At the dacha, it is sometimes necessary to make temporary heating of the greenhouse. For some latitudes of Russia, this is not out of place, given our climate. But pulling a pipeline with a coolant or a cable to connect a heater into a greenhouse is not always cost-effective. After all, electricity is increasingly expensive today. As it turned out, you can solve this problem as simply as possible by buying an inexpensive paraffin burner, which consumes fuel for a very long time, or by making it yourself. Let's try to figure out how difficult it is and what is required for this.
Read in the article
- 1 The simplest paraffin burner: advantages and disadvantages
- 1.1 Burner parts to be prepared
- 1.2 Filling the burner with fuel
- 1.3 Advantages and disadvantages of such a burner
- 2 Advanced paraffin burner
- 2.1 Making a non-smoking burner
- 2.2 What to use as fuel
- 3 What else can be used as a paraffin burner
- 4 Finally
The simplest paraffin burner: advantages and disadvantages
To begin with, we will figure out how to make such a device with our own hands at home, and after that we will try to consider its pros and cons.
For work, you need a minimum of tools and material, namely:
- scissors;
- can of canned food or "drink"
- a small piece of corrugated cardboard;
- candle stubs.
That, in fact, is all that is needed. In time, the work will take no more than 10-15 minutes, most of which will be spent on kindling the paraffin.
Burner parts to be prepared
As for the can, if you are using canning, you do not need to do anything here. Unless you remove its cover. If the can is from under the "drink", then with the help of scissors, the upper part is cut off from it to make a kind of glass.
A strip must be cut out of the cardboard, the width of which will be equal to the height of the container, after which it must be rolled up. This cardboard roll is placed inside the can. In fact, the burner itself is ready, it remains to fill it with paraffin.
Filling the burner with fuel
Paraffin is best heated in a water bath. This will take longer than over an open fire, but it will be much safer. The melted paraffin is poured into a container with cardboard. After that, all that remains is to set fire to the cardboard. On average, if the burner is made from a 0.5 liter can, a full refueling will last for 6-10 hours, depending on the cardboard curl density.
Advantages and disadvantages of such a burner
On the merits, everything is simple here - cheapness, mobility and simplicity. What about the disadvantages? As it turned out, there are a lot of them.
The first and very significant disadvantage of the device is soot. Indeed, after a short period of time, such a burner will stain everything around with soot. But it will be extremely difficult to wipe off the blackness from the inside of the greenhouse.
The second drawback can be called the fact that the burner turns out to be disposable, if you do not constantly monitor it, adding molten paraffin as it burns out. Therefore, it makes sense to consider a more efficient design.
Advanced paraffin burner
This burner is best made from a regular glass jar with a screw cap. In appearance, it will resemble a candle or a kerosene lamp without a glass bulb. Use a coarse fabric material in the form of a strip as a wick. The ideal option would be to use a soldier's canvas trouser belt.
Important! If you use such burners for greenhouses, then it is better to make them 2-3 pieces at once. This will raise the temperature to the desired temperature faster.
Making a non-smoking burner
An elongated slot is made in the lid of the can, into which a piece of trouser belt is threaded. Its length should be such that it lies a little on the bottom, and from above, above the lid, it remains to stick out about 1 cm. Actually, the manufacture of the burner can be considered complete on this.
What to use as fuel
It is clear that ordinary paraffin is no longer suitable for such a burner. So, you need to look for something else. The ideal solution is to purchase liquid paraffin wax, which can be found at any hardware store. The ignition for coals will also perfectly cope with the role of fuel.
Earlier, the ignition for the barbecue was made on the basis of acetones and solvents. However, now the manufacturer has abandoned such compositions, replacing them with a paraffin base. Such liquids do not have such a pronounced chemical smell, and they burn much longer.
What else can be used as a paraffin burner
You can find a similar device at a hardware store. At the same time, it will already be filled and ready to go. There is only one trouble. Such a device is considered disposable. However, do not forget that we live in Russia, which is famous for its non-standard approach to everything. So it is with similar burners - on the net you can find a lot of information about recharging a factory-made burner.
Finally
A greenhouse is not the only area of application for such a burner. It can be used on camping trips ‒ for heating a tent, lighting, or cooking. And in general, such an adaptation is capable of many tasks. The main thing to remember is that if liquid paraffin is used as fuel, the device becomes potentially dangerous. Its overturning will lead to fire and even fire. Therefore, when using such a burner, you must make sure that it is firmly installed, does not wobble. And you should be careful during storage. For the rest, such a homemade product is efficient and does not require large financial costs during operation.
We hope that the information presented by us today will be useful to the dear reader. HouseChief's editors will definitely answer all the questions that might arise during the reading process, if you state their essence in the comments below. There you can also share your thoughts on the reliability and performance of this or that type of paraffin burners. If you liked the article, do not forget to rate it. And finally, we offer you a short video on today's topic for viewing. Take care of yourself, your loved ones and be healthy!