Waste Oil Heater Forum - Your definitive source for burning waste oil for heat.
Waste Oil Heater => User Projects & Pictures => Topic started by: Bustedknuckle on April 21, 2013, 04:36:04 am
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Ok, re typing for 2nd time, hoping for no problems this time,
I'm a newby to the site but have done a lot of research and experiments of my own, just getting to the stage now where I have 1 or 2 things not quite right enough for it to be burning well enough,
I had given to me a diesel burner and heat exchanger but never managed to get diesel burner going and was always a little worried about running costs as I will be 24/7 all winter once a system is established,
My 1st waste oil experiment in this heat exchanger was with an air intake pipe in the side where th diesel burner used to sit, and the drip pipe inside that, it worked but smokey,
so I started the modifications to get it looking like the plan I found and will attach, now with a 4 inch pipe in from the top and the drip pipe inside that,
And wet back pipes in where the diesel burner used to be instead, again it burnt but not super clean (smokey) and didnt really roar like the YouTube clips I've seen,
I have tried strait wasted oil(filtered)
As well as thinning down with different ratios of diesel,
All smokey and no real roar,
A few differences from the plan I followed,
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The heat exchanger I'm using has a baffle at the top where as the plan has a strait out exhaust,
2
My door at the bottom is rather small, but that's just to lite I so...
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My dish/pedistool at the bottom I have tried a couple of different things for the oil to drip on, none yet have been all that smooth or perfectly dished, I will photograph these tomorrow when I change to the 4th one,
I'm sure one of these factors are changing the way it burns but would love to hear what you guys think so far and let you ask for any other info about the set up, ill put the plan I've followed "roughly" up for you to see and some pics
Of what I have so far,
Cheers hayden
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Ok having trouble with the size of my photos, ill have to work out how to downsize them on my phone or get them to the computer to upload tomorrow
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Bustedknuckle,
Glad to have you here. Looking forward to seeing your photos. I don't think I understand how your burner is set up. So a couple of questions for you. What's the diameter of your flue and is your burn chamber very air tight?
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Hi guys, I haven't had the chance to make pics small enough to get up here yet,
My flue is 6 inch diameter, the intake is 4 inch diameter, the burn chamber is pretty air tight, I have a log burner seal in the flange plate that's bolted on the side,
I have tried several different shaped dishes at the bottom to start burner on and have oil drip on but the only time it ever roared was when it was 50/50 deisil/waste oil and half the chamber was glowing red, but from what I've seen I shouldn't need to do that,
The chamber is about 16inches diameter and a bit over a meter tall, the intake pipe come down from the top Center on a slight angle (to allow room for the wet back pipe).
I'm running the fuel from a car fuel tank above the burner then a steel brake hose going down the air intake, at first stoping an inch or two from the bottom of the air intake, allowing the oil to drop around 6 inches, (got this from the drawing I found) I have since tried several height falls (lifting the oil pipe up the intake pipe a little at a time,,
http://youtu.be/Mh0G0HdujFs
This guys burner is very similar to mine except the baffle I have at the top, and my oil tank isn't quite that high,
I hope this helps describe a bit better till I can work out how to get pics up here
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Here's the plan i found and roughly followed,
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Where's your baffle located, in the flue or tank? Have you tried burning without the baffle?
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The baffle is in the top of the burn chamber, it's hard to describe but here goes,
The smoke exits the chamber at the top on one side into a seperate 360degree chamber (shaped like a doughnut with a flat top) then the smoke exits the "doughnut" 180 degrees, (opposite) from where it entered the "doughnut"
Therefore the only way to try it without the baffle, is by cutting and welding the flue strait into the doughnut entry to bypass it all together, I'm happy to do this if more experienced folk think it could be one of the factors I'm failing on...
Doug, are you familiar with this type of burner now after seeing pictures? I see the plan calls it a conical burner at the bottom where been referring to a dish/plate,
Do you know how important the plate is to combustion or if everything is right should it ignight on near anything as long as its warm and splashes a bit? Some engineers I've spoken with that have had them in there shop have burnt 100% waste oil onto a small kindling fire to start it at the bottom of chamber and its gone well from there,,
If this is the case that would point more toward exhaust restriction being the problem wouldn't it?
Thanks for your time so far doug and any other viewers,
I'm off to search now how to reduce my pics and get them up here,
Cheers Hayden
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A pic of the last plate I tried tonight,
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Two bottom plates that never got the roar going,
Third pic top of chamber, that's the inlet pipe in the middle of the doughnut,
4th pic, plate with wet back pipes bolted in, small door at the bottom to reach in and light it
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In these burners you need a very good draft. What you decribed sounded more like a heat exchanger than it does a baffle. When you said baffle I imagined some thing to block the draft.
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Two bottom plates that never got the roar going,
Third pic top of chamber, that's the inlet pipe in the middle of the doughnut,
4th pic, plate with wet back pipes bolted in, small door at the bottom to reach in and light it
Why is there oil in the center of the dish in the first pic?
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Yes the chamber I'm using is an old heat exchanger, from an underfloor diesel burner, there was a blower on top that pushed the heat of the exchanger down and out the bottom into the underfloor piping, By baffle I was calling it this as the doughnut set up would slow/stop the heat from going strait up chimney therefor it being slowed down I called it a baffle, but no it doesn't block the draught off as such, just redirects the exit as you say to help exchange the heat,
Ill get some more pics this avo now that I have a resize app,
Hoping to get this cranking before too late in the autumn as we are near 2 months into it so far,, sure it's a couple of small factors in the design stopping it from reaching full potential,
LAST MINUTE ADDITION
Yes still oil sitting in one of the plates,,, this is what I mean, while the burner was going it wasn't going flash and shill trying different speeds of oil flow it started to pool up when too fast rather than burning hotter??? And when I turned the oil down it still would not burn off the pool of oil, even when oil turned off to finish fire it wouldn't burn the pool,???
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The oil in the bottom of the dish is it setting in recession in the disk or is the pedestal full of oil?
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The oil is pooling up in a dip In The bottom of the disc, I have been putting strait diesel in to light fire at the start, but can't bet it to burn all oil as it lands yet,,,?
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Been looking around the net trying to find some help. I found this statement that seems to describe what alot of people think about this type of burner.
"Rodger Sanders design oil pool works and he is a great guy for posting it. But keep in mind it is a soot and ash maker because of the low temperatures. If that is all you want, believe me, thats great. But if you are looking for a reliable, hot, clean burn, with almost no ash or crud buildup. You need lots of air."
There was one suggestion that you could use a hair dryer in the air intake to see if forced air would help the burn.
This tractor forum talks about building a Sanders heater.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/111122-building-waste-oil-burning-stove.html
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Thanks for that doug I've had a read there on the link,
I saw one utube one with a hair dryer you possibly saw it too, with the dimmer switch also on hair dryer ifinantly variaiable speed,
I managed today to get the chance to get it going during the day, and the oil would have been warmer, with an upside down Bedford hubcap as the bottom plate this time it burnt rather well on strait oil, once lit with about a cup of deisil in the hubcap,
As the sun went off the tank efficiency dropped and flame got smaller, I rigged up an extra tank and hose with a diesel oil mix and got it cranking with that again, and the strait waste oil pipe was fizzing spitting and burning well again, but as I backed the mixed tank off the oil went back to dripping, and it burnt ok for a bit till it all cooled down a bit, however I've warmed around 100 litres of water with the wet back in around 4 hours, not hot yet,
I think I really need the oil warmer, perhaps per heated on chimney then coiled more down the inlet tube to get more oil warmer and allowing for overnight burn hopefully,
I've seen some of these burn with little smoke on waste oil but I don't mind a bit Of soot but the smoke ain't a good look where I'm planning to use it,,,
Ill keep going and will perhaps try the wife's hair dryer tomorrow,,, haha
Thanks again
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If you feel like you need more draft you could add to the height of your flue.
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If you feel like you need more draft you could add to the height of your flue.
This would be a valid point, this far I only have a small amount of flue on the set up untill I can steady it a bit and get it in permanant position so to brace flue once and only,
I have had it burn all night now but it's only just kicking over (oil rather cool this morning,)
So ill check in on it as the day warms up and I think then time to get it into position with more flue, and pre warming oil in the shipping container I'm planning to heat,
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Bustedknuckle,
Did you read this post from this site? He increased the size of his air intake tube to 4" and it helped his burn.
http://wasteoilheaterforum.com/index.php?topic=23.0
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Thanks for that I hadn't seen that one, made for very good reading,
Although my inlet is already 4 inch, and a 6inch flue I haven't got any real height on th flue yet which, could be the missing piece to the puzzle, as the only other real difference is my intake pipe not being dead central at the bottom therefore neither is the bottom plate/burner,
I'd found a few sets of plans and forums of builds, but not of anyone troubleshooting a new build, That set up is pretty much identical to mine,, and sounds like he had the same initial problems as mine,, with oil temps and draught ect,,
Might go with some taller flue shortly,,
Fairly busy at the moment and short on day light hours doesn't help but ill try for some flue extension and more pics in the next day or two before I go away for all next week, no experiments that week, supposed to be on holiday but ill no doubt be brain racing thinking about the burner if its not more promising before I go,,
Thanks again