The instructables site is great at finding solutions to everyday problems. I've found that the best solutions are that those that can be built with items that you already have around the house and don't take all weekend to make. My goal is to make this instructable fit both of those criteria.
With Hurricane Sandy leaving many people without electricity and heat, I figured that I would share this option for generating heat. Hopefully, this can benefit someone impacted by the hurricane, as well as yourself the next time you are stuck without heat.
Keep in mind that this will NOT heat your whole home, not even close. However, you'd be surprised at how it will heat up a closed room and will keep you from getting hypothermia. Essentially it takes the heat from the candle that would normally go straight up and radiates it out once the terra cotta begins to retain the heat.
My garage isn't heated and I used this today to provide heat while I was working on a project.
With Hurricane Sandy leaving many people without electricity and heat, I figured that I would share this option for generating heat. Hopefully, this can benefit someone impacted by the hurricane, as well as yourself the next time you are stuck without heat.
Keep in mind that this will NOT heat your whole home, not even close. However, you'd be surprised at how it will heat up a closed room and will keep you from getting hypothermia. Essentially it takes the heat from the candle that would normally go straight up and radiates it out once the terra cotta begins to retain the heat.
My garage isn't heated and I used this today to provide heat while I was working on a project.
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Signing UpStep 1: Materials
You will need the following:
- 3 different sized clay planting pots
- 1 large bolt (approx. 5")
- 6 washers
- 1 flat bracket
- 1 Candle in a jar (like a Yankee Candle)
- 1 Alarmed looking black cat (optional)
- 3 different sized clay planting pots
- 1 large bolt (approx. 5")
- 6 washers
- 1 flat bracket
- 1 Candle in a jar (like a Yankee Candle)
- 1 Alarmed looking black cat (optional)
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A good safe place for this would be sitting in the empty bath tub- nothing there to burn.
In the 1930's a poor man's hot plate was a 100W bulb under a large tin can, bottom up.
The point behind multiple pots is that you have more to radiate heat from, sort of like a radiator. By having multiples surfaces it will stay warmer longer.
Steel has the ability to approach the temperature of its heat source, so the Steel Inner Core is driven to Very High Temperatures (500-550 deg. Fahrenheit) by the burning candle flame (550-600 deg. F.) and becomes a very hot Internal Thermal Mass.
The intense heat of the Steel Inner Core is transferred into the Three Ceramic Modulators, one into the other. The High Inner Temperatures are gradually reduced by the Increasingly Thicker Walls and Larger Surface Area of the modulators. The outer surface of the radiator becomes a Dry Heat Radiating Body with surface temperatures of 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit and a surface area of Over 88 Square Inches.
Also wondering if cork washers would help ease the stress when tightening the nut, or if that would interfere with heat transfer.
A great design that I'm going to be playing with. If I was in the wake of Sandy (or anywhere cold) I'd appreciate having this!
Thank you, Jeremym27!
I need to borrow a cooking thermometer to measure it. I will and will post it once I do.