Gone are the days when the potbelly stove was used for heating residential premises and cottages. Today, only garages and utility rooms are heated with such devices.

The best option for making it yourself

The main disadvantage of a classic potbelly stove is its low efficiency, which is expressed in significant fuel consumption and rapid cooling after it burns out. Therefore, modified versions of it are currently used. One of the most popular ways to make a stove from a gas cylinder is to use an old gas cylinder. Its sizes vary: miniature 5-liter models are unlikely to be suitable in this case, since the stove will have limited heating capabilities.

As for 12 and 27 liter cylinders, the power of the heater made from them is enough to service small areas. Such devices are able to produce no more than 2-7 kW of heat: they are sometimes used as camp stoves. To make a stationary potbelly stove from a gas cylinder for a garage or cottage, it is recommended to use 50-liter containers, 85 cm high and 30 cm in diameter. The wall thickness here is quite enough to load any fuel. At the same time, the weight of the cylinder allows you to work with it alone.

There is also an option with industrial gas tanks of 40 liters: with approximately the same volume, they have a smaller diameter (25 cm), greater height and thicker walls. Operating a freon cylinder is much more difficult - it is both longer and heavier than a household 50-liter container. If you have the appropriate equipment, it can be shortened to 70 cm: a potbelly stove made in this way will have thicker walls. As a result, it will take more time and fuel to warm it up, but the stove will also take much longer to cool down.

Making doors for a potbelly stove from a gas cylinder

There are several options for arranging doors for a gas cylinder stove:

• Finished cast products. Ready-made modular designs consisting of a blower door and a flow door are available for sale. To integrate such a module into a homemade stove, you need to cut out a niche of appropriate size in the cylinder body, equipping it with a frame made of welded corners. The cast structure is bolted to the frame. The cutout for the door is sealed using a small side (a metal strip 10-20 mm wide) welded along the entire length of the body.
• Homemade design. To save money, instead of a purchased door, they sometimes use homemade design, made from a cut piece of wall. In this case, loops will also be required. The simplest option is to buy ready-made canopies and weld them onto the surface of the stove from a gas cylinder with your own hands. Craftsmen make homemade loops using thick chain links.

When starting to make a stove from a gas cylinder with your own hands, it is important to take care of safety precautions. A flammable substance in a liquid or gaseous state may remain inside the old product: therefore, before cutting or cooking a metal container, remove the reducer and completely bleed off the remaining gas. To be sure, it is recommended to fill the inside of the balloon with water and let it sit for a month.

Do you need a grate for a stove?

Most simple drawings Do-it-yourself gas cylinder stoves do not contain a grate. This is primarily typical for small vertical potbelly stoves, inside of which there is too little space for additional compartments. This version of the stove consists of a body on legs, one door and an upper pipe for connecting the chimney. To increase the level of heat transfer of the device, its walls are outside are additionally equipped with welded steel strips. The upper part, in addition to the chimney, has another cutout: if you install a lid on it, you will get a convenient tile for cooking food and heating water.

In cases where the presence of a grate is necessary, a horizontally located cylinder at the bottom is supplemented with a tray for accumulating ash. Vertical stove models from a gas cylinder long burning are more convenient for installing a grate, since there is much more space in them. To do this, a mesh of thick reinforcing bars is placed in the container itself: finished cast iron products required sizes practically never occur. The disadvantages of such structures are their rapid burnout and the difficulty of repair: to do this, it is necessary to cut out the old reinforcement and weld the new one. More convenient option- weld fragments of a thick corner or fittings inside the stove from a propane cylinder as a stand: a separately welded grate is subsequently mounted on it.

Ways to improve heat transfer from a propane cylinder stove

As mentioned above, the main disadvantage of a garage stove made from a gas cylinder is its poor thermal efficiency, because... a significant part of the heat obtained during combustion simply goes out through the chimney along with the gases.

There are several ways to improve the heat transfer of a homemade stove:

• Apply afterburning flue gases . In this case, the design of the potbelly stove will resemble a “bubafonya” or “slobozhanka” stove. This will make it possible to increase the efficiency of the device by an order of magnitude.
• Extend the chimney pipe. In this case, part of the heat that goes outside remains inside the room. To do this, the pipe is given a broken configuration, without horizontal sections and negative angles.
• Use smoke pipe. Another cylinder in a vertical position is welded onto the horizontally located stove body from a wood-burning gas cylinder: it will act as a smoke pipe. Improved heat transfer of the stove is achieved here by increasing the area of ​​the heating surface. The condition for preventing smoke from entering the room is the presence of good draft.
• Arrangement of the heater. This technique is widely used in baths, where rubble is used for additional heat accumulation. Metal chimney It is equipped with a mesh into which stones are poured to take heat from the pipe and transfer it to the room. In this case, it will take some time to warm up the stones: before this, the air will heat up with some slowdown. But in the future, the surface of the pipe will not burn, and the heated stones will evenly heat the surrounding space. Even after the firewood burns out, the accumulated heat will maintain for some time comfortable temperature in room.

When selecting stones for backfilling, it is recommended to give preference to round river samples: it is desirable that they have a uniform color without any inclusions. Other types of stones can even be dangerous, bursting when heated, or releasing substances harmful to health.

Options for increasing the room heating rate

In order to quickly raise the temperature in the room where a propane cylinder stove is installed, you can use the following devices:

1. Regular fan. It is mounted in such a way that the forced air blows over the housing and the chimney. Craftsmen often go further, equipping top part the cylinder body with through pipes, welding them into pre-formed holes. A heat-resistant fan is installed on one side of the improvised channels, capable of maintaining several speed modes: this makes it possible to regulate the temperature of the air leaving the pipes.
2. Ventilation holes in the case. In this case, additional activation of air flows is carried out without the use of a fan. To achieve this, a wood-burning gas cylinder stove is additionally “dressed” in a special casing, the surface of which has a series of holes in the upper and lower areas. Through the lower gaps, cold air is sucked in, which usually accumulates in the floor area. Blowing through the hot body, the air flows gradually heat up and exit through the upper slots into the surrounding space. Approximately the same operating principle is used in Buleryan stoves and sauna heaters.

A simple water heating boiler can be made from a gas cylinder. To do this, a water jacket is installed around the finished pyrolysis furnace from a gas cylinder: from it, the heated coolant is supplied through pipes into the batteries. Similar system must have expansion tank, installed above the stove and radiators. Thanks to it, surges in internal pressure in the heating circuit due to the expansion of heating water are compensated. Because we're talking about With a primitive boiler without any adjustment, cases of water boiling inside the system will occur quite often. The volume of the expansion tank is at least 10% of the total displacement.

Making a potbelly stove from a gas cylinder with your own hands is not a very complicated procedure. During operation of the finished device, one should take into account the fact that the temperature of its body can reach significant levels: this imposes additional requirements on fire safety heated room.

Optimization of heating costs country house is a very pressing task for its owner: what to use as fuel, which thermal unit is the best. Homemade stoves made from gas cylinders are very popular, allowing the use of very cheap, sometimes just waste, fuel. In this case, heating costs are minimal.

Making a heating unit with your own hands from a cylinder

A thrifty owner carefully insulates his home, trying to reduce heating costs. In addition, there are a number of objects that need to be heated periodically: workshops, garages, outbuildings. It is necessary to regularly heat greenhouses or winter gardens.

Therefore, home craftsmen are constantly developing and implementing additional thermal units of the most various designs. The most popular are products made from gas cylinders. The reason for this is the convenient shape and almost ideal proportions and characteristics of the material.

The efficiency of cylinder stoves reaches 85–90%, which is a very high figure in comparison with homemade stoves of other forms. Round shape ideal for intensive pyrolysis of fuel and allows you to arrange openings for the release of smoke and the supply of oxygen to the combustion zone at the lowest cost.

A simple and effective gas cylinder stove will last a long time

What is a cylinder stove?

A classic representative of heating units from an old cylinder is the well-known “potbelly stove”. It received this name for its extraordinary gluttony, consuming large amounts of fuel. But its main advantage is fast ignition and heating. This is especially important in extreme situations when for some reason the main heating system stops working.

In the design of such a furnace, the cylinders can be located in both vertical and horizontal positions. Heat transfer occurs through the surface of the furnace and can be significantly increased by welding metal ribs onto the surface. In addition, you can utilize the heat of flue gases by passing them through a pipe embedded in a container of water. Water heated in this way is used in the heating circuit or used in the household through a boiler indirect heating.

A special place in heating devices pyrolysis ovens occupy cylinders. Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of fuel that occurs with minimal access to oxygen. At temperatures above 300 degrees, the fuel in the furnace does not simply burn through the oxidation process, but decomposes into gas fractions, which give higher temperatures when ignited.

Photo gallery: types of stoves with a cylinder body

What cylinders can be used

Not every gas cylinder is suitable for making a furnace body. For example, it is not recommended to use cylinders made of composite materials. Despite its strength, the composite does not tolerate high temperatures.

A 5-liter container cannot serve as a furnace body due to its small size, but it is successfully used to make containers for liquid fuel.

You can use cylinders with a volume of 12 and 27 liters. They make excellent thermal units with a capacity of 2–3 kilowatts and 5–7 kilowatts, respectively.

Most often, stove bodies are made from cylinders with a capacity of 50 liters. Its dimensions - diameter 30 centimeters and height 85 - are optimal for installing a heating unit. A stove of this volume is capable of efficiently heating a small country house.

A 50 liter propane cylinder is best suited for the body of a homemade stove

Oxygen cylinders for furnaces are rarely used. The size ratio is not entirely convenient for the installation of a firebox, and the significant height makes such a unit unstable.

Types of long-burning stoves from a gas cylinder

There are many options for making stoves from cylinders. Every House master makes changes to them according to the capabilities and understanding of the process. At the same time, long-burning pyrolysis furnaces are the most popular. In such designs, the combustion time of the combustion material varies from 12 hours to a day or more, which can significantly reduce fuel consumption.

Furnaces with conical fuel stacking

A popular type of pyrolysis furnace is a design with conical fuel stacking. In such a furnace, a pin is installed along the axis of the firebox from the grate. When loading, a wooden or tin cone is placed on it with the base up. The firebox is filled from above with sawdust, shavings or wood chips. In this case, the combustion material must be compacted well so that the filling is as dense as possible.

When fuel is loaded, the cone must be pulled out and the lid closed. The fuel is ignited through a ash pit with a small amount of wood chips or a tablet of dry fuel. As soon as the fuel burns well, the ash door must be closed, limiting the flow of air into the firebox. Then the fuel simply smolders, but this is enough to reach the pyrolysis temperature. Smoke is discharged through a pipe in the upper part of the housing. With this design, “samovar” water heating tanks are also used for the system radiator heating or heating water in an indirect heating boiler. It is convenient to use a gas or oxygen cylinder as a heating container, passing the chimney pipe along the axis of the vessel. A fitting is welded into the upper part for hot water, at the bottom - for return. Circulation occurs naturally without the use of a pump, which makes the heating system energy independent.

The burning time of one bookmark is 12–16 hours.

Sawdust should be compacted as tightly as possible

Liquid fuel pyrolysis furnaces

These thermal units use fuels such as diesel, diesel fuel or waste oil. The use of other energy sources is considered exotic due to their high cost.

Consider the option of using waste oil as fuel. To make a simple oven you need:

1. Install a pipe with a diameter of about 100 millimeters in the upper part of the cylinder.
2. About 30 holes with a diameter of 10 millimeters need to be drilled in the walls of the pipe.
3. Place a cup-shaped container with a diameter of 120–140 millimeters with sides 25–30 millimeters high at the bottom of the cylinder.
4. A tube with a diameter of 10 millimeters with oil and a fuel supply regulator is connected to the container through the wall of the cylinder.
5. Combustion products are removed through a side pipe in the upper part of the housing.

Ignition of a cold furnace is carried out in the following order:

1. Open the tap on the fuel tank and pour used oil into the bowl approximately to the middle of the walls.
2. You need to pour up to 50 grams of gasoline on top of the oil. Having a lower density, it will remain on the surface.
3. Light the gasoline. As the temperature rises, the oil boils and begins to release vapors, which also ignite. The air flow draws the flame into the perforated pipe.
4. With a further increase in temperature, fuel pyrolysis occurs and the combustion intensity increases. Flue gases are removed through the upper chamber through the side pipe. The temperature in the combustion chamber is such that the pipe heats up red-hot, and from it the furnace body quickly heats up.
5. Under these circumstances, it is advisable to partially cool the stove gases in the chimney using a samovar-type water heating container.

Despite all the positive qualities of such a thermal unit, including simplicity of design and low cost of fuel, there is a significant drawback. In the room where such a stove operates, there is a constant smell of burning petroleum products. Therefore, the structure must be moved outside the residential or industrial premises.

An old cylinder and used oil will effectively heat the house

Video: stove using waste oil from a gas cylinder

Long-burning solid fuel stoves

The following types of fuel are used in solid fuel appliances to produce heat:

• firewood;
• wood processing waste in the form of sawdust, shavings, scraps, chips;
• peat;
• coal.

There are known cases of using used tires for heating after they have been shredded.

One of the most popular designs of this type is rightfully considered a homemade stove with the funny name “bubafonya”. It can be made with minimal labor and materials. The basis for production is a body made of a gas cylinder with a capacity of 50 liters.

The fuel for such a unit can be technological chips, crushed remains of branches and twigs, sawdust and shavings. The only requirement for it is that the humidity should not exceed 12%, which corresponds to the standards for fuel from wood-burning stoves. The burning time of one bookmark is from 14 to 24 hours, depending on the density of its placement. The fuel is ignited after installing the weight and lid. The ribs on the load form channels for air, allowing the fuel to burn and decompose into pyrolysis gases. Gases enter the upper chamber, where they burn at high temperature.

As the fuel burns, the piston moves down

Slow burning pyrolysis furnace “Bubafonya”

It is impossible to describe or simply list all the designs of stoves that can be made from cylinders, but it is advisable to consider in detail the “bubafonya” design. This model can be made at home with your own hands.

Safety

Before describing the design of the furnace and its manufacturing technology, let us pay attention to safety issues. We will talk about preparing the cylinder itself for processing. Despite its dense structure, the inner surface of the metal is riddled with a network of microscopic cracks. At long-term operation containers for their intended purpose, a considerable amount of gas condensate and its sediment accumulates inside these defects. Such a substance may be explosive and is in no way beneficial to health. Before you start working with the cylinder, you need to fill it with water and let it sit for 2-3 days. It is better to perform the operation away from home. When the liquid is drained, the reasons for this recommendation will become clear - it has an extremely unpleasant and strong odor.

Video: how to safely disassemble a gas cylinder

Tools and materials for making the Bubafonya stove

To make such a heating unit with your own hands, you will need:

Table: required materials and tools

Name	Purpose	Notes
Cylinder for furnace body	Manufacturing of the main product	boo
Bar steel diameter 10 mm	Making handles for the oven lid and body	From waste
Angles 45x45, any profile, pipe cuttings	For support legs	From waste
Bulgarian	Cutting blank parts, cutting the cylinder during the manufacture of the body
Steel sheet 6–10 millimeters thick	Making a pancake
Steel strip 40x4 millimeters	Manufacturing of support ribs
Cement, sand, gravel and fireclay bricks	Making the furnace support base
Reinforcing bars	Foundation reinforcement
Trowel, shovel, container for mixing the solution	Pouring the foundation
Welding machine for working with ferrous metals and electrodes for it	Making welded joints when assembling the furnace	Possible to rent
Electric drill no less than 0.7 kW, set of metal drills	Drilling holes
Measuring tool	Taking measurements and marking
Locksmith's corner	Positioning of parts during assembly, quality control
Kerner	Hole marking
Files flat and semicircular	Removing sharp edges and burrs, adjusting dimensions
Marker black	Marking production
Individual protection means	Goggles, welder's mask, face shield, mittens, gloves, special shoes, rags.

In addition to the above, you will need some tools from a standard locksmith kit: a hammer, pliers, etc.

The procedure for making a “bubafonya” stove

The advantage of this model is that the cylinder body is subject to the least intervention. The manufacturing procedure for the Bubafonya stove is as follows:

1. Separate the head dome part of the cylinder using a grinder.
2. Make a hole in it along the axis with a diameter of about 80 millimeters. Since the dome part will subsequently be used as a cover, two rod handles need to be welded to it. The cap will have to be removed each time fuel is loaded.

   The cut off top of the cylinder is a part for making the lid

3. Make a hole of approximately the same diameter in the bottom of the cylinder. Its purpose is periodic cleaning of combustion residues. This hole must be closed with a reliable flap.
4. Approximately 5 centimeters from the top edge of the body you need to make a hole for the chimney pipe. Typically this is a pipe with a diameter of up to 15 centimeters with a wall of at least 4 millimeters.
5. At a distance of approximately 10–12 centimeters from the bottom of the cylinder, drill three holes with a diameter of 10 millimeters. They are located around the circle at an angle of 120 degrees relative to each other. Rods with a diameter of 9.0–9.5 millimeters are inserted into the holes so that they protrude inward by 20–25 millimeters. From the outside, the rods must be welded to the body.
6. Cut a circle with a diameter two millimeters smaller from a sheet four millimeters thick internal size housings. Drill 20–25 holes with a diameter of 10 millimeters in it. This part will play the role of a grate.
7. Install the part onto the protrusions of the pins.
8. Next, you need to make a piston, which will also serve as a load. The piston consists of several simple details. The first is a pipe with a diameter of about 80 millimeters with a wall of up to four millimeters. It is allowed to use electric-welded straight-seam pipes. The second part is a pancake, in the center of which you need to cut a hole equal to the diameter of the pipe. The pipe is welded to the pancake at a right angle coaxially.

   The ribs on the pancake provide air for fuel pyrolysis

9. Ribs from a strip about 40 millimeters wide or a corner of the appropriate size are welded to the lower surface of the ring. They are located from the center to the edge of the pancake. Number of ribs - 4–6 pieces.
10. A damper must be installed at the upper end of the pipe in order to be able to completely block the hole in the pipe.

    Flue gas outlet and damper for shutting off the air supply

Procedure for placing fuel and igniting the stove

The sequence of actions is as follows:

1. Fuel preparation consists of grinding large fragments into industrial chips (5x20 mm) and mixing them with sawdust and shavings.
2. Pour fuel into the firebox; in this case, it is necessary to compact it, achieving the greatest density of the mass.
3. Lightly moisten the surface of the fuel filler with lighter fluid.
4. Install the piston into the furnace body with the pancake down, and fully open the damper on the pipe.
5. Close the lid.
6. To ignite the fuel, take a small rag soaked in ignition fluid and lower it into the pipe. If you just throw a match there, it will go out along the way.

Photo gallery: how to light a “bubafonya” stove

When the fuel ignites, the furnace heats up. Combustion air will flow through the pipe from top to bottom. When the temperature reaches 300 degrees, the process of fuel decomposition begins. Pyrolysis gases penetrate into the upper compartment and ignite there. From this point on, you can completely close the valve on the pipe.

The combustion process occurs as follows:

1. After closing the damper, air enters the firebox through the slot gap between the pipe and the edges of the hole in the lid. The combustion of pyrolysis gases creates a sufficient temperature for the decomposition of subsequent layers of fuel.
2. The ribs on the bottom of the pancake do not allow it to sink onto the fuel layer and stop the combustion. Through the cavities between them, gases enter the upper chamber.
3. Thus, layer-by-layer consumption of combustible material occurs with the formation large quantity heat.

The burning of one bookmark continues for up to a day or more.

Such stoves cope no less successfully with fuels such as peat or pellets.

Heat recovery occurs by heating the furnace body. However, it cannot be complete. It is advisable to use a samovar method of extracting energy for heating through a radiator heating system.

Video: review of the Bubafonya stove: design, kindling, advantages and disadvantages

Calculation of the main parameters of the Bubafonya stove

The efficient operation of a furnace of this design directly depends on the combination of many indicators and their optimal interaction.

Furnace wall thickness

Based on experience in operating long-burning furnaces optimal thickness the walls are recognized to be 4–5 millimeters. This is exactly the parameter that a fifty-liter cylinder has. If the wall is thinner, heat transfer is disrupted and the body burns out quite quickly.

Calculation of pancake parameters

The gap between the pancake and the inner wall of the cylinder is determined by the relation s = 0.5D. That is, with a diameter of 300 mm, this value will be 300 x 0.05 = 15 millimeters. It should be noted that compliance with this parameter is very important. With a larger gap, the fuel near the walls will burn more slowly, as a result of which the pancake may fall into the filling and combustion will stop.

As established in practice, the height of the pressure ribs is 40 millimeters.

Pancake thickness

This parameter is inversely proportional to the diameter of the housing. That is, the larger the diameter, the thinner the part should be. There are tables of this dependence on the Internet; for our case, this parameter is 6–10 millimeters. Exact data and calculation methods are not provided, but it is quite enough to follow the published recommendations.

Chimney cross-section size

The minimum permissible cross-section of the chimney is determined by the amount of energy released per hour of operation of the stove, which is determined by the ratio S = 1.75E (kW/hour). Here E = mq, where m is the mass of fuel in the load, q is specific energy fuel burned over an hour, table value. The necessary information is given in the table.

Table: data for calculating the cross-section of the chimney

Having made the necessary calculations, we obtain the minimum required chimney diameter for the Bubafonya stove of 150 millimeters.

Air intake pipe size

Preparing for assembly, choosing an installation location

Before starting work on assembling the stove, it is necessary to prepare the installation site. After pouring the foundation, it will take time for the concrete to harden. During this period, you can slowly make the stove itself. The foundation can be used no earlier than 7 days after pouring. On top concrete base you need to lay out a platform made of refractory bricks.

A quality foundation is essential for safe work ovens

When choosing a place to install the stove, you need to consider the following circumstances:

• the distance to the nearest walls made of flammable material should be more than one meter; if there is no such place, the walls must be additionally protected from heating with an asbestos sheet 8–10 millimeters thick; install a sheet of galvanized metal 0.5–0.7 millimeters thick on top of it;
• the chimney in the vertical part should not fall on the supporting beam;
• if applicable external chimney with an outlet through the wall, the length of the horizontal part should not be more than one meter; otherwise, you need to make a chimney with a slope of 45 degrees.

It is better to prepare parts and assemble the stove indoors, for example, in a garage. This will save your neighbors from unnecessary noise when working with an angle grinder and from the sparkle of the electric welding arc. The room needs to be equipped exhaust ventilation. If welding is performed under open air, the work area must be protected with protective screens.

Furnace modernization

Improving the operating parameters of the furnace is associated with an increase in its heat transfer. For this purpose, additional heat exchange surfaces are used on the furnace body. Such parts can be made from various metal profiles, including strips, angles, profile pipes. The choice of material depends on what is available from leftovers.

Additional heat exchangers from metal profile increase device efficiency

Additional heating surfaces can be installed not only on the outer surface, but also inside the firebox, which allows you to intensively heat the air in the room. A negative result of such a solution will be oxygen burnout at high temperatures.

Features of operation of a pyrolysis furnace

The main difference between pyrolysis furnaces is the ability to use a wide variety of fuels. In solid fuel stoves, it is possible to burn not only traditional flammable substances, but also rubber, plastic and other materials that are strictly not recommended for burning conventional stoves.

This feature is associated with complete decomposition of the fuel and secondary combustion of the resulting gases in a separate chamber. After this, only carbon dioxide and water vapor remain in the smoke emissions. No harmful emissions into the atmosphere occur during pyrolysis.

But when using such fuel at the ignition stage, a persistent smell of burnt rubber remains in the room. Therefore, such heating units must be installed outside residential premises.

Maintenance of pyrolysis furnaces

Pyrolysis ovens require much less attention compared to conventional devices. This is due to the fact that there are practically no solid particles in the flue gases that form soot. The presence of water vapor in the exhaust determines the formation of condensation on the walls of the chimney. Therefore, it is necessary to install a condensate collector with a drain tap, which must be used regularly as it accumulates.

This statement is true for perfectly balanced stoves, where complete decomposition of the fuel occurs. But a breakthrough of conventional furnace gases cannot be ruled out, so regular inspection is necessary. inner surface chimney. If necessary, it must be cleaned. Inspections are carried out at least twice a year.

Long-burning stoves must use an insulated stainless steel pipe.

Furnaces using waste oil must be cleaned regularly as carbon deposits and slag deposits form in the fuel bowl. In the first fuel combustion chamber, normal combustion occurs with the release of solid particles. The design of the furnace allows you to visually monitor the condition of this unit.

There are no small details when making a heating stove yourself. Each circumstance must be carefully weighed and thought out. Otherwise, all efforts will be in vain. I wish you success!

A potbelly stove is a small homemade metal stove that became widespread in the first half of the 20th century. Later, with the advent central heating, her popularity fell. The second wave of its mass use occurred during the Great Patriotic War, and the third - in the 90s of the same century, for heating country houses. Today, potbelly stoves are more often used in garages or utility rooms. In their pure form, without modifications, they are uneconomical: they “eat” fuel like bourgeois, and if you stop “feeding” them, they quickly cool down. The easiest option to make is a potbelly stove made from a gas cylinder. The body is already ready, you just need to cut holes for filling the fuel and ash pan, attach doors to them, weld the legs and the chimney (diameter 150 mm and no less).

The cylinder in such a stove can be placed vertically or horizontally. It heats up quickly, but also cools down immediately after the fuel stops burning. However, in order to quickly remove the garage or cottage from subzero temperature or heating in autumn/spring bad weather is a great option.

Which cylinder should I take for the stove?

It is clear that a gas cylinder will be used for the body. But they come in different sizes. The smallest 5-liter ones should not be used for making stoves: the volumes are too small and they won’t be able to heat anything. There are also 12 and 27 liter cylinders. They will make a low-power unit for absolutely small room: You can’t get more than 3 and 7 Kilowatts of heat from them. In principle, this can be a hiking option, but the weight will be considerable.

The best option for a stationary stove in a garage or country house is a 50-liter gas cylinder. Height 850 mm, diameter - 300 mm. The volume and wall thickness are large enough for any fuel to burn. At the same time, it is not very heavy, you can work with it alone. A potbelly stove made from a 50 liter propane cylinder is the best option.

Industrial 40-liter gas tanks have approximately the same volume, the diameter is smaller - 250 mm, the height is larger, and the walls are thicker. It will be more difficult to make a stove from a freon cylinder, with the same power that can be obtained from it: the mass is large, and it is long. By shortening the height to about 700 mm, you can make a small, thick-walled potbelly stove, which will take a little longer to warm up, but will also “keep” the heat a little better.

Important! When working with gas cylinders, follow safety precautions!

How to safely disassemble a gas cylinder: watch safety precautions in this video.

What and how to make doors from

Doors for potbelly stoves can be purchased cast. You will need a small height for the blower and bigger size- for loading fuel. There are ready-made blocks - a flow door with a blower in one design. In this case, a frame made from corners welded to size is welded into a hole cut to size, and the casting is already bolted to it. To prevent air from blowing out of the cracks, a small edge is welded around the perimeter of the cutout under the door - a 1-2 cm strip of metal.

You can not buy doors, but use a cut piece of a balloon wall. Then you will need some kind of hinges or replacement parts. It’s clear with the hinges: mark the places, weld them. There is an interesting version of homemade loops: several links of a thick chain.

A latch will need to be welded to such a door.

With grates or without?

In the very simple option no grate is provided. If the cylinder is small or stands horizontally, then selecting a part inside is problematic. In this case, the design of a potbelly stove made from a cylinder is quite simple: the body is placed on legs, one door, a connection pipe is welded in the upper part chimney. All. The whole stove.

In the photo above are examples of such simple ovens. In order to improve heat transfer, metal strips are welded to the outside of the body. In the upper part, in addition to the smoke pipe, there is another outlet - a lid is installed on it, and this outlet is used as a stove for cooking food and heating tea.

If you still want to make grates in a potbelly stove from a horizontally installed cylinder, you will have to weld a tray for collecting ash from below. Below there is a drawing and photo of the practical implementation.

In vertical versions of potbelly stoves made from a cylinder, grates are most often installed. In this case, it is easier to allocate space. Usually, thick reinforcement bars are welded inside: a cast iron grate of a suitable size is difficult to find. But this option is bad because the reinforcement quickly burns out, and repairs are complicated: remove the old reinforcement and weld in a new one. You can weld pieces of thick corners or reinforcement inside (as in the photo), separately weld grate bars from the reinforcement and lay them on the corners.

This video tells you how to make a stove from a gas cylinder with your own hands - the grates are made of reinforcement.

We improve heat transfer

The most a big problem potbelly stove: inefficient use of heat. Most of it literally flies into the chimney with flue gases. This disadvantage is effectively combated in top combustion furnaces with afterburning of flue gases according to the type (also, by the way, can be made from a gas cylinder) and.

A variant of a potbelly stove made from propane cylinders with secondary combustion - the efficiency is higher than that of “conventional” models.

Another way to improve heat transfer is to make the chimney longer, thereby increasing the amount of heat that will remain in the room. When designing such a broken chimney, it is better to avoid horizontal sections, and even more so areas with a negative slope.

This gas cylinder stove runs on wood. We increased heat transfer by making a long broken chimney

Another option to use the heat of flue gases is to weld a vertical cylinder-smoke pipe to a horizontally located cylinder-housing. Due to larger area heat transfer will be higher. You just need to create good draft so that the smoke does not go into the room.

You can do it the way they do it in sauna stoves: Place a net around a metal pipe and pour stones into it. They will take heat from the pipe and then release it into the room. But. Firstly, until the stones heat up, the air will warm up slowly. Secondly, not all stones are suitable, but only the round ones that are along the rivers. Moreover, they are uniformly colored without inclusions. Others cannot be filled in: they can explode from high temperatures no worse than a fragmentation shell, or emit radon, which is very harmful in significant concentrations.

But this solution also has advantages: firstly, the pipe will not burn. The stones produce even heat. Secondly, after the furnace goes out, they will maintain the temperature in the room.

Often you need to quickly heat a room. To do this, you can use a regular fan that will blow through the body and/or pipe of the furnace. But the same idea can be implemented with a stationary version: weld a potbelly stove into the cylinder in the upper part through pipes. On one side, attach a fan to them (heat-resistant, preferably with several speeds, so that you can regulate the temperature).

Another option that allows you to achieve active air movement along the walls of the case and not use a fan: make a casing around the case at a distance of 2-3 cm, but not solid, but with holes at the bottom and top. Metal sauna stoves also work on this principle.

One of the options for such a casing around a horizontally located cylinder is visible in the photo below. Through the gaps at the bottom, cold air located near the floor is sucked in. Passing along the hot body, it heats up and comes out from above.

The principle is not new, but it is no less effective. Look at the photo below to see what the finished stove looks like with such a casing.

Here is another implemented casing, around a potbelly stove made from a horizontally located cylinder. Please note the non-standard door fastening.

A homemade boiler from a gas cylinder for water heating can be made using the same principle: weld a water jacket around the cylinder and connect it to the radiators. Just don’t forget that the system must have an expansion tank with a volume of 10% of the total displacement.

You now know how to make a potbelly stove from a gas cylinder and how to improve it. Watch another video about an interesting option for a combined stove for a summer house or garage made of brick and a gas cylinder.

It is clear that a gas cylinder will be used for the body. But they come in different sizes. The smallest 5-liter ones should not be used for making stoves: the volumes are too small and they won’t be able to heat anything. There are also 12 and 27 liter cylinders. They will make a low-power unit for a very small room: you cannot get more than 3 or 7 Kilowatts of heat from them. In principle, this can be a hiking option, but the weight will be considerable.

The best option for a stationary stove in a garage or country house is a 50-liter gas cylinder. Height 850 mm, diameter - 300 mm. The volume and wall thickness are large enough for any fuel to burn. At the same time, it is not very heavy, you can work with it alone. A potbelly stove made from a 50 liter propane cylinder is the best option.

Industrial 40-liter gas tanks have approximately the same volume, the diameter is smaller - 250 mm, the height is larger, and the walls are thicker. It will be more difficult to make a stove from a freon cylinder, with the same power that can be obtained from it: the mass is large, and it is long. By shortening the height to about 700 mm, you can make a small, thick-walled potbelly stove, which will take a little longer to warm up, but will also “keep” the heat a little better.

How to safely disassemble a gas cylinder: watch safety precautions in this video.

Made from a gas (mainly propane) cylinder, the potbelly stove has two main features: different types: vertical and horizontal. Although the manufacturing process does not limit the designer’s imagination. Options of a combined type are not excluded.

Horizontal version Vertical version Combined version

This potbelly stove uses solid fuels: firewood, coal, fuel briquettes.

The advantages of such a stove include the following:

• good thermal conductivity due to the thickness of the metal wall of the cylinder (4 mm);
• optimal size/efficiency ratio;
• when used vertically, it takes up very little space in the room;
• ease of manufacture and availability of necessary materials;
• the possibility of equipping such a stove with a sheet of metal for heating and cooking food.

Disadvantages of such a potbelly stove:

• use only solid fuel;
• with a vertical design, it is necessary to adjust the firewood to the optimal size;

As you can see, such a stove definitely has more advantages.

After preparing the tools and materials, you can begin making the furnace.

Making a potbelly stove vertical type includes the following steps:

1. On the prepared cylinder, future openings of the firebox chambers and ash pan are marked. The distance between these cutouts should be 80–100 mm;

   

   Marking the cylinder

Using a grinder, holes are cut according to the markings. The cut segments do not need to be thrown away; doors will be made from them.




Make cuts, but do not throw away the remaining parts after work.

The cut segments are attached to the cylinder on hinges using welding. A grate made from a reinforcement rod is welded inside the cylinder.




Potbelly stove door mounting option

The final stage. A chimney pipe is welded into the upper part of the cylinder. The chimney pipe is connected to this pipe at the location where the stove is installed.




Carry out welding work carefully or entrust it to a professional

2. Potbelly stove made from a gas cylinder, assembled.

   
   

   The finished product must be checked for correct functioning!

The process of making a potbelly stove from the container described above begins with preliminary preparation corresponding cylinder:

1. First you need to get rid of the remaining gas. Just open the valve completely.
2. After the end of the hissing (for full confidence) the gas cylinder can be slightly heated on a fire or stove.
3. To eliminate a specific “fragrant” additive to propane - mercaptan fragrance (odorant), it is necessary to completely (up to the shoulders) fill the container with bleach, which contains acids. It could even be "Persol".
4. Then wait a little and pour it out.
5. After this, soak the insides with a solution of table soda (10%).

How to make a potbelly stove: device and diagrams

Such a potbelly stove from a gas cylinder using wood or mining can be made in a short time. After all, for construction you can use almost any of the gas cylinders you or your neighbors have. A potbelly stove for a garage or apartment can be made from almost any cylindrical metal object. For example, from a can, pan, barrel, bucket, pipe or wartime shell.

But the most best thing for its manufacture - an ordinary gas cylinder. This is the most common and easily accessible container today, made of thick, high-quality metal. Thickness is important, because a thin wall will quickly burn out and the oven will have to be thrown out.

For small premises for utility or industrial purposes, it is more advisable to use a potbelly stove as heating than to equip such premises stationary system heating with expensive communications and a boiler. A potbelly stove made from a gas cylinder, made by yourself, holds the palm in popularity among similar units, especially in the garages of car enthusiasts.

Potbelly stove from a gas cylinder: advantages and disadvantages

Made from a gas (mostly propane) cylinder, the potbelly stove has two fundamentally different types: vertical and horizontal. Although the manufacturing process does not limit the designer’s imagination. Options of a combined type are not excluded.

Examples of homemade products in the photo

Horizontal version Vertical version Combined version

This potbelly stove uses solid fuels: firewood, coal, fuel briquettes.

The advantages of such a stove include the following:

• good thermal conductivity due to the thickness of the metal wall of the cylinder (4 mm);
• optimal size/efficiency ratio;
• when used vertically, it takes up very little space in the room;
• ease of manufacture and availability of necessary materials;
• the possibility of equipping such a stove with a sheet of metal for heating and cooking food.

Disadvantages of such a potbelly stove:

• use only solid fuel;
• with a vertical design, it is necessary to adjust the firewood to the optimal size;

As you can see, such a stove definitely has more advantages.

The design of the stove and its principle of operation

Like anyone else solid fuel stove, a potbelly stove made from a gas cylinder has two main structural compartments: a firebox and an ash pan (ash pan).

The working process takes place in the firebox - fuel combustion. The ash pan is located under the firebox, directly connected to it through a grate and serves to remove non-volatile combustion products from the firebox.

During the combustion process, combustion products are formed. Volatiles are eliminated through the chimney under the influence of natural draft, and loose ones are eliminated through the holes in the grate into the ash pan. Subsequent removal of bulk combustion products from the ash pan is done manually using a poker or spatula.

The ash pan also serves to supply air to the combustion chamber (furnace). Therefore, it should be cleaned promptly. Without a normal air supply, fuel combustion efficiency is significantly reduced.

The heat from the stove comes into the room directly from the hot walls of the firebox.

Optimal for manufacturing effective potbelly stove An all-metal cylinder with a volume of 50 liters is suitable.

A 50-liter gas cylinder has standard dimensions: diameter 300 mm and height 850 mm. The metal wall thickness is 4 mm, which is optimal for solid fuel combustion processes.

Finding such a cylinder is usually not difficult. They are often used in households and industry.

To equip such a stove with a chimney, a pipe with a diameter of 100–125 mm and a thickness of at least 3 mm is used to make the chimney pipe. The chimney itself should be positioned vertically, but deviation from the axis is also allowed (slope no more than 30 degrees). The slope is made for greater efficiency of heat transfer from the chimney pipe. Although the location of the pipe directly depends on the local conditions for installing the potbelly stove.

For ease of operation, the firebox and ash pan compartments are equipped with doors with a locking mechanism. With the doors closed, the combustion process improves and the risk of fire hazardous particles falling into the room is reduced. And also by adjusting the gap with the ash pan door, you can regulate the intensity of air supply to the firebox.

The doors are made of any shape. The main thing is to take into account standard size firewood and the convenience of loading it.

An important part of the potbelly stove is the grate. The grate serves to support fuel (wood) and at the same time helps to separate loose combustion products. The combustion process takes place on the grate. Therefore, the metal from which the grate is made must be strong enough and resistant to high temperatures. It is better to make a grate from reinforcement rods with a diameter of at least 12 mm. Such rods are cut to the dimensions of the inside of the cylinder (width) and assembled into a grid with a gap width of 10–15 mm. The rods are connected by welding.

Approximate assembly diagram horizontal solid fuel stove is applicable to a gas cylinder.

Required materials and tools

Naturally, to make such a potbelly stove you will need a gas (propane) cylinder. You will also need metal pipe for the manufacture of a chimney pipe, a rod of fittings for the grate, a corner or channel for making legs, metal hinges for the firebox doors and ash pan, as well as sheet metal with a thickness of at least 3 mm for the manufacture of an ash pan, located outside the cylinder body (removal is optional, but preferable).

And you will also need Consumables: cutting and sharpening wheels (one sharpening wheel is enough) for grinders, 3 mm electrodes (one package). If the product is to be painted with heat-resistant paint, you will need a metal brush to prepare the surfaces of the oven.

Required tool:

• plumbing tools (open-end wrench for unscrewing the cylinder valve, hammer, chisel, file, clamp, etc.);
• grinder for cutting holes in the cylinder and other work;
• welding machine;
• measuring instrument (ruler, tape measure, square, level);

The grinder should be used very carefully. Be sure to use safety glasses. Under no circumstances remove the protective cover from the angle grinder. Follow the safe operation requirements specified in the operating instructions.

Preparatory work before assembling the stove

Preparatory work includes a very important stage - removing residual gas from the cylinder. This stage should be considered in detail, since without it correct execution further work is extremely dangerous.

First of all, it is necessary to unscrew the cylinder valve to remove the gas under residual pressure in the cylinder. The valve is completely removed from the housing. After the gas has been removed, the cylinder is inverted to remove condensate.

By turning the container over, we remove moisture naturally. It is better to collect condensate in a disposable unnecessary container. Condensate often has a specific bad smell. Therefore, it is better to immediately throw away the container with the collected condensate.

Next, the cylinder is turned over again and placed in a vertical position. To completely remove gas residues, you need to fill it with water. Water filled to the edges of the cylinder will completely displace the remaining gas from it. After this, the cylinder is emptied of water and it is considered suitable for cutting.

For greater clarity, here is a video of preparing the cylinder for cutting.

The video was taken from the Internet resource Youtube. Used for informational purposes only and does not constitute advertising.

Preparing a gas cylinder for safe handling with power tools: video

Preparing a tool (power tool) includes inspecting it for damage and determining the degree of its suitability for safe operation.

Making a potbelly stove from a gas (propane) cylinder with your own hands

After preparing the tools and materials, you can begin making the furnace.

Manufacturing a vertical potbelly stove includes the following steps:

1. On the prepared cylinder, future openings of the firebox chambers and ash pan are marked. The distance between these cutouts should be 80–100 mm;

   Marking the cylinder

Using a grinder, holes are cut according to the markings. The cut segments do not need to be thrown away; doors will be made from them.

Make cuts, but do not throw away the remaining parts after work.

The cut segments are attached to the cylinder on hinges using welding. A grate made from a reinforcement rod is welded inside the cylinder.

Potbelly stove door mounting option

The final stage. A chimney pipe is welded into the upper part of the cylinder. The chimney pipe is connected to this pipe at the location where the stove is installed.

The finished product must be checked for correct functioning!

Features of operation, cleaning and repair

To increase the efficiency of a potbelly stove, there are several recommendations:

• The potbelly stove should be installed at a height of at least 20 cm from the floor. This way the heat coming from the stove is better distributed.
• The rate of fuel burning can be adjusted by installing a damper in the chimney pipe. The flap is adjustable air flow, creating natural cravings in the firebox.
• To improve heat transfer along the body of the potbelly stove, you can weld plates from sheet metal. This creates something like a radiator. The plates are welded at a distance of 4–7 mm from each other.
• To give the potbelly stove an aesthetic appearance, it can be painted with heat-resistant paint.
• The potbelly stove must be installed on a non-combustible base (sheet of metal, concrete block). This is necessary to reduce the risk of fire from spilled smoldering particles.

There is advice for improving the process of heating a room by directing a fan to the potbelly stove. This increases air circulation, and hence the rate of heating of the room.

The ash pan compartment should be promptly cleared of ash and solid particles. The waste is removed manually, so be careful.

It is also necessary to clean the chimney from combustion products. This can be done once a year, before starting heating season. For better performance of the chimney, it can be insulated.

The main repair process for a potbelly stove is metal welding. Burnt-out areas of the firebox are welded using prepared metal plates.

It is necessary to ensure tightness welding seams chimney pipe and the chimney itself. Leaks can lead to decreased draft, as well as leakage into the room. harmful products combustion.

Making a potbelly stove from a gas cylinder is a job that anyone can do. Simplicity of design and operation makes such a potbelly stove an indispensable assistant in the cold season.