- Joined
- Sep 24, 2010
- Messages
- 3,096
My shop is located away from my house and thus I am away from the heater too. A few years back I was talking to an "Old Timer" who asked me why I didn't use some of the scrap I was producing to build a small pot belly heater. So I followed his simple instructions and have a great little no fuss shop heater. I live in Florida so it doesn't get too cold, but it sure knocks the chill off pretty good.
I obtained two discarded big truck (semi) front drums that were pretty deep and had large center openings and proceeded to get going. First I found a piece of expanded metal that I could tack inside the lower drum after closing the large hole with a piece of 14 Ga plate. This serves the purpose of keeping the coals off the bottom of the drum and allows air to circulate and burn the fuel completely. Next I inverted the second drum on top of the bottom drum and tacked it all together with 1- 1 1/2 inch tacks and began fabbing a plate that would accomodate a 3 inch flue pipe and a small door to feed the heater. Again my scrap pile yeilded a piece of 14 Ga tha was perfect for the task. I tacked the 3 inch adapter to the plate and cut it in 1/2 to accomodate the door. I scrounged up a couple of small hinges and tacked them into place and Voila', A pot belly heater!! I feed it pellets, pallets and any wood I find laying around in the yard and it keeps the shop shirt sleeve warm in the coldest weather Florida gets. Unfortunately I forgot to take pics of it, but trust me it works great.
I used a Miller Matic 210 MIG to perform all of the welds with 75/25 gas (AIrgas StarGAS) and solid .035 ER70-S6 wire. The machine was set on the highest voltage and about mid way on wire speed. All surfaces that were welded recieved a quick lick with a 4 1/2 inch grinder with a course stone. I did have to wash the drums with solvent prior to use because a front seal had leaked and one was oil soaked. I used diesel fuel to clean them up and disposed of the fuel in the heater later to start it going. It generates enough heat to keep a 20X20 area shirt sleeve warm and doesn't require too much attention. When it is full of ash, I disconect the flue and roll it out to the trash and dump it out. Kind of a PITA, but if I build a second one, I will add an ash drawer to make that easier.
So what are you using to heat your shop with this winter?
Bob
I obtained two discarded big truck (semi) front drums that were pretty deep and had large center openings and proceeded to get going. First I found a piece of expanded metal that I could tack inside the lower drum after closing the large hole with a piece of 14 Ga plate. This serves the purpose of keeping the coals off the bottom of the drum and allows air to circulate and burn the fuel completely. Next I inverted the second drum on top of the bottom drum and tacked it all together with 1- 1 1/2 inch tacks and began fabbing a plate that would accomodate a 3 inch flue pipe and a small door to feed the heater. Again my scrap pile yeilded a piece of 14 Ga tha was perfect for the task. I tacked the 3 inch adapter to the plate and cut it in 1/2 to accomodate the door. I scrounged up a couple of small hinges and tacked them into place and Voila', A pot belly heater!! I feed it pellets, pallets and any wood I find laying around in the yard and it keeps the shop shirt sleeve warm in the coldest weather Florida gets. Unfortunately I forgot to take pics of it, but trust me it works great.
I used a Miller Matic 210 MIG to perform all of the welds with 75/25 gas (AIrgas StarGAS) and solid .035 ER70-S6 wire. The machine was set on the highest voltage and about mid way on wire speed. All surfaces that were welded recieved a quick lick with a 4 1/2 inch grinder with a course stone. I did have to wash the drums with solvent prior to use because a front seal had leaked and one was oil soaked. I used diesel fuel to clean them up and disposed of the fuel in the heater later to start it going. It generates enough heat to keep a 20X20 area shirt sleeve warm and doesn't require too much attention. When it is full of ash, I disconect the flue and roll it out to the trash and dump it out. Kind of a PITA, but if I build a second one, I will add an ash drawer to make that easier.
So what are you using to heat your shop with this winter?
Bob
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