If from time to time you are faced with the need to quickly heat a small room, for example, a workshop, garage or warehouse, then you can use a stove. It has compact dimensions, and you can make it yourself. As a basis, a metal product is taken, which is not difficult to find in your own barn. For example, you can use a thick-walled barrel or can.
Such equipment is often quite often installed in country houses, where you have to visit in late autumn to harvest. For the correct operation of the device, you need to smartly equip the chimney, which should turn out to be completely tight. Some parts of the furnace may not be used. This will simplify the work and reduce the complexity. But the bottom area is desirable to increase. This will increase the heat transfer and make the furnace more efficient to use.
As practice shows, a very thick metal is too difficult to warm up. This helps to reduce the efficiency. However, most of the heat does not go to heating. If the metal is too thin, then under the influence of an aggressive environment, it is deformed and will soon lose its original shape. One of the best options will be a potbelly stove, the walls of which are made of metal 3 mm thick.
Making a furnace with a reflector
A do-it-yourself stove can be made by forming a rectangular case with a reflector. The design will be multifunctional. To carry out the work you will need:
- Sheet metal.
- Steel corners.
- Metal tube.
- Welding machine.
- Trumpet.
- Hand and electric tool.
The amount of sheet metal will depend on the size of the furnace. As for steel corners, their thickness can vary from 4 to 5 mm. Metal pipe. When preparing it for the chimney, you should prefer one with a diameter of 180 mm. A do-it-yourself stove is made in the form of a rectangle, which is welded from steel sheets. The connection is end-to-end. Workpieces are cut in the amount of 5 pieces. They will make up:
- Back and front walls.
- Top.
- Bottom.
The front panel will have a hole for the furnace and blower. At the first stage, the side surfaces must be welded to the bottom. They should be placed strictly upright. To check, you need to use the level or square. Docking is carried out at a right angle. At first, elements are caught in several places. As soon as you are convinced of the correctness of their location, it is necessary to boil the seams. Then the back wall is installed.
When making a potbelly stove on wood for a summer residence, you should divide the internal space into 3 parts:
- Ashpit.
- Firebox.
- Smoke discharge.
The furnace and ash pan are separated by a grate, where solid fuel in the form of firewood or peat will be laid. The grill is made as follows: corners are welded on the sides with a deviation of 15 cm for the entire length. For thick sheet steel gratings, 25 mm strips are cut. Their length should correspond to the width of the structure. A distance of 5 cm is set between the plates.
The strips are welded to metal rods, their diameter should be 20 mm. Welding should be as reliable as possible, because the element will perform the function of stiffeners. A homemade potbelly stove should not have a grill that is welded to the inner corners so that it can be easily removed if necessary. After some time, the plates may burn out. In this case, you can easily replace them.
There are several more reasons to leave the removable grill. In the next step, a pair of metal rods is welded on top where the reflector will be located. It is a steel sheet separating the furnace and smoke. The reflector must be removable. It is positioned so that a smoke exit channel is formed in front. It will be warmed up inside most of all, therefore it is made of thick metal.
Now you can begin the final work. At this stage, the lid of the potbelly stove is welded. A chimney hole is provided in advance. The upper jumper is cut and welded. At the grate level there will be another jumper, narrower. It is cut out and welded in the next step. This element will determine the doors of the grate and ash pan.
The home-made potbelly stove has doors, the dimensions of which do not need to be considered for a long time. Through them, it should be convenient for you to lay firewood and remove ashes. The door is made almost the entire width of the stove body, so that it is easy to remove the grate and reflector from it. The next step will be the installation of handles, latches and curtains. The latter is recommended to be done independently from a thick bar and a metal tube.
All elements are brought together. After that, you can install the design on the legs. They are made of steel tube with a diameter. The length of the legs should be in the range of 8 to 10 cm. A nut is welded to the end of each element and a screw is installed. This will allow you to adjust the height. Such a step may seem strange to many masters, but during the installation process everything will become clear to you.
Chimney Making
The chimney for a potbelly stove is made of a pipe whose diameter varies from 15 to 18 cm. The element is discharged out through an opening in the wall. Bends should have an angle of 45 ° C. Horizontal sections in some designs are allowed. They are necessary if the potbelly stove is planned to be placed far from the wall / window. A rotating damper must be provided at the lower end of the pipe. For her, a circle crashes out of steel, the diameter of which is slightly less than the same pipe parameter.
A hole is drilled under the handle for rotation. It is made of a metal bar. The chimney for the stove is located on the sleeve, the height of which reaches 20 cm. It is made of a pipe whose diameter is slightly smaller than the chimney. Welding is done to the top cover through the hole. Now the potbelly stove can be replaced and the height adjusted. Immediately after this equipment can be used to heat the room.
Making an oil can stove
A do-it-yourself stove in oil can be made from a can. This technology is one of the simplest. In operation, the device will be very effective. Installation work consists in fastening the legs to the body and arranging the chimney. For work, you will need not only a can, but also wire, as well as working tools. The wire will be used for the grate. As for the pipe, it will form the basis of the chimney.
Methodology of work
A metal potbelly stove with a do-it-yourself metal can is a simple and rational equipment for heating small rooms. At the first stage, the housing must be installed horizontally and mark the location of the blower. It should have a rectangular shape. The item is located under the cover. In the bottom or wall, it is necessary to cut a hole, the diameter of which will be the corresponding parameter of the pipe for the chimney.
For the grate, you will need steel wire. It should be bent, and then through the cover, pass inwards and bent so that the zigzag is convenient for use in the furnace process. The can is fixed on the legs, which are cut from the corners or tubes. Elements are welded to the body. Next, you can install the chimney. On the outside of the tank, a reflector is fixed, due to which heat will evaporate in a smaller volume. Handles are welded on the sides, this will allow the structure to be transferred to any place.
Operation of the combustion chamber
If you want to make a potbelly stove with your own hands, you should consider each of its knots in more detail. As for the combustion chamber, it is important to provide a more impressive surface area. This will provide better heat dissipation. It is important to make the bottom area of the camera as large as possible. This will make it possible to have more fuel inside. That is why cylindrical products are often mounted horizontally. In the manufacture of the oven, you must be guided by the minimum bottom, which is 350 x 250 mm.
Ash pan and grate
An ash pan at a potbelly stove is not always done. If it is not installed, ash can be removed from the fuel chamber. To supply air to the door, drill holes. The arrangement with the blower is more functional, because the generation of heat does not interfere with anything else. The required amount of oxygen can be brought in through the bottom door. You will adjust the intensity of combustion yourself.
Before you start making a potbelly stove with your own hands, you should think about whether there will be a grate in the design. If you plan to use it, then inside the case it will separate the camera and the ash pan. The grate can be factory. In this case, it is made of cast iron. You can use fittings. A corner works perfectly in this place, which faces the fuel chamber with its outer edge.
Doors and openings for ashpit and chamber
If you want to make a potbelly stove with your own hands, you should think about doors and openings. The former are most often made of metal, which remains after cutting openings. For furnaces from cylinders, this approach is most relevant, because the cut flaps will repeat the bending of the cylinder.
The connection is carried out by welding using steel awnings. Locking devices are installed without fail. It is necessary to use guillotine latches or bolts. Before you start designing a potbelly stove with your own hands, you should think about what openings it will have. Traditional dimensions are 250 x 250 mm. This applies to the furnace. If we are talking about blowing, then the height and width of the opening will be 100 and 250 mm, respectively. Awnings are usually installed along the vertical axis. A distance of 10 cm is left between the openings. Transition elements can use frames from the corner. Doors are good for having a vestibule. This provides a tight closure and no suction.
Smoke exhaust
When a potbelly stove is made from a gas cylinder, the chimney for it has a diameter of up to 150 mm. Steel is the cornerstone, and thermal insulation is not carried out. The pipe is located on top of the furnace or on the side. The latter option is preferable, because with it the movement of gases slows down, and there is room for the brewing unit. The pipe in the room is not on the shortest line. Plots should be inclined or horizontal, which increases the amount of heat extracted.
You can make an effective do-it-yourself stove by adding a valve to the chimney. It can be rotary or rotating along the guides. This element allows you to adjust the intensity of the smoke and helps to block the pipe for the period until heat is produced. A valve in the design must be required. This is true if you decide to increase the heat capacity of the furnace.
How to increase the heat capacity
If you decide how to make a potbelly stove yourself, you should know what should be done to increase the heat capacity. One of the options is lining with refractory plates. They are laid out inside the fuel chamber. This allows you to reduce the wear of the metal of the body and helps to maintain the working volume of the furnace.
Another way is to lay the brick on the walls. The third way is to make an open box on top of a potbelly stove. Wild stone or brick is laid there. The furnace is designed in exactly the same way when there is a grid on the sides for fixing stones.
Additional recommendations for the manufacture of oil stoves in oil
For such a furnace you will need:
- Bulgarian.
- Carrying.
- Welding machine.
- Rivets.
- Chisel.
- Hammer.
- Roulette.
- Hammer drill.
- Sledgehammer.
- Pliers.
- Protective glasses.
- A piece of chalk.
The diameter of the grinding wheel should be 125 mm. The diameter of the drill puncher is 13 mm.
Instructions for the work
It is advisable to prepare drawings of a potbelly stove in advance. With your own hands in this case, to cope with the task will be much easier. The oil consumption for the furnace at working out is at least 0.5 liters per hour. The weight of such a device is about 27 kg. The overall dimensions of the body without a chimney are 70 x 50 x 35 cm. The upper part of the cylinder must be put on the lower. There should not be a gap.
In the next step, a chimney is installed. It is tilted and led around the room. Excretion is carried out vertically at a height of 4 m. The lower part is welded to the upper. It is necessary to check the tightness of the seams to prevent smudges of oil. Using rivets, the cover is fixed to the body. She must be free to turn. To make the design more stable, you should weld a corner. The upper platform is the hottest place. It can be used to heat water and cook food. If you put blowing in the form of a fan, then the efficiency will increase. During operation, the upper platform is red-hot. This contributes to the burnout of the material after a year.
To make the potbelly stove last longer, 3 mm thick metal can be used. In addition, it is covered with homemade paint, for which 200 ml of water glass, 8 g of sulfur and 80 g of aluminum powder should be mixed.
Finally
A gas cylinder potbelly stove is the easiest way to make a furnace. You will need to cut holes, and then install doors on the awnings. If the size of the container does not suit you or it was not at hand, you can use sheets of good steel, the thickness of which should not be too impressive or insufficient.