Simple mobile heater

[T1 Terry]

Thanks NP, all makes sense, especially the door sealing issue. Never liked the door in the bottom idea, always had the wood feed in the top so a slide around lid idea worked both as the air feed damper and hot plate while giving a large entry for bigger wood. Could never get a side door to seal properly and often resulted in burning coals fall out when opened, the top lid at least solved the burning embers and maybe the addition of a larger flat surface area such as the flange idea you have added would give both a better seal area and a method of stopping the whole thing going out of shape as it heated. A second ring dropped down a few inches inside and the chimney mounted from the top towards the rear and opening inside this area between the flat flanged section and the ring dropping down inside would pull the smoke away from the opening as long as not too much air was fed in from the bottom.
Always a different method of building a mouse trap and each new idea adds thought to the next design, thankyou for sharing your design with us NP

T1 Terry

[native pepper]

Ray, it's not an open fire in any way, but a combustion heater as nothing can come out except through the flue and as it sits in a metal based wire frame, it's safer than using a gas stove with a naked flame. I had a hot plate that used to sit on top of it so we could boil water, or cook, but because it is so low was not a great idea, so the plate is now something else.

[native pepper]

NP what is the set up for the chimney through the roof when you dismantle the fire?

If you look at the photo's Dot, in one you can see it going out the drivers window, which is a sliding window and slides across to hold the board and pipe in place. I made it so it fits in the window grooves and doesn't rattle or move, even when we have driven with the fire going. So when you pull it down you just shut the window, no alterations to the bus at all and no hole in the roof. In the kit photo, you can see all he bits and with the other photos how it all goes together.

The only fault I fund with it is the exposed chimney and have been keeping my eye out for some webbing you see over chimneys to arrive at the transfer station. Will attach it to the upright and horizontal pipes, then won't have to keep telling guests don't put your hand on the pipe. Luckily the first thing they notice is the heat and steer clear of it

[Dot]

Arh ha got it

[grizzzman]

fuel is less of a worry eh? kewl heater

[T1 Terry]

A quick cheap heat insulator is a larger diameter pipe over the top, something for spacers then seal the bottom with Maniseal exhaust putty and fill the gap between with sand, then seal the top with more maniseal.
an alternative is filling copper pipe with sand and sealing each end, wrap it around the pipe, the sand will stop the pipe from crushing out of round if you packed the sand down well. A piece of pipe large enough to go over the top, split in half for easy fitting, any sort of insulation like fibreglass batts etc and fit the 2 halves together over it with either a couple of tabs and screws or big hose clamps, or even a bit of wire. To make better use of the pipe, empty the sand and connect a tank above the top of the coil, bottom on the tank straight down to the bottom of the coil and the top of the coil half way up the tank. The water will thermo syphon as it heats, the hot water entering the centre of the tank will rise to the top stiring the water as it does dropping the colder water to the bottom, this stops the hot water layering.
If you want to spread the heat around better, a pipe from the top of the tank out to a car heater core or even a small car radiator, the heater outlet to the bottom of the coiled pipe. The thermosiphon will "pump" the water out of the heater core and the hot water from the top of the tank will be drawn in to replace it, this also helps to extend the heat cycle between wood refills and uses the waste heat that would have gone out the chimney, the system is called a waste heat calorifier and used in heavy oil diesel powered ships to heat/thin the oil among other uses

T1 Terry

[Dot]

And when you get that one built Terry let us know and we shall come to gaze upon.

[T1 Terry]

I was just spelling it out for George Dottie