Waste Oil Heater....who has built one?

[davedj1]

I can't seem to find the thread over at weldingweb.com but there was a guy over there that built a cool one. He did a ton of experimenting and refining to get it to work as he wanted it.
Maybe someone here would know?
I think he started with brake drums.
good luck.

 

[jobguy]

I built one from plans in Mother-Earth News about 30 or so years ago. I never could get it to work. Ended up installing a groundwater heat-pump which I still use today. I have heard there are some commercial units of used oil burners that work but I don't have any contacts for you.
My heat pump was expensive but it is very efficient and costs little to heat my 2,000 Square foot home.
Good Luck

 

[LetsRoll]

The drip method is very primitive and is not very user friendly in my opinion. I tried it and found it to be almost useless for what I was after. Burning waste oil for heating a structure needs to be, clean, efficient and adjustable. Clean meaning getting the waste oil to burn completely. Efficiently, meaning getting the max BTU's from the oil while it burns clean. And adjustable, meaning you need to be able to control the amount of heat you are getting from the waste oil.

As for my build, I could not get any of these factors to subdue to my needs. Bottom line, it would not burn clean, I could not control the burn nor the heat output and plain and simple, it was not efficient.

I choose to use the force air induction route just for the reason mentioned above. For some reason that I'm kicked off the grid, I have that covered as well. I have a grate welded together and all I have to do is install it cause I have angle iron still welded in my stove. Then remove the burner and the blower motor. Put a cap on the force air tube and throw some firewood in and turn the oil on. Bingo, I still will have heat. And I can control the heat cause I have air vents in the front of my stove and I have a flu damper installed in the flu pipe. Now that is having your cake and eating it too....:thumbsup:

Don't get me wrong, the drip method can burn clean and it will produce allot of heat. BUT, how do you control the amount of heat from one of these stoves. If you adjust the amount of oil going into the stove. The heat temp will drop and your back to square one. I found out that i had to adjust the oil allot to keep the temps up so that the stove will stay lit and producing heat. Way too much trouble for me.

With my stove, I can control the oil flow and the amount of heat this stove puts off. I can burn oil from 2 quarts of oil per hour to 2 gallons of oil per hours completely clean. When my stove is burning two gallons of oil per hour clean, its throwing some mad heat.

As for any updates, I don't have any cause my stove does what I want it to do. :thumbsup:

 

[MotorSeven]

Thanks LR, your thread was impressive and the forced air system you built is awesome. I am re-thinking my position and your right....no grid and it will be wood heat. No grid means no waste oil. I have a wood stove for the shop and one for the house, so I might abandon the waste oil idea and focus on wood or build your duel fuel model.
I'm not an alarmist, but I just have a sinking feeling the grids lifespan is limited, so I am trying to be prepared. Assuming there is no grid, no gasoline/diesel, there is a lot to think about........