This article will explain how to transform an air compressor tank into a wood heater. Air compressor tanks are fairly thick walled steel tanks that can easily be welded and offer a fairly safe improvised heater.
Steps
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Find an air compressor that no longer works, and remove the motor/compressor assembly. This should leave you a steel tank with a few holes you will need to deal with later.
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Figure out how you want to configure your wood heater. Horizontal heaters can handle longer wood, but have a larger foot print, vertical ones take up much less space, and as mentioned, have a smaller fire box diameter/dimension.Advertisement
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Lay out a door opening on the side of the tank. For a vertical heater, come up about 1/3 the tank's height, and make a level line (perpendicular to the tank sides). For a horizontal, on one end, make a level mark about 4 inches up from the tank's lower side.
- Keep in mind that once you begin laying out your cut lines, you need to maintain an orientation so all cuts will be square/plumb/level in relationship to each other for a good fit and neat appearance.
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Mark two vertical lines at 1/3 points of the tank's diameter (or the width of the end of the tank if horizontal). Then make a top mark, level again, for the top of the door.
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Using a steel cutting wheel on a grinder or saw, cut one side you have marked for the door of your heater.
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Fasten hinges centered on the cut you have just made. You can tap screws through the metal, or simply weld the hinges in place. Make sure the pins are aligned and the hinges seat flat to the side of the tank.
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Cut the remaining three sides of your door. Having installed the hinges prior to cutting the whole door out will insure the door is aligned properly.
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Cut some 1/8 to 3/16 flat stock one inch wide to weld along the inside of the door opening. This will create a door stop, and also help seal the door opening so sparks/smoke will be less likely to escape.
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Drill a 5/16 inch (40.6 cm) hole through the edge of the door opposite the hinges near the center. Then insert a 5/16 pencil rod (cold rolled steel rod) through the hole. It will be bent 90 degrees nearly flush with the inside face of the door, and have another 90 degree bend on the outside. This will act as the latch.
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Keeping the pencil rod tight to the inside of the door surface, weld a 5/16 flat washer on both the inside and outside of the door to hold it in place.
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Weld two 1 ⁄ 2 inch (1.3 cm) steel bars cut to fit across the side of the tank about 3 inches below the bottom edge of the door. These will be for the firewood to rest on as it burns, and will keep the wood above the ash settling on the tank bottom.
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Cut a piece of heavy gauge steel expanded metal to lay on the bars welded in place in the previous step. This is optional, but will support small kindling wood when lighting your fire. This piece will just lay in place, since it must be removed to remove ash after your fire has died down.
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Cut a hole in the top of the tank on the opposite side from the door for your flue. For simplicity, we will describe using a single-wall thin gauge flue pipe, available at hardware stores. Buy the stove pipe before cutting this hole and you can use it to scribe the exact diameter/location for the flue. Notch the metal near the edge of the hole, so these pieces can be bent upward to provide a surface to fasten the flue pipe to.
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Weld or rivet the stove pipe to the flange at the flue hole you created at the top of your tank. This attachment needs to be tight, if the cut is sloppy, use fire caulk or chimney sealant around the seam to prevent sparks and smoke from escaping.
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Cut a three to four inch piece of pipe about 5 inches long for an air inlet/damper assembly underneath the fire grate below the door. Use it to scribe a matching hole which you will cut into the tank. Cut a round piece of sheet metal to fit inside the pipe, then drill a hole through the top and bottom of the pipe to fit a rod to fasten this damper to.
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Weld the air inlet pipe/damper assembly to the tank, centered on the hole cut earlier.
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Attach legs/a base to the bottom of the tank to support it at the height you want. Make sure the legs or base is secure and support the tank in a plumb/level position.
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Install a section of stove pipe to the flue on top so that it has enough height to draft (draw smoke up through it). You can now test fire the wood heater. Assume any paint still on the tank may emit toxic fumes, so test the stove out out doors where there is plenty of ventilation.Advertisement
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Tips
- Heavier tanks will last longer, but the tank walls should be at least 1/8 inch thick for safety.Thanks
- Propane and LP tanks are suitable for this project, but cutting them is dangerous, since explosive vapors may be present. Only cut and weld gas tanks that are properly purged.Thanks
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Warnings
- Watch for burnouts in home made wood stoves. Thin wall material may rust/burn through in short order.Thanks
- Food and fuel drums are generally too thin to weld for inexperienced welders, and do not make long lived stoves since they burn/rust through quickly.Thanks
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