Dave's "Mother's Waste Oil Heater"

Steve,

Sorry this is so long but there's a lot of important things here that the website does not tell you and I learned the hard way.

Well, first of all, I followed the directions at MOTHER's Waste Oil Heater . It does put out a serious amount of heat, however, I still have an excessive smoke problem I need to fix. From what I've learn, I need more air. Right now there are 2' of snow between me and my garage, so it may be a day or two before I can fix it. I have quite a few people I need to help dig out. I know I said I would send pictures today but they are going to have to wait also.

I pretty much followed the web-site when I built it. Just like every job, it took longer to build then what I thought it would. I am pretty well equipped tools, welder, torches, etc. and it was not that hard to build, just time consuming. The biggest pain in the butt was the two holes on top. The holes are too small in diameter for a Sawzall blade. One of the holes got cut with a good heavy duty saber saw but because the cut was on a curved section, the blade kept binding. The other hole got torched out but the torches leave a rough edge requiring grinding with a die grinder to clean them up. All told, it was not that bad.

Some things you need to know that the web-site does not tell you......If you are going to use waste oil that has been sitting outside in the cold (like me), it will not flow through the 1/4" copper line. It is just too small. I ended up replacing it with 3/8" line. Preheating the oil (in the preheater) is important in order for a good burn. So when I installed the 3/8" line, I first wrapped it around a piece of pipe 5 1/2" in diameter so that the coil was a little bit smaller than the 6" flue pipe that it goes around. This way when I installed it, it was tight against the flue pipe thus heating the oil good. I also wrapped it so that the input or feed side of the coil was at the bottom and the output or drip end was at the top. I figured this was a good way to keep the fuel line filled and the oil good and hot. I also made about 10 - 12 wraps around the flue pipe, not just 3 like the directions say. Again, this is to preheat the oil thoroughly.

Don't used Asbestos in the burner for obvious reasons. I used steam pipe insulation that I got from a boiler maker. It kind of looks like Plaster-of-Paris but not as dense or crumbly. I broke it up with a hammer. Perlite will also work very well. Perlite is the little white balls that is in potting soil. You can get Perlite at a good nursery....plant nursery that is, not baby nursery!! he-he

This next part is very important and the web-site does a lousy job of explaining it. The flue pipe must be good and hot before you light the kerosene in the burner. The "crumpled-up toilet paper" is no where near enough to do the job. Instead I used 3 tuna fish cans half filled with crumbled pipe insulation and soaked with kerosene. Place the three can in the back of the heater and light the kerosene. The three cans make enough heat to get the flue pipe hot enough that you can't touch it. This gets a good draft going up the stack. If you light the burner without a good draft going up the chimney, the smoke from the kerosene in the burner will come billowing out the intake pipe. Been there, done that. It fills the whole place with smoke. After the flue pipe is good and hot, light the kerosene in your burner and quickly close the door. After the burner is good and hot, start the oil drip. Don't open the door once the burner is lit. If you do, smoke will come out the intake pipe because there will be no draft pulling it up the chimney.

There are two pipe connections at the top of the tank from the inlet and outlet water pipes. These will get plugged with pipe plugs. However, leave one just finger tight. It makes a very good peep-hole to see the flame. It beats putting one in the door.

I used a 40 gallon tank for my heater, however, mine is taller and narrower than the 40 gallon tank in the article. The stubby, fat tank like in the article will be easier to build, however, the tall, skinny one works fine once built.

I was concerned about seeing how much oil was dripping from the tube and thought of various was of being able to see it. However, none of these ideas are necessary. After I got the thing burning, I found out that the top frying pan gets so hot, you can hear the oil sizzle and ignite when it hits it. All you have to do is listen for the sizzle to determine how fast it is dripping. At one point, I had a steady stream of oil coming out the tubing. Talking about a lot of heat. If left burning full blast, I have no doubt you could get the tank glowing red.

I'll get pictures to you in a couple days. I'll get pictures of the fuel tank also. I think the tanks set-up is pretty good.

Dave <davesdoallshop@comcast.net>

This burner and others are discussed at Wastewatts, an open discussion forum dealing with the appropriate use of energy and technology to support and sustain modern living, and actively promotes a sustainable technology transfer between the Developed and Developing Worlds. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wastewatts

Home