If from time to time you are faced with the need to quickly heat a small room, such as a workshop, garage or warehouse, then you can use a potbelly stove. It has a compact size, and you can make it yourself. A metal product is taken as the basis, which is not difficult to find in your own barn. For example, you can use a thick-walled barrel or can.
Such equipment today is 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 equip the chimney wisely, which should turn out to be completely airtight. Some parts of the oven may not be used. This will simplify the work and reduce labor intensity. But it is desirable to increase the bottom area. This will increase heat dissipation and make the oven more efficient to use.
As practice shows, very thick metal is too difficult to warm up. This contributes to the reductionefficiency factor. At the same time, most of the heat is not used for heating at all. If the metal is too thin, then under the influence of an aggressive environment it will deform and soon lose its original shape. One of the best options would be a potbelly stove, the walls of which are made of metal 3 mm thick.
Making a reflector stove
Do-it-yourself potbelly 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 angles.
- Metal tube.
- Welding machine.
- Pipe.
- Hand and power tools.
The amount of sheet metal will depend on the dimensions of the oven. As for steel corners, their thickness can vary from 4 to 5 mm. Metal pipe. When preparing it for a chimney, you should prefer one with a diameter of 180 mm. Do-it-yourself potbelly stove is made in the form of a rectangle, which is welded from steel sheets. The connection is carried out end-to-end. Blanks are cut in the amount of 5 pieces. They will be:
- Back and front walls.
- Top.
- Bottom.
On the front panel there will be a hole for the furnace and blower. At the first stage, the side surfaces must be welded to the bottom. They must be strictly vertical. To check, you need to use a level or square. Dockingcarried out at right angles. First, the elements are tacked in several places. As soon as you make sure that their location is correct, it is necessary to weld the seams. Then the back wall is installed.
When making a wood-burning potbelly stove for giving with your own hands, you must divide the interior space into 3 parts:
- Ash pan.
- Firebox.
- Smoke circulation.
The firebox and the ashpit are separated by a grate, where solid fuel in the form of firewood or peat will be placed. The grille is made as follows: corners are welded on the sides with a deviation of 15 cm for the entire length. For thick sheet steel grille, 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.
You need to leave the grille removable for several more reasons. At the next stage, a pair of metal rods are welded on top, where the reflector will be located. It is a steel sheet that separates the firebox and smoke circuit. The reflector must be removable. It is positioned in such a way that a channel is formed in frontto exit the smoke. It will warm up inside the most, so it is made of thick metal.
Now you can start the final work. At this stage, the lid of the potbelly stove is welded. A hole for the chimney pipe is provided in advance. The upper jumper is cut and welded. At the level of the grate there will be another jumper, narrower. It is cut and welded in the next step. This item will define the grate and ash pan doors.
Homemade potbelly stove has doors, over the size of which you do not need to think 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 is to install the handle, latch and curtain. The latter are recommended to be made independently from a thick bar and a metal tube.
All elements are gathered together. After that, you can install the structure on the legs. They are made from steel tubing. 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 screwed bolt 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.
Making a chimney
The chimney for a potbelly stove is made of a pipe, the diameter of which varies from 15 to 18 cm. The element is brought out through a hole in the wall. Curves must haveangle 45 ˚С. 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 it, a circle cuts out of steel, the diameter of which is somewhat smaller than the same pipe parameter.
Drill a hole under the handle for rotation. It is made from a metal rod. The chimney for a potbelly stove is located on a sleeve, the height of which reaches 20 cm. It is made from a pipe whose diameter is somewhat smaller than the chimney. Welding is carried out to the top cover through the hole. Now the potbelly stove can be installed in place and adjust the height. Immediately after this equipment can be used for space heating.
Making an oil can stove
Do-it-yourself potbelly 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 attaching 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.
Work methodology
Do-it-yourself metal potbelly stove from a can is a simple and rational equipment for heating small rooms. At the first stage, the body must be installed horizontally and the location of the blower should be marked. It must be rectangular. The element is located under the cover. It is necessary to cut a hole in the bottom or wall, the diameter of which will be the corresponding parameter of the chimney pipe.
For the grate you will need steel wire. It should be bent, and then passed through the lid inward and bent so that the zigzag is convenient for use in the furnace process. The can is fixed on the legs, which are cut out of the corners or tubes. The elements are welded to the body. Next, you can install a chimney. A reflector is fixed on the outside of the tank, due to which heat will escape in a smaller volume. Handles are welded on the sides, this will allow you to transfer the structure to any place.
Operation of the combustion chamber
If you want to make a potbelly stove with your own hands, you should consider in more detail each of its knots. As for the combustion chamber, it is important to provide a more impressive area of \u200b\u200bthe outer surfaces. This will provide better heat dissipation. It is important to make the bottom area of the chamber as large as possible. This will make it possible to have more fuel inside. That is why cylindrical products are more often mounted horizontally. In the manufacture of the furnace, you must be guided by the minimum bottom, which is 350 x 250 mm.
Ash pan and grate
A potbelly stove does not always make an ash pan. If it is not installed, it will be possible to remove the ash from the fuel chamber. Drill holes in the door for air supply. The layout with the blower turns outmore functional, because nothing else interferes with heat generation. The required amount of oxygen can be introduced through the bottom door. You will regulate the intensity of burning 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 chamber and the ash pan. The grate can be factory. In this case, it is made of cast iron. You can use armature. The corner with its outer edge facing the fuel chamber works well in this place.
Doors and openings for the ash pan 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 out flaps will repeat the bend of the cylinder.
The connection is made by welding using steel canopies. Locking devices are mandatory. It is necessary to use guillotine valves or deadbolts. 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 is about the firebox. If we are talking about a blower, then the height and width of the opening will be 100 and 250 mm, respectively. Canopies are usually installed along a vertical axis. A distance of 10 cm is left between the openings.elements can be used frames from the corner. Doors are good with a vestibule. This ensures tight closure and no leaks.
Smoke extraction
When a potbelly stove is made from a gas cylinder, the chimney for it has a diameter of up to 150 mm. The basis is steel, and thermal insulation is not carried out. The branch pipe is located on top of the furnace or on the side. The latter option is more 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 led along the shortest line. Plots should be sloped or horizontal, which increases the amount of heat extracted.
An effective potbelly stove with your own hands can be made 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 smoke removal and helps to block the pipe for the period until heat is produced. The valve in the design must be mandatory. This is true if you decide to increase the heat capacity of the furnace.
How to increase 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 reduces the wear of the body metal and helps to maintain the working volume of the furnace.
Another way is to lay bricks on the walls. The third way is to open the box from aboveon the stove A wild stone or brick is laid there. The stove is designed in this way even when there is a grid on the sides to fix the stones.
Additional recommendations for making a potbelly stove in oil
For such an oven you will need:
- Bulgarian.
- Carry.
- Welding machine.
- Rivets.
- Chisel.
- Hammer.
- Roulette.
- Punch.
- sledgehammer.
- Pliers.
- Goggles.
- Chalk
The diameter of the grinding wheel should be 125mm. Perforator drill diameter - 13 mm.
Work instructions
It is advisable to prepare the drawings of the potbelly stove in advance. With your own hands in this case, it will be much easier to cope with the task. The oil consumption for the furnace during mining is 0.5 liters per hour minimum. 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 one. There should be no gap.
The next step is to install the chimney. It is placed at an angle and led around the room. The removal is carried out vertically at a height of 4 m. The lower part is welded to the upper. It is imperative to check the tightness of the seams to exclude oil smudges. The cover is fixed to the body with rivets. It should turn freely. To make the structure more stable, a corner should be welded. The top platform is the hottest spot. It can heat water andCook. If you put the blower 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, you can use metal 3 mm thick. Additionally, it is covered with homemade paint, for which you should mix 200 ml of liquid glass, 8 g of sulfur and 80 g of aluminum powder.
In closing
A potbelly stove from a gas cylinder is the easiest way to make a stove. You will need to cut holes, and then install doors on the canopies. If the dimensions of the cylinder do not suit you or it was not at hand, then you can use sheets of good steel, the thickness of which should not be too impressive or insufficient.
