new member with a few waste oil burner questions

[MM]

hello everyone, just found this forum, very very interesting- wish i had found it 12 months ago when i started building my waste oil burner.

to cut a long story short i have been through the 'drip feed' method and i am now using the brass door knob atomiser which i am quite happy with.
In my garage i am getting a local (ie, within 6-8 feet away) rise in temperature from a starting temp of 7-10 up to 20-23.
i am using a 5foot long section of 10" round steel tubing in a horizantal set up which is then joined to my previous square vertical burner and from there to a steel chimney. i have filled the inside of the horizantal tube and the vertical square burner with fire brick and lots of bits of steel scrap metal- to act as baffles.

my main question here is - can i (ie is it safe?) to build some sort of boiler ontop of the horizantal tube (which becomes red hot) to heat water for the central heating system already in the garage? could it be as simnple as using the radiator beside where the burner is as a boiler?- ie- replumb it so that the radiator is abover the hot tube?


thanks in advance

michael

[Ivan]

I'd say yes you can do it, but you'd need to do a bit of experimentation. Think about it - woodstoves have a large boiler fitted inside the fire right next to the flames - and they seem to work. I would say you need to have a reasonable volume of water in the 'boiler' to prevent local hot-spots from causing it to boil.

How about constructing a burner tube inside a larger tube which is water filled - thus the boiler is concentrically arranged about the burner tube?

Having said that, I've no experience at all in this area.

[MM]

thanks Ivan

what i might try is taking off the radiator and replace it with copper pipe which will come up on top of the tube, then criss cross and back down - using the existing radiator connectors

[MM]

well, i tried the copper pipe on top (outside) the main heat tube- no good. so i opened the tube, now have the pipe inside the heat tube and its working- although i think i need more water inside the tube at any one time, have a part of an old industrial boiler coming tomorrow from a friend which i'll connect alongside the pipes already there and see what happens.......

[Ivan]

Any chance of posting a picture?


Yes, you've got to be careful you don't flash-boil the water inside the small diameter tube - easy to have it popping and banging.

If you water-jacketed your burner tube, you'd have a much larger volume of water, so less likely to produce steam.

[Eleanor]

I'd say yes you can do it, but you'd need to do a bit of experimentation.

Having said that, I've no experience at all in this area.

 

[turbojim]

Hi MM,
         I have just read your post in relation to your boiler. Some years ago I built a boiler with the same concept as Ivan mentioned ie 4in tube inside a 6in tube.
 Worked great until one day the electric supply board ESB called and asked me what was I using the 4in stainless steel pipe for? which was the chimney from the boiler situated directly below the ESB cables, that run across my back garden.
 They asked me to take it down because of the danger, there only being 6/7 ft between the top of the pipe and the cables.
 The reason I had the chimney so high was because I was burning waste veg oil and I didn't want the neighbours calling to the door because of the smell.
I had all the hot water requirments that I needed from that boiler.
 I might relocate the boiler some time in the future.The boiler was a drip feed system. The only drawback I had, was that I had to be in attendance most of the time while it was burning.
If you would like to see the plan and pics, go to the yahoo vegoilburner group forum.
Click on photos and scroll down to 'Jim's boiler'.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vegoilburners/photos/album/1777202628/pic/list
Hope the above will be of some help to you.
Regards Jim.

 

[ecogeorge]

Ooooo ! don't just tantalise us with " I'm using a door knob now"   
We need more info  !!!  What pressure compressed air? What are you pumping the oil with? How do you light it? Do you preheat the oil ?  What oil are you burning? etc etc
Oh and a photo must be compulsory........   please 
rgds George.

[homebrewpower]

I actually now manufacturer Babington Atomizing Nozzles in the UK.

See http://homebrewpower.co.uk/Babington-Burner-Nozzles-For-Sale.html

Took me a long time to set up production but I am selling them as fast as I can make them!

All the best

Andy Mahoney
www.HomeBrewPower.co.uk
Renewable Energy Tips & Advise

[Ivan]

Hi Andy,

Good to hear from you again. Can you provide complete burner assemblies? For burning WVO that's ful of FFA and no good for biodiesel, and/or glycerine burning? I quite like the idea of being able to play with off-the-shelf parts.

[homebrewpower]

Hi Group!

I am currently starting design and construction of a complete burner assembly that if successful I will be selling to other interested parties. My design is going to be as simple and robust as practically possible.

The babington nozzles are selling really well, there seems to be more and more people looking into using waste oils to provide heating and hot water.