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Potbelly stove for a summer residence: diagrams and drawings for DIY implementation. Potbelly stove: device, application, varieties of homemade and factory-made ones, drawings Do-it-yourself potbelly stove drawings diagrams

Sometimes situations arise when it is necessary without significant material costs, heat a small space (garage, workshop or warehouse) as efficiently and quickly as possible. Great solution The problem will be a compact potbelly stove made by yourself, the creation of which requires ingenuity, desire, tools and metal.

A simple potbelly stove can be built from materials that are at hand. You can use a regular can or a thick-walled barrel. Many years of practice have shown that very thick metal (over 8 mm) is too difficult to heat. This reduces the efficiency and most of the the heat is coming not for heating.

If the metal is too thin, under the influence of high temperatures it will begin to deform and quickly lose its original shape. The best option is walls of about 3-4 mm.

Introductory video on the operation of the furnace

Rectangular stove with reflector

When deciding what shape and size a finished potbelly stove should take, everyone must do it on their own. A person with an engineering education and skills can take on any, even the most simple design, and make the desired changes to improve it.

Drawing of a rectangular potbelly stove:

A simple and multifunctional potbelly stove with your own hands is made from the following materials:

• Sketches and simple drawing of the structure indicating all the main dimensions
• Sheet metal (its quantity depends on the desired dimensions of the furnace)
• Steel corners (thickness 4-5 mm)
• Metal tube 25-30 mm
• Pipe 180 mm
• Welding machine
• Working hand and electric tools

The furnace body will be made in the form of a rectangle steel sheets, which are butt welded together. It is necessary to cut the workpieces into five main planes (bottom, top, side and back walls). On the front panel there will be a blower and a door for the furnace, so the issue can be resolved with it later.

First, the side surfaces are welded to the bottom. It is necessary to ensure that they are positioned strictly vertically, using a level or square, and are joined at right angles. Having grabbed it in 2-3 places, we once again make sure that their location is correct and finish cooking.

Afterwards the back wall is welded. All interior space must be divided into three parts:

1. Smoke circulation
2. Firebox
3. Ash pan

The last two must be separated by a grate on which the solid fuel(peat, firewood). It is done as follows:

1. From the inside on the sides at a certain height (10-15 cm), corners are welded over the entire length
2. For the grate, it is necessary to prepare strips of thick sheet steel with a width of 25-30 mm and a length corresponding to the width of the potbelly stove

• The distance between the plates is about 5 cm
• The strips are welded to two metal rods with a diameter of 15-20 mm as reliably as possible, since they have to perform another role - stiffeners

There is no need to weld the grille to the inner corners. If necessary (cleaning the potbelly stove, repairs), it can be easily obtained. After some time, some plates may burn out and will need to be replaced. There are many more reasons to leave the grille removable.

The next step is to weld two metal rods on top on which the reflector will be located. The latter is a metal sheet that separates the smoke circulation and the firebox. The reflector is made removable.

It is necessary to position the reflector so that a channel is formed in front, allowing smoke to escape. It will heat up inside the most, so it is made of very thick metal (12-16 mm).

The time has come to begin the final stages of work. First, the potbelly stove is welded. It would be a good idea to provide a hole for the chimney pipe in advance. Then the upper jumper is cut out and welded, then a narrower one, placed at the level of the grate and separating the doors of the grate and the ash pan.

There is no need to worry too much about the size of the doors. The main thing is that it is convenient to lay firewood through them and remove ashes and ash. The door for the firebox is made, as a rule, almost the entire width so that the reflector and grate can be removed; for the ash pan it is narrower.

Having put everything together, it’s time to think about installing finished design on the legs. It is recommended to make them from a metal tube 2-3 cm in diameter and 8-10 cm in length with a nut welded at the end and a bolt screwed in. This will allow you to adjust the height. This step may seem strange to many, but during the installation process everything will become clear.

The time has come to think about a chimney, which will be made from a pipe with a diameter of 15-18 cm. In this case, it should be led out through a hole in the wall. Bends are made at an angle of 45 degrees; there should be no horizontal sections.

A rotating damper must be provided at the lower end of the chimney. For it, a circle is cut out of sheet metal, with a diameter slightly smaller than the same characteristic of the pipe, in which a hole is drilled for the handle for rotation. The latter can be made from a metal rod.

The chimney pipe must be placed on a sleeve 15-20 cm high. It is made from a product with a diameter slightly smaller than the chimney pipe and is welded along the hole to the top cover. It's time to install the stove, adjust the height and that's it - you can heat the room.

A simple potbelly stove made from a can

The simplest potbelly stove is made with your own hands from an ordinary can. There is no need to talk about the durability of such a structure, but it is quickly built, easy to install and provides enough heat.

All the work consists of installing the legs, arranging the outlet pipe and some cosmetic operations. To work you need:

• Can
• Flue pipe
• Wire for grate
• Welding machine
• Working tools

Let's get started

1. We install the can horizontally and mark where the blower will be, shaped like a rectangle or sickle. Place it under the lid
2. A hole is cut in the wall or bottom of the can, equal to the diameter of the chimney pipe
3. To make a grate, you need to stock up on steel wire. It is bent, carried inside through the lid and carefully unbent so that the zigzag is positioned in the desired position, while it remains convenient to lay wood chips, firewood, etc.
4. The can must be secured to legs, which are cut from tubes or corners and welded
5. The chimney is welded

A reflector can be attached to the outside of the tank, thanks to which less generated heat will evaporate. Having welded the handles on the sides, the structure can be moved to any other place.

Pros and cons of homemade potbelly stoves

Among the many advantages of such a nondescript, but useful installation highlight:

• Full autonomy and energy independence
• Working with any solid fuel, including plant residues, allows you to save a lot of money
• The versatility of the design, which can not only be installed in various rooms, but also used for cooking
• A simple design that you can build yourself from materials available in the garage
• No need for construction monolithic foundation and installation of a permanent chimney pipe

But despite the significant and numerous advantages, a number of disadvantages of potbelly stoves can be identified:

• The high thermal conductivity of the metal leads to rapid fuel burnout and cooling of the furnace
• If the wall thickness is insufficient, they will soon begin to burn out and the oven will fail.
• You need to watch the combustion process and add firewood in time, control the draft
• Resinous and damp logs cause difficult to remove soot in the chimney pipe

Video - another option for making a stove

In conclusion

A homemade potbelly stove is a reliable and effective assistant in a cold workroom or your own garage. Its production is not difficult, and to start work there is no need for large material investments.

Despite the presence of a large number of new types of heating devices used to heat rooms, traditional “potbelly stoves” are gradually becoming a thing of the past. But in some cases, these voracious and massive heat sources are not suitable for heating houses where people temporarily live.

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Why modernize?

The potbelly stove is very simple heating device, although today it is deeply modernized. Such a stove, which has become a favorite solution for heating small country houses, can have not only a single-chamber, but also a two-chamber design. A modernized potbelly stove can provide heat even to houses where residents live permanently.

The simplicity of design and manufacture makes it accessible to purchase and use. In addition, a significant advantage for the construction of such a structure is the absence of a foundation. But, despite such a number positive properties, the potbelly stove also has significant disadvantages:

1. Its efficiency is quite small, the simplicity of the design carries with it an inherent drawback - a huge part of the heat from the potbelly stove “flies into the chimney”.
2. To work with such a stove, strict safety requirements must be observed, since falling combustion elements can damage nearby premises and even lead to a fire.
3. To heat a room with a potbelly stove, it is necessary to consume a significant amount of fuel elements, which is due to the fact that this type of heating is used only for short-term operation.

But this is not a reason to be discouraged, our “Kulibins” have found several simple ones over the years, but... In this article we will look at the modernization of the stove design itself.

Modernization methods

The design features of the stove do not allow for major changes, of course, unless you decide to make a small home nuclear reactor out of it, but all the proposed improvements are aimed at only one thing - heat preservation. During operation, the stove easily loses heat through the pipe; the thinness of the walls quickly transfers it, but does not allow it to be stored for a long time. The direct-flow furnace consumes a large amount of fuel, and its properties are aimed at consuming charcoal raw materials.

To modernize and increase efficiency, it is to obtain the greatest amount of heat with the same fuel combustion.

There are four main and simple methods modernization of a potbelly stove, the use of which will significantly reduce heat loss:

1. Attaching 2 tanks welded together from washing machine.
2. Making an ash pit.
3. Grid with stones.

Let's take a closer look at them.

Washing machine tubs

Many have noticed that when the stove is burning, sheaves of sparks often fly out of the chimney. This means that the fuel did not burn out completely and left the working chamber, taking with it most of thermal energy. So, one of the first ways to improve a potbelly stove is to create a working chamber where small coals will burn out and heat will be retained.

A common way of such an improvement is to install two tanks from washing machines welded together, which will represent a kind of car muffler.

Materials and tools

To make this structure we will need:

Instructions

To properly attach 2 tanks from a washing machine welded together, you must follow a simple guide:

1. First, you need to weld two washing machine tanks together so that after welding they form a single container resembling a large cylinder.
2. After welding, clean the weld seams and bring the single tank to a marketable condition.
3. The next step is to make one hole at opposite ends of the tank, the size matching the diameter of the furnace outlet pipes. Carefully clean out the holes made.
4. Insert the outlet pipe elbow into these holes, but so that the pipes inside the tank are at different levels, as if overlapping each other.
5. Seal one connection between the pipe and the tank and clean it. Make the second hole in such a way that it fits tightly around the pipe, which will be directly inserted into the potbelly stove. There is no need to weld the second hole, as it will later be useful for removing carbon deposits inside the tank.

Upgrade with washing machine tanks

This simple improvement will allow you to retain a large amount of heat, which previously simply flew away into the chimney.

Making an ash pit

An ash pan is a grate near a potbelly stove, on which fuel will subsequently be placed to heat the room.

A good ash pan provides the combustion chamber with a sufficient amount of air (that is, oxygen), and also provides good draft, thereby ensuring better combustion. In most cases, ash pans in potbelly stoves leave “much to be desired,” so upgrading the ash pan will help improve the performance of the potbelly stove.

An effective ash pit should be made of heat-resistant material and have a door, thanks to which you can avoid smoke in the room. Improving the ash pan will help turn an ordinary potbelly stove into something like a fireplace.

Materials and tools

• metal sheet,
• fittings,
• welding machine,
• metal working tool,
• ash door.

Instructions

Making an ash pan yourself will require certain skills from you, and the production must be in accordance with the instructions:

This design will give better and more uniform operation of the potbelly stove.

Grid with stones

Modernizing a potbelly stove with a mesh with stones is quite one of the most common improvements. Almost everyone had a bath and steamed in the steam room. There you saw a set of stones that warm the air in the steam room.

The principle of this modernization method is similar. It is necessary to line the potbelly stove with stones, which continue to retain heat for a long time. It is worth remembering that you should not use galvanized material for manufacturing, since when heated, toxic fumes enter the air.

Materials and tools

For this event we will need:

• kit good stones(you can use high-quality clay brick), preferably medium size, similar to those you came across in the steam room.
• dense metal net, you can use a chain-link net.
• if you plan to do it like an adult, then you will need fittings and a welding machine.

Instructions

Making this improvement is simple:

You can also fill the cavities between the stones with clean clay, which will also help retain heat.

Precautions

It is strictly forbidden to use flammable materials and metals with low melting points to create this improvement. Also, this structure should ensure free maintenance of the potbelly stove, not block access to the firebox, to the ash pan, and not interfere with the removal and replacement of outlet pipes.

Increasing the number of pipe bends

Increasing the bends of the potbelly stove chimney

The tank at the outlet of washing machines will retain a certain amount of heat, but it will not be able to retain all the heat. A large amount of heat will continue to escape into the chimney.

Therefore, one of the improvements that provides additional heat retention is to increase the length of the outlet pipe. A long pipe running through the room, but with good exhaust, ensures the transfer of heat from its surface, which was previously lost.

Materials and tools

• several elbows that can be easily placed in the room after the potbelly stove,
• brackets for fastening pipe elbows,
• welding machine and metal processing tools.

Instructions

1. First you need to mark the location of the pipe. It can take place with a large number bends and zigzags, thereby ensuring maximum heat retention, while not forgetting about the loss of exhaust draft.
2. After marking the pipe laying location, it is necessary to install the pipe mounting brackets. Particular attention should be paid to the joints of pipe elbows and corners. Brackets must be made of heat-resistant materials.
3. Lay the pipes to ensure a tight, hermetically sealed connection, and, if necessary, modify the elbows to ensure the pipe is laid along the marked route.
4. Firmly secure the elbows in the brackets, check the working draft (burn newspaper in front of the pipe), check the tightness of the connections, connect the inlet elbow to the stove.

Conclusion

A potbelly stove is one of the most reliable and common assistants for both summer residents and garage owners. utility rooms, cabins. Moreover, you can not only purchase it, but also make it yourself. Manufacturing does not require any complex and hard-to-find materials, as well as very specific skills.

To improve the potbelly stove, we considered several types of modifications: attaching 2 tanks from a washing machine welded together; making an ash pit; mesh with stones; increasing the number of pipe bends. These improvements will increase heat retention and improve the operation of the stove.

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Very often, a potbelly stove is used to heat a garage. Moreover, you can do it yourself, but you don’t need to spend money for it. It is enough to look in the bins for unnecessary metal parts.

Advantages and disadvantages of a potbelly stove for a garage

The potbelly stove is rightfully considered the most in a practical way heating in winter. This is a small design that is practically portable, capable of heating any room in size, regardless of the temperature outside and other climatic conditions. This is its main advantage. However, in modern conditions A potbelly stove is used exclusively for heating outbuildings, for example, a garage. And this comes with a lot of disadvantages:

• the stove cools down quickly, which means that in order to maintain a constant temperature in the room, it must always be burning;
• uneconomical for the same reason;
• is a fire hazard, so when installing it you need to take care to protect the nearby wall and floor.

However, its omnivorous nature allows you to save a little on the purchase of fuel, especially considering the almost 100% efficiency of such a device.

The potbelly stove has a special design, thanks to which it is possible to obtain high efficiency

Design and operating principle

The peculiarity of a potbelly stove is that it does not require the construction of a foundation or the installation of a major chimney. In most cases, this is precisely why it is chosen for use in the garage. This room does not always have electricity or a gas pipeline, which means that a potbelly stove is the only solution to the heating problem.

The potbelly stove does not require the construction of a foundation

This design is metal box with a door and a pipe that is led outside the heated room.

The pipe can also serve as a heating element if it is slightly modified. Make it stepped rather than straight, which will allow the hot air to linger in it a little.

Calculation of basic parameters (with drawings and dimensions)

High efficiency of a potbelly stove can only be achieved if all the main design parameters are correctly calculated.

Pipe

In this case, the diameter of this element is very important. The throughput of the chimney should be less than the productivity of the furnace, which is the main distinguishing feature potbelly stoves. This will allow warm air not to immediately leave the stove, but to linger in it and heat the surrounding air.

It is very important to produce exact calculation for her. The diameter should be 2.7 times the volume of the firebox. In this case, the diameter is determined in millimeters, and the volume of the firebox in liters. For example, the volume of the combustion chamber is 40 liters, which means that the chimney diameter should be about 106 mm.

If the stove is equipped with grates, then the height of the firebox is calculated without taking into account the volume of this part, that is, from the top of the grate.

Screen

It is very important to force the hot gases not to cool, but to burn out completely. In addition, the fuel must burn through partial pyrolysis, which requires extremely high temperatures. It will help to achieve a similar effect metal screen, which is located on three sides of the stove. It should be placed at a distance of 50–70 mm from the stove walls, due to which most of the heat will return to the stove. This air movement will give the necessary high temperature and protect against fire.

The screen of a potbelly stove made of red brick is capable of accumulating heat

Litter

It definitely has to be there. There are two reasons for this:

• some of the heat is radiated downwards;
• the floor on which the stove stands gets hot, which means there is a risk of fire.

The litter solves these two problems at once. As such, you can use a metal sheet with a projection of 350 mm (ideally 600 mm) beyond the contour of the furnace itself. There are more modern materials that do an excellent job of this task, for example, a sheet of asbestos or kaolin cardboard with a thickness of at least 6 mm.

You can use an asbestos sheet for bedding under a potbelly stove.

Chimney

Despite all the calculations, gases sometimes escape into the chimney not completely burned out. Therefore, it must be done in a special way. The chimney consists of:

• the vertical part (1–1.2 m), which is recommended to be wrapped in thermal insulation material;
• hog (slightly inclined part or completely horizontal), 2.5–4.5 m long, which should be 1.2 m from the ceiling, which is not protected by heat-resistant materials wooden surface by 1.5 m), from the floor - by 2.2 m.

The chimney must be vented to the street

Photo gallery: diagrams of a potbelly stove for a garage

The diagram must indicate all the exact measurements. The chimney must be directed to the street The potbelly stove can be round or square The volume of the firebox depends on the presence of grates The design of the potbelly stove depends on the material used

Required materials and tools

To make a potbelly stove with your own hands you will need:

• welding tool (or any other welding machine if you have relevant experience);
• chisel;
• soft cloth (you can use rags);
• hammer;
• sandpaper (fine-grained).

The list of materials depends on what container the potbelly stove will be made from. This could be a gas cylinder or a milk flask. If you have some experience working with metal, then a potbelly stove can be made from sheet material. However, you definitely need to take care of the availability of:

• refractory bricks;
• steel pipes;
• metal wire;
• grate bars (in some cases you can do without them);
• pipe with weather vane;
• door hinges.

Preparatory work before assembling the furnace: choosing a location

Using a potbelly stove in a garage, like any other heating device, requires compliance with safety rules. First of all, this concerns the installation location of the device. The corner of the garage, which is located near the walls opposite the door of the room, is ideal for this.

Remember that you cannot place the stove in close proximity to the car. The distance between them should be at least 1.5 m. A similar distance should be from objects that are easily flammable, for example, from barrels of gasoline.

The walls near the stove must be protected with fireproof material

The distance from the stove to the wall depends on what material the garage is built from. If it is wood, then there should be at least 1 m from the stove to the wall. Additionally, it is recommended to protect them with asbestos boards.

Step-by-step instructions for making a potbelly stove for your garage with your own hands

The method of making a potbelly stove depends on its shape and the material used.

Classic stove-stove

For making similar design You must have certain skills in working with a welding machine. All work consists of several steps:

1. Make 5 blanks from sheet metal.

   Blanks need to be cut from sheet metal

2. Weld the side surfaces to the bottom. Make sure that they are positioned strictly vertically relative to each other, which will be helped by using a level or a building square.
3. Weld the back wall.
4. The internal space is divided into three parts: smoke circulation, combustion part and ash pit. In the last two, install a grate. To do this, at a height of 10–15 cm, you need to weld the corners along the entire length. For the grill itself, it is recommended to use thick sheet steel 25–30 mm wide, from which strips must be cut. The distance between the plates should be 5 cm. The rods themselves must be welded to two rods, which give the grille rigidity.
5. It is necessary to weld two metal rods on top, which are needed to position the reflector (the sheet that separates the firebox and the smoke circulation); the reflector must be positioned in such a way that a channel for smoke is formed.

   Grate bars and a potbelly stove are optional elements

6. Weld the lid of the potbelly stove, not forgetting the hole for the pipe. Cut and weld the top bridge. Do the same with the narrower part.
7. Make a door. It is recommended to do it across the entire width of the stove, so that the grate bars and reflector can be removed without problems during cleaning and repairs. Don't forget that the door should be equipped with a handle, latch and curtains.
8. Install the structure on legs, which can be made from metal pipe with a diameter of 2–3 cm. You should not make them too high. 8–10 cm will be enough. If desired, you can equip them with bolts, which will allow you to adjust the height.
9. Make a chimney from a pipe with a diameter of 15–18 cm. To remove it, you need to make a hole in the wall of the appropriate size. The pipe consists of three parts, which are connected to each other at an angle of 45°.

   The pipe must not have horizontal parts

10. A rotating damper must be made at the lower end of the chimney pipe. It can also be made from sheet metal, but the diameter should be slightly smaller than the hole in the pipe. It is also necessary to provide a handle that would move this damper.
11. The pipe must be fixed on a sleeve measuring 15–20 cm, which is welded along the hole to the top cover.
12. Install the stove and adjust its height.

    When using sheet metal, you can make a potbelly stove of any size

Video: original potbelly stove for the garage with your own hands

Milk can oven

Making such a stove is quite easy, you just need to follow the step-by-step instructions:

Video: potbelly stove for a garage from a gas cylinder

Features of operation

When operating a homemade potbelly stove, it is very important to follow certain rules. This is necessary not only for the safety of its use, but also for long term services. These rules are:

• it is necessary to maintain a safe distance between the walls of the stove itself and the walls of the room (a distance of 50 cm is considered ideal);
• the chimney must be routed directly to the street; in no case should it be connected to the ventilation system of the garage (very often this desire arises when the stove is installed in the basement of the garage), since this is the only way to guarantee sufficient draft for proper combustion;
• places where the pipe is exposed to the street must be insulated with asbestos or other non-combustible material;
• You can increase the efficiency of a potbelly stove by insulating the room itself;
• It is necessary to install a box of sand and a fire extinguisher next to the potbelly stove, as this is required by fire safety regulations.

How to improve oven performance

This stove has one significant drawback - it cools down very quickly. However, this is very easy to fix with the help of a brick screen, which is installed on three sides of the structure. This will allow you to accumulate heat and release it to the room even after the stove stops burning.

It should be placed at a distance of 5–7 cm from the walls of the stove, in no case end-to-end. In this case, you need to take care of the presence of ventilation holes.

The screen should not be close to the walls of the stove

A structure with a brick screen will weigh much more than a conventional metal stove, so it is recommended to first build an individual foundation.

In some cases, it may be necessary to install a custom foundation. It's very easy to do:

1. Dig a hole about 50 cm deep. All other dimensions depend on the size of the stove itself and the screen.
2. Fill the bottom of the hole with sand (usually this takes about 3-4 buckets), after which it needs to be compacted. Cover the sand with a 10–15 cm layer of crushed stone and compact it as well.
3. Level the backfill, pour in the prepared cement mortar. Leave it for a day (you can do it for several days, the foundation will only benefit from this).
4. Cover the base with several layers of roofing material.
5. Now you can start laying out the screen in the brick floor. In this case, the first two rows should be laid out in continuous masonry directly on the roofing material. In rows 3–4 you need to do ventilation gaps. Continue solid masonry.
6. It is recommended to make the screen without a top cover.

How to properly clean a potbelly stove

The design features of this stove allow it to be cleaned quite rarely.

This is one of the advantages of a potbelly stove. However, periodically the chimney must be cleaned of soot residues. You can use a special brush for this. You can do it yourself. Attach a cylindrical brush to the rope. It is recommended to use a brush with plastic or iron bristles. In this case, you need to select it in such a way that it can easily squeeze into the narrow chimney pipe.

The cleaning process itself occurs in the following sequence:

1. Close the firebox opening and plug it with a rag.
2. Make several movements with the brush (you need to stop when the brush begins to move without resistance). Wait.
3. Remove any food that has flowed down to the cesspool.

All this must be done extremely carefully, since the chimney pipe of potbelly stoves is not very strong.

A homemade potbelly stove in the garage can become a reliable and effective assistant in the fight against winter frosts. And if you do it yourself, the efficiency of the device can be increased many times.

Often homeowners prefer to assemble simple and useful homemade products from scrap and unnecessary materials, instead of buying ready-made ones. And a potbelly stove is one of these useful devices.

The main feature of a potbelly stove is that it heats up as quickly as it cools down. Therefore, the scope of its use is narrowed mainly to those rooms where it is necessary to provide rapid heating, while the appearance of the device is often completely unimportant for the user.

You can make a potbelly stove with your own hands, and, if desired, modernize it to achieve more efficient heat transfer.

Are you also thinking about assembling such a homemade product and don’t know where to start? We will help you complete the task - the article discusses the assembly procedure various options homemade stoves, drawings and diagrams are provided.

Methods for improvement are also discussed in detail. homemade potbelly stove, as a result of which the efficiency of the stove will become noticeably higher.

The choice of furnace design depends on what material is used as fuel. Each user himself determines the degree of its availability and economic feasibility.

It is the flammable material that has different temperatures and the nature of combustion dictates the principles of creation different modifications devices.

The shape of the potbelly stove can be different, often it depends on the availability suitable material. This could be an old can, a gas cylinder, a metal container - whatever is at hand. The main thing when choosing it is the thickness of the metal and the shape, which requires a minimum of alterations.

Image gallery

A grate made of grate (it can be welded from reinforcement) is placed at the bottom of the chamber, under which ash will accumulate. You can also arrange hob. It is easier to do this on a horizontally located cylinder by welding corners on it on both sides.

It’s good if the barrel initially has legs. If not, you need to weld them or install the stove on bricks.

A potbelly stove made from a gas cylinder can also be used as a basis for the further construction of a hot water column, as it is also called “Titan”. To do this, install on top of the stove stainless steel container, through which the chimney pipe passes.

The water in a wood-burning boiler heats up quickly, and little firewood is used - in the summer, one load into a small firebox is enough.

A metal container with walls at least 3 mm thick is also suitable for a potbelly stove. The open top of the container is closed with a circle of metal sheet and brewed.

A hole is cut out in the lid or wall for the chimney. Its diameter should be at least 100-150 mm. The top of such a potbelly stove will heat up so much that you can cook food and heat water on it.

We also have more on our website detailed instructions with diagrams and drawings for manufacturing.

Features of a sawdust stove

If there is no shortage of sawdust on the farm, then this type of fuel will fully justify its use. Such a potbelly stove does not require frequent loading - the compacted sawdust inside does not burn, it slowly smolders, releasing thermal energy gradually and providing heat for a long time.

A self-made sawdust stove operates on the principle of long-term combustion. The slow combustion process saves resources - heat does not immediately fly out into the chimney, heating the atmosphere

The basis of the furnace can be a metal barrel with an open top (if the container is sealed, the top is cut off) or a pipe with a diameter of 300 to 600 mm.

Then a metal circle is cut out of a sheet three or more millimeters thick, which should be smaller than internal diameter barrels. In its middle, a hole with a diameter of 100 mm is cut under a cone for compacting sawdust.

The workpiece is welded to the walls of the barrel. Using this circle, the ash pit is fenced off - in it, with the help of shavings or wood chips, ignition will be carried out. The height of the ash pan should be 100-200 mm.

Below the welded circle, a window is cut out, which will serve as a blower. Curtains are welded to the cut piece of metal, making a door for the same hole.

An exit to the chimney is made in the lid of the container. The lid must fit tightly onto the potbelly stove and be made of a fairly thick sheet, otherwise it will quickly burn out.

In order for sawdust to burn gradually, it is necessary to ensure a limited supply of oxygen to the fuel compartment. To do this, a cone-shaped core is inserted inside the firebox, sawdust is poured around it and compacted. The cone is carefully removed, turning, and the lid is put on the barrel.

The same model can be improved by adding an additional cylinder. In this option, the sawdust will be in the inner chamber, and the space between the two compartments will serve to burn gases and increase the heating area. In this option, the outlet of smoky gases is arranged in the lower part of the stove.

How can you improve your potbelly stove?

An ordinary potbelly stove has a mass positive qualities, but also has a lot significant shortcomings. It is unable to accumulate heat and heats the room while the fire is burning. Requires continuous fuel supply, on average every 30-40 minutes.

In addition, a large amount of heat escapes through the chimney into the atmosphere, bringing no benefit. That is why work on improving the potbelly stove is ongoing.

The standard design of a potbelly stove has many modernized structures, which allow:

• save fuel;
• increase the efficiency of the stove;
• increase heat capacity;
• reduce the frequency of fuel filling.

The most common methods for increasing the efficiency of a potbelly stove are creating a slow burning mode, a gas afterburning system, and installing heat-resistant lining of the internal walls.

You can also improve the quality performance of the stove by increasing the heat transfer area using welded pipes and an installed fan that will drive air flows through them.

The industrial model of such a potbelly stove is called “Buleryan”, but besides it, there are many more various designs made in a handicraft way. We recommend watching detailed master class By homemade production.

You can increase the heat transfer time if you line the stove with brickwork. Such a potbelly stove will heat up more slowly, but will also give off heat longer, maintaining the temperature in the room for some time after the fire has died out.

Are you interested in brickwork? We have it on our website detailed guide do it yourself with diagrams and drawings.

Option #1 – stove with increased fuel load

This model is designed to increasing efficiency and continuous burning time. The basis is taken as a horizontal rectangular potbelly stove on massive, stable legs and complemented with a cassette made of a blind sealed cylinder. Such design additions significantly increase its efficiency.

A flange is welded to a cassette cylinder about 400 mm high. After installing the cylinder in the burner hole, its edge should fall 5-10 mm below the stove plate. To make it convenient to install and remove the cylinder, handles are welded to its body.

The cylinder is filled with firewood in such a way that there is some space between them and when installing it on the stove, they can immediately fall onto the burning coals

How does a potbelly stove work:

1. The lower part of the firewood, falling on the coals of the preparatory ignition, flares up. In this case, the upper part, located in the cassette, will not burn due to lack of oxygen, but will dry under the influence of hot smoke.
2. Under the weight of its own mass and as it burns, the firewood gradually falls into the firebox.
3. The hot gas, which is in the cylinder for some time, gives off heat to it, thereby increasing the heat transfer area in the room. In this case, the cylinder cover can serve as a cooking surface.
4. At the same time, the temperature of the exhaust smoke decreases, which means the heat capacity and efficiency of the potbelly stove increases.

As a result of this modernization, the time interval between laying firewood increases and the efficiency of using the stove increases.

Option #2 – long-burning potbelly stove “Bubafonya”

The low efficiency of a conventional potbelly stove is a fact that has long been known and verified by many users.

One of the methods to increase it is to slow down the combustion process by limiting the flow of air into the combustion chamber. This improvement can be found in such stoves as “Bubafonya” and “Filipina”.

This stove model is used in non-residential premises- workshops, greenhouses, others outbuildings. To work for 9-12 hours, one stack of small firewood, chips, and sawdust is enough. In this model heating device Do not use coarsely chopped or damp firewood.

A potbelly stove can be created from any metal tank. Most often they use a barrel of fuel and lubricants or an old cylinder.

Manufacturing is carried out in the following sequence:

• A combustion chamber is prepared from an accessible cylindrical container, in the upper part of which a hole is cut for the chimney.
• A circle is cut out of metal (at least 10 mm thick), slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the barrel.
• A hole with a diameter of 100-150 mm is made in the center of the circle (the exact size depends on the diameter of the rod pipe used).
• Ribs up to 50 mm high are welded onto one of the planes of the circle.
• A pipe is welded to the center of the circle. Its length is calculated so that the piston, when lowered, rises above the reservoir lid by approximately 100 mm. If you leave the pipe longer than necessary, draft will arise in it and it will begin to smoke.
• Next, they build a lid that will fit tightly on the barrel and cut a hole in it that fits the piston pipe

You can further increase the efficiency of this model by organizing the supply of air from the street into the firebox. Thus, heated air from the room will not fly out into the chimney.

Option #3 – furnace with secondary combustion “Filipina”

The furnace uses two methods to increase its efficiency, based on the principles of long-term combustion and pyrolysis. To make it, you will need two gas cylinders, which will serve as chambers for primary and secondary combustion.

The sequence of actions for making a potbelly stove is as follows:

1. The cylinders are prepared for use by releasing the remaining gas from them and filling them with water. Without this procedure, it is absolutely impossible to cut them, otherwise the sparks that are formed during the operation of the angle grinder can provoke a gas explosion, a certain amount of which always remains in the cylinder.
2. In the first cylinder, which will serve as a chamber for the firebox and ash pan, remove the tap and cut off the top (it is used to make the door), and cut out a hole for installing a chimney.
3. Opposite the hole for the chimney, a pipe is welded, the other end of which should not rest against the lid of the second chamber, leaving free space for the smoke to escape.
4. At the outlet of the pipe from the first cylinder, a metal ring is welded; it will serve as a support for installing the upper cylinder. Holes are drilled in it.
5. A metal ring is also welded to the second cylinder at the place where the top is cut, in which the locations for the holes are marked, focusing on the holes already made in the first ring.
6. Before finally installing the second cylinder, an air supply pipe is inserted into it.
7. Place the upper chamber on the pipe, aligning the holes, wind a heat-resistant rope between the rings, and secure the connection with screws.
8. The chimney exit is made from the bottom of the secondary combustion chamber.

To obtain a stable structure, reliable legs are welded to the lower chamber. Install the door on the awnings. It can be further improved by adding the ability to regulate the air entering the firebox.

The potbelly stove always came to the rescue in emergency situations and was a reliable assistant for summer residents, motorists with a garage, as well as owners of small private houses. Today, it often takes on a new look, developed by interior designers, so it fits well into the halls of elite mansions. Is it possible to make this useful and sometimes simply necessary heating device with your own hands if you do not have enough experience in welding and cutting metal? Of course, yes, and yes again, in order to cook a potbelly stove you only need to understand general principles welding metals, even if you end up with a crooked seam, you can always clean it up with an angle grinder; look at the photo below to see what type of furnace was welded by a beginner who had only used a welding machine twice in his life:

Tools required for work

For the manufacture of any metal structures you need a certain set of tools, which include:

1. Welding machine, at least 200A and electrodes, protective mask and a welding suit;
2. Grinder (grinder), cutting and grinding wheels on metal. Some shaped parts can only be cut with a gas cutter.
3. Skimmer(hammer);
4. Metal brush;
5. An ordinary hammer, chisel, pliers;
6. Tape measure, folding meter and chalk for marks;
7. Drill and drill bits for metal.

Types of homemade potbelly stoves

For different rooms you can choose your own type of potbelly stove that suits your needs best technical specifications and by appearance. They are made from metal tanks, medium-diameter pipes, barrels, gas cylinders and sheets with a thickness of at least 3-5 mm.

For heating in a garage, any of the potbelly stove options is suitable, but for use in a residential area, it is better to avoid some models.

Therefore, you need to consider the most popular options for potbelly stoves in order to find out which one to choose and make yourself.

Potbelly stove for mining - simple and cheap

This is exactly the option that is not suitable for use in premises where people live. The explanation is simple: when burning, waste oil emits a specific smell, even if there is a good exhaust system.

For production you will need sheet metal thickness 4-5 mm, from which all the necessary parts will be cut. A pipe is also needed for the manufacture of some elements of the potbelly stove and chimney.

In the diagram presented, everything is clearly visible dimensions of parts that needs to be prepared.

• All elements are accurately marked on a metal sheet and cut out using a grinder. All edges of the parts are carefully cleaned.
• In prepared the right size Round holes are drilled along the height of the pipe. It will connect the upper and lower containers of the potbelly stove.
• A hole is cut in the upper plane of the upper tank, in the place indicated according to the diagram. required diameter. It is offset from the center to the left and will be intended for the chimney pipe. On the bottom wall the hole is shifted towards right side circle, and the connecting pipe will enter it.
• Two circles are welded to a section of pipe that will determine the thickness of the upper tank.
• The lower part of the stove is made in the same way. Only the hole for the pipe to enter is cut in the center of the circle. In addition, another one is cut out, which will serve as a neck for filling the stove. A sliding cover is attached to it.
• Three or four legs are welded onto the lower solid plane.
• For rigidity, the upper tank is connected to the lower one with metal brackets.
• To ensure that the stove is beautiful and does not rust, all welds are thoroughly cleaned, and then all surfaces are painted with protective heat-resistant paint.
• The last step in the work is connecting the stove to the chimney.

Such a furnace works as follows: waste is poured into the lower tank, then using a splinter or rolled paper, it is ignited through the hole. The sliding cover on the hole is closed after the waste inside the tank ignites. Oxygen entering through the holes in the pipe that connects the two tanks promotes intense combustion. Hot air passing through the top of the oven heats it to high temperature, so you can easily heat a kettle on its surface. Since there is always spent fuel in the garage, there will never be any problems refueling the potbelly stove.

Potbelly stove from an old barrel or pipe

This stove can be made from an ordinary metal barrel or pipes of a certain diameter. It is quite suitable for installation in a residential area of ​​a summer house, and with a beautiful, neat design it can also be suitable for a residential building.

1. On the right level For the future furnace, two rectangular holes are marked and cut out, which will be the entrances to the firebox and ash pan.
2. The cut out parts will be useful for making doors. They are framed with metal strips, bringing them to the required size, and a special handle with a latch is installed.
3. About ten centimeters below the firebox door, corner brackets are welded inside the barrel or pipe on which the grate will be laid.
4. You can weld the grate yourself from reinforcement.
5. If the stove is made of a pipe, its bottom and upper part are welded.
6. The legs are welded to the lower bottom part.
7. A hole for the chimney is cut out in the top panel and a pipe is welded into it.
8. Then the doors are installed on the fixed hinges. According to their location, the hook for the lock is marked and secured.
9. In order for the stove to have an aesthetic appearance, all welding seams must be thoroughly cleaned. If the oven is then coated with heat-resistant paint, it will be impossible to distinguish it from the factory product.
10. Then, when the stove is completely ready, it is connected to a chimney leading outside.

Generally , good option potbelly stove, if there is enough space for it in the room, since this model will take up enough large area. It should be noted that the top panel of the potbelly stove is large enough, and you can easily install a kettle or, for example, a frying pan on it.

Potbelly stove made from a bad gas cylinder

The gas cylinder has an almost ready-made shape for a good potbelly stove.

• The top of the cylinder with the tap is cut off, and a plug is subsequently welded to this place.
• A square hole is cut in its bottom part, which will serve as the entrance to the firebox. The cut out part should also not be thrown away. It is scalded, and thus the door panel will be ready.
• A handle lock is attached to it, and the door is installed on welded hinges.
• Holes are made on the wall of the cylinder, which will be the bottom of the future stove - they themselves will act as a grate.
• Under them, a box made of thinner metal is fixed by welding. This will be an ash pit for disposing of waste from burnt firewood, which will also act as an ash pit. The door must also be secured to the ash pan.
• After this, the legs are welded - they can be made from a metal corner or pipes.
• A round hole is cut out in the upper rear part of the potbelly stove and a chimney pipe is welded into it.
• If necessary, you can also install a hob on top. To do this, it is enough to weld a frame made of steel reinforcement on the top of the cylinder. On such hob It is quite possible to place two items - for example, for cooking and heating water.

A potbelly stove made from a gas cylinder is perfect for both a garage and a room in a country house.

One of the home craftsmen shares his experience on how to make a potbelly stove with your own hands from a cylinder with a vertical arrangement:

Video lesson on building a potbelly stove from a gas cylinder

Potbelly stove made of rectangular sheet steel

This is probably the most optimal, aesthetic, compact version of all the potbelly stoves proposed above. It is best suited for heating residential premises. The design of this stove is clearly visible in the two diagrams presented.

Compact, easy-to-use “Gnome”

The first of them shows the “Gnome” stove. It has a simple structure: two chambers - a firebox and an ash pan, a chimney pipe and legs.

The second diagram shows a more complex internal structure potbelly stove, which will help it retain heat for a longer period. This potbelly stove is worth considering.

• To make this stove you will need sheet metal with a thickness of at least 3 mm, a corner 5 × 5 cm, a chimney pipe, and a burner cover.
• On metal sheets Markings are made and all the necessary details are drawn: the walls of the stove, the bottom of the potbelly stove, the hob; grate, two internal metal plates that direct the flow of burnt gases, their afterburning, and delay the rapid release of heat.
• Two rectangular holes for the firebox and ash pan are cut in the front wall of the stove. Here, doors with locks and latches for them will subsequently be attached to hinges.
• A neat opening for the burner is cut out in the upper plane (depending on the size of the purchased part), as well as a hole for the chimney.
• The legs are attached to the lower, bottom part.
• The place where the grate will be placed is marked on the side panels. Corners are welded to these places, they will become brackets for the grate.
• In order to make a grate, you can drill a large amount of round holes, or weld a grid from reinforcement.
• In the upper part of the potbelly stove, at a distance of 16 cm from the hob, a plate is welded, its length being 8 cm less than the depth of the potbelly stove, i.e. it should not reach the back wall of the oven body by 8 cm.
• The same plate is welded to the rear wall, 8 cm higher than the first plate; it should not reach the front panel by 8 cm. Thus, after installing all the parts, a labyrinthine the corridor along which the hot air, heating these plates and preventing the heat from immediately escaping into the pipe.
• Next, you need to assemble all the parts of the potbelly stove together by welding. All joints of parts must be reinforced with a metal corner.
• Lastly, the chimney pipe is welded and all welding seams are cleaned.
• To give a potbelly stove impressive looking, it is painted with heat-resistant paint.

Rules for safe installation of a potbelly stove

In order for a homemade one to bring only comfort and warmth to the house, and not create problems, it is necessary to follow safety rules.

• The stove is installed on a fire-resistant surface. It can be arranged from tiles or in the form brickwork. The walls around the stove also need to be protected from overheating. This can be done using fire-resistant special drywall or other non-combustible material.
• Flammable materials must not be placed near the firebox.
• The room where the stove will be located must have a good ventilation system. This is important to ensure that there is no risk of carbon monoxide accumulation in the room.
• To make any potbelly stove, you must use only high-quality material.

The potbelly stove will serve effectively and for a long time, will be a good helper in household chores and will warm winter evenings. The main thing is to think through the model well, make it carefully, and comply with all the requirements for safe handling during operation.