its lower part is perforated by making holes with a diameter of about 2 cm. The inside is cleaned of burrs, otherwise they will collect soot on themselves, which will significantly narrow the hole later.
Place the previously cut circle on the burner, placing it exactly in the middle, and weld it. The structure is placed inside the stove and a weld is made around the circumference of the cylinder.
Weld the bottom and cover onto the brake car disk. This will be the evaporator pan or bowl. To supply fuel, an opening is left in the lid through which air will flow into the stove. The opening is made quite wide, otherwise the draft will decrease and the oil will not get into the bowl.
Weld the pipe onto the top of the lid. A coupling is made from a pipe with a diameter of 10 cm that will connect the bowl to the burner.
Assemble the fuel supply system, for which:
- make a receiving hole in the pan;
- insert a piece into it at an angle of about 40⁰ water pipe 0.5 inches;
- weld the pipe to the furnace body;
- screw an emergency backup valve to the pipe, the role of which is played by an ordinary water tap.
A heat exchanger is made from a pipe with a cross-section of 10 cm. It is cut horizontally into the body of the potbelly stove, and a reflector is mounted at the end. Inflating is achieved by installing a duct fan at the end of the heat exchanger. The air driven through the heat exchanger with its help has a high speed.
In order to make the system more controllable, it is automated by connecting a thermal relay to duct fan. This solution allows you to set the required temperature
An air swirler consisting of triangular teeth connected by welding is placed inside the heat exchanger. A chimney is made from a pipe with a cross-section of 10 cm.
It is welded into a hole located in the upper part of the furnace body and brought out through the wall to the roof of the building.
It is better to place the section of pipe passing through the enclosing structure in a fireproof glass, and attach a metal sheet at the entrance point
Next they are making the oil tank. If you have a freon-free cylinder with a working needle valve, then it is quite suitable for this purpose. The vessel and the potbelly stove are connected with a hose connected to the valve. To fill the used oil, a hole is made in the tank body.
To ensure air access to the burner and the evaporator bowl, a groove is selected in the door of the lower compartment. Thrust plates are attached to the door opening of the upper chamber, which ensures reliable sealing of the combustion chamber. For the same purpose, the door is additionally equipped with a lock.
Now, even if the potbelly stove body is deformed as a result of strong heating, the tightness of the combustion chamber will not be compromised.
All that remains is to weld the legs from the angle pieces to the body and place the stove vertically. In addition to vertical potbelly stoves, they are also made from a cylinder. Their structure is similar.
Potbelly stove plus water circuit
Any home could benefit from having an emergency heat source. Its role can be played by an ordinary, but slightly modernized, potbelly stove. There are two ways to improve the stove - put a water jacket on the burner pipe or wrap its body with a coil of copper tubes.
The coils of the coil are placed at a distance of about 5 cm from the perforated body of the potbelly stove and connected to common system heating. A reflective screen is installed around the coil. For its manufacture, sheet aluminum, galvanized steel, and tin are used.
The water jacket is the tank on the upper chamber of the potbelly stove. There should be 2 fittings in its body - one for water supply and the other for drainage. In general, the design resembles a samovar. The volume of the water jacket depends on the length heating system and the method of coolant circulation.
In practice, the issue of constructing a water circuit is solved by installing a container directly on the potbelly stove. Through the outlet to the heating system, it enters hot water. After going around the circle, it radiates heat into the room and returns back to the container.
If a pump is built into the system, the volume of the tank is small, but with natural circulation it has impressive dimensions. To control water parameters, a pressure gauge and thermometer are installed on the tank.
Drip potbelly stove under development
You can also make an economical model of a drip stove yourself. Suitable for case metal barrel small volume or other container available on the farm. A hole is made in the housing through which oil will flow.
Such a unit, operating on waste petroleum products, can smoke, so the room in which it is installed must have good ventilation
A hole is made in the container along the diameter of the tube. The tube itself is shaped like the letter “L”, and the burner is suspended.
Conversion of a solid fuel stove for testing
When the household already has a potbelly stove, but is not happy with the fact that it runs on solid fuel, you can modernize it and it will become universal. For this purpose, an attachment is made that resembles in its design a stove with processing in its lower part.
There is also a perforated pipe here, but not straight, but bent at a right angle. It is connected to the side wall of the furnace, which serves as the final combustion chamber. If you weld the potbelly stove door and make a hole in it for the pipe to enter, then the stove will only work during exhaust.
Modernization of this furnace consists not only of adding a special attachment to it, but also original solution protect nearby objects from fire using the principle of convection. For this purpose, pipes were welded to the side wall of the furnace. Cold air entering them from below cools the structure
To make it possible to use not only industrial oil for heating, but also firewood, two replaceable doors are made. The standard one is hung when it is planned to lay firewood, and the modernized one with the appropriate hole - when the stove will operate on waste oil.
We also suggest reading an article on how to assemble a potbelly stove using waste oil from a pipe - to familiarize yourself with the material, go to.
Secrets of successful operation of a potbelly stove
In order for a potbelly stove running on waste oil to be effective and safe, you need to follow a few tips. The oil must settle before use. You need to fill it into the oil tank to 2/3 of its volume.
For safety reasons, all elements of the stove should be cleaned regularly. To simplify this task, its top module should be removable. This will provide access to the chamber where the combustion of the mixture occurs. To remove soot from the walls of the chimney, it should be tapped.
To extend the service life of the combustion chamber and the furnace as a whole, it must be painted using paints that are resistant to high temperatures. The potbelly stove should be installed on a non-combustible base. Do not place it in a draft, under the influence of which a flame could escape.
Conclusions and useful video on the topic
Improved design of the potbelly stove. The author of this video shares the details of its creation:
At the stove-stove simple design, but to make it yourself, you need drawings with exact dimensions. A design made by eye will not only not provide heat, but will also become a source of various troubles in the form of soot, splashed oil and numerous alterations.
It makes sense to start manufacturing such a unit only when it is possible to provide it with fuel. Otherwise, its operation will be economically unprofitable.
You may already have experience self-made potbelly stoves? Please share valuable tips with our readers. Leave comments in the block below. Here you can ask a question about the topic of the article, and we will try to answer it promptly.
This is not only a place to store the car, but also a workshop, where you sometimes have to spend quite a lot of time. Therefore, when negative temperatures outdoors it needs to be heated.
A potbelly stove using waste oil is easy to make with your own handsManufacturers heating devices They offer a garage for every taste. However, they are not cheap and consume gas or electricity, which are expensive.
In order to save money, craftsmen and car enthusiasts build a potbelly stove for their workshop or workshop with their own hands.
How the oven works and its advantages
When it is necessary to switch to using waste, the tank is put back, the ash pan is closed, the holes on the connecting pipe are opened, the view is opened and the fuel is ignited.
The universal miracle stove using waste and wood is very practical; it allows you to use any fuel that is at hand for heating.
Nuances of operation
When using a stove using waste oil, a number of problems sometimes arise:
- The room is heated unevenly
- Oil boils and splashes when burning
- Smoking
- Fuel burning too quickly
How to solve these problems?
To uniformly heat the garage, when it is hot near the stove, but a little further away it is already cold, you need to attach a special structure in the form of a labyrinth. It is attached to the second combustion chamber. The essence of the labyrinth is the direction of jets of hot air in different directions.
In order for used oil to burn calmly, without hissing or splashing, it must be settled. In addition, the fuel tank should be filled no more than 2/3 full.
The rate of fuel combustion directly depends on the volume of the fuel tank and thrust. To comply correct proportions You shouldn’t make a stove by eye. It is necessary to make accurate drawings and adhere to them when making a potbelly stove during testing.
WATCH THE VIDEO
To keep the oil safe, it needs regular cleaning. The inner surface of the secondary combustion chamber is cleaned through the upper removable part. The chimney is tapped to remove carbon deposits. Clean the air holes and remove dirt from the fuel tank.
If you correctly draw up a drawing diagram, carefully follow it when performing work and do everything efficiently, you will get an economical and productive potbelly stove for heating a garage or workshop, made by yourself.
A simple internal structure and at the same time high thermal efficiency - these are the qualities that distinguish a wood-burning and exhaust stove. The elementary design without complex components allows you to make your own stove from available materials.
Homemade stoves are used for heating warehouses, garages, auto repair shops, etc.
What is better to make a combination stove from?
There are several ways to make a wood-burning stove with your own hands:- The simplest device made of steel and metal containers(cylinders).
- Models that use forced air injection - turbocharging.
- Drip feed device for mining.
As for furnace equipment with drip feed, it is quite difficult to make it completely safe, calculate productivity and meet other conditions on your own. For this reason, the choice should be made on a homemade universal stove using waste oil and wood with natural and forced air supply.
In the first case, the stove is made exclusively from steel sheets with a thickness of at least 5 mm. Allowed to use gas cylinders, which are filled with water before cutting to prevent the remaining gas from exploding.
Two closed containers are made from the cylinder body, connected to each other by an adapter - metal pipe, thickness 2-3 mm. Holes are drilled in the connector at equal distances from each other.
As a result of assembly, a kind of attachment for mining is obtained, installed on the floor at one end, and the other is built into the firebox of a solid fuel furnace. Homemade universal ovens on waste oil, firewood, sawdust and garbage, with built-in water heating, equipped with an aluminum or copper coil.
A slightly more complex device with a built-in fan that pumps air currents for burning waste. Some users install a fan next to the stove, directing the air flow into the ash pan.
Combined type stove for firewood and mining
A universal metal furnace for working and wood burning has a device in which oil is supplied from above, and firewood is laid from below. During combustion solid fuel The top combustion principle is used.The design of the furnace has the following features:
- Convective channels– wood-burning stove, air-heating. The room is heated by radiation from the heated metal walls. To increase thermal efficiency, several pieces of pipe are welded onto the body. This is how the simplest air heating device appears, using the principle of convection heating.
- A water jacket is a self-made stove using wood and waste oil with a water circuit that allows you to heat not only the room with the installed heater, but also adjacent rooms.
A simple coil is installed inside the housing. A piece of curved pipe of the appropriate diameter will do. For better heat transfer use a copper or aluminum coil.
The heat sink is installed so as to avoid direct contact with fire. Heating is carried out through heated flue gases. - Firebox - regardless of what you plan to use to heat the furnace, use an attachment for mining or firewood, the principle of pyrolysis combustion is applied. First, the fuel itself is burned, and then the exhaust gases are burned. For this purpose, the design includes two combustion chambers.
In furnaces with natural air supply and exhaust, special nozzles are used inside the housing to ensure the necessary oxygen flow.
How to convert a wood stove for mining
Rework wood stove for used engine oil, does not require changes internal device and heater designs. As a rule, a special attachment for testing is made for this purpose, consisting of the following components:- Primary combustion chamber- in fact, it is a waste pan, which has the simplest purpose of storing fuel and providing sufficient evaporating surface necessary for burning the oil.
- Fuel supply hole– on the side of the made fuel receiver, weld a piece of pipe of small diameter. The mining will be poured through the hole and set on fire.
- Secondary combustion chamber– there is no full-fledged furnace in the device for burning waste. The afterburner is curved pipe of sufficient diameter, connected to the pallet. Injection holes are made along the entire length - nozzles for the supply of air necessary for secondary combustion during pyrolysis.
- Protective casing - when upgrading a wood-burning stove for used oil, it is taken into account that the main heating will be carried out by the steel walls of the stove, and not by the oil burner or attachment. For this reason, the pipe extending from the pan is bent so that it is approximately in the center of the open door of the solid fuel heater. A steel casing is welded along the edges according to the size of the firebox wood stove, preventing smoke from entering the room.
Modifying the furnace to use oil is not difficult and requires minimal financial investment.
How to use oil in a wood stove
An all-in-one stove that runs on both waste oil and wood requires competent operation, ability to refuel and ignite liquid fuel. Precautionary measures are especially necessary when operating homemade stoves.Refueling and ignition are performed as follows:
- You can add used oil to the oven through a special hole with a pipe located on the attachment, specially made with a small diameter. Refueling is allowed while the fuel is burning. The tray is filled ⅔ full.
- Ignition - sawdust mixed with waste oil is used to light the fuel. If the exhaust is cold, after refueling, add flammable liquid. Ignition is performed using paper rolled into a tube.
What is the heat transfer of the furnace higher - exhaust or wood burning?
Wood burning heating stoves, also running on used oil, are gradually becoming more and more popular. Demand and widespread distribution are influenced by the possibility of making it yourself and the low cost of production.Operating experience helped to identify the following differences in the use of firewood and oil:
- Heat dissipation – more heat is released when burning oil than when burning wood. Liquid fuel is cheaper, so it is more economical to heat the furnace by working off.
For combustion, you can use any type of secondary oil: motor, transmission, transformer. According to the heat release table, fuel oil produces 39.2 MJ/kg when burned, firewood produces only 14-17 MJ/kg. - Fuel availability– if there is a gas station or auto repair shop next to the heated room, getting oil is not difficult.
The cost for working out will be 1-2 times cheaper compared to how much intermediaries offer it for. Firewood is more expensive, but is available in almost every region of the Russian Federation.