Biodiesel Heater

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Greetings All,

I'm looking for information on heaters that can use biodiesel as a
fuel source. I've seen some kerosene/diesel-fired forced-air heaters
and wondered if they're also BD compatible. I'm specifically looking
for something that doesn't require electricity to operate so it can be
used as an emergency fuel source. Thanks!

 

[Nog]

Greetings All,

I'm looking for information on heaters that can use biodiesel as a
fuel source. I've seen some kerosene/diesel-fired forced-air heaters
and wondered if they're also BD compatible. I'm specifically looking
for something that doesn't require electricity to operate so it can be
used as an emergency fuel source. Thanks!

Used motor oil works good too.

 

[Steve Spence]

The methyl ester BD will burn well in deisel engines at up to 30%
replacement with no engine modifications. I imagine the same is true of
your oil burner. If you are using unaltered biosource, it should work
in a similar blend as long as the oil is pre-heated to prevent
gelling.-Jitney

biodiesel works well at 100%, not just 30% in diesel engines. It's not
the same with oil burners. gelling is not the issue, it's seal degradation.

 

[Steve Spence]

A friend of mine (veggiegas.ca) runs a Hummer (H1) on various
concentrations of biodiesel without any problems in warm weather. He
did mention that in very cold weather, he cuts it with dino-diesel.

DJ

In very cold weather we cut dino diesel with kerosene. Same with the
biodiesel and wvo.

 

[[email protected]]

So...know of any specific models that you can recommend? I've done
some research and found that you shouldn't use BD in wick-style
heaters, but is there any kind of portable oil-fired heater that
anyone can recommend? I want it to be portable so I can use it
primarily in my garage but, if needed, can bring it inside the house
for emergency use (if the power goes out, for instance).

 

[Steve Spence]

Steve Spence wrote:




I have seen cases where, for financial reasons, gasoline was cut with
kerosene down to about 50% without any problems in generators...

DJ

Here, kerosene costs a lot more than gasoline ......

I'm not about to put gasoline in my diesel, though some do add a bit.

 

[ger]

DJ schreef:

Well, here's the thing. "Biodiesel" is a pretty broad catch-all phrase
to describe fuel made from chemically treating vegetable oil sources.
The fuel usually acts like diesel/stove oil, but there's no guarantee.
Not to disparage biodiesel, just to let you know that "results may
vary" ;-).


An emergency heat source, you mean. Well, it will require some
electricity, though, as far as I know, because most of the fuel oil
furnaces and heaters I am aware of require fuel pumps and some require
exhaust blowers.

A fuel pomp does not need a motor to suck the fuel in. One could pressurise
the feedtank (slightly, about 2 ato) That will be enough to create a spray
(with the correct nozzle)
The old stove we had, running on petrol, did use gravity, the petrol was
burning on a plate. Highly inefficient, but it did work. For the heavier
fuels, I think one needs some (propane) gas-lighter to keep it burning

But, then again, I do remember going moose hunting one year in Northern
Quebec, and the sole heat source for the cabin was a stove oil heater.
And I *know* there was no electricity there, so there must be a gravity
feed variety as well.

There are cooking stoves with a handpump built in. As far as I can remember
it would burn for about a 10 minutes before repumping was neccesary.

 

[Gordon Richmond]

Coleman, and others, made gravity-feed oil stoves for years. I daresay
they still do. They have a "carburetor" (called exactly that) mounted
low on the rear of the stove. It contains a float mechanism with a
valve on it, very similar in concept to the float valve in an
automotive carburetor or even the ballcock in a toilet tank. Its
function is to provide a constant, if small pressure head to the oil
orifice in the bottom of the combustion chamber. A control knob
governs how much oil flows, by adjusting the opening of a needle
valve. The carburetor receives oil by gravity feed from a tank,
usually kept outdoors. The carburetor serves to ensure a steady
trickle of oil runs into the bottom of the firebox, where it wicks up
onto the sooty surface and burns, quietly, and without a fuss.

Stoves of this type used to be common in rural areas, either as
cookstoves or simple space heaters, and the space heaters are still
used for heating tent camps for hunting and survey parties.

Gordon Richmond

 

[NotMe]

might check out www.monitorforpresident.com as they have a detail break down
of a lot of 'how it does it's thing' on monitor heaters. You might get some
ideas from there.

| Coleman, and others, made gravity-feed oil stoves for years. I daresay
| they still do. They have a "carburetor" (called exactly that) mounted
| low on the rear of the stove. It contains a float mechanism with a
| valve on it, very similar in concept to the float valve in an
| automotive carburetor or even the ballcock in a toilet tank. Its
| function is to provide a constant, if small pressure head to the oil
| orifice in the bottom of the combustion chamber. A control knob
| governs how much oil flows, by adjusting the opening of a needle
| valve. The carburetor receives oil by gravity feed from a tank,
| usually kept outdoors. The carburetor serves to ensure a steady
| trickle of oil runs into the bottom of the firebox, where it wicks up
| onto the sooty surface and burns, quietly, and without a fuss.
|
| Stoves of this type used to be common in rural areas, either as
| cookstoves or simple space heaters, and the space heaters are still
| used for heating tent camps for hunting and survey parties.
|
| Gordon Richmond

 

[Bill Plante]

might check out www.monitorforpresident.com as they have a detail break
down of a lot of 'how it does it's thing' on monitor heaters. You might
get some ideas from there.

| Coleman, and others, made gravity-feed oil stoves for years. I daresay
| they still do. They have a "carburetor" (called exactly that) mounted
| low on the rear of the stove. It contains a float mechanism with a valve
| on it, very similar in concept to the float valve in an automotive
| carburetor or even the ballcock in a toilet tank. Its function is to
| provide a constant, if small pressure head to the oil orifice in the
| bottom of the combustion chamber. A control knob governs how much oil
| flows, by adjusting the opening of a needle valve. The carburetor
| receives oil by gravity feed from a tank, usually kept outdoors. The
| carburetor serves to ensure a steady trickle of oil runs into the bottom
| of the firebox, where it wicks up onto the sooty surface and burns,
| quietly, and without a fuss.
|
| Stoves of this type used to be common in rural areas, either as
| cookstoves or simple space heaters, and the space heaters are still used
| for heating tent camps for hunting and survey parties.
|
| Gordon Richmond

When I was in the army, three of us spent the winter of 1962-63 on top of
Kreuzberg mountain in Germany, living in a tent, running a vhf relay.

We had a gravity-fed stove that used gasoline or diesel, and I well
remember how we would arduously unload a 55 gallon drum of diesel or
gasoline from our truck and get it up a few feet above the
ground on a platform.

Then, to prime the flow, we sometimes had to suck on the hose coming from
the drum. You sometimes got a bit in your mouth (it was an excellent
mouthwash in its way).

Once the stove was going, it was a honey and kept us comfortable inside
the thin canvas of the tent. I remember it sometimes glowing cherry red.

 

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When I was in the army, three of us spent the winter of 1962-63 on top of
Kreuzberg mountain in Germany, living in a tent, running a vhf relay.

great story!

were you guys all alone on that mountain?