I hear
a lot of waste oils have a high content of water in them. Will this
affect the performance of the heater?
The heater plans include a design which acts as a water separator
within the fuel tank. Small amounts of emulsified or dissolved water
being feed to the burner will not affect its operation. The heater
unit is very tolerant of dirty or wet fuel.
How big
of a building will this unit heat?
The amount of input energy required to heat any building is widely
dependant on ambient outdoor temperatures and efficiency of the
buildings insulation. To get an idea of this heaters capacity, the
average free-standing wood stove produces about 65,000 btu’s of
heat.
How hot
does the outside of the heater get?
Exhaust temperatures of the unit vary upon the fuel settings but are
normally between 400 and 650 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike a wood
stove, the outside of the heater unit has no exposed hot surfaces to
burn your hand on. All heating surfaces are contained within the
unit.
Are
there any special parts on this that will be either hard to find or
expensive? No. Most of the parts are common hardware items that
can be salvaged from appliances or purchased from a local hardware
store. The unit requires an exhaust stack rated for wood-stove use
and a pump for which there are many options.
Are
there any filters to change and how often do I need to change them?
The heater does not require the fuel to be filtered. However, an
intake screen on the fuel suction is recommended to keep any sticks,
twigs or dead bugs out of the pump.
Can
this heater be hooked up to a thermostat?
Yes. With the installation of proper oil furnace heating controls,
you could easily hook this up to a thermostat.
If I
have problems or questions while I am building this thing, is there
any support available?
Yes, Just email me and I’m sure I can help you.
Can the
unit be left unattended?
Without knowing your exact installation, I can not make a
recommendation on this subject. However, while I would personally
never leave a wood stove unattended for more than a few minutes at a
time, I leave my shop heater run all by itself for hours. During
normal operation of this heater, you can not see the flame inside.
It is completely enclosed inside a combustion chamber made from a
pressure tank.
How
long will the unit run on a single tank of fuel?
That would very depending on what size of fuel tank you decide to
use and how cold it is outside. My 50 gallon tank usually lasts
about 4 days in 10 degree temperatures but my shop is so poorly
insulated you can feel the cold air blowing right through it. Some
of the photos included in the plans show the pitiful lack of
insulation in my building.
Can
this unit be adapted to heat water?
The part of the heater that actually produces the flame could be
easily adapted to heat water but these plans show how to use it for
heating air only. It may be possible to connect it to a heat
exchanger designed to heat water, but we have not experiemented with
this.
Do I
need a vertical Bridgeport type mill or a lathe or any other type of
special machine like that?
Only basic tools are required to build this heater. You will need a
Mig or Tig welder and you need to be able to cut squares and circles
from steel. You will want an angle grinder and cut-off wheels. A
torch or plasma cutter would be real nice too but are not required.
How
much will it really cost to build this thing?
My workshop is on a farm and we have all kinds of junk laying
around. I spent about $100 for various things like the 55-gallon
drum, old propane tank, and some pipe fittings. I found the big fan
on top in a forced air furnace and already had the fuel tank. How
much you spend will greatly depend on how much you already have or
can find free. This unit was designed with parts from common
appliances I find thrown out on a regular basis.