Expensive diesel fuel is not the best energy source for heating a house, because the price of firewood and natural gas is much lower. But when you need to quickly organize temporary heating of residential premises, a garage or a summer residence, then diesel fuel becomes simply irreplaceable. All that is needed is to buy a small heater for liquid fuel, refuel it and light it up. For this purpose, an autonomous heat gun or a miracle stove in diesel fuel is well suited. An alternative solution is a diesel oven made by yourself from steel pipes and metal scraps. There are many options, but we will choose the most popular and discuss their advantages with disadvantages.
Types of autonomous heaters for diesel fuel
To begin with, we list all varieties of heating devices that use liquid fuel and are most often used by users:
- Solyarogaz mini-ovens with a power of 1.8-5 kW from the Russian brand Savo and their analogues;
- various heaters on diesel fuel with forced air supply, they are also heat guns;
- a simple direct burning furnace for a garage is one of the most popular home-made designs;
- the stove is a dropper.
Note. The first 2 types of diesel fuel heaters are produced in the factory, they can be bought ready-made. The remaining two heaters function equally well in diesel fuel and waste oil, but they need to be made independently.
Now we will consider the heating units separately and identify all the positive and negative moments of their operation.
Overview of the miracle-furnace in diesel fuel from the company Savo
Where such a catchy name came from is unknown. Most likely, it was invented by marketers promoting this product on the market. In fact, a miracle furnace working on diesel fuel and kerosene is a modernized descendant of kerogas, which was used in the times of the USSR for cooking. The principle of operation is as follows:
- After opening the control valve, the fuel from the tank flows into the bowl, where the ends of the two fabric wicks are immersed.
- Further, the law of capillary rise of the liquid is in force, thanks to which the wicks wound around the burner are thoroughly saturated with diesel fuel.
- After 2-3 minutes after impregnation, the burner is ignited by matches or a lighter. The output to the operating mode occurs within 10 minutes.
- To shut off the burner in diesel fuel, it is necessary to shut off the fuel valve. The heating furnace will completely go out after 6-10 minutes, when the diesel fuel soaked in the wicks burns out.
For reference. According to the operating instructions for this furnace in diesel fuel, the fuel supply valve must be closed during heating up so that an open flame does not occur. When the upper part of the burner glows and lights up in red, the valve opens again by 2-3 turns.
Solyarogaz heating appliances (Ukrainian equivalent - Motor Sich) can boast of the following real advantages:
- Acceptable price. The PO-1.8 mini-stove (1.8 kW) in retail costs about 37 oz. e., and the price of a 5-kilowatt heater is 95 oz. e.
- Mobility due to its small size and light weight. The mass of the same 1.8 kW diesel-kerosene heating furnace is 5.6 kg.
- Profitability. If you believe the passport, then a miracle furnace in diesel fuel with a heat transfer of 1.8-2.5 kW consume about 200 ml of diesel fuel in 1 hour. Judging by the reviews, the real fuel consumption is practically no different from the passport.
- Again, judging by the user reviews (read in the next section), the stove does an excellent job of heating small rooms, even slightly insulated.
- The product is intended not only for heating, but also for cooking (a steel mesh is installed above the burner).
Let's move on to a few spoons of tar. The first is inertia, which manifests itself during ignition, shutdown and adjustment of the intensity of combustion. As noted above, heating and attenuation of the burner takes 6-10 minutes, and a change in flame is observed 20–35 seconds after turning the tap, so you need to adjust to the stove.
The second important disadvantage of the diesel miracle of the stove is the discharge of combustion products directly into the room. Hence the requirement for instructions on the organization of supply and exhaust ventilation in a heated room. The minimum amount of exhaust and supply air is declared at the level of 20 m³ / h. So much natural ventilation will provide, provided that the hood works well.
Note. The smoke as such from the heater is invisible, but with prolonged use indoors, people had headaches and poor health.
The next disadvantage of mini-furnaces in diesel fuel stems from the previous one. The fact is that the existing ventilation takes part of the generated heat to the street, which makes the heater’s efficiency less. True, for a summer residence or a garage this nuance does not play a big role, unlike residential premises. And the last moment: the unit emits caustic smoke during ignition and attenuation, so these operations are best performed on the street.
Mini heater on video
Real user reviews about Solyarogaz stoves
I must admit that the vast majority of responses about the miracle of the furnace are positive, although there are also negative points:
Yaroslav, Ryazan, Russian Federation.
I purchased a PA-2.5 Savo diesel device for heating the garage. Before frost, minus 10 degrees on the street, working in the garage became much more comfortable, although the stove does not warm up the entire volume of the room. Somewhere one and a half - two meters around him. Given its mobility, the option is acceptable. There is no smoke, but there is a slight smell and the head slightly aches.
Sergey, Stary Oskol, Russian Federation.
In the garage 6 x 4 x 2.5 m bought a heater in diesel fuel Aeroheat HS S2600 (analogue of the miracle furnace). While there are no frosts, the room is warm, but with a minus it can no longer cope. In principle, the stove is not bad, it burns one and a half liters of kerosene in 5 hours, only smokes a little during ignition. Food can be prepared.
Lomaster, Chelyabinsk, Russian Federation.
I have been using this stove for 4 months in a country house of 24 m², I only refuel with diesel. Feels like it drowns better than a 2.5 kW electric heater. Of the minuses, I note the soot at first burning and the smell of tanning salons. Pros - it’s cheaper to heat than electricity, and the ability to cook is to heat food. For 10 hours it consumes only 2.5 liters, acceptable. True, in severe frosts, I still turn to firewood, the heater does not draw.
Hobonod, Moscow.
It warms up well, but it is capricious - it smokes and smokes, so you can only light it up on the street. It is my copy that does not digest when it is crooked. It must be installed on a horizontal surface, then everything is ok. Nothing is written about it in the passport.
After studying a small part of the reviews presented here, the conclusion suggests itself: on the whole, a miracle to burn a diesel fuel is an acceptable option, but one must use it. There is also a contraindication: the heater is not suitable for heating residential premises, unless in extreme cases.
About diesel heat guns
Heating units of this type are designed for heating large areas (from 30 m²) in all weather conditions. The diesel furnace is a supercharger of warm air in the form of a pipe mounted on wheels for ease of movement. The turbine built from the end of this pipe is responsible for creating the air flow. The burner for the furnace, burning diesel fuel, is placed inside the combustion chamber and is washed by air from all sides. There are 2 types of heat guns:
- With direct heating.This means that the air passing through the pipe warms up by the walls of the chamber and mixes with the combustion products coming out of it, and then the gas mixture enters the room. The heater is very efficient, but unsuitable for operation in a confined space.
- With indirect heating. The design is similar to the first, but the exhaust gases do not mix with the air flow and are sent through a separate channel to the chimney, as shown in the diagram. The heater loses in efficiency, since part of the heat goes away with the combustion products, but it is absolutely safe and able to heat residential premises.
Note. Due to the design features, heat guns are dependent on the supply of electricity. Without it, the fan and heater automation will not turn on.
We list the main advantages of air furnaces in diesel fuel:
- the ability to heat rooms of a large area, for which models with power from 10 to 100 kW are produced;
- acceptable diesel consumption;
- mobility;
- maintaining the required air temperature in the room;
- safety automatics, shutting down the pump and supplying fuel to the nozzle during overheating, power outages and other emergency situations;
- high heating rate of the entire volume of the room.
An example regarding fuel consumption. The well-known manufacturer of HVAC equipment Ballu declares the following indicators: a 20 kW unit consumes 1.6 kg / h of diesel fuel (about 2 l), 30 kW - 2.4 kg / h (up to 3 l), and a 50 kW heater “eats” 4 kg / h diesel fuel (up to 5 l).
The main disadvantage of powerful diesel heaters is the high cost. Take products of the same Ballu brand, which is included in the middle price category: a direct heating installation with a capacity of 10 kW will cost 270 oz. e., and indirect at 20 kW - as much as 590 at. e.
The second important minus relates to direct heating units that emit flue gases together with air. This feature greatly limits the scope of this type of air heaters. It is safe to use the heat gun only in industrial or technical rooms with forced ventilation or at construction sites for local heating.
Tip. There is a way to reduce the cost of installing a diesel heat gun in the country or in the garage. It is necessary to get a small-sized stove on diesel fuel, used in trucks, and modify it a little. A unit from the Webasto brand is suitable (it is better to search for disassembly, a new one is very expensive) or the Soviet analogue of OV-65.
Homemade miracle oven and dropper
The construction of this home-made garage furnace on diesel fuel has long been known to everyone: 2 round or square tanks are connected by a vertical pipe with openings for supplying secondary air. We decided to include it in this material because of the popularity of this heater. Despite all the shortcomings, a lot of people continue to use the stove - the owners of garages and country houses.
For reference. The heater received the name of a miracle oven because of the ability to cause a fire when burning a mining unit, into which water got. The unit begins to shoot in all directions glowing drops of oil through the holes in the afterburner pipe. When working on clean diesel fuel, a disadvantage does not occur.
Do-it-yourself mini-furnace for working off and diesel fuel, operates due to the natural draft of the chimney according to this algorithm:
- The lower tank is half filled with liquid fuel, which is ignited through an opening with an air damper.
- After warming up, diesel fuel actively evaporates, mixes in the pipe with secondary air and burns out in the upper tank.
- Combustion products are led out through the chimney.
Anyone can literally weld this diesel furnace according to the drawing literally on the knee, if metal and pipe cuttings were at hand. This is the only advantage of the heater, opposed to a bunch of disadvantages:
- the chimney does not save from the ingress of exhaust gases into the room, so the stove smokes and stinks mercilessly when working;
- poor heating efficiency with a terrifying consumption of liquid fuel - up to 2 l / h;
- the unit is fire hazardous, it is simply impossible to leave it unattended, in addition, it is necessary to keep a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher nearby.
A home-made drip-type oven is not so popular because of a more complex device. The heater body is made of a vertically standing steel pipe, where the bottom and lid are welded. Inside is an afterburner from a pipe of a smaller diameter, and underneath is a fuel bowl. Working out either by gravity or through a pump, either diesel fuel is fed into it, and air is pumped into the afterburner with a fan. The design of the dropper furnace operating on diesel fuel is shown in the drawing:
The heater consumes 200-300 grams of fuel in 1 hour, heats the room well and practically does not smoke, since all gases are sent to the chimney. These are pluses, and the minus is depending on electricity and binding to one place where the chimney is arranged. More about the principle of the dropper is said in another publication.
Finally - selection recommendations
So, we resemble the results in the form of recommendations:
- Of all the furnaces in diesel fuel, only one is clearly suitable for heating residential premises - an indirect heating heat gun. Heating devices of the Solyarogaz type can be used as a temporary option if the room has ventilation.
- For a garage, boxing or cottage, it is better to make drip heaters with your own hands. Despite the popularity, we can not advise you a homemade miracle stove. This unit is too dangerous and more than one garage burned during its existence.
- A diesel heat gun is the only right decision when you need to heat a large area in a building where there are no other energy sources.
- If the drip type furnace is converted into a boiler and connected to a water heating system, then it is possible to heat a residential building with it. The heat source is carried out to the annex or a separate building, where the smell of diesel will not hinder anyone.
It should be understood that all liquid-fuel heaters require periodic cleaning of soot, abundantly covering the internal surfaces of combustion chambers and smoke channels. An exception is a factory mini-stove in diesel fuel, where it will be necessary to change the burning out wicks.