Propane heater
And other ramblings.
Mr. Heater Portable Buddy Heater MH9BX 4,000-9,000 BTU Indoor-Safe Propane Radiant Heater For Campers, Workshops, Job Sites, Patios & More - Red, Black
https://a.co/d/bqloPQO
Many years ago my mother heated her living room with a kerosene heater. I hated it. It stunk. It left this film on the walls. It destroyed the curtains. It was far worse than a 10 pack a day smoker lived there with no ventilation since she didn't want to lose the heat. She had a long haired dog, an Australian Shepherd, and that dog would lay in front of the heater. One day her fur started smoking and she ran around the house yelping and yelping until we put her out.
I swore I'd never do that. I'd never have a portable heater inside a house. I still won't. But I like this thing.
Driven by a 1 lb attached canister that will last 3 to 6 hours or a big propane tank, 12-Ft metal braided propane hose to be delivered in the next day or so. It needs a conversion connector to go from camping connectors versus RV/bbq connectors.
Tested with a little tank. Very light and I can carry this thing around outside. That means I can actually work outside. 90% of my time outside is spent taking gloves off or putting gloves on or warming my hands by the infrared emitter when I get back to the house. I considered plugging in a little portable heater since I am always near an outlet. The fish pond has power spikes all over the place. But I'd much rather have this thing.
I had no intention of using this thing out and about. I bought it to run in the back shed while I'm working in there. I always have excuses of why I don't want to go out there and one of them is it's cold out there. It's actually colder inside the building because it's got the night's cold still sitting in it when I go run to do stuff in it by the afternoon.
I also want something heating while I walk back and forth from the sauna to the swim spa. Those six steps can be cold.
Yes of course, I know all about ventilation, I won't die of carbon monoxide poisoning or lack of oxygen. Just because it says for indoor use does not mean it can actually be used inside my house. The ventilation is great but the cats would knock it over in 10 minutes.
It has slots in the back to hang it on the wall. M would not let me hang it on the wall in here but I can hang it on the wall in my shed or I can hang it from the rafters. That will give good positioning and no ability to knock it over.
I would definitely use it during a blackout indoors though. And it would always be right next to me. While the whole house battery will definitely run heaters overnight, if the blackout lasts longer, my heaters won't. On the other hand, I have plenty of spare propane and barbecue tanks both attached and in backup. So I would stay very warm during an extended blackout with this thing.
They have a double burner version that puts out 18,000 BTU. That would actually heat my back shed for real. I think that's the next purchase for 110 bucks.
Speaking of fish pond, I realized the device I bought to clean it was not nearly large enough. It's a great vacuum/ clean/pump back out device which includes a UV light bulb.
https://share.temu.com/v8XslS7C9vA
I was a moron and misread something. It was my fault. It's still a great device. I'm still going to use it. But I also got a more traditional fish pond box filtration system that is basically a bunch of plastic and PVC cut for it and I just need to put it together and drop a few things in it that I already have.
I'll swap an occasional filter pad.
I am moving along on this. I do not have any more excuses. Or at least if I come up with any I will solve them as well.
https://share.temu.com/gBFP8CznYHA
I've been playing with some bucket hydroponics setup and I'm pretty sure I can grow safely using it, but I want something pretty for inside the house. So I ordered a 6-ft hydroponics tower that will be set up in my downstairs kitchen.
https://share.temu.com/i481XCNabRA
Since I am no longer interested in trying to build anything separate in my grow space for hydroponics, everything in there can be recycled reused and clear out the space for more cannabis plants.
I am going to take the UV lamp out of the grow space and put it on the top level of this box.
I am removing the barrel of water and bubbler out of the grow space and just dropping in a vaporizer in there. I won't need much if at all since I've got the interior nursery space now plus downstairs when I need it.
I will drop in some simple fish filter pads in the box. Just as designed. I will fill the middle layer with my filtration balls that were bought for my barrel filters. They will work great in there as well. Plus I'll mix some other filtration stuff in there.
The bottom level will be more of those balls acting as a bioreactor in solution. I have nitrogen conversion bacteria that turns the fish poop into something the plants can quickly eat. It's good for everybody.
The problem is the UV at the top level will kill it on the way in. So you always want to kill everything except for that (if possible) and reintroduce it on the bottom level on the way out. This will work fine for that.
My current bubbler puts out an incredible amount on eight channels right now and it could pump 20. So that's going to go to the pond and I'm going to distribute the bubblers throughout the various bioreactors and into the bottom of the pond as well.
I bought a much larger yet still cheap pump for the hydroponics stuff. I have no problem using a heat pad for warming to temperature and I have plenty of those now. But I also have the additional 200 w drop-in bucket warmer if needed for the larger system coming in. I will put a UV bulb down there but I don't think I need a bubbler since I'm pumping the water to the top and then it's water falling down to the plants along the roots It should get plenty of oxygen at that point.
The pump I bought should reach the top of it plus another foot so it should match. At that point I have a 6-ft high 360° hydroponics tower with 36 slots with water running from the top constantly. The cats will have a field day. That's okay, I'll video it and post it on YouTube.
When I was researching heat solutions for the back shed, only for when I'm working in it or playing in it, I was considering a whole bunch of options before I hit on the Heat Buddy. I'm still going to play a bit but not depend on anything.
These are things you can't walk 5 ft away from. Some people pretend you can but I would never trust anything I construct that generates a huge amount of heat to not fall over or get knocked over or something to crack from the heat or other bad things to happen. But if I'm sitting there working on something while I simultaneously have this thing running and bad things happen at that moment I can address it.
Candles and alcohol lamps and Crisco burning lamps and a whole variety of flame produce an enormous amount of heat, but it is typically never utilized. It goes straight to the ceiling and nobody ever feels it. It also burns too fast and partially because typical wicks do not produce the type of flame you want and it really depends on the source of fuel and how you tune it.
To address the heat going up issue you have to place something above to capture it such as any metallic round objects such as a can. You then support the can with fine steel wire mesh. The finest you can get, at least that's what I think and that's what I'm going to have in a few days.
You place this over the flame with any type of holder you wish. You can essentially lay it in there with this wire mesh rolled around, a can on the top and a can on the bottom, a flame, and a source of fuel for the flame.
The goal is to have the combustion inside heat the wire mesh which will glow and reradiate the heat. You can have it 360° if you can come up with a safe anchor spot for it or you can have it focused with some aluminum reflectors from a corner to keep it out of the way. You can curve something yourself, cut half a stove pipe, or you can buy aluminum heat shields for camp cooking, which in turn will reflect the heat from this stove just fine to you.
You want the place to smell like French fries? A can of Crisco will last days. You want absolutely clean burning yet expensive. 99% ethanol. You don't mind the campfire experience? Coleman White gasoline is just naptha. Cheap from the hardware store but it will smell. The choices go on and on.
I'll keep away from Naptha and any petroleum products. Probably end up with some type of alcohol or oil/ fat.
Then we get to the wick problem. Wicks burn. Wicks need to be trimmed. Wicks need to be adjusted all the goddamn time or you lose your heat.
Screw that. You can get pure carbon fiber cloth. It's called welder's blanket. It can't be burned. It will wick. A small foot by foot square costs about four bucks and can be turned into a hundred wicks. That's my first testing.
I simply want to get the heat radiating metal mesh part right.
Then might move on to this:
If you don't want to deal with a wick and your fuel source is some type of liquid that evaporates under temperature and then you can use an oil burner coil. This is nothing more than a twist of metal in a circle with two pipes coming out and a hole that drips in the bottom of the twist.
https://youtu.be/3xohnAjjHuo?si=dnyMOhXJG1je8L6i
The fuel gets wicked to the hole in the metal and you ignite it which then does a mild flickering flame that then heats up the twist in the pipe above it. At that moment you are heating the liquid fuel that turns into gas that then shoots a jet flame out and continues the process. It burns much cleaner and much hotter and much more efficiently.
Okay, with those thoughts in mind you can be sure I'm going to do something stupid and burn myself directly on flame or touch hot metal and brand myself or spill some fuel on the floor and ignite it and go up in flames. All the start of possibilities when playing with this type of stuff. Explosions are always a possibility.
As I was reviewing the heat buddy and running it and watching it with my temperature camera I can see that there is a 700° rise from right above it. That is a huge amount of wasted heat. I can suspend a heat capture/re-emitter cage over it and I am sure I can up its efficiency many times over for directed heat as opposed to rise to the ceiling / rafters and lost heat. When using it outside I'd lose almost all of the heat unless I did this.
Mr. Heater Portable Buddy Heater MH9BX 4,000-9,000 BTU Indoor-Safe Propane Radiant Heater For Campers, Workshops, Job Sites, Patios & More - Red, Black
https://a.co/d/bqloPQO
Many years ago my mother heated her living room with a kerosene heater. I hated it. It stunk. It left this film on the walls. It destroyed the curtains. It was far worse than a 10 pack a day smoker lived there with no ventilation since she didn't want to lose the heat. She had a long haired dog, an Australian Shepherd, and that dog would lay in front of the heater. One day her fur started smoking and she ran around the house yelping and yelping until we put her out.
I swore I'd never do that. I'd never have a portable heater inside a house. I still won't. But I like this thing.
Driven by a 1 lb attached canister that will last 3 to 6 hours or a big propane tank, 12-Ft metal braided propane hose to be delivered in the next day or so. It needs a conversion connector to go from camping connectors versus RV/bbq connectors.
Tested with a little tank. Very light and I can carry this thing around outside. That means I can actually work outside. 90% of my time outside is spent taking gloves off or putting gloves on or warming my hands by the infrared emitter when I get back to the house. I considered plugging in a little portable heater since I am always near an outlet. The fish pond has power spikes all over the place. But I'd much rather have this thing.
I had no intention of using this thing out and about. I bought it to run in the back shed while I'm working in there. I always have excuses of why I don't want to go out there and one of them is it's cold out there. It's actually colder inside the building because it's got the night's cold still sitting in it when I go run to do stuff in it by the afternoon.
I also want something heating while I walk back and forth from the sauna to the swim spa. Those six steps can be cold.
Yes of course, I know all about ventilation, I won't die of carbon monoxide poisoning or lack of oxygen. Just because it says for indoor use does not mean it can actually be used inside my house. The ventilation is great but the cats would knock it over in 10 minutes.
It has slots in the back to hang it on the wall. M would not let me hang it on the wall in here but I can hang it on the wall in my shed or I can hang it from the rafters. That will give good positioning and no ability to knock it over.
I would definitely use it during a blackout indoors though. And it would always be right next to me. While the whole house battery will definitely run heaters overnight, if the blackout lasts longer, my heaters won't. On the other hand, I have plenty of spare propane and barbecue tanks both attached and in backup. So I would stay very warm during an extended blackout with this thing.
They have a double burner version that puts out 18,000 BTU. That would actually heat my back shed for real. I think that's the next purchase for 110 bucks.
Speaking of fish pond, I realized the device I bought to clean it was not nearly large enough. It's a great vacuum/ clean/pump back out device which includes a UV light bulb.
https://share.temu.com/v8XslS7C9vA
I was a moron and misread something. It was my fault. It's still a great device. I'm still going to use it. But I also got a more traditional fish pond box filtration system that is basically a bunch of plastic and PVC cut for it and I just need to put it together and drop a few things in it that I already have.
I'll swap an occasional filter pad.
I am moving along on this. I do not have any more excuses. Or at least if I come up with any I will solve them as well.
https://share.temu.com/gBFP8CznYHA
I've been playing with some bucket hydroponics setup and I'm pretty sure I can grow safely using it, but I want something pretty for inside the house. So I ordered a 6-ft hydroponics tower that will be set up in my downstairs kitchen.
https://share.temu.com/i481XCNabRA
Since I am no longer interested in trying to build anything separate in my grow space for hydroponics, everything in there can be recycled reused and clear out the space for more cannabis plants.
I am going to take the UV lamp out of the grow space and put it on the top level of this box.
I am removing the barrel of water and bubbler out of the grow space and just dropping in a vaporizer in there. I won't need much if at all since I've got the interior nursery space now plus downstairs when I need it.
I will drop in some simple fish filter pads in the box. Just as designed. I will fill the middle layer with my filtration balls that were bought for my barrel filters. They will work great in there as well. Plus I'll mix some other filtration stuff in there.
The bottom level will be more of those balls acting as a bioreactor in solution. I have nitrogen conversion bacteria that turns the fish poop into something the plants can quickly eat. It's good for everybody.
The problem is the UV at the top level will kill it on the way in. So you always want to kill everything except for that (if possible) and reintroduce it on the bottom level on the way out. This will work fine for that.
My current bubbler puts out an incredible amount on eight channels right now and it could pump 20. So that's going to go to the pond and I'm going to distribute the bubblers throughout the various bioreactors and into the bottom of the pond as well.
I bought a much larger yet still cheap pump for the hydroponics stuff. I have no problem using a heat pad for warming to temperature and I have plenty of those now. But I also have the additional 200 w drop-in bucket warmer if needed for the larger system coming in. I will put a UV bulb down there but I don't think I need a bubbler since I'm pumping the water to the top and then it's water falling down to the plants along the roots It should get plenty of oxygen at that point.
The pump I bought should reach the top of it plus another foot so it should match. At that point I have a 6-ft high 360° hydroponics tower with 36 slots with water running from the top constantly. The cats will have a field day. That's okay, I'll video it and post it on YouTube.
When I was researching heat solutions for the back shed, only for when I'm working in it or playing in it, I was considering a whole bunch of options before I hit on the Heat Buddy. I'm still going to play a bit but not depend on anything.
These are things you can't walk 5 ft away from. Some people pretend you can but I would never trust anything I construct that generates a huge amount of heat to not fall over or get knocked over or something to crack from the heat or other bad things to happen. But if I'm sitting there working on something while I simultaneously have this thing running and bad things happen at that moment I can address it.
Candles and alcohol lamps and Crisco burning lamps and a whole variety of flame produce an enormous amount of heat, but it is typically never utilized. It goes straight to the ceiling and nobody ever feels it. It also burns too fast and partially because typical wicks do not produce the type of flame you want and it really depends on the source of fuel and how you tune it.
To address the heat going up issue you have to place something above to capture it such as any metallic round objects such as a can. You then support the can with fine steel wire mesh. The finest you can get, at least that's what I think and that's what I'm going to have in a few days.
You place this over the flame with any type of holder you wish. You can essentially lay it in there with this wire mesh rolled around, a can on the top and a can on the bottom, a flame, and a source of fuel for the flame.
The goal is to have the combustion inside heat the wire mesh which will glow and reradiate the heat. You can have it 360° if you can come up with a safe anchor spot for it or you can have it focused with some aluminum reflectors from a corner to keep it out of the way. You can curve something yourself, cut half a stove pipe, or you can buy aluminum heat shields for camp cooking, which in turn will reflect the heat from this stove just fine to you.
You want the place to smell like French fries? A can of Crisco will last days. You want absolutely clean burning yet expensive. 99% ethanol. You don't mind the campfire experience? Coleman White gasoline is just naptha. Cheap from the hardware store but it will smell. The choices go on and on.
I'll keep away from Naptha and any petroleum products. Probably end up with some type of alcohol or oil/ fat.
Then we get to the wick problem. Wicks burn. Wicks need to be trimmed. Wicks need to be adjusted all the goddamn time or you lose your heat.
Screw that. You can get pure carbon fiber cloth. It's called welder's blanket. It can't be burned. It will wick. A small foot by foot square costs about four bucks and can be turned into a hundred wicks. That's my first testing.
I simply want to get the heat radiating metal mesh part right.
Then might move on to this:
If you don't want to deal with a wick and your fuel source is some type of liquid that evaporates under temperature and then you can use an oil burner coil. This is nothing more than a twist of metal in a circle with two pipes coming out and a hole that drips in the bottom of the twist.
https://youtu.be/3xohnAjjHuo?si=dnyMOhXJG1je8L6i
The fuel gets wicked to the hole in the metal and you ignite it which then does a mild flickering flame that then heats up the twist in the pipe above it. At that moment you are heating the liquid fuel that turns into gas that then shoots a jet flame out and continues the process. It burns much cleaner and much hotter and much more efficiently.
Okay, with those thoughts in mind you can be sure I'm going to do something stupid and burn myself directly on flame or touch hot metal and brand myself or spill some fuel on the floor and ignite it and go up in flames. All the start of possibilities when playing with this type of stuff. Explosions are always a possibility.
As I was reviewing the heat buddy and running it and watching it with my temperature camera I can see that there is a 700° rise from right above it. That is a huge amount of wasted heat. I can suspend a heat capture/re-emitter cage over it and I am sure I can up its efficiency many times over for directed heat as opposed to rise to the ceiling / rafters and lost heat. When using it outside I'd lose almost all of the heat unless I did this.
