Today I will tell you how I made a potbelly stove for my workshop so that I could work in it in winter, but without wasting electricity with oil heaters.
For these purposes, I got 3 disks from the truck. One of them was of a smaller diameter, so it was decided to put it under the ash pit.
Required materials and tools
In addition to the disks you will need:
- Grinder with metal discs.
- Grinder or drill with a sanding attachment.
- Gas cutter or electric welding.
- A sheet of metal with a thickness of at least 10 mm, from which blanks for various auxiliary elements will be cut.
- Reinforcement rods or strips of metal with a thickness of 10 mm or more.
- Thick-walled steel pipe for the construction of a chimney outlet.
- Heat-resistant primer or paint.
Making a stove from car rims
Step 1.
There should be an ash pan in the lower disk so that the ash can be removed. In addition, the ash pan serves as an air intake so that the fuel burns well. To do this, I used a grinder to cut out a rectangular door measuring 120x250 mm.
Step 2.
Then I connected the two lower disks with ordinary bolts and a nut.A grate welded from metal plates was laid on them, which will serve as grates. You can also use reinforcement bars for these purposes.
Step 3.
To make the combustion chamber a little more voluminous, I did the following:
- From a sheet 10 mm thick I cut a strip 130 mm wide.
- Next you need to bend this strip along the diameter of the rim of the upper discs. I have a small press so I had to cut the strip into three pieces.
- When the plates were bent to the diameter of the disc rim, I welded them together using electric welding.
- Then I welded the resulting ring between the two upper disks.
The result is a fairly voluminous firebox, into which a lot of firewood can fit.
Step 4.
I welded a metal box for the ash pan from 5 mm steel strips. You need to be careful with the length so that the box closes tightly, since with large gaps the combustion will be too intense and the fuel will burn out quickly. Any metal rod of any length can be welded as a handle.
Step 5.
Then I started building the top slab. I decided to make it sliding so that it could simultaneously serve as a door for loading fuel. To do this, I cut out the upper part of the disk with a gas cutter, but left two original holes and then drilled another one to attach the moving part. I also made a semicircular recess for the diameter of the chimney pipe. I processed the edges of the cut with a grinding wheel so that the plate fits tightly.
Step 6.
I cut out two halves of the top plate from a metal sheet and drilled holes in them. Then I sanded them a little and bolted on one of the halves, which is planned to be stationary.
In order for the moving part to move easily, it was necessary to cut off and round its edge a little, since the sharp angle did not allow the door to be opened.
Step 7
In the fixed top plate, I cut a hole for the chimney pipe. It turned out to be a little larger (I didn’t calculate the width of the half, I needed to make it a little wider), so I had to select a little from the moving part. I welded the pipe, and welded a handle to the moving part to make it convenient to open the damper.
Step 8
To prevent all the heat from flying out into the chimney, you need to make a chimney damper, which will regulate the draft.
I cut a round piece of metal and sharpened it so that it would fit freely into the pipe. Then I drilled a through hole in the pipe into which the rod will be inserted to rotate the damper.
I placed all this close to the exit of the pipe so that I could reach the electrode to connect the rod and the damper. To prevent the damper from “tumbling”, I installed a limiter: now it opens only in one direction.
Step 9
When the potbelly stove was ready, to give it a marketable appearance, I cleaned the outside of the rust from it, and then applied a fire-resistant primer using a spray bottle. It turned out elegant.
Starting a potbelly stove
After complete drying, I proceeded to light the kiln for the first time and fire it. To do this, I took the structure outside and lit it with wood. He heated up the potbelly stove gradually, adding firewood in small portions. At first the stove smoked, but after warming up well it stopped. Now, after complete cooling, you can install it in the workshop, connect it to the external chimney and use it for your own pleasure.
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Original article in English
