Nifty! Some thoughts: 1. As you are using sand as your mass, you don't need to go to the expense of a cast iron pot. You could use a stainless steel stock pot for the bottom. 2. For the top, you could pick up a second, smaller stainless steel stock pot that fits inside the sleeve and also fill that with sand. (You want a stock pot for top, as they are fairly tall, and it can reach down to the top of the mesh. 3. You don't need to cut the mesh to size. You can just fold and crimp the two ends together over and over until it fits. That will make for a *very* strong seam and the whole thing will still be very cylindrical. 4. The fill hole needs to be (mostly) sealed while in use. A ball bearing or marble just slightly larger than the hole would be perfect, though a can lid would also work. 5. The extra carbon felt can be packed inside the inner can so that, if the whole thing tips over, fuel won't spill out so easily. 6. The edges of the shell should be folded back on themselves repeatedly to make it stiffer--and thus safer--and to open it up so more heat can be radiated. 7. The top and bottom pots need to be rigidly connected together so the whole thing can't fall apart and create a fire hazard, as bumping the shell hard enough could easily make it buckle. A couple of pieces of steel pipe that are notched on the ends would work as spacers, and you could drill a hole at each end perpendicular to the notch for a u-bolts to go through to hold the handle to the pipe. That would make it pretty solid, I would think. Cheers!

Safety Note:Rubbing alcohol gives of noxious fumes. You'll want to use Denatured alcohol or camp fuel for interior applications! In case of emergency; R.A.can be used... ensure adequate ventilation! Also, from experience: place a coin/ stone etc over the fill hole to reduce flare up and fuel consumption.

In place of the cast iron pot, could you look at semi-truck or trailer brake drums from a salvage yard? It would be a super heavy-duty alternative. I have used them for wood stoves and fire pits. Salute !!! I love your incredible heater.

Check at a restaurant supply store for a larger pot. It might be less expensive than you think. That was good. You put several heater concepts together into a nice build.

Thank you for your project and taking the time to explain everything

Thanks.Still learning something every day.

On my second build, I used a steel dog bowl as the lid and filled it with sand. The sand was almost molten in no time compared to the first build where I had the sand in the bottom. It becomes warm at the bottom but nothing compared to sand at the top for obvious reasons. Also bigger mantle, more infrared heat. A few drops of Olbas Oil or Menthol in the bottom with water for your bad chest and sinuses 👍

The first thing I tried when I heard about sand batteries was heating a pot full of it from underneath with, I think 8 candles. The temperature in my shed was about 6 centigrade, a couple of hours later I blew the candles out. After 15 minutes the sand was almost cold. Sand batteries can work really well but they need to be heated to a very high temperature in a well insulated container and the release of the heat needs to be regulated.

I would use one of those heavy gauge round galvanized steel water troughs used for livestock as a base for the sand battery. They come in many sizes from 23 gal and up. Might be a bit cheaper than cast iron. Thanks for this vid, it gave me some ideas for heating. 👍

Nice combination of ideas, great build

I love your channel! I subscribed about a week ago, nice to see another decent human being with an interest and passion for innovation, learning and teaching. Bravo sir

Awesome and epic video thank you so much for making it ❤️👍

Thanks this was very helpful.

Great idea. The only problem I see is safety. The whole tower is resting in sand with nothing fastened to anything. I would recommend attaching a spoke style rebar base as well as fastening the internal components together. Greenhouses can get a lot of traffic, and to me, currently, this looks unsafe.

Very nice, unique setup. I like it! I would steer away from rubbing alcohol, especially at the ratio you are burning (looks like 70%??). It contains glycerin and water. What happens is the alcohol burns off and leaves you with a glycerin/water mixture in the can. Eventually, your wick will be saturated with water and burn very inefficiently. Best to use straight alcohols (methanol, ethanol, higher grade isopropyl). Methanol only has one carbon atom per molecule and will be much safer to burn, too. Less chance to create carbon monoxide and soot. Ethanol has two and isopropyl has three.

really cool. i dont know how much room you have in your hot house but you could get some of those blue plastic storage 55 gal drums paint them black and fill them 3/4 the way with water the thermal mass of the heat collected in the day would radiate though the night. i still really like your design.

I saw the basic workings of this on the Robert Murray-Smith videos but really like the sand addition you wisely installed. He has one of the accents we Texans find amusing but you are easier to follow and give a good explanation of it all. He recently did a video on 2173 Making Carbon Cloth.

Thank you Sir.Wasnt sure what everyone was talking about. on the type of heater.☃️

Thank you for not trying to be manipulative and laying the premise of the video out fully in the first seconds.

Suggestion: cooking oil or any oil works great and burns forever, also no fumes! You might need more space between the bottom inner & outer cans, oil does not throw off fumes nearly at the extreme rate of alcohol, the forever wick will need more room to draw.. ✌🏻🌎✌🏻

You did a wonderful video ! Certainly inspired a lot of people to think outside the box & incorporate there own ideas. Sharing is caring and it’s wonderful to see you providing valuable content. It’s amazing!!! Love you bonsai plants, fabulous hobby!!!!

That’s super friggin great with some super awesome creative stuff and did I mention it was super fantastic. It’s just super.

Robert Murray Smith on his T-N-T (thinking and tinkering) channel has done amazing work with these heaters and sand batteries. I think a large stainless steel Dutch oven like a Revereware style from the thrift store would be a good base and lid. A section of single wall interior stove pipe for the reflector. Drill and bolt the reflector to the base pot. If you can't get carbon felt, you can use an old sock, but it would be a consumable wick. I would also take the stainless steel screen and place the seam over a pipe and hammer it flat so it won't come apart. Overall, it's a good basic design.

Great project. I would recommend adding a fuel fill pipe that extends to the outside. So it could be filled without any disassembly, maybe 1/2 copper pipe which can easily be bent to the desired shape, and a fuel line cap would also be able to be purchased at any hardware store for cheap. Watched from a KZfaq recommendation, and have to say nice work, and I like the bonsai in the background. Cheers from Newfoundland

Amazing i will definitely look into this for my small workshop. Appreciate your time and effort.

Hace mas de 50 años habia unas estufas que en uruguay era marca POD usaban ese sistema. muy bueno y economicas.

Thanks for the video love the info, instead of using (an awesome cooking pot) Dutch oven you could get a small propane tank (scrap yard is a good place) cut out most of the center and there you go👍

Large chimney brick and a larger kerosene lantern from Lehman supply company in kindred Ohio. My grandmother would fill the lantern and put it on the lowest level and place it inside the chimney brick. And that was enough to heat the entire greenhouse during the winter. The place was toasty the lantern would need to be filled like ever 20 hrs but worth every penny. She also did it in the chicken coop as well. With a block on top and holes drilled into the sides of the block. And bird spikes on the block to keep them from roosting on the very warm top.

Great instructional video and the comments are full of great ideas 🤙🏼☮️

Nice heater. The larger pan/pot for bottom is a good idea. Less chance of being upset and turned over in case a critter found a way into the green house. I wonder is an alternative to alcohol for fuel that would not burn up as quick. Any fuel would probably put off some toxic fumes.

Beautiful bonsai collection!

Great video. May I suggest you use fondue fuel. Its refined for indoor use. I use fondue fuel in my Trangia Spirit Burner that I use when I go camping. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Cheers

This is perfect.

You can do the same thing but with olive oil. It’ll last longer and the oil itself isn’t flammable. Just use some rubbing alcohol to start the flame on the carbon felt

Thank you

Lots of fire-pit basins and old cast iron bathtubs available for sand battery; great idea! Thanks!

I would clamp the edges before pouring the sand. Great idea

Brilliant sir, thank you!

OMG love the Binsai plants behind. Would love to have a few in my home. They are just lovely. I did like and watch the video.

The bonsais are spectacular!

Those things really work good

I am bookmarking this video to rewatch it. I didn't understand a few things. I wish you would have showed the parts that you didn't show about the third can and how you attached the mesh between the top and bottom. Thanks so much for this video. Do people use this in the house or just greenhouse. I am thinking about the pump house.

those are great looking bonsai trees.

Nice job we are going to need all this knowledge for the economic downturn. Thanks

If you can retrofit that to use propane, you'll also boost the Co2 content in the greenhouse. Your plants will love you for it!

Good job. I love these life hacks ❤

That is so neat!

Since you’re using the carbon felt you could use olive oil for an endless candle. You’ll still need a starter fluid like your alcohol or a paraffin lamp oil just to start the wick.

Thanks for sharing!

Great setup-but wouldn’t it be much easier to add all the sand BEFORE inserting the pipe. btw Beautiful Bonsai trees👍

This sounds a lot like the one that Robert Murray-Smith made a few months back. But explained a little different.

Pretty cool idea

Gran video, no me quedo claro como haces funcionar el ventilador y de que material es para que no se queme, Muchas gracias y Felicitaciones

Hi this is the first time I've watched the video loved your idea. Planning on trying it

After COVID i bought hand sanitizer (1/2 gallon jugs) super cheap.(70% rubbing alcohol) Keeping them if we have a power outage. I made a few cans with tiolet paper but I love your design. Thank you

You can usually find large cast iron pots at junktique shops flea market shops in the south . People use them as planters .

Would be cool to have a control mechanism like an old oil lamp, easy on / off, but this looks good to run a measured amount and let it work.

Thank you absolutely wonderful

I love your Bonsais. I love them too.

beautiful Bonsi Garden!

Thanks

Great video Been trying to think of a cheap way to heat my future greenhouse. Though I wish you showed the lighting process

u could even get one of those big cast kettles people have in the yard that places cook kettle corn or soup in. i have see a few of them cheap and junked before. my parents and grandparents even had in our yard. that would hold lots of sand and heat. thanks for the idea of a bigger bottom.

I love the heater and looks a very impressive bit of kit. I would maybe use pop rivets to connect the bottom barrel and top lid just to make it a bit safer and maybe add copper pipes for extra radiation.

It’s not very clear does the stainless steel screen fit into the inside of the top can and the can sits on it also does a stainless steel screen go inside the bottom large can or it just sit on it or does it wrap around it could you maybe film a sequel, showing how you assemble it that whole part is very muddy

Brilliant!

Pretty well thought out! Denatured alcohol burn cleaner I think and I would just staple the mesh together

Hey, thanks for sharing the video. Ray

GENIUS 😅

Amazing 👏🏻

Very nice. Thankyou.

This is very cool would be good for a emergency.

For a larger model, could you use a 55 gallon drum (cut in half, top for lid) and a metal oil bucket in the middle for the wick? This is amazing!!! Thank you for sharing your information with us.

Great video Love your bonsai trees - I have been cultivating bonsai for 25 years plus You have a good Specimen tree - one in particular was wow stands out Thank you for sharing Please display your bonsai trees Hare Krishna blessings

VERY INTERESTING!

Dude your bonsai trees are way cool 😊

Great video I enjoyed it so much that I built one. It works great! However, it works a little too great, I am running through alcohol very quickly. I see below to cover the fill hole I will try that any other ideas. One change I made was I bent the bottom of the reflector in about 1.25 " so the weight of the sand would hold the reflector in place better. I had to snip the flange to bend it to fit the pot.

That is cool my friend. 🙏👍🇺🇸

Though a bit more than some may consider I'd like to add: (1.) A refill tube ('fill pipe') that would equal in volume the amount of alcohol it'd take to refill the tank once emptied. That tubing of course could be 1/4" schedule 40 black iron pipe that runs along the outside vertically, turns horizontally towards the refill hole and then downwards into the fuel tank. (2.) This of course would require a rigid connection between both the top and bottom platforms & securing the "fill pipe" . Noting that only after the unit was completely cooled down refilling would be both safe and quick (even pre measured if you choose to). (3.) One can also install (& purchase) an inexpensive lighter used on kerosene heaters or simply use those fireplace butane types if you wanted. For a few years we used kerosene type heaters in our home burning jet fuel that would have otherwise been disposed of. Free fuel meant free heat, but that eventually came to a close. 😊

Nice design!

Great video. Well done. Lots of great comments. My input … Rubbing alcohol contains a lot of water. Consider denatured alcohol (white gas) from the hardware store or something with higher energy like kerosene.

I can’t help but admire your Bonsai Collection! Most beautiful that I have seen. Very wonderful distraction😂 sorry carry on

Acetone is a good alternative to rubbing alcohol. What was the temp variance in the greenhouse while it was in use?

I want to make this on a smaller scale. The green house I built myself in the 3rd season now. Needs a small heat source for cold nights... This has given me so many ideas thank you..

Awesome. Thank you. So many people in comments apparently like their ideas better or want you to change your build to include their idea. 😂

Agreed with the last comment, please explain how you attached the upper screen mesh\can to the assembly. I assume it is not just resting on top of the carbon felt dual can portion as that would be quite unstable?

Thank you very much. I bought a greenhouse and now having 2nd thoughts my concern is heating the greenhouse after watching your video I’m leaning on keeping it the greenhouse….

Creo que es un muy interesante modelo de Estufa , ya que se puede adaptar por la parte posterior y bajo la arena una delgada tubería para suministro de alcohol por goteo , gracias

Nice build

Curious where you are located, what kinds of outdoor temperatures are you facing? Central Wisconsin, I’m not sure this would be effective

Cool idea

Good work

Very! Nice! ty :)

nicely done

❤❤❤ I love it

I'm sure others mentioned on using isopropyl alcohol. Methanol burns really clean and you won't have any yellow flames. You can buy a yellow bottle of Heat fuel additive for gas line freezing in an auto. Probably a little more expensive..

Please explain why heating stainless steel gives off infrared. Great video!

Could you use Crisco as a Fuel Source? It burns a good long time and trying to adapt for indoor use. Thanks for a great video!

I'd like to see how hot the sand got. As far as I know, heat goes up, so not much heat will go down to the sand even with the heat conductive steel sheet in it, because most heat in the steel sheet travel upward and dissipates to the colder air. Also, steel is much less heat conductive than aluminum or copper. Copper is the most conductive of the three. I'd also like to see the temperature in the room before and a few hours after the heater lights up, then a few hours after it goes out. I wonder if vegetable shortening can be used instead of alcohol. I know a three-pound one with one flame can burn for months. Can alcohol last as long? Overall, a very informative video. Thank you.

Thank you it's a very good idea ! But I can't find this hexaust pipe reflector online, yours is cut along its entire length, did you cut it by yourself ?