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Cheap Heat
Bill Cheney
Reprinted courtesy of POPULAR SCIENCE Monthly, 1961

The fuel I burn to heat my shop doesn't cost me a penny. In fact, I'm paid a buck for every
100 gallons I haul away. It's old crankcase oil, and gas stations are happy to have me
pump it out of their waste tanks.
I built my own stove from a condemned bottled-gas cylinder. You can pick one up for
peanuts because legally they can't be used again, and it's too costly to cut them up for
scrap. If you can't get one, a 30, 50, or 100 gallon steel drum can be substituted. My stove
cylinder is 14" by 40", but these dimensions aren't critical. The ones for the throat and
firing port are, since they guarantee the hot throat that's required to burn any fuel. I
circulate the heat with a small electric fan, and there's plenty to spread around: With
clean oil, the heater can produce up to 500,000 BTUs per hour.
It's clean heat, too, although some smoke is generated when the burner is first started. To
carry this (and all carbon monoxide fumes) outside, a stack is required. Where erecting
one is impractical, you can burn natural or bottled gas, instead. You just insert a different
jet nozzle. When burning gas fuels, I exhaust right into the shop; there's some water
vapor, but not enough to cause troublesome condensation. Better check local regulations,
though. If they specify a stack for too, you might as well enjoy the economy of crankcase
oil.
Start with the stove. If you've been able to pick up an old bottled-gas cylinder, you must
prepare it in a special way. Set the tank upright on its base and fill it with water. Lay out
an 8" circle at the crown of the domed top. Using a cutting torch; pierce the tank with a
short are cut out on this circle. (As the cut will be below water line, water will flow out
until level with it.) Complete the circle and drain the tank.
With the tank up-ended, cut a 6" diameter hole in the center of the base for the exhaust.
It's in the center so heated air will build up in the top of .the stove, improving combustion

as well as retaining heat. I formed my exhaust pipe by bending a sheet of 1/8" steel plate,
but lighter material can be used.
Weld the throat at the other end, and complete the stove by placing it on its side in a
sturdy stand. Mine is a pipe frame welded to the cylinder and equipped with casters so
the stove can be rolled around the shop or used out- side.
You need lots of air to burn the fuel properly. I bought a used vacuum cleaner blower and
brazed a 1" pipe coupling into its outlet for attaching the burner pipe. Since throttling the
air output causes the blower to speed up, an airflow valve could damage the motor.
Instead, I installed a rheostat, salvaged from a sewing machine, to regulate the motor
speed.
The heart of the heater is the burner itself. It's made of four black-iron 1" pipe fittings.
The deflector imparts a swirling motion to the blower air that helps mix it with the fuel
from the jet. The jet is secured with a set-screw so it can be adjusted -- or replaced with
another type if the fuel is changed. The position of the jet, in or out, depends on. the
choice of fuel, and -- if it is gas -- the fuel pressure. When oil is used, the bottom of the
supply tank should be about a foot above the burner.
To start the burner, if oil is the fuel, open the, port plate and thrust a crumpled newspaper
or oil-soaked rag well into the throat. Light this, close the port turn on a little air, and
slowly open the fuel valve until oil ignites in the throat. Gradually increase the air supply;
then give more oil. Once the throat becomes hot, increase the flow of both air and oil,
experimenting for the best mixture and proper jet position. When properly set, there
should be no smoke or soot. To shut the stove off turn off the oil first, letting the blower
run until the fire is completely out. If this isn't done, oil may drip onto the hot throat and
flame will puff out of the burner port.
When firing with gas, start the blower at low speed and hold a piece of burning paper just
below the closed port while slowly turning on the gas.
Whatever your fuel, never look directly into the port; always inspect it at an angle, or use
a small mirror. While the fuel can't explode, the great heat might singe your whiskers.