Mother’s Alcohol Fuel Seminar
© The Mother Earth News, 1980

MOTHER's Waste Oil Heater

... continued

Instructions in a nutshell

1. Start construction of waste oil stove by chalking off and cutting out access door on the side of the stripped water heater tank.
2. All cuts -- whether torched or sawed -- should be filed smooth.
3. The stack holes on tank's top are next chalked (left) and ...
4. ... cut.
5. Tank is then turned upside down so the support flange for stove's burner assembly can be mounted and ...
6. ... the furnace's legs bolted to the container's bottom.

7. Here's all the hardware for the burner assembly which, like everything else ...
8. ... just bolts together.
9. The chimney stack is pushed at least six inches down into its hole and secured with bolts and angle iron tabs.
10. A funnel is made from some of the junked water heater's sheet metal skin and ...
12. ... pushed through access door and wedged up through its hole in the top of the converted tank.
11. ... fitted to the lower end of intake stack, which is then ...

15. Although not absolutely necessary, a spacer ring can be bent up from hanger strap and ...
14. A 4-inch, 90-degree elbow is fitted to a hole in the side of a 12-inch-long section of 8-inch stovepipe and this "pre-heater" is positioned over the feeder tubing.
13. The copper tubing fuel feeder is then wrapped around chimney stack and its end positioned over the intake stack.
18. A collar -- cut from the old water heater's sheet metal skin -- can be added to cover the clamp.
17. "Pre-heater/intake stack" assembly is locked into position with a simple clamp.
16. ... used to center pre-heater stovepipe on chimney stack.
20. Salvaged tank's heating element holes are sealed with 1/8-inch steel plates.
19. View of inside of partially completed furnace door.

22. A short angle iron "handle", a peephole covered by a movable metal flap, and a window latch fastener complete the furnace's door.
21. The completed furnace's burner assembly is filled with crushed asbestos or an asbestos brick [use perlite]. As an added fire precaution, the bottom of the stove is then filled with sand.
23. MOTHER's waste oil burner gets a light from Richard Freudenberger.
24. The blaze is just getting started ... and already Richard can feel the heat.


MOTHER's Waste Oil Heater -- original version

Modifications:



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