My first science teacher was like him. He thought I was special because I used to suggest uses for things when he was performing experiments for the class, often things that were invented and used in the past. He thought I had great potential but it was lost in the "one size for all" education system. Unfortunately with the way my brain works I was doomed in the classroom.
I agree, I t’s great when you do. Both my Chemistry and Physics teachers were very similar to him. So I go from low 60% grades in both subjects the year before (with regular teachers) to 95% and 90% the following year with the much more engaging (close to nutty) teachers. Performance and connecting are so important. Same with Calculus, Finite, Algebra/Geometry. Also would have helped the US to pay their teachers much better wages to keep good teachers teaching. It’s the future you’ve invested in.
@@ruidadgmailcanada8508 I wish I’d had teachers like that! Unfortunately in high school my grades went in the opposite direction. I’m genuinely glad your experience was different! 👍
@@stupidscruff Well done you. Schools are just indoctrination centres - getting through them without losing your common sense is the biggest challenge you'll ever face in life.
With teachers with that sort of down to earth knowledge and experience is what is needed whatever the subject to motivate students and would make a big difference to help in deciding what career they may decide on.
This is a life saver!! Certainly this series is Awesome, and Especially as our fuel prices are up by at least 40%! And the Net Profit of the Companies who provide Energy,, ~ have gone Up by Well Over 60%!! I see this as sticking a couple of Fingers up to Those Companies!! (Not Fish-Fingers,Lol!) Thank you Robert!!
What was your thermostat set at last year? Mine is going to 55 degrees. Unused rooms will be off. This means I'll spend less this year. I bought a wearable blanket and am perfectly toasty as I sit in my apartment at 53 degrees F. I've reduced my power bill by 80 percent by washing my hands in cold water. Washing clothes in cold water. Hanging my clothes to mostly dry and then putting in the dryer with dry towels to dry with no heat. I hand wash my dishes with water I boil on my induction hotplate. I cook with my air fryer. There are ways to use less and be comfortable.
@@secondact7151I can't agree with you more!!🙂👍👍 Financially and Environmentally, ~ these are Brilliant ways to stay warm without 'Costing the Earth!' Sustainability is Not 'Optional' it's Essential! Luckily, I was bought up like this. *~Waste not Want Not~* I am extremely grateful for your kind reply, it's good to know that people are being less wasteful and much more thoughtful with the Earth's resources!!🏡 Namasté 🙏🕊️💞🌟 Andréa and Critters. ...XxX..
Thank you so much. Solves the problem I've had for months: Getting a large-enough flame from vegetable oil fuel. (Candles in Crisco collapse before there are anywhere near enough wicks bunched together for a decent flame.) The cat-can stove starves for combustion with heavy fuels. I arrived at an understanding that the mixture needed lots more air. Great answer. I never thought of having big holes in the wick holder to get that air into the wick. Looking forward to trying the circular version, for that much more flame size.
Great idea for the wick holder. I’ve just ordered my felt from you and will make a wick holder out of the rodent mesh as it’ll be easy to bend and have a great deal more airflow. Bravo, sir
With winter coming up the lads fighting in the trenches of Ukraine would find this trick amongst the countless others that you have put on this channel very helpful!
I made my two tin can heater using rubbing alcohol as fuel...started burning really well, then blew up, the inner can flew out, setting fire to some black bags, the main fuel can was also on fire. Luckily I managed to put out the fires using towels to smother...I will now conduct my experiments outside, or in the sink lol I had forgotten the cover the fuel hole in the inner can !
Some of the best Royal Society presentations I've seen, shame you have never been asked to do a presentation. Great educational these would be good on main stream tv.
Robert, I was talking with my father and he said to try black sand in vacuum tubes. He said they operate just like a traditional "radiator" or boiler and the thermal mass maintains a heat of like 300°F even overnight.
You could turn it into a radiator by "floating" the kitchen utensil centrally on a long rod so that it is free to spin around, then using tapered metal construct a fan inside it so that the heat spins it around - sending the heat out further into the roof. Bit like those xmas decorations that spin above a candle but this one may also increase the oxygen intake due to the side ducts, potentially improving the pyrodynamics too!
@@Peter-jo3wt The rising heat is deflected radially by the propellor, distributing it horizontally away from the device - making a radiator. This also accelerates the rate at which air is drawn into the ducts which adds oxygen to the flame.
@@designerzen Heat moves in three specific ways. Convection Radiation And transmission. Convection means, that heat rises in a column of fluid (Water, air, other) dynamically. Radiation means, that heat radiates omnidirectionally from its source (in every direction). Transmission means, if you touch a hot Skillet it's going to burn you. A warmer item will transmitt heat to another item of lesser Heat, through contact. Rising heat that turns a fan does not suddenly become radiant heat. The fact that the fan May spread the heat a little through its mechanical process, does not mean that the heat radiates from the fan.
Thank you Robert for your time and effort. Instead of the strapping (which I don't have), I'm going to try cutting both ends off a tin can, squash it flat, and cut it to size. Drill holes in it and open the folded tin, feed the wick in, and then squash it flat again. Stay warm all of you.
Used olive oil for my oil lamp, the flame is descent, fuel wise: lampoil makes it burn for 70 hours, with olive oil it was 96 hours and the smell was quite pleasant. But had to pinch the wick a little bit in order to light it, total soaked is harder to get it lit. That carbon felt is quite an invention and Discovery.
Many thanks Rob, I've been trying to get old veggie oil to burn nicely for many years without forced air and now I'm as inspired as I am grateful. Hopefully I'll be able to get more out of the poly tunnel this winter!
TY as always! I like the circular wick idea and perhaps two round wicks inside each other. Can't remember if it was this channel that had used two mesh mantles rather than one? Seemed to be an added benefit. GJ!
Not sure if the UK use similar looking strapping for bracing framing diagonally but is a bit lighter and more flexible. Bought on a roll it has a stack of other uses and would be cheaper than what you used Rob. Also easily cut with tin snips. Quite apparent that you're all facing a bitter winter with fuel going through the roof so I'm sure these little heaters are in response.
Hi, just a tip. You can use wheel spokes or some thin steel bars to make an outer structure to give it some stiffness. I made a solar parabole with a candle heater that way.
I make oil lamps both for both fun and practical use, and I liked the simplicity of your design. However, olive oil burns cleaner than other plant-based fuel, so I'd recommend it to anyone who fancies having a go. That said, I'm currently burning a 50-50 mixture of olive oil and sunflower oil, and it's not smoking, but does give off a lovely glow and a fair bit of heat. Anyway, I've only just found this channel, and I'm glad I did. Great video, thanks 🙂
That was a great idea using the wick horizontally with the vegetable oil, you can now make the wick any length you wish. Imagine a 2 foot long flame with a glass top outside your back garden or inside a cabin. It would give of a wonderful gold light for hours and hours on a very small amount of vegetable oil and that's not to mention the heat it would provide. (You need to get a small gas jet flame lighter this will light the wick soaked in vegetable oil instantly.
@@stonynotdusty released carbon monoxide: yes this is a very serious problem and should never be used inside a home especially a family home. ( Its good to experiment and wish to use an open fireplace or outdoors ) thanks for highlighting the possible dangers of vegetable oil lamps.
I like the wick holder. I also found that if you make a "wick sandwich", by putting a normal cotton wick on the outside (both sides) of the carbon felt and have the carbon felt stick up a little on the top, it will wick up the oil better.
I'm finding after a long burn (8-10 hours) the carbon felt wick gets a crusty build-up that kills the flame.(using filtered used veg.oil) But, I was thrilled with the results of my attempts...and inspired by you to keep "working out the bugs" and finding better ways! Thanks for your inspiration!
Maybe you can just use your mesh as a wick holder and make the t the same . I like the idea of a circular wick with mesh and will be doing that tomorrow with my carbon felt that arrived . I love burning used motor oil . Its my new hobby ! 😂👍🏻
This is a very nice and simple method of making heating unit for cheap. I look forward Robert to you making the circular wick system for the 2.0 version so to speak. Good day mate.
You Are On To A Winner Here ! Keep up the Great Work. Here’s a Thought .How about a very inexpensive Fuel everyone in BRITAN can make at Home to Fuel the Mini Stove you have Created !
Btw, I had used terra cotta for a pick. I cut out a round piece, and partially drilled circles within circles in the center about 1/8-1/16 deep and it burned very well and wicked well also. The circles are necessary to sustain the burn. Start it with the alcohol or equivalent as you have done.
Well, I have some similar strapping as well as some flat stock of similar size. I'm off to make three. One without holes, One with a few like yours and, One with as many holes as I can reasonably fit. I haven't any Carbon felt but I have both cotton and fiberglass wicks for kerosene/paraffin lamps and heaters. I still think it'll give a good comparison as to how much difference the holes make. I'll be back here later if I find anything interesting. Thanks Rob! TnT is time much better spent than going down some YT rabbit-hole or, worse! turning on the TV or some game.
@@Eyes0penNoFear That took a bit longer than planned and, while I aim to try again sometime with carbon felt, the one that worked best for me was a simple cotton lamp wick (the stuff I had was 3/4" or 19mm and I used two to make it reasonably wide) but made little difference what holes were in the wick-holder. What really mattered was how the wick was trimmed (I think the small space between the two wicks made this easier to tune) and, to a small degree, how thermally conductive the holder was. With a better conductor I could get a larger flame before it started smoking. Another bit that helped was a solid chimney about 5" or 12.7cm with air holes just a hair below the flame and then the mantle to make sure everything burned. Set up like that it smelled like maybe someone fried an egg that morning, which I'll call practically odorless. If you or anyone else tries, I'd sure like to hear how it worked for you.
Hi Robert! Again and again I can't get out of amaze of your creativity. For sure, I will use one of these heaters for my greenhouse in the late Winter to start some plants.
I'm making a setup using a computer cpu radiator and 120mm fan to distribute the air, much like a secondary heat exchanger in a home furnace. This oil burning set up should be a great addition to my build today.
I think maybe of all the videos other than the safety heater this is the most simple and the cheapest and arguably the most efficient one can make at home from materials basically laying around the house. Keep up the good work. Jesus Christ Almighty God bless you all 😊
this is superb - I'll be making one or two of these to go with the veg oil candles I'm making, in preparation for the blackouts that this very competent government wont allow to happen. For true.
That even looks pretty! I’ve ordered some activated carbon felt. Looking forward to having a play with it. I have a couple of hurricane lanterns that I use on the odd occasion that the power goes out and have thought for a long time that it would be great to burn cooking oil in them. Before I found you the best option was to turn it into bio diesel. Changing the wick will be much easier!
@@marijenkins2674 I bought it on eBay. I’m not absolutely certain that it’s correct as I couldn’t find anything about it being 100% activated carbon, and it’s only 3mm thick instead of 5mm, but I figured I could double it up to get the thickness and if it doesn’t burn properly I’ll figure it wasn’t 100%, in which case I can use it to replace filters rather than to burn. It was only $17 so I’m not too fussed if it’s the wrong thing. It actually just arrived a few minutes ago so I’m trying to remember which box the hurricane lanterns got packed into so I can pull them out and give them a go. That might be an impossible task. I do have a couple of tiki torches I’ve never used and I know where they are so maybe I’ll try it in one of those.
Thanks Monique. I found Robert's online shop and bought a piece direct from him. 5mm 14×14 inch for £10. I'm waiting for it to arrive. Good luck with yours!
@@marijenkins2674 oh good work! I’m in Australia so didn’t want to pay international postage. If mine doesn’t work I guess I will though lol. I found the tiki torch and cut a piece of wick for it. I about half filled it with used cooking oil so figured it had a fair way to travel up the wick so left it outside and I’ll try to light it in the morning. Fingers crossed!
Nice one Rob. You should make 200 of these with the TnT logo on as a trial run and sell them in your local garden centre, I think it would be a best seller...!!!
Yes a small circular wick should heat and vapourize the oil more. About an inch wide or less. Making sure oil can reach the centre of the circle. Even better but more tricky is a hole in the middle of the oil Holder, metal folded up or a small metal tube welded in the middle. Then the wick ring going around that hole tube. It will look like a donut cake tin. The air rushes up thru hole to make flame bigger and burn better. The oil Holder will have to have legs to allow the air to travel up thru hole.
Handy. I may build one of those and add a small raised outside frame to place a metal mug such as the Army metal mug for making a brew, or an Army mess tin over the top of the flame to warm some soup, beans, etc. 2 birds, 1 stone. It could well be worth experimenting with to see if it will provide heat, light and also cook, as used cooking oil is quite plentiful.
Robert, that topper thing you put over the flame can be enhanced by first blackening the whole thing (both inside and out) by holding it over the flame so it gets covered by soot. Dark surfaces absorb heat better, but they also radiate heat better. Matte black surfaces have much higher emissivity than shiny metal surfaces. That way, when you put the topper on, and it gets hot, it will radiate out heat to the surroundings as infra-red radiated heat.
@@larrymartineau7507 The reason a mantle is used is because the point is not actually to heat the room. The point is to heat the *people* in the room. If you just have the flame by itself, the heat is embodied in the hot gases, which just rise to the ceiling. But if you use a mantle, those hot gases heat the mantle up, and the mantle radiates heat sideways, warming up the people around it.
Hi Robert, fabulous videos, coupled with an immensely curious mind, keeps me highly entertained! Keep it up. You say you sell the carbon felt in your shop. Can you give me a link please. TVM john
Another wonderful video! This should work well with kerosene or even rubbing alcohol. I have used the little chafing dish burners refilled with isopropyl alcohol and a construct much like yours with some good success. I put a small Sterling engine stove fan on top for forced distribution and it's even better. I'm going to stuff the whole thing in a terra cotta chimenea this season and see if we can warm a room with it.
If you are going circular, might I suggest something like a mini bunt pan or weld a metal funnel or something hollow in the center to draft up air for the flame
Awesome video, by the way would adding a computer fan to it work? i was thinking making like a used oil rocket stove using used cans to make a tube with some holes near the bottom, and the fan on the top.
Is there any way you can indicate actual heat output of the various devices you construct? i.e. in 'watts'. It's much easier to make a decision on the device to build based on 'watts' than 'hot' or 'hotter'.....
Hi Robert I love your info! I did try stuffing a short piece of copper pipe with pink fiberglass insulation. It seems to make a great wick for oil too!
I think the reason this works is more about the metal bracket getting hot, and pre-heating the oil, helping it vaporize more quickly as it hits the flame front
Awesome. Will a chimney help improve combustion and further reduce smoke? Looks surprisingly nice in the dark, too. I really enjoy you and your videos -- Thanks!
It is amazing but something as simple as this could actually save your life in an emergency. The difference between hypothermia and dying can be as little as a few degrees. If you had this just under a blanket or something fairly airtight and made sure not to catch it on fire, you could survive in weather that would otherwise kill you in a couple of hours. I read a true account of a political prisoner in Siberia that was in an outdoor cell in the winter and he stood next to a outdoor light bulb in his cell with his coat open and surrounding it and the other prisoners died . but he lived to tell about it.
Now your sucking vegetable oil rob, well done. TIP: you could put a peltier stove fan on top of the flame . Tip: you could put the wick between two round metal rods pencil size and make the wick adjustable.
I did try a circular carbon wick about 4 “ in diameter 1.5 “ high between metal strapping worked ok , I would say 2” might be maximum for wicking vegetable oil ….going to try olive oil with less soot I hope… no luck trying to gasify the vegetable oil.
Hi I have just started watching your channel I find it very interesting as I live off grid. Could you tell me please were down I get the wick. Will be passing your channel onto my friends there also live of grid. Many thanks for your channel, you make it easy to understand 👍
I wonder if a wick holder could be made from one or more layers of the stainless steel gauze directly. I'd be curious as to whether the strapping with a few large holes or the gause with many small holes works better. Perhaps even the 1/2" or 1/4 steel mesh‽
Hi, I have worked with heavy used cooking oil when looking for recycled fuel lighting. Eventually I ended up with floating wicks, as they will always be the same distance to the heavy oil.
That is a cute little heater for next to nothing. I only have one question: does the radiant heat warm the oil once the mantle is placed on top? I haven't seen you check that and it might help you with future iterations mate.
I just remembered - is it possible to somehow dilute the heavy oils , to make them "lighter" (easier to wick through ) and to burn with less sooth (w/o mantle and added air) ?
cool,. I bet an upside down sardines tin could work as a wick holder. plus the mantle didn't seem close enough to the flame to help much with combustion. I wonder if you could use a pot scrubber as a short mantle?
If you want air to get to the wick from the underside, then use the wire mesh stuff you used for the mantel, for the wick holder. Would that be too much air and cause the whole wick to burn from head to toe?
Love this design! QUESTION: Could this design be modified to work in a tent? Instead of a wood tent stove for example. Add a chimney of sorts and make it more about heat than light?
