Nifty! Some thoughts: 1. As you are using sand as your mass, you don't need to go to the expense of a cast iron pot. You could use a stainless steel stock pot for the bottom. 2. For the top, you could pick up a second, smaller stainless steel stock pot that fits inside the sleeve and also fill that with sand. (You want a stock pot for top, as they are fairly tall, and it can reach down to the top of the mesh. 3. You don't need to cut the mesh to size. You can just fold and crimp the two ends together over and over until it fits. That will make for a *very* strong seam and the whole thing will still be very cylindrical. 4. The fill hole needs to be (mostly) sealed while in use. A ball bearing or marble just slightly larger than the hole would be perfect, though a can lid would also work. 5. The extra carbon felt can be packed inside the inner can so that, if the whole thing tips over, fuel won't spill out so easily. 6. The edges of the shell should be folded back on themselves repeatedly to make it stiffer--and thus safer--and to open it up so more heat can be radiated. 7. The top and bottom pots need to be rigidly connected together so the whole thing can't fall apart and create a fire hazard, as bumping the shell hard enough could easily make it buckle. A couple of pieces of steel pipe that are notched on the ends would work as spacers, and you could drill a hole at each end perpendicular to the notch for a u-bolts to go through to hold the handle to the pipe. That would make it pretty solid, I would think. Cheers!
@@catlyn7829 "Cast iron holds heat longer " Very true, but that is because of its mass. In this case, the sand--in a *much* larger stock pot--is carrying the bulk of the mass, so cast iron, while preferable if you want to keep it smaller and lighter, isn't as necessary.
@@catlyn7829That's been explained, it's because of it's mass. 5 lbs of cast iron will hold heat just as well as 5lbs of sand. There's nothing special about cast iron and its heat transfer and thermal properties.
Great video: added thoughts i Know cans are cheap and inexpensive but one way i have done this is: 1. use a stainless steel pot like many have said for the base filled with sand. 2. Use aluminum duct pipe from home depot. Got mine for $15. (doing this ensures that there's one central piece. 3. Cut Two comparments into the aluminum sheeting with wire snips, one for a small coffee can with toilet paper acting as the wick filled with denatured alcohol 4. Second cut is actually two on the back slightly above where the can is so that a small 9v fan can be mounted. 5. lastly the top of the pipe acts as an exhaust, and it burns for hours. I WILL be modifying mine to use your carbon felt. I appreciate when a community comes together, I like when we can help each other and share our expirences and ideas. Your inspiring video could save lives and help keep people alive under extreme cold conditions. best to be prepared because we never know. Gratitude.
Safety Note:Rubbing alcohol gives of noxious fumes. You'll want to use Denatured alcohol or camp fuel for interior applications! In case of emergency; R.A.can be used... ensure adequate ventilation! Also, from experience: place a coin/ stone etc over the fill hole to reduce flare up and fuel consumption. Thanks to the community and more knowledgeable minds, I have been furthered educated. My suggestion souls also be used with caution.
This set up is designed for heavy oils like used cooking oil ,not super light oil fuel .The inner can transfer s the heat from the flame to the oil too make it thin enough to suck up . When you steal ideas from others please try and get it right.
Are you sure about that?, pure ethanol will burn much cleaner than denatured alcohol, denaturant is often naphtha or a similar to petrol solvent, this will add far more complex hydrocarbons to the vapor including benzene.
Omg. I do wild camping and cook with mini alcohol burners on a regular basis. It is common knowledge that rubbing alcohol gives off a ton of soot.. we know in our community because it blackens up our cooking pans. And if it’s giving off soot, guess what? That’s a bad sign. Denatured alcohol is always the highly recommended fuel to cook with in the small alcohol burners, as it burns hotter and cleaner. I can vouch from my own experience, rubbing alcohol stinks like hell. Denatured alcohol on the other hand does not give off the same nasty order. Now. Nobody should be hovering over or breathing in either of those fumes. Any form of combustion chamber needs a certain amount of fresh air ventilation. Common sense is a commodity.
I want to make this on a smaller scale. The green house I built myself in the 3rd season now. Needs a small heat source for cold nights... This has given me so many ideas thank you..
On my second build, I used a steel dog bowl as the lid and filled it with sand. The sand was almost molten in no time compared to the first build where I had the sand in the bottom. It becomes warm at the bottom but nothing compared to sand at the top for obvious reasons. Also bigger mantle, more infrared heat. A few drops of Olbas Oil or Menthol in the bottom with water for your bad chest and sinuses 👍
Check at a restaurant supply store for a larger pot. It might be less expensive than you think. That was good. You put several heater concepts together into a nice build.
The first thing I tried when I heard about sand batteries was heating a pot full of it from underneath with, I think 8 candles. The temperature in my shed was about 6 centigrade, a couple of hours later I blew the candles out. After 15 minutes the sand was almost cold. Sand batteries can work really well but they need to be heated to a very high temperature in a well insulated container and the release of the heat needs to be regulated.
The specific heat of sand is quite low. It takes very little energy to heat up, and therefore it heats up quickly and then it cools off quickly also. Water has the best specific heat and steam is even better. Water is therefore a much better thermal battery.
@@Marley-ii6ls I agree to a certain extent. A hot water bottle is basically a water battery and the litre and a half of water in there, in your bed can stay warm for hours but for heating a room, as a battery I can't see it. It can only get to 100 Celsius before it turns to steam whereas sand turns to glass at 1700 degrees. So if you had the means, it could be "charged" to a much higher temperature and if the heat loss was controlled, I think it would be more effective than water as a battery, for heating a room.
@stevecole9674 Imagine protecting the carpet/floor, and building a wide sand battery under your bed. Have it heated (being charged) certain hrs and cooling off slowly. [One poster suggested using an old heating element from a water heater.] Easy way is to see how long it takes to heat the sand to a set temp, and how long to release the heat. Fancy way, have it start recharging when it drops Below a certain temp. With one system you may get hours of heat during a power outage by accident if the timing is right. With the fancy setup it is constantly charged and always ready if power stops. You have at least one small room heated a bit. You are nice & snug. Battery is well insulated to release heat slowly. Sand battery is wide and flat, more surface area to radiate heat. That could work against you. But the bed can be raised a bit also. You may have more room to work with than you assume.
@@MichelleWAperthwet sand would become dry sand pretty quickly. Water would help with conductivity, and would also have higher specific heat, but that would only be the case up to 100C. Then you lose all the water.
I would use one of those heavy gauge round galvanized steel water troughs used for livestock as a base for the sand battery. They come in many sizes from 23 gal and up. Might be a bit cheaper than cast iron. Thanks for this vid, it gave me some ideas for heating. 👍
@@thegoodtom1718 Good point. It is true that it can be toxic from the zinc fumes when heated above 200c (392f). However I would highly doubt it would get anywhere near those temps using this heating method in the video.
you have to understand this is just a video to make money on youtube. sorry but that's the way it is The cost of burning of fuel in this contraption is not worth making it. Eagle
In place of the cast iron pot, could you look at semi-truck or trailer brake drums from a salvage yard? It would be a super heavy-duty alternative. I have used them for wood stoves and fire pits. Salute !!! I love your incredible heater.
@ZenGardenOasis. I'm not sure what you guys are visualizing. I pulled up images of trailer brake drums. How were you thinking of using them for this, exactly? With a hole in the center, they won't hold sand, and the sides are low... on top of the unit, maybe? Still doesn't seem right.
@@debra-qq1np You could patch weld them or get a slightly bigger container, fill an inch or 2 with sand, put the drum in and fill the drum that is sitting in the container with sand. It might be worth the trouble doing it as the drum will be heavy duty and also can hold/ radiate a lot of heat.
Great video. May I suggest you use fondue fuel. Its refined for indoor use. I use fondue fuel in my Trangia Spirit Burner that I use when I go camping. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Cheers
Very nice, unique setup. I like it! I would steer away from rubbing alcohol, especially at the ratio you are burning (looks like 70%??). It contains glycerin and water. What happens is the alcohol burns off and leaves you with a glycerin/water mixture in the can. Eventually, your wick will be saturated with water and burn very inefficiently. Best to use straight alcohols (methanol, ethanol, higher grade isopropyl). Methanol only has one carbon atom per molecule and will be much safer to burn, too. Less chance to create carbon monoxide and soot. Ethanol has two and isopropyl has three.
@@MN-sc2uz to me,it's possible,but they're eater designed for that kind of fluid...and you'll need an exhaust system due to the carbone oxyde you'll produce with petroleum based fluid 😊
Your comments are so full of intelligence and knowledge that I feel stupid asking; but, I’m just an older senior woman with a small hoop house. I wish you would have explained how you attached the two cans so you could take them apart and put them together securely, and perhaps showed the last part of the process a little more.
I feel the same way. That cylindrical mesh screen does what besides separating the bottom cans from the top? I'm sure it's something I missed...without showing it's placement to the bottom cans, I think...is it just balanced on top of the cans? Possibly it would extend down to the inside bottom of the larger can, but seeing how the felt got bunched up and then him showing it after he put the cans together...it looked good, but there certainly isn't any space inside the space between the 2 cans, to accommodate the mesh and the felt. I'd try 2 other sizes of cans to where the mesh and felt can be wrapped around the inner can together. My comment seems like rambling but confused is all. I love the idea. I have a 15" round copper bucket that's a foot deep and looking for the ideal sand battery. So glad I saw an earlier comment mentioning that the sand heated above the heat source, brings a lot more heat than the sand at the bottom with the heat source by it.
@@lesliecogan641 While the mesh does separate the can on top from the bottom, the main purpose is to make the heater an infra-red radiant heater. Radiant heat heats objects like the sun does, thus not only heating just the air. The larger metal wrap is what reflects the radiant heat toward wherever you point it.
@MichaelMiller-op8fe thanks a bunch...I see video 1752 is a sand battery video of his that I watched. I'll go see 1702 now. I'm wanting either ceramic heating elements or a water heater element... don't know how high of wattage for either would be too much...I want to get the maximum heat possible..like 500°. I guess I just need to trust taking a 3 prong 110 plug and wire off an old milkhouse heater I'm no longer using and connect to some kind of heating element. I want a 12v plug in too for my solar battery; that can run the element. I'm a 64 year old woman...Jack of all trades, just wondering what you think or what you would do. I have a huge copper bucket and a bag of sand lol.
@@vernemil sorry I'm an airhead haha... I'm real literal, so that gets in the way. I think I follow you. I need to watch again, not remembering why I said what I did lmbo...please forgive and for the reply delay too
I love your channel! I subscribed about a week ago, nice to see another decent human being with an interest and passion for innovation, learning and teaching. Bravo sir
Great project. I would recommend adding a fuel fill pipe that extends to the outside. So it could be filled without any disassembly, maybe 1/2 copper pipe which can easily be bent to the desired shape, and a fuel line cap would also be able to be purchased at any hardware store for cheap. Watched from a RUclips recommendation, and have to say nice work, and I like the bonsai in the background. Cheers from Newfoundland
Large chimney brick and a larger kerosene lantern from Lehman supply company in kindred Ohio. My grandmother would fill the lantern and put it on the lowest level and place it inside the chimney brick. And that was enough to heat the entire greenhouse during the winter. The place was toasty the lantern would need to be filled like ever 20 hrs but worth every penny. She also did it in the chicken coop as well. With a block on top and holes drilled into the sides of the block. And bird spikes on the block to keep them from roosting on the very warm top.
Kerosene lanterns give off a lot of heat that can be regulated to some extent by adjusting the wick. The chimney pipe gives heat mass all with a much longer burn time for the lantern (for very cold nights you don't need to refill even with a higher flame/light). Yes, you can boil water above the lamp chimney.
I like your idea: Dumb questions: What's a chimney brick? do you mean a chimney FLUE? and did she use the kerosene lanterns that have the glass chimneys? Thanks!!!
@@skyeridley7764 I suspect it is what many refer to as fire bricks as they would retain and radiate the heat even after the fuel had been burned out. The chimney flue while easier to handle would cool fairly quickly. The lamps referred to have glass chimneys 1) to spread the light (and heat) and 2) to aid in limiting the air flow, without the glass chimney the flame burns very dirty.
You don't have to buy an expensive Dutch oven. You can use an angle grinder to cut an empty 20-lb. propane tank in half. There is a SAFE way to do this! I've done it. You can even make two of them that way. If you want a heavy steel basin with a larger diameter you can cut the bottom off of an old hot water heater. People throw them out at town dumps and at metal scrapyards.
And you could likewise, use the top of a propane tank or water heater instead of the lid to a Dutch oven which you've placed atop your fine intention. In both cases the tops will have holes which would hinder their use on the bottom. If used on top, you may wish to cover the holes to trap more heat above the burner as you do with the lid. Question: what is the cylindrical thing at the very top of your burner stack?
Suggestion: cooking oil or any oil works great and burns forever, also no fumes! You might need more space between the bottom inner & outer cans, oil does not throw off fumes nearly at the extreme rate of alcohol, the forever wick will need more room to draw.. ✌🏻🌎✌🏻
@@btsweeney3640yeah paraffin fumes are certainly unpleasant. But a few drops of Paraffin can be used to prime the wick to warm up the surrounding metal which will help vaporize vegetable oil fuel to get it started
Great and simple. I really liked the one commenter's idea of running a copper water pipe through the mantle/screen and heating a barrel of water as a side benefit. What you're truly aiming at is keeping frost at bay. Water cools much, much more slowly than sand. I would go a step further and crimp pex to either side of the copper far enough to not be melted, and insulate the pex to ensure the barrel of water warms as much as possible... As heat storage is the aim of the idea. If the water system is air-sealed the convection ought to be excellent. Wouldn't look near as elegant as your set-up, but the idea is to ensure as many calories as possible are available until tomorrow in a cold-zone.
really cool. i dont know how much room you have in your hot house but you could get some of those blue plastic storage 55 gal drums paint them black and fill them 3/4 the way with water the thermal mass of the heat collected in the day would radiate though the night. i still really like your design.
Robert Murray Smith on his T-N-T (thinking and tinkering) channel has done amazing work with these heaters and sand batteries. I think a large stainless steel Dutch oven like a Revereware style from the thrift store would be a good base and lid. A section of single wall interior stove pipe for the reflector. Drill and bolt the reflector to the base pot. If you can't get carbon felt, you can use an old sock, but it would be a consumable wick. I would also take the stainless steel screen and place the seam over a pipe and hammer it flat so it won't come apart. Overall, it's a good basic design.
He was one of my inspirations, also 2 other YT videos and about 6 blogs I’ve read showing how these work. Wanted to confirm for myself and build one. Yes it does put out a log of heat for sure….cheers.
Cotton sock, or you may regret it....cotton t-shirt or cotton clothes lines works too. Make sure clothes line doesn't have an inner core, 100% cotton ones are all woven, with no core. Cheers
Like the build you did thanx. It's a good, working example. I've read a bunch of the comments and there are some good suggestions for refinements to safety and efficiency. I have one question and one suggestion/question. My question is, what is approximate volume of your greenhouse that you're heating? My suggestion/question is. Would embedding the burner in the sand battery be an efficient way to aid in heating the sand? Or will that help too much with vaporizing the alcohol fuel? Lately I've been doing some experimentation with alcohol rocket stove/heater builds and fuel mixes. I've tried from straight gelled alcohol (hand sanitizer) to straight alcohol (Methyl Hydrate). I find that a mixture of the two 2/3 hand sani to 1/3 methyl hydrate burns best and longest in a similar burner configuration to your build. A tin can double wall rocket stove/heater. The size of a can of Chef Boyardee 1/3-1/2 filled burns for almost four hours if you can manually adjust the air mixture ratio as nessasary. I've been able to heat a tent in around 0C or 32F temperatures to be able to sit with just jeans, T-shirt and a sweatshirt comfortably inside. Incidentally I'm a Horticulturist and Arborist by trade and a friend just recently asked me to build a small off grid type heated greenhouse for him. I will be basing the heater design from the one you have demonstrated here. Thank you very much for your time spent building the heater and making the video. Most importantly! For sharing the knowledge.🤘
You could add a copper strip above the flame that would conduct the heat to the sand directly through convection. Would make the sand battery a lot more efficient.
Since you’re using the carbon felt you could use olive oil for an endless candle. You’ll still need a starter fluid like your alcohol or a paraffin lamp oil just to start the wick.
You can get used cooking grease from restaurants for free, and use it instead. Like anything, make sure you have good ventilation. The other option is to buy a bunch of candles, and an electric heater. Hide the heater in a stainless steel box so nobody can see it, bury the electrical cord, and tell your friends the candles are heating up the box.
@@RipperRUclipsOfficialfree cooking oil isn't as easy to come by as it used to be. I wonder how many people that give this advice have actually tried it.
radiant heaters like this have used kerosene or diesel and burn indoors with no issues, with only minimal ventilation. Not a sealed room but basements and garages and a greenhouse or boat, sure. They were called paraffin heaters and were very popular and found in antique stores from the postwar era. Same idea as a candle and ceramic pot. This is a higher output. But you can buy these with a fiberglass wick and enclosures and reflector all made to use as a spare room heater.
Great video Love your bonsai trees - I have been cultivating bonsai for 25 years plus You have a good Specimen tree - one in particular was wow stands out Thank you for sharing Please display your bonsai trees Hare Krishna blessings
It’s not very clear does the stainless steel screen fit into the inside of the top can and the can sits on it also does a stainless steel screen go inside the bottom large can or it just sit on it or does it wrap around it could you maybe film a sequel, showing how you assemble it that whole part is very muddy
Agreed. I can see the upper can fitting over the tube of screen, but it appears one must disassemble the lower can/wick assembly and wrap the screen around the wick before reinserting into the lower can, but then... how does one easily refuel using a short funnel?
This guy may be a genius when it comes to engineering but he's a moron when it comes to making instructional videos. He skipped the most important part: the final assembly.
Thanks for the video love the info, instead of using (an awesome cooking pot) Dutch oven you could get a small propane tank (scrap yard is a good place) cut out most of the center and there you go👍
Thank you very much. I bought a greenhouse and now having 2nd thoughts my concern is heating the greenhouse after watching your video I’m leaning on keeping it the greenhouse….
Agreed with the last comment, please explain how you attached the upper screen mesh\can to the assembly. I assume it is not just resting on top of the carbon felt dual can portion as that would be quite unstable?
The whole thing is unstable. The “lid” is just resting on top of the sheet metal. One accidental bump on that table & his whole greenhouse will be on fire.
You can do the same thing but with olive oil. It’ll last longer and the oil itself isn’t flammable. Just use some rubbing alcohol to start the flame on the carbon felt
@@claudiahall5237 it will be in the air but its not as heavy as alcohol burning just have a window in the room just barely cracked open to keep fresh air moving
For a larger model, could you use a 55 gallon drum (cut in half, top for lid) and a metal oil bucket in the middle for the wick? This is amazing!!! Thank you for sharing your information with us.
Nice heater. The larger pan/pot for bottom is a good idea. Less chance of being upset and turned over in case a critter found a way into the green house. I wonder is an alternative to alcohol for fuel that would not burn up as quick. Any fuel would probably put off some toxic fumes.
I am bookmarking this video to rewatch it. I didn't understand a few things. I wish you would have showed the parts that you didn't show about the third can and how you attached the mesh between the top and bottom. Thanks so much for this video. Do people use this in the house or just greenhouse. I am thinking about the pump house.
@@taoisisis6697 Not to mention the possibility of explosion. When hotter than acetone's flash point of −20 °C (−4 °F), air mixtures of 2.5‑12.8% acetone (by volume) may explode or cause a flash fire.
Very very nice. Just a small adjustment I would use a lab burner inside the bottem can for better control of the fire as the on/off valve is as far away from the fire as possible and no wick needed. Oh you have set me creative juices on. Thankyou
I'd like to see how hot the sand got. As far as I know, heat goes up, so not much heat will go down to the sand even with the heat conductive steel sheet in it, because most heat in the steel sheet travel upward and dissipates to the colder air. Also, steel is much less heat conductive than aluminum or copper. Copper is the most conductive of the three. I'd also like to see the temperature in the room before and a few hours after the heater lights up, then a few hours after it goes out. I wonder if vegetable shortening can be used instead of alcohol. I know a three-pound one with one flame can burn for months. Can alcohol last as long? Overall, a very informative video. Thank you.
This seemed to burn with a very high flame! I don’t see the Crisco candle burning that high. I have tried several homemade heaters on my porch. I really want an old wood stove I can vent and cook on. One can filled with cotton balls and Rubbing Alcohol would burn maybe 5 hours. Not long enough to make it through the night. I have a huge stock pot I would set any heater in to keep it safe. It’s nice to prop my feet on!
I feel like I missed the 3rd can? You did the one you have on the top, the 30oz, then did the smaller one and I thought you were putting the carbon around that and into the first can, but then it was a different 30oz can once you built it? Do any holes go into the 30oz on the bottom?
The design is pretty good. I'm just wondering if you ever measured how hot the sand gets? The sand is well below the flames, and I'm just not sure that the heat transfer from the stainless outer reflector would be enough to warm the sand to a high temperature.
Right when You came to assembly of your heater It got very confusing how you put it all together. And what is the cylinder inside is all about, and how to connect it to a 3 can ? And bottom two cans?
u could even get one of those big cast kettles people have in the yard that places cook kettle corn or soup in. i have see a few of them cheap and junked before. my parents and grandparents even had in our yard. that would hold lots of sand and heat. thanks for the idea of a bigger bottom.
Though a bit more than some may consider I'd like to add: (1.) A refill tube ('fill pipe') that would equal in volume the amount of alcohol it'd take to refill the tank once emptied. That tubing of course could be 1/4" schedule 40 black iron pipe that runs along the outside vertically, turns horizontally towards the refill hole and then downwards into the fuel tank. (2.) This of course would require a rigid connection between both the top and bottom platforms & securing the "fill pipe" . Noting that only after the unit was completely cooled down refilling would be both safe and quick (even pre measured if you choose to). (3.) One can also install (& purchase) an inexpensive lighter used on kerosene heaters or simply use those fireplace butane types if you wanted. For a few years we used kerosene type heaters in our home burning jet fuel that would have otherwise been disposed of. Free fuel meant free heat, but that eventually came to a close. 😊
Water holds 300% of the heat that sand does, making it a superior thermal mass. Surrounding the heater with pots or jars of water will add to the longevity of the heat once the fuel has been consumed.
Great video and would look for a replacement for the duct because: Zinc fumes are set free when galvanized steel is heated. These fumes are very toxic to breathe.
@@pauliedi6573 did not hear him say that and the thumbnail opening image in the video looks like an ordinary galvanized steel duct. But if he did say that then I apologize.
I like this design a lot, and really enjoy your videos....It seems to me, that if you put a short bolt in the filler hole, for a plug, you'll stop burning off the alcohol fumes, and should increase your burn time, and efficiency, because the wick will be the sole source of flame...
Did you mention how long the flames would last and at what amount of alcohol? You also did this for your plants. Is it safe for indoor use for emergency heat?
Great video. Well done. Lots of great comments. My input … Rubbing alcohol contains a lot of water. Consider denatured alcohol (white gas) from the hardware store or something with higher energy like kerosene.
You can use a very large cast iron brake drum from a transport truck. They are usually 10 bucks at the salvage yard. These are often used in DIY 'waste oil heaters'.
Sand doesn’t store heat. Thats why the desert gets cold at night. Your alcohol burner releases X amount of btu regardless of how much fancy crap you put around it and believe that you are doing something meaningful. Terrible vid
Sand will store heat and for months if properly insulated. Research sand batteries. Research how high of a temperature that sand can be heated to. Surprise.....
@@jimtraill141 Sand can be heated to very extreme temperatures; but it DOES NOT RETAIN HEAT . . . You contradicted your own statement when you said sand retains heat if properly insulated. Almost anything will retain heat if properly insulated! 🤷🏼♂️ Be in the desert after sunset and you will quickly understand how well sand DOES NOT retain heat.
As stated by icecream ladydriver, I was confused when seeing what seems to be a third can above the stainless steel mesh. Does it need to be so tall? As others stated, it does look somewhat unstable. Your video presented me with something new and inspiring. Thank you
Stainless steel *mesh* has a lot of turbulence creating gaps that will make the rising flame hit the mesh a lot more than a smooth surface will. This is the same reason for putting rocks in your fireplace.
So you are using three cans for this build? I thought there was only two (large and small for the heat source). What purpose does the third can serve and what size compared to the other two? Thanks!
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Nifty! Some thoughts:
1. As you are using sand as your mass, you don't need to go to the expense of a cast iron pot. You could use a stainless steel stock pot for the bottom.
2. For the top, you could pick up a second, smaller stainless steel stock pot that fits inside the sleeve and also fill that with sand. (You want a stock pot for top, as they are fairly tall, and it can reach down to the top of the mesh.
3. You don't need to cut the mesh to size. You can just fold and crimp the two ends together over and over until it fits. That will make for a *very* strong seam and the whole thing will still be very cylindrical.
4. The fill hole needs to be (mostly) sealed while in use. A ball bearing or marble just slightly larger than the hole would be perfect, though a can lid would also work.
5. The extra carbon felt can be packed inside the inner can so that, if the whole thing tips over, fuel won't spill out so easily.
6. The edges of the shell should be folded back on themselves repeatedly to make it stiffer--and thus safer--and to open it up so more heat can be radiated.
7. The top and bottom pots need to be rigidly connected together so the whole thing can't fall apart and create a fire hazard, as bumping the shell hard enough could easily make it buckle. A couple of pieces of steel pipe that are notched on the ends would work as spacers, and you could drill a hole at each end perpendicular to the notch for a u-bolts to go through to hold the handle to the pipe. That would make it pretty solid, I would think.
Cheers!
Cast iron holds heat longer
@@catlyn7829 "Cast iron holds heat longer
"
Very true, but that is because of its mass. In this case, the sand--in a *much* larger stock pot--is carrying the bulk of the mass, so cast iron, while preferable if you want to keep it smaller and lighter, isn't as necessary.
Still. Cast iron holds heat longer than lighter metals. @@KeithOlson
@@catlyn7829That's been explained, it's because of it's mass. 5 lbs of cast iron will hold heat just as well as 5lbs of sand. There's nothing special about cast iron and its heat transfer and thermal properties.
Where do you buy the carbon felt please
Great video: added thoughts
i Know cans are cheap and inexpensive but one way i have done this is:
1. use a stainless steel pot like many have said for the base filled with sand.
2. Use aluminum duct pipe from home depot. Got mine for $15. (doing this ensures that there's one central piece.
3. Cut Two comparments into the aluminum sheeting with wire snips, one for a small coffee can with toilet paper acting as the wick filled with denatured alcohol
4. Second cut is actually two on the back slightly above where the can is so that a small 9v fan can be mounted.
5. lastly the top of the pipe acts as an exhaust, and it burns for hours. I WILL be modifying mine to use your carbon felt.
I appreciate when a community comes together, I like when we can help each other and share our expirences and ideas. Your inspiring video could save lives and help keep people alive under extreme cold conditions. best to be prepared because we never know. Gratitude.
I wonder if I could use a chiminea to implement this idea? Any suggestions?
Good luck with carbon fiber lungs!
What about putting this inside my full size coal furnace for a 4 bedroom 2 floor house.
Safety Note:Rubbing alcohol gives of noxious fumes. You'll want to use Denatured alcohol or camp fuel for interior applications! In case of emergency; R.A.can be used... ensure adequate ventilation! Also, from experience: place a coin/ stone etc over the fill hole to reduce flare up and fuel consumption.
Thanks to the community and more knowledgeable minds, I have been furthered educated. My suggestion souls also be used with caution.
This set up is designed for heavy oils like used cooking oil ,not super light oil fuel .The inner can transfer s the heat from the flame to the oil too make it thin enough to suck up . When you steal ideas from others please try and get it right.
Are you sure about that?, pure ethanol will burn much cleaner than denatured alcohol, denaturant is often naphtha or a similar to petrol solvent, this will add far more complex hydrocarbons to the vapor including benzene.
Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol. I can't imagine how it gives noxious fumes. Like ethyl alcohol, it will burn cleanly.
Omg. I do wild camping and cook with mini alcohol burners on a regular basis. It is common knowledge that rubbing alcohol gives off a ton of soot.. we know in our community because it blackens up our cooking pans. And if it’s giving off soot, guess what? That’s a bad sign. Denatured alcohol is always the highly recommended fuel to cook with in the small alcohol burners, as it burns hotter and cleaner. I can vouch from my own experience, rubbing alcohol stinks like hell. Denatured alcohol on the other hand does not give off the same nasty order. Now. Nobody should be hovering over or breathing in either of those fumes. Any form of combustion chamber needs a certain amount of fresh air ventilation.
Common sense is a commodity.
Just look for pure ethanol or better yet, methanol. Methanol burns cleaner with blue flame. No hydrocarbons.
I want to make this on a smaller scale. The green house I built myself in the 3rd season now. Needs a small heat source for cold nights... This has given me so many ideas thank you..
On my second build, I used a steel dog bowl as the lid and filled it with sand. The sand was almost molten in no time compared to the first build where I had the sand in the bottom. It becomes warm at the bottom but nothing compared to sand at the top for obvious reasons. Also bigger mantle, more infrared heat.
A few drops of Olbas Oil or Menthol in the bottom with water for your bad chest and sinuses 👍
cloves dropped in the oil kill all pathogens
Check at a restaurant supply store for a larger pot. It might be less expensive than you think.
That was good. You put several heater concepts together into a nice build.
Yes but it wasn't his idea but he did make out like it was, just give others the credit! ruclips.net/video/JGVZVCU8FGE/видео.htmlsi=j-W7PHd9LHvQ8PYE
The first thing I tried when I heard about sand batteries was heating a pot full of it from underneath with, I think 8 candles. The temperature in my shed was about 6 centigrade, a couple of hours later I blew the candles out. After 15 minutes the sand was almost cold.
Sand batteries can work really well but they need to be heated to a very high temperature in a well insulated container and the release of the heat needs to be regulated.
The specific heat of sand is quite low. It takes very little energy to heat up, and therefore it heats up quickly and then it cools off quickly also. Water has the best specific heat and steam is even better. Water is therefore a much better thermal battery.
@@Marley-ii6ls I agree to a certain extent. A hot water bottle is basically a water battery and the litre and a half of water in there, in your bed can stay warm for hours but for heating a room, as a battery I can't see it.
It can only get to 100 Celsius before it turns to steam whereas sand turns to glass at 1700 degrees. So if you had the means, it could be "charged" to a much higher temperature and if the heat loss was controlled, I think it would be more effective than water as a battery, for heating a room.
@stevecole9674
Imagine protecting the carpet/floor, and building a wide sand battery under your bed. Have it heated (being charged) certain hrs and cooling off slowly. [One poster suggested using an old heating element from a water heater.]
Easy way is to see how long it takes to heat the sand to a set temp, and how long to release the heat. Fancy way, have it start recharging when it drops Below a certain temp.
With one system you may get hours of heat during a power outage by accident if the timing is right. With the fancy setup it is constantly charged and always ready if power stops.
You have at least one small room heated a bit. You are nice & snug. Battery is well insulated to release heat slowly.
Sand battery is wide and flat, more surface area to radiate heat. That could work against you. But the bed can be raised a bit also. You may have more room to work with than you assume.
Would wet sand be better?
@@MichelleWAperthwet sand would become dry sand pretty quickly. Water would help with conductivity, and would also have higher specific heat, but that would only be the case up to 100C. Then you lose all the water.
I would use one of those heavy gauge round galvanized steel water troughs used for livestock as a base for the sand battery. They come in many sizes from 23 gal and up. Might be a bit cheaper than cast iron. Thanks for this vid, it gave me some ideas for heating. 👍
@@thegoodtom1718 Good point. It is true that it can be toxic from the zinc fumes when heated above 200c (392f). However I would highly doubt it would get anywhere near those temps using this heating method in the video.
you have to understand this is just a video to make money on youtube. sorry but that's the way it is The cost of burning of fuel in this contraption is not worth making it. Eagle
@@roberthoug7864 eagle. U busted my dream. At least if I set the living room on fire it's warm after my shower. Efficiency is a bish😂
@@roberthoug7864 Unless...you have a still.....alcohol is easy to produce from scrap fruit etc...
No..poor heat ..use metal ash bucket.sand & sheet metal or stove pipe..trough or cast iron poor heat transfer😂
In place of the cast iron pot, could you look at semi-truck or trailer brake drums from a salvage yard? It would be a super heavy-duty alternative.
I have used them for wood stoves and fire pits. Salute !!! I love your incredible heater.
Cool idea
@ZenGardenOasis.
I'm not sure what you guys are visualizing. I pulled up images of trailer brake drums. How were you thinking of using them for this, exactly?
With a hole in the center, they won't hold sand, and the sides are low... on top of the unit, maybe? Still doesn't seem right.
@@debra-qq1np You could patch weld them or get a slightly bigger container, fill an inch or 2 with sand, put the drum in and fill the drum that is sitting in the container with sand. It might be worth the trouble doing it as the drum will be heavy duty and also can hold/ radiate a lot of heat.
My father in law actually managed to crack one while camping years ago. However he had it really going with lots of hard wood too.
Great video.
May I suggest you use fondue fuel.
Its refined for indoor use.
I use fondue fuel in my Trangia Spirit Burner that I use when I go camping.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
Cheers
Thanks for the tip!
@@ZenGardenOasis. Thanks you.
Camping and fondue? I wanna camp with you! LOL!!
Very nice, unique setup. I like it! I would steer away from rubbing alcohol, especially at the ratio you are burning (looks like 70%??). It contains glycerin and water. What happens is the alcohol burns off and leaves you with a glycerin/water mixture in the can. Eventually, your wick will be saturated with water and burn very inefficiently. Best to use straight alcohols (methanol, ethanol, higher grade isopropyl). Methanol only has one carbon atom per molecule and will be much safer to burn, too. Less chance to create carbon monoxide and soot. Ethanol has two and isopropyl has three.
I grabbed the wrong one for the video….yes higher grade is better. Thanks for your input
❤😊so simple to make, thank you very well done video
Could you use waste motor oil? How well would this work for hearing up the garage?
@@MN-sc2uz to me,it's possible,but they're eater designed for that kind of fluid...and you'll need an exhaust system due to the carbone oxyde you'll produce with petroleum based fluid 😊
@@taoisisis6697could you use an oil like olive oil?
Your comments are so full of intelligence and knowledge that I feel stupid asking; but, I’m just an older senior woman with a small hoop house. I wish you would have explained how you attached the two cans so you could take them apart and put them together securely, and perhaps showed the last part of the process a little more.
I feel the same way. That cylindrical mesh screen does what besides separating the bottom cans from the top? I'm sure it's something I missed...without showing it's placement to the bottom cans, I think...is it just balanced on top of the cans? Possibly it would extend down to the inside bottom of the larger can, but seeing how the felt got bunched up and then him showing it after he put the cans together...it looked good, but there certainly isn't any space inside the space between the 2 cans, to accommodate the mesh and the felt. I'd try 2 other sizes of cans to where the mesh and felt can be wrapped around the inner can together. My comment seems like rambling but confused is all. I love the idea. I have a 15" round copper bucket that's a foot deep and looking for the ideal sand battery. So glad I saw an earlier comment mentioning that the sand heated above the heat source, brings a lot more heat than the sand at the bottom with the heat source by it.
@@lesliecogan641 While the mesh does separate the can on top from the bottom, the main purpose is to make the heater an infra-red radiant heater. Radiant heat heats objects like the sun does, thus not only heating just the air. The larger metal wrap is what reflects the radiant heat toward wherever you point it.
Look up Robert Murray Smith episode 1702 homemade heater. He's a professor and it is detailed.
@MichaelMiller-op8fe thanks a bunch...I see video 1752 is a sand battery video of his that I watched. I'll go see 1702 now. I'm wanting either ceramic heating elements or a water heater element... don't know how high of wattage for either would be too much...I want to get the maximum heat possible..like 500°. I guess I just need to trust taking a 3 prong 110 plug and wire off an old milkhouse heater I'm no longer using and connect to some kind of heating element. I want a 12v plug in too for my solar battery; that can run the element. I'm a 64 year old woman...Jack of all trades, just wondering what you think or what you would do. I have a huge copper bucket and a bag of sand lol.
@@vernemil sorry I'm an airhead haha... I'm real literal, so that gets in the way. I think I follow you. I need to watch again, not remembering why I said what I did lmbo...please forgive and for the reply delay too
I love your channel! I subscribed about a week ago, nice to see another decent human being with an interest and passion for innovation, learning and teaching. Bravo sir
Awesome! Thank you!
Great project. I would recommend adding a fuel fill pipe that extends to the outside. So it could be filled without any disassembly, maybe 1/2 copper pipe which can easily be bent to the desired shape, and a fuel line cap would also be able to be purchased at any hardware store for cheap.
Watched from a RUclips recommendation, and have to say nice work, and I like the bonsai in the background.
Cheers from Newfoundland
Thanks so much…have a great day
Large chimney brick and a larger kerosene lantern from Lehman supply company in kindred Ohio.
My grandmother would fill the lantern and put it on the lowest level and place it inside the chimney brick. And that was enough to heat the entire greenhouse during the winter. The place was toasty the lantern would need to be filled like ever 20 hrs but worth every penny. She also did it in the chicken coop as well.
With a block on top and holes drilled into the sides of the block. And bird spikes on the block to keep them from roosting on the very warm top.
Your grandmother's version sounds much easier and cost-effective. I think I may give it a try! ❤
Why not just get a kerosene heater and use it
Kerosene lanterns give off a lot of heat that can be regulated to some extent by adjusting the wick. The chimney pipe gives heat mass all with a much longer burn time for the lantern (for very cold nights you don't need to refill even with a higher flame/light). Yes, you can boil water above the lamp chimney.
I like your idea: Dumb questions: What's a chimney brick? do you mean a chimney FLUE? and did she use the kerosene lanterns that have the glass chimneys? Thanks!!!
@@skyeridley7764 I suspect it is what many refer to as fire bricks as they would retain and radiate the heat even after the fuel had been burned out. The chimney flue while easier to handle would cool fairly quickly. The lamps referred to have glass chimneys 1) to spread the light (and heat) and 2) to aid in limiting the air flow, without the glass chimney the flame burns very dirty.
Thank you for your project and taking the time to explain everything
You don't have to buy an expensive Dutch oven. You can use an angle grinder to cut an empty 20-lb. propane tank in half. There is a SAFE way to do this! I've done it. You can even make two of them that way.
If you want a heavy steel basin with a larger diameter you can cut the bottom off of an old hot water heater. People throw them out at town dumps and at metal scrapyards.
And you could likewise, use the top of a propane tank or water heater instead of the lid to a Dutch oven which you've placed atop your fine intention. In both cases the tops will have holes which would hinder their use on the bottom. If used on top, you may wish to cover the holes to trap more heat above the burner as you do with the lid.
Question: what is the cylindrical thing at the very top of your burner stack?
Suggestion: cooking oil or any oil works great and burns forever, also no fumes! You might need more space between the bottom inner & outer cans, oil does not throw off fumes nearly at the extreme rate of alcohol, the forever wick will need more room to draw.. ✌🏻🌎✌🏻
Does kerosene emit noxious fumes?
@@btsweeney3640yeah paraffin fumes are certainly unpleasant. But a few drops of Paraffin can be used to prime the wick to warm up the surrounding metal which will help vaporize vegetable oil fuel to get it started
Crisco works..
Great and simple. I really liked the one commenter's idea of running a copper water pipe through the mantle/screen and heating a barrel of water as a side benefit. What you're truly aiming at is keeping frost at bay. Water cools much, much more slowly than sand. I would go a step further and crimp pex to either side of the copper far enough to not be melted, and insulate the pex to ensure the barrel of water warms as much as possible... As heat storage is the aim of the idea. If the water system is air-sealed the convection ought to be excellent. Wouldn't look near as elegant as your set-up, but the idea is to ensure as many calories as possible are available until tomorrow in a cold-zone.
Hi this is the first time I've watched the video loved your idea. Planning on trying it
Hope you enjoy!
really cool. i dont know how much room you have in your hot house but you could get some of those blue plastic storage 55 gal drums paint them black and fill them 3/4 the way with water the thermal mass of the heat collected in the day would radiate though the night. i still really like your design.
Robert Murray Smith on his T-N-T (thinking and tinkering) channel has done amazing work with these heaters and sand batteries.
I think a large stainless steel Dutch oven like a Revereware style from the thrift store would be a good base and lid. A section of single wall interior stove pipe for the reflector. Drill and bolt the reflector to the base pot.
If you can't get carbon felt, you can use an old sock, but it would be a consumable wick.
I would also take the stainless steel screen and place the seam over a pipe and hammer it flat so it won't come apart.
Overall, it's a good basic design.
He was one of my inspirations, also 2 other YT videos and about 6 blogs I’ve read showing how these work. Wanted to confirm for myself and build one. Yes it does put out a log of heat for sure….cheers.
Cotton sock, or you may regret it....cotton t-shirt or cotton clothes lines works too. Make sure clothes line doesn't have an inner core, 100% cotton ones are all woven, with no core. Cheers
Of course, there are many ways to improve this as it's highly inefficient. However, a great seed concept and will inspire many iterations! Good job!
Like the build you did thanx. It's a good, working example. I've read a bunch of the comments and there are some good suggestions for refinements to safety and efficiency. I have one question and one suggestion/question. My question is, what is approximate volume of your greenhouse that you're heating? My suggestion/question is. Would embedding the burner in the sand battery be an efficient way to aid in heating the sand? Or will that help too much with vaporizing the alcohol fuel? Lately I've been doing some experimentation with alcohol rocket stove/heater builds and fuel mixes. I've tried from straight gelled alcohol (hand sanitizer) to straight alcohol (Methyl Hydrate). I find that a mixture of the two 2/3 hand sani to 1/3 methyl hydrate burns best and longest in a similar burner configuration to your build. A tin can double wall rocket stove/heater. The size of a can of Chef Boyardee 1/3-1/2 filled burns for almost four hours if you can manually adjust the air mixture ratio as nessasary. I've been able to heat a tent in around 0C or 32F temperatures to be able to sit with just jeans, T-shirt and a sweatshirt comfortably inside. Incidentally I'm a Horticulturist and Arborist by trade and a friend just recently asked me to build a small off grid type heated greenhouse for him. I will be basing the heater design from the one you have demonstrated here. Thank you very much for your time spent building the heater and making the video. Most importantly! For sharing the knowledge.🤘
You could add a copper strip above the flame that would conduct the heat to the sand directly through convection. Would make the sand battery a lot more efficient.
Lots of fire-pit basins and old cast iron bathtubs available for sand battery; great idea! Thanks!
You bet!
Since you’re using the carbon felt you could use olive oil for an endless candle. You’ll still need a starter fluid like your alcohol or a paraffin lamp oil just to start the wick.
Olive oil is getting rather expensive now. The olive groves have been suffering.
could you use other cooking oils.
@@daniel-vn4ql seems like you could use that smokeless kerosene and it should last much longer than alcohol, I would bet.
You can get used cooking grease from restaurants for free, and use it instead. Like anything, make sure you have good ventilation. The other option is to buy a bunch of candles, and an electric heater. Hide the heater in a stainless steel box so nobody can see it, bury the electrical cord, and tell your friends the candles are heating up the box.
@@RipperRUclipsOfficialfree cooking oil isn't as easy to come by as it used to be. I wonder how many people that give this advice have actually tried it.
This is one of the coolest heating options ive ever seen!! And the Bonzai trees are beautiful.
radiant heaters like this have used kerosene or diesel and burn indoors with no issues, with only minimal ventilation. Not a sealed room but basements and garages and a greenhouse or boat, sure. They were called paraffin heaters and were very popular and found in antique stores from the postwar era. Same idea as a candle and ceramic pot. This is a higher output. But you can buy these with a fiberglass wick and enclosures and reflector all made to use as a spare room heater.
Great video
Love your bonsai trees - I have been cultivating bonsai for 25 years plus
You have a good Specimen tree - one in particular was wow stands out
Thank you for sharing
Please display your bonsai trees
Hare Krishna blessings
I made a garden walk through video at the end of last summer. Cheers.
It’s not very clear does the stainless steel screen fit into the inside of the top can and the can sits on it also does a stainless steel screen go inside the bottom large can or it just sit on it or does it wrap around it could you maybe film a sequel, showing how you assemble it that whole part is very muddy
Agreed. I can see the upper can fitting over the tube of screen, but it appears one must disassemble the lower can/wick assembly and wrap the screen around the wick before reinserting into the lower can, but then... how does one easily refuel using a short funnel?
Search: 1702 heater homemade heater on RUclips. He breaks it down. ruclips.net/video/JGVZVCU8FGE/видео.htmlsi=qje7fcMNGdlefFUW
This guy may be a genius when it comes to engineering but he's a moron when it comes to making instructional videos. He skipped the most important part: the final assembly.
@@coinsmithThis guy's an idiot. Like most people on yt.
Thanks for the video love the info, instead of using (an awesome cooking pot) Dutch oven you could get a small propane tank (scrap yard is a good place) cut out most of the center and there you go👍
Good idea. I would never sacrifice a cast iron pot. I was thinking a discarded water heater would work for the size he wanted.
Great tip!
can you orovide links to were i can find the items. i am struggling with the stainless steel exhaust panel
@deborahchiocca6528 the one he used was standard galvanized ductwork it was easy to see if you know what your looking at.
Thank you very much. I bought a greenhouse and now having 2nd thoughts my concern is heating the greenhouse after watching your video I’m leaning on keeping it the greenhouse….
Great to hear!
Nice combination of ideas, great build
How neat. This is what they should teach in schools. Teach something practical and THEN analyze the science behind it.
You didn't explain central section of flame tube. Is there a can in the middle open at both end or no can with top can suspended?
At 11:45 you kinda passed the build. Did the mesh go into the carbon felt? Did msg go into the top can, or around? You missed that part.
Agreed with the last comment, please explain how you attached the upper screen mesh\can to the assembly. I assume it is not just resting on top of the carbon felt dual can portion as that would be quite unstable?
The whole thing is unstable. The “lid” is just resting on top of the sheet metal. One accidental bump on that table & his whole greenhouse will be on fire.
Would fire bricks work instead of sand? Or a combination of? Also does it matter as to percentage of rubbing alcohol?
You can do the same thing but with olive oil. It’ll last longer and the oil itself isn’t flammable. Just use some rubbing alcohol to start the flame on the carbon felt
If I use olive oil. Do I have to worry about carbon monoxide?
@@claudiahall5237 it will be in the air but its not as heavy as alcohol burning just have a window in the room just barely cracked open to keep fresh air moving
If you can afford to use olive oil, just use an electric heater. It'll be cheaper.
What about canola oil?
For a larger model, could you use a 55 gallon drum (cut in half, top for lid) and a metal oil bucket in the middle for the wick? This is amazing!!! Thank you for sharing your information with us.
Nice heater. The larger pan/pot for bottom is a good idea. Less chance of being upset and turned over in case a critter found a way into the green house. I wonder is an alternative to alcohol for fuel that would not burn up as quick. Any fuel would probably put off some toxic fumes.
I know this was 9 mo ago but I’m curious if I could implement this with a Chiminea? And does it produce off gassing? Thank you!
I am bookmarking this video to rewatch it. I didn't understand a few things. I wish you would have showed the parts that you didn't show about the third can and how you attached the mesh between the top and bottom. Thanks so much for this video. Do people use this in the house or just greenhouse. I am thinking about the pump house.
Thanks for your video, it gave me a great idea to use part of the internals of a large valve.
Awesome and epic video thank you so much for making it ❤️👍
have you considered adding basalt grit to the sand?
Acetone is a good alternative to rubbing alcohol. What was the temp variance in the greenhouse while it was in use?
I'm curious to know how much carbon will spread in the air while burning acetone (C3 H6 O ) ! Alcool (C2 H5 0H )...😊
And consider that acetone is very toxic for your lungs and skin,and eyes and finally, much more expensive than denatured alcohol...
@@taoisisis6697 Not to mention the possibility of explosion. When hotter than acetone's flash point of −20 °C (−4 °F), air mixtures of 2.5‑12.8% acetone (by volume) may explode or cause a flash fire.
The bonsais are spectacular!
Glad you like them!
How did you connect the tree pieces inside together? And how did you light it? Thanks.
Exactly. I hate when they heart the comment but doesn't answer.
Very very nice.
Just a small adjustment
I would use a lab burner inside the bottem can for better control of the fire as the on/off valve is as far away from the fire as possible and no wick needed.
Oh you have set me creative juices on.
Thankyou
Beautiful bonsai collection!
Thanks for your kind words.
Gran video, no me quedo claro como haces funcionar el ventilador y de que material es para que no se queme, Muchas gracias y Felicitaciones
El ventilador es activado con puro calor. Este video fue la primera vez que supe de este tipo de ventilador.
I'd like to see how hot the sand got. As far as I know, heat goes up, so not much heat will go down to the sand even with the heat conductive steel sheet in it, because most heat in the steel sheet travel upward and dissipates to the colder air. Also, steel is much less heat conductive than aluminum or copper. Copper is the most conductive of the three. I'd also like to see the temperature in the room before and a few hours after the heater lights up, then a few hours after it goes out. I wonder if vegetable shortening can be used instead of alcohol. I know a three-pound one with one flame can burn for months. Can alcohol last as long? Overall, a very informative video. Thank you.
I’m pretty sure this is just working stabilising the entire thing .
This seemed to burn with a very high flame! I don’t see the Crisco candle burning that high. I have tried several homemade heaters on my porch. I really want an old wood stove I can vent and cook on. One can filled with cotton balls and Rubbing Alcohol would burn maybe 5 hours. Not long enough to make it through the night. I have a huge stock pot I would set any heater in to keep it safe. It’s nice to prop my feet on!
Thank you for not trying to be manipulative and laying the premise of the video out fully in the first seconds.
You're welcome
Great setup-but wouldn’t it be much easier to add all the sand BEFORE inserting the pipe. btw Beautiful Bonsai trees👍
I feel like I missed the 3rd can? You did the one you have on the top, the 30oz, then did the smaller one and I thought you were putting the carbon around that and into the first can, but then it was a different 30oz can once you built it? Do any holes go into the 30oz on the bottom?
Yes correct….cheers.
I used a couple of stainless steel hose clamps around my screen so it would hold its round shape.
The design is pretty good. I'm just wondering if you ever measured how hot the sand gets? The sand is well below the flames, and I'm just not sure that the heat transfer from the stainless outer reflector would be enough to warm the sand to a high temperature.
Thanks this was very helpful.
Right when You came to assembly of your heater It got very confusing how you put it all together. And what is the cylinder inside is all about, and how to connect it to a 3 can ? And bottom two cans?
The additional bottom can holds the felt in place.
u could even get one of those big cast kettles people have in the yard that places cook kettle corn or soup in. i have see a few of them cheap and junked before. my parents and grandparents even had in our yard. that would hold lots of sand and heat. thanks for the idea of a bigger bottom.
Though a bit more than some may consider I'd like to add: (1.) A refill tube ('fill pipe') that would equal in volume the amount of alcohol it'd take to refill the tank once emptied. That tubing of course could be 1/4" schedule 40 black iron pipe that runs along the outside vertically, turns horizontally towards the refill hole and then downwards into the fuel tank. (2.) This of course would require a rigid connection between both the top and bottom platforms & securing the "fill pipe" . Noting that only after the unit was completely cooled down refilling would be both safe and quick (even pre measured if you choose to). (3.) One can also install (& purchase) an inexpensive lighter used on kerosene heaters or simply use those fireplace butane types if you wanted.
For a few years we used kerosene type heaters in our home burning jet fuel that would have otherwise been disposed of. Free fuel meant free heat, but that eventually came to a close. 😊
This sounds a lot like the one that Robert Murray-Smith made a few months back. But explained a little different.
Thanks.Still learning something every day.
Water holds 300% of the heat that sand does, making it a superior thermal mass. Surrounding the heater with pots or jars of water will add to the longevity of the heat once the fuel has been consumed.
Put some potatoes in it and see how much it holds lol
oil is better
Great instructional video and the comments are full of great ideas 🤙🏼☮️
Thanks 👍
If you can retrofit that to use propane, you'll also boost the Co2 content in the greenhouse. Your plants will love you for it!
Nice job we are going to need all this knowledge for the economic downturn. Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
You skipped how do you attach the stainless mess to the bottom can or does it go inside with the wick?
Where did the third can come from? Why is there video parts missing?
Right? Initially thought the can with the holes at the bottom was the outer can lol
The idea of taking that all apart just to refueled it every 3-4 hours is ludicrous !
Awesome invention video though boss 👏 👌 ! Thank you !
No need to do that…..just use a long stem funnel.
@@ZenGardenOasis. ok...THANKS
OMG love the Binsai plants behind. Would love to have a few in my home. They are just lovely. I did like and watch the video.
Thank you so much!
How many cans did u end using ? 3. Two for the fuel source and the 3 holding the Steele mesh o. G
Top?
Correct
Great video and would look for a replacement for the duct because: Zinc fumes are set free when galvanized steel is heated. These fumes are very toxic to breathe.
@lonniedomnitz1720 listen again it's not galvanized. He plainly stated it's STAINLESS
He clearly stated the stainless steel screen. But I’m talking about the HVAC Duct that he used.
@@pauliedi6573 did not hear him say that and the thumbnail opening image in the video looks like an ordinary galvanized steel duct. But if he did say that then I apologize.
I like this design a lot, and really enjoy your videos....It seems to me, that if you put a short bolt in the filler hole, for a plug, you'll stop burning off the alcohol fumes, and should increase your burn time, and efficiency, because the wick will be the sole source of flame...
Thanks for the tip….I’m always wanting to improve it.
I'm pretty confident that that duct is galvanized doesn't look like stainless
💯
@@jxpat its not stainless
25 yrs a tinsmith here...definitely not stainless, galvanised steel.
Are you all Blind ! That is Stainless, Galve does not shine or show reflections like that.
Cans for food are coated with BPA, which realeases toxic gases when heated. Should torch can interiors to burn off coating
How long will it burn on the amount of fuel that you initially put into it before having to refuel?
6 hours. Use ethanol or high percentage alcohol isopropyl
It's just a video to make money
Hace mas de 50 años habia unas estufas que en uruguay era marca POD usaban ese sistema. muy bueno y economicas.
How do you assemble? How do you refuel? How do you ignite? How do you get rid of smoke?
There is no smoke, it's alcohol fuel. All it releases is CO2 and water.
Did you mention how long the flames would last and at what amount of alcohol? You also did this for your plants. Is it safe for indoor use for emergency heat?
How did you put together the inside part?
He showed how to open cans in great detail….but then showed nothing about putting the thing together, not cool
That’s super friggin great with some super awesome creative stuff and did I mention it was super fantastic. It’s just super.
Infrared does not heat the air. It's meant to heat the objects it strikes. Heat up water if you want a longer lasting thermo battery.
Great video. Well done. Lots of great comments.
My input …
Rubbing alcohol contains a lot of water. Consider denatured alcohol (white gas) from the hardware store or something with higher energy like kerosene.
Purer the better…. Cheers
Need to have a. Blue flame more safe just need more air
What size space will that heat? And how long was your burn time? 🔥
Thanks!
That pipe doesn't look like stainless steel at all!
I would clamp the edges before pouring the sand. Great idea
A 21 quart Graniteware stockpot is around $30 at WM. That might work and is certainly large enough for a whole lot of sand.
Could have done without seeing how to open a can of peaches and actually seen how you screwed the inner can down inside the larger can.
You can use a very large cast iron brake drum from a transport truck. They are usually 10 bucks at the salvage yard. These are often used in DIY 'waste oil heaters'.
Sand doesn’t store heat. Thats why the desert gets cold at night. Your alcohol burner releases X amount of btu regardless of how much fancy crap you put around it and believe that you are doing something meaningful. Terrible vid
Sand will store heat and for months if properly insulated.
Research sand batteries. Research how high of a temperature that sand can be heated to. Surprise.....
@@jimtraill141Google it. Sand is terrible as thermal mass. Surprise
@@jimtraill141 Sand can be heated to very extreme temperatures; but it DOES NOT RETAIN HEAT . . . You contradicted your own statement when you said sand retains heat if properly insulated. Almost anything will retain heat if properly insulated! 🤷🏼♂️ Be in the desert after sunset and you will quickly understand how well sand DOES NOT retain heat.
@@jimtraill141 ouch. You just got served bro
@@snakeclaw not really. We both said that it was about insulation. ??
Would a small SS thrash can work?
As stated by icecream ladydriver, I was confused when seeing what seems to be a third can above the stainless steel mesh. Does it need to be so tall? As others stated, it does look somewhat unstable. Your video presented me with something new and inspiring. Thank you
Great point!
Pretty well thought out! Denatured alcohol burn cleaner I think and I would just staple the mesh together
Excellent idea….cheers
Please explain why heating stainless steel gives off infrared. Great video!
Stainless steel *mesh* has a lot of turbulence creating gaps that will make the rising flame hit the mesh a lot more than a smooth surface will. This is the same reason for putting rocks in your fireplace.
So you are using three cans for this build? I thought there was only two (large and small for the heat source). What purpose does the third can serve and what size compared to the other two? Thanks!
Holds the carbon felt in place
That's an excellent idea. I wonder if ethanol fireplace fuel would be okay to use