Stay Warm with the Heiny Heater!

Here's another use for your empty mini-keg. Recycle it into a patio heater you can use for camping, tailgating, etc. I've seen lamps and wastebaskets made from mini-kegs. I used this little stove at a tailgate party to stay warm and cook hot dogs. It worked great!

Step 1: Materials

Materials List:

Heineken Keg 5 cent deposit
48 oz juice can recycle
Large soup can recycle
Pizza Pan $1.00 at the Dollar store
Ducting $1.00 at the Habitat for Humanity Re-use store
Rivets, screws on hand

The juice can needs to have the top on it, can opener holes ok.

Comments

[middlenamefrank]

Does it need such a long chimney? I'd have thought it would work fine with just the juice can, or maybe not even that. And I'd think the shorter the chimney, the better the fire could breathe. Of course I suppose the long chimney is pretty effective at keeping the smoke out of your eyes. Also, I wonder if the joints could be soldered after they're crimped. Soldering joints like these is very easy with a propane torch and some plumbing solder. Of course the heat of the fire may cause some of the solder to reflow during operation but I wonder how much of a problem that would really be. Great instructable overall though, and I love wood as a fuel whenever it can be used. It's generally the cheapest source of energy and always much more environmentally friendly than petrochemicals.

[Cheeseduck]

Air goes in the front, and takes the smoke out the top. As the smoke goes through the chimney, the heat is transferred from the smoke to the chimney, and is then radiated out to your patio.

So the long chimney has two purposes: take the smoke away, and stop the smoke from taking its heat with it.

[chippy]

chimneys suck
that is the point, to get air blasted into the combustion chamber so it gets really hot.

[plumber4]

why create extra steps that are not needed. there would be no reson to solder the joints. i think that you're right, the joints would come undone with heat. solder melts at a very low temp. simple is the point here.

[rosemore]

My maple syrup evaporator calls for 2x the length of stove pipe as the length of the evaporator for the purpose of a better draft and efficient burning of the wood.

[ctz]

this is a great project, built one and put it on my patio. :)

[the tech head]

i love A-Team

[Lorddrake]

how much for the boat? :D

[Biggsy]

I love this, great job :)

[jvangurp]

What a great project! I love this resourceful, easy and fun little stove. Thanks for the idea!

[kemper]

my mother's first impression was that it was a bong! haha

[pmartinez]

This is a great instructable, thanks for the details. One question, do you think a fluke can be placed between the can and the exhaust pipe to control the air flow? Would that allow a longer burn?
Just a question, I'm planning to build on.

Thank you

[mattbomb]

 thats freaking awesome man. I LOVE IT!! i make mini wood stoves to(but not as small as this one) but great idea. have you used it 

[blodefood]

I'm just a little puzzled as to how you cook things on this.  I can see roasting or toasting things on a stick, but how would you put a pan to cook eggs or pancakes on it?

[Artekus]

Nomadic Mongolians use something similar to burn dung patties in the winter to heat up their yurts, but the chimneys they use don't go straight up but bend so as to improve fuel efficiency. Dya reckon one could incorporate a length of flexible air-con duct in a coil as an improved chimney?

[Coon]

Thanx for the ideas! I have a few of those mini kegs and wondered what was a good way to re purpose them. I've also been a little skittish about popping one open. I would have liked to see more detail on how you opened the top.

[schneb]

Great overall--love the scrounged/found materials and simple techniques, and good job using the blue tarp for the pictures--made things easier to see. One thing though--maybe it's something with my computer, but when I click on the 2nd or 3rd photos with each step, they didn't open in the larger window. Maybe it's some glitch with the Instructables site, too. (and I'm using Safari--always bound to cause trouble). Another thought: keeping it simple is good, but it could be fun to make a little door (out of the cut out piece of the keg?). I've got kids who otherwise might get too curious with the open hole thing. If you did that, I'm guessing you'd have to cut some vent holes in the keg to allow air in when the door is closed. So... Question#1: where to cut those vents for optimal air flow? Could you use pin-holes in a decorative design for those vents so when/if using the stove at night, the light would shine out and make the design visible? Question #2: how to put out the fire if it's time to go? Could always pour water in, or something but that's messy. Is there a way to design something in--that's not too complicated--like the three-hole vents on a Weber grill, so you could close 'em and the fire would die down? Then again, simplicity is the beauty of this thing--it's great as is and too many 'extras' would eventually make it a different kind of project.

[conrad2468]

lol just download firefox!

[A good name]

Could I logically just cut a hole in the side of a coffee can, throw pancake mix on it, and make dinner? (Well, after starting the fire of course)

[merseyless]

yes but there wouldn't be any chimny effect. and go pancakes! (bringing circular fun since before jesus!) for a chimny effect i suggest that you cut small holes (the size of a penny (how big is a penny? (australian))) or the size of your thumb in the bottem and top sides of the coffee can, get a small fire started and put can over using the pre-made big hole and you get the chimney effect. (the hot gas has to rise up to escape)

[conrad2468]

a penny is the size of your brain! ha ha ha ha ha im just kidding man...i was dying to use that....a penny is about as round as your middle finger/thumb depending on weather you have sausage fingers or not...

[merseyless]

yum, sausage fingers!

[sharlston]

lol u act like homer simpson just like your avatar

[conrad2468]

possibly......gotta love homer....

[sharlston]

he he he

[sspen]

Great instructable. Have you seen the Jotul DF 370 GV gas stove? Great minds think alike. How much wood can you get in the stove? How about using a regular beer keg?

[middlenamefrank]

Oh another thought...stove paint. It's a bit of a specialty item and not super cheap, but I bet it would make your stove last a LOT longer. I doubt those unprotected tin cans are going to survive very long outside before they rust through; a coat of paint should be very helpful with that. That stove paint cures up pretty hard when you heat it up the first time. Engine paint might work too.

[cementbrains]

Great project Is that an elegant punt in your yard also?

[illdoyourdrugs]

Congrats on the win. This is awesome, easy and smart. And to think all those wasted hiney kegs! Shame. Possibly you could come up with more mini keg 'ibles! im sure we'd all like that. Peace.

[balmuge]

This is an awesome project. Great work. Ill be making one soon!

[technodude92]

At first glance, I thought this was an instructable about a butt warmer. further investigation proved otherwise. Great 'ible. Oh and how much for the boat?

[awang8]

Wouldn't it make more sense if you sanded off the paint before firing it up? That black can kinda looks really disgusting.

[neffk]

looks tippy

[jambhack]

Several pounds of sand in the pedestal makes it fairly stable.

[codwithchips]

hi will it burn charcoal this is super duper

[mackamitsu]

it should but, be careful about how much ventilation the charcoal gets, as too much forced air can make it burn too hot for the can.

[IX Smith XI]

this will be grate for camp-out in the snow

[beff50]

that is cool, and very cheap. but what can you use for fuel? just regular timber and kindling?

[fun bun]

(removed by author or community request)

[gubbeper]

What a totally useless comment! Cool project! :)