Candle Convection Heater- Winter Camping with my Off-Grid Stove! (Snowmobile Camper Series)

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I designed and built a simple convection heater, ideal for: fishing huts, winter tents, or in my case...a snowmobile camper. It's in the prototype phase right now, but it's already showing some real promise! With the power of convection, it kept my sled camper warm, using only 4 candles! I've also designed the heater to use a small propane burner, to give it some versatility. After constructing my homemade heater, I put it to the test, by taking it on a winter camping trip.
Construction Plans (PDF File):
- Snowmobile Camper the-outsider.creator-spring.c...
- Pop-Up Cabin the-outsider.creator-spring.c...
Outsider Apparel: teespring.com/stores/the-outs...
Outsider Tactical Flashlights (affiliate link):
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#offgrid #wintercamping #snowmobilecamper

[@matthewmicallef3811]

As a candle maker I would recommend you find a local candle maker to create modified candles with different sized wicks. Then you will be able to make candles burn hotter or last longer making them suitable for an all night burn. Regarding the lowering of the candles as they burn, you can find spring loaded candle holders such as the ones used in liturgical candles, or put them in a water bath, that way the candle floats upwards as it burns down. Excellent little device you made!

[@neb6229]

That water bath idea is a good idea plus if they fall over it extinguishes them as well.

[@Griffix96]

I think the water bath would freeze if the fresh air intake pipe extended through the water. Good idea though. I like it.

[@mightymystery9204]

@@neb6229 Water will also catch residual heat and serve as a reservoir.

[@Azovie]

@@Griffix96 add salt

[@humlakullen]

Awesome job:-). Thanks for sharing!

[@edakimling133]

One improvement on the candles would be to simply forgo candles. Replace it with 3 style 250ml mason jars. Make a hole in each lid, put a wick through. Fill it with any cheap vegetable oil. I use discarded filterer canola cooking oil. Or buy it new. For transport, have another set of lids. This setup will burn much much longer (definitely will last entire night) and the distance from the pipes will not decrease. Awesome project, love it!

[@dangerpudge1922]

This is the correct answer.

[@Menuki]

Crisco candles are super efficient. One tub lasts for 2 days straight

[@gerrymcdonald6194]

I live in Canada in an area that has cold winters and a lot of snow .. and I do mean a lot! Took my son's Cub pack winter camping. We used an old one room, heated school house as our base. Blizzard hit on the second night. Surveyed the school yard finding 6 foot snow banks formed by the storm beside the school house. Took the boys out that night after the blizzard had passed and we dug snow shelters in the side of the snow banks; the classic 'L' shaped kind of snow shelter like the army does. We put old blankets on the floor and lit the inside with candles; about 4 large candles per shelter. To our pleasant surprise the inside of the shelters were not only well lit, but 'warm' .. very warm. So warm in fact that we had to open the collars of our snow gear. It would have been easy to sleep in these shelters comfortably if we had wanted to. That was 40 years ago, and to this day my son and his pals still remember the experience as a highlight of their Cub Scouting experience. Mine too.

[@renzoqu]

You are a good father

[@tangobravo8889]

I have watched this before. I love it when a guy or gal has the ability to look at something like an ammo can and say to themselves, “I could make a heater out of that”. Great job and great innovation 👍

[@daphneraven6745]

The first person I saw do this was just a young teenager. I think he might’ve even invented it. The video is also here online someplace.

[@stevenclarke5606]

Mankind’s ability to innovate

[@JSAnstock]

When I was a catering student the restaurant we ran had candle holders which were tubes with springs in the bottom. As the candle burned down the spring pushed it up the tube which narrowed at the top to retain the candle. Thus the flame stays at the same height, this could solve your problem with the candles burning down and loosing contact with the convection tubes.

[@JoEl-tx4bz]

You can let the candle float/swim in water. The result is the same.

[@andyharpist2938]

a burning candle will generate the same heat to your cabin wherever it is...high or low.

[@Arcona]

@@andyharpist2938 No it won't since it's inside the storage box and the main heat transfer is coming from the pipes the candles are heating. The candle moves further away from the heat pipe as it burns, heating it less.

[@andyharpist2938]

@@Arcona Or so you might think. But a single constant heat-source within a heat exchanger will exchange the same total heat. The local temperature may be higher but the total 'exchange' is one of 'heat' not temperature. Small area high temperature: Greater area lower temperature.

[@myyoutubehandle1234]

You could also put the candles on a spring loaded plate so as they burn and their weight is reduce the spring will push them up closer to the pipes.

[@johnmoore5293]

Yes, I have a candle lantern with that design and they are sold by many companies.

[@penrithomas115]

Also I'm sure I've seen 16 hour tea lights short fat would need a platform but wouldn't loose any height when burning 🤔

[@timothybutler5597]

My thoughts as well 👍

[@justinw1765]

More simply, you can just have a copper bar (or very small particle silicone carbide packed copper tubes) go over the candle flames at a lower height and connect to the air pipe. Copper is very, very good at conducting heat. Silicone carbide is pretty good too. No moving parts, nothing to break or go wrong.

[@gazsto6733]

@@johnmoore5293 Yeah your right John the UCO Candle Lantern are spring loaded and keep the flame elevated.

[@mehdimarashi1736]

Ideas: (1) Put the candles on a suitable spring, as the candles get lighter, the spring pushes them up. (2) A longer chimney can provide a stronger draft, providing more oxygen for the burn. (3) A kerosene burner might be a good solution, too. Kerosene is cheaper than candles, and burns cleaner with a blue flame if designed for heating rather that lighting purposes.

[@johnwyman6126]

Kerosene heaters use a circular 2-1/2 to 3 inch diameter round wick that would be way too big for that small space. There are kerosene circular wick lamps that work exactly the same way as kerosene heaters, which would be much more appropriately sized. Most of the companies that made them have gone out of business except for Aladdin, who still makes them to do this day. They use a one inch diameter wick and also a mantle for very bright light for a kerosene lamp. They are still made probably because they are the best and brightest that have ever been made. Unfortunately they are also very expensive if new. You can find decent ones though, at the Antique stores. I've heard of them being found at thrift stores, but I have never seen one there.

[@TheSafedave]

put a fan on the intake pipe

[@MrLandslide84]

The taller the pipe the better. Always moving air the higher you go.

[@markbellows9337]

I like the design. Using the auto exhaust pipes is a good idea. One thing you can consider is an oil wick based heat source, similar to what is used for a lantern. An idea would be to use a can, like a steel pint paint can with the lid on it, you can put plenty of oil in it and drill a hole just big enough for the wick to go through the lid. Two or three of this can might (?) fit in the ammo can. More importantly, the wick will stay close to the heat exchange pipe through the night. I am going to try this idea for a small work shop I have and see how it works. I'm not looking for it to be so warm I need take my coat off, but warm enough I can take my gloves and hat off without freezing!

[@styledliving]

Yeah, I sorta want to build one w/ kerosene/diesel in mind.

[@leroybrown505]

wax seems to last longer

[@MikeKeesler]

ok, just to let you know, there is a better method of heating the stove. If you get carbon felt about 5mm thick and roll it and place a couple of inches of it in a 12mm copper tube about 2 inches long trim the top off flush, set it into a bowl of vegetable oil and after about 5 minutes light the upper part of the wick. The felt doesn't burn, but it gives off lots of heat and it will keep going until it runs out of oil. That's what I will use in mine. I love your design, but with this one change I think you will find that it works much better with a little experimentation.

[@topdowndvr]

The four candles (flames) worked awesome. Instead of a full propane burner, just install four pilot light burners, right under the transfer tubes. They'll use way less fuel, they'll work fine with your current air intake, and they won't burn out at four in the morning ;)

[@markmcla]

That's a great suggestion!

[@williamhelvitson1302]

i was thinking the same thing a 20lb cylinder would last forever.... 6 small pilots.... 4in dryer vent tobe...

[@markmcla]

@@williamhelvitson1302 A bunsen burner might work nicely too

[@TKHONDA7]

4 candles a night is pretty expensive to a 20lb propane tank burning 4 pilots like you suggested

[@zakthewarcat3172]

that's excellent thinking

[@budwilliams6590]

Set the candle array on a spring platform so they move up closer to the pipes as they melt down and get lighter. To bring more air in without changing the pipe size add a fan to the outside air intake.

[@darunealbane]

Or replace with oil lamps

[@shaystern2453]

if you add a fan on the outtake you'd be moving air too fast and maybe drop the temperature

[@budwilliams6590]

@@shaystern2453 that depends on the fan speed doesn't it?

[@j0hnny_R3db34rd]

@@darunealbane whale blubber works great for that.

[@TinyGoHomes]

My 10x6 tiny home can hold temp with just 6 candles down to -15. Great for when the power goes out. So those are the only two heat sources I’ve needed is candle and electric when the grid works and is only down for a few hours. For a long grid down situation I got a diesel heater installed and a 1000 litre diesel tank on my property. For even longer situations like shtf type situations I also have a wood stove and a bunch of wood ready. For those random mobile operations like ice fishing reconnaissance etc I got propane heaters small and big, power stations with solar and generators. I’m actually changing my business to build tiny homes soon and I like the idea of building a multi purpose stove design like no other. Something you can use many sources with just a change of adapters or inserts. I love reinventing the wheel and I now have a shop to do just that. Summer 24 should be wild.

[@jacobd.2941]

Just to throw this out there, you could create a Crisco Candle that would fit in that area, and the candle would not only last all night, but possibly up to a week, depending on how well you make it. It should burn just as hot, but at the same time burn far longer. You could also use thermoelectric generators to power those fans. Not only that, but you could add an extra fan for the air intake so that you could add more flames. This way you would light the candles, wait for the thermoelectric generators to start functioning, and then seal the heater. Then it would self perpetuate with just the heat from the candles that with the crisco would be able to burn for several days if need be. Just some ideas. I love the heater design by the way, very nice.

[@thirtythreeeyes8624]

You could probably heat a much bigger space with some of those mods or use less candles.

[@JohnClarke808]

That's what Crisco was designed for in the 40s during WWII in England people used it to cook over using they're paraffin stoves. Many sailboat still use it to cook over

[@Mothara]

+1 on the Peltier cell to pull voltage from the heat at the top of stove to run a combustion intake fan

[@kearaallbee5644]

That's a very in-depth addition iam wanting to apply both of your ideas to my work on my RV home

[@aurorasugarmagnolia]

Crisco comments from everyone who's never tried it. Try it. Then you can deal with the film of Crisco on every single surface in that small space. Have fun

[@SamLee8084]

I just said to myself last night that I haven’t seen a video from the Outsider in awhile and boom here he is, the absolute cleanest and neatest outdoorsman on KZbin.

[@kathyscott]

I was just going to jump on and say the exact same thing that Ben said a year ago. We had just watched the video for the first time and hubby commented the same thing. Hope you took the suggestion and I hope it worked. So sorry for the loss of your sweet Dad, I know you feel the loss every hour of the day. Prayers for a healing of your heart. 🥰

[@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN]

Looking back on this, I think the main issue could be due to the flue coming down so far into the stove, 1" from the top is more than enough to trap heat for the top plate to heat yet still allow for unburnt gasses to escape. I've never seen a flue come down so low into a stove. I recon the low hanging carbon monoxide because of the low inside flue height is worth some revision. A quick fix with a grinder.

[@englishkernigit8294]

As my old engineer boss told me always "keep it simple, stupid", this is a fine example of that adage. Brilliant job and certainly one I'll employ in my shed. Cheers matey

[@Navyuncle]

What did the pirate say on his 80th birthday? Aye Matey.

[@GuitarUniverse2013]

I’d like to keep it simple, don’t find much use for calling somebody stupid. Maybe I’ve just been bullied wants to often by assholes. No reflection on you sir, I’m just saying what my experience has been. There’s so much hatred in the world, I think anything we can do to simmer down the overall situation is a good thing.

[@Navyuncle]

@@GuitarUniverse2013 Mr Guitar, keep it simple stupid is not meant as an insult. KISS is an acronym. The entire phrase is a colloquialism.

[@tommybrown9034]

@@Navyuncle Its a UK approach of not over complicating things 😀🙃

[@Navyuncle]

@@tommybrown9034 I like your name. My boy is Tommy. And my sister's last name is Brown.

[@patriciaherman6499]

Once my heater in my car broke, until I could take in for repair I used 2 big jar candles put them on my dash and they kept the windshield from icing up going to work not to mention they warmed up the car. Now I keep the candles in my winter kit in the car. Great idea. Blessings to you and your family. 😊🇱🇷

[@robertdillon9989]

Bad idea unless you like carbon monoxide in your lungs you might stay warm but fall asleep forever…

[@droolbunnyxo9565]

Just be sure to crack a window, to allow the carbon monoxide to escape. Candles in small tight spaces are lethal.

[@MuskratOutdoors]

I did the same thing with a can of Sterno......any yes to all you worry warts.....the window was cracked open slightly.....

[@rebacrow5604]

Hi there, I love your channel, whenever I’m on my iPad, your channel is one of the first channels I look for to see if you have posted anything. Your cabin is beautiful and you are so talented. I’m a 78 year old lady that loves to watch your builds. I’m waiting to see what you do for Christmas. I hope your wife is well, take care. Blessings

[@Hugh-Glass]

This is one of those designs so delightfully simple it needs no instruction. It's genius.

[@franciscogutierrez818]

so many cameras and different angles, this man is really making a huge effort to provide good quality video. mad respect

[@tvdinner325]

I just don't take my doghouse, out for trips often enough.

[@HueghMungus]

Well @Francisco it is his job, you wouldn't watch low quality TV show.

[@MGreen-vz6yb]

Don't be angry

[@k0oLwHiP]

I was just thinking that after that sky shot. Like damn, he put some thought into this thing hes got going on.

[@maiingan07]

@@k0oLwHiP - yeah, me too. I loved the camera in the back of the sled. I thought that was a nice touch.

[@fluffigverbimmelt]

15:20 Overengineered solution proposal: Make the candles spring-loaded, so the are raised as they burn down to make use of their full capacity

[@FernandaFoertter]

came here to say this too

[@user-tz6rk4dy5s]

How do you make candles spring loaded?

[@Keeperofrighteousness]

Would have to be at an angle to let wax drip put into sepera5 pan in order to lose the weight

[@cane870]

@@Keeperofrighteousness but then the candles are way less efficient

[@chaosville666]

Thats what I wanted to suggest :D seems I was too slow

[@asaprocky8195]

How about a counter weighted candle platform, that raises the candles closer to the heat absorption pipes as the candles lose weight from burning away? Place a metal tea kettle om top of your stove for heated water in the morning to wash up, or make a warm drink. The vapor from the heated water will also help to add some humidity back into our shelter, as winter air is usually very dry. You could even go so far as to add an extension to the heat exhaust pipes to be used as boot and clothing dryers. Very nice minimalist build. Great idea for a safe heater. The only limitation I see, is that you probably have to carry a lot of extra candles to burn for multiple days on the trail, unlike a wood burning stove that can be fed with found wood. Have you tried burning wood in this stove heater? Ir might be pretty hard to add wood as needed while that unit is hot or supporting an existing fire. Probably not as safe as burning candles like you show here. One could go on with modifications to burn LPG... but I like the light from the candles too. 🙂

[@dogshouse1]

Your candle heater is just what my wife and I needed. We were using some candles to help keep our 12x12 foot cabin warm. 4-6 would keep the temp 60-63 inside when about 40F outside allowing us to let our tiny, gas generator to rest and save some fuel during the day BUT, those dang candles were depositing NASTY, black soot on EVERYTHING, including us and our bedding. Talk about terrible! The outside air your heater provides for the flames gets rid of the soot and the real drawbacks for us using candles as heating. GREAT IDEA, THANK YOU!

[@waynedavies3185]

This is the best safe heater I have seen so-far on the internet. 4 candles= 400 BTUs (or 100 BTUs per candle), and the size of the hut in square ft., is small enough to raise the temperature to a comfortable living level. Nicely made, with plenty of safety measures taken.

[@graydi66y]

The only bad part is using JB weld to seal the pipes. Never use 2 part epoxy for high heat things you will be damn near next to for extended periods of time. The fumes are very toxic. Even if it's made for high heat applications. It's still no go for clean air in a closed environment

[@RISCGames]

@@graydi66y what would be a better alternative?

[@leebran1159]

@@RISCGames welding

[@waynedavies3185]

@@larrymartineau7507 Well, he did say it kept the inside around 15 to 20 C overnight. Have to take his word on that statement. He also mentioned he had an air vent at the opposite end of the shed, which would raise questions, as heat does escape through vents lowering heating efficiency of his furnace. It does send questionable thoughts towards the watchers of this video.

[@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN]

@@waynedavies3185 A single Good candle produces 80 W, most Tea lights are around 40 Watts unless they are cheap rubbish ones like I've purchased on one or two occasions. So 80 watts x4= 320 watts at approximately 75 to 85% efficiency, lets say 20% heat is going out the chimney so efficiency is 80%, now we have 256 Watts = 874 BTU. Anyway, So the question is, would 256 Watts heat that space, and it could be as low as 200 Watts depending on the candles and the length of the wicks, "or" arguably a little more? My 400 watt halogen heater would cook you out in a space that size even in low temps so I can see 256 Watts = 256 BTU working pretty Good. I think the candles getting to low was definitely an issue. I would suggest that some of the original heat came from the fire that was lit outside, heated the whole cabin up somewhat and the cabin stored it for a while and this should also be taken into consideration. 8 thicker wicks in kerosene like this but in two lines of four and under the two pipes (NIDONE Kerosene Stove) would probably do the job well for a quicker heat up, then you could extinguish what you don't need plus they won't burn down like candles and cheaper also.

[@theLASTdangerboy]

This was so simple and easy to watch. There wasn’t a ton of build up or excess footage or dialogue. I feel like you really nailed this one, my guy. Never watched your stuff before but I sure loved this one! Keep it up dude!

[@constantintrudel3756]

Could't agree more. Well said.

[@tinkerwithstuff]

To watch, yes, listen - not so much. Sounded like microphone directly connected to the surfaces being worked on, lol. Way too much emphasized rumble, drilling noises, and all.

[@downeyd2803]

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰👍

[@RobertBrooksRedneckConst-dw8et]

You can create different size pipes by just using old cans, but here in Arkansas Lowe's is selling 5 ft sections of 5-in diameter stove pipe for under 10 bucks. Using self tapping sheet metal screws it's easy to make the diameter smaller. Since the distance is so short you'll only be using a section of the pipe that you cut off and the other part can be used with screws again to make the diameter larger. I suggest using a pipe just about as large as you can and cutting the hole in the bottom into pie shaped holes like some barbecue grills used for air intake. Then you can adjust the ambient air flow without using a fan that could blow your candles out. Their comments about what to do about the flame level and that is very good advice. When you do that build a little shelf to set it on so that your air flow can go all the way around it from the bottom. Alternatively you can put the cold air intake into the bottom of the sides. You could even use your 2-in piping put one on either side with the adjustable airflow. This will allow you to adjust the airflow for the number of candles you're burning or for using propane. And you would want to adjust your level of heat to whatever the outside temperature. When it gets warmer, but not warm enough to be with out, then you would need to burn fewer candles and it might actually draw too much air cooling it down. I ran into similar issues building alternative heaters for my camper. I ended up opting to build a unit that sets on the stove top. I removed the exhaust fan and exhausted it out through there. But the space was large enough to not run into oxygen deprivation and the exhaust pipe was just for air quality purposes.

[@John77787]

Oh My God In Heaven. Sir, firstly your work was great work. The heater stove build was so beautiful and perfect it almost made me weep tears of joy. And second sir. Your doing it. Your living the ever harder American Dream. Congratulations

[@justgjt]

I cannot imagine what it is like to live in a part of the world where it is so cold and so beautiful... What a truely amazing planet we are fortunate to live on.

[@nunyabusiness863]

Yes. It is great to take a step back and be thankful!

[@michaelward402]

Interesting and well thought out. Maybe a counterbalance lifter for the candles, so that as the candles diminish in size, they are lifted nearer to the heating pipes.

[@dosmundos3830]

a platform on springs maybe. as the candles get lighter the springs will decompress and lift them up.

[@michaelward402]

@@dosmundos3830 I hadn't really considered springs at the time, I don't really know if they would work very well (they are non-linear with the compression to length), given you would have to calibrate for the smallest size the candle will get to. Maybe a coil spring may work.

[@jmh8697]

@Michael Ward - I have the same idea before reading the comments!

[@x95b10]

That was my thought as well.

[@Josephus_da_Killer]

@@michaelward402 the NCO candle lanterns use a cylinder that holds the candles in place so the spring can feed the candles upwards.

[@Dream.big.dreams]

Great idea for your heater. I would have put the candles on a small scissor lift and cone that scissor lift to a motor that has a variable resistor and timing circuit. Then the motor would turn on after a set limited time to raise the lift upwards. So, as the candles burn the lift moves the candles upwards towards the pipe.

[@ericarbo5044]

As for Mike Hoover. The length of the stack can make a difference without changing the size. You sound like a smart man. I build a wood stove that was 36” long, two foot wide an 32” high to allow for ash pan also. Six inch stack an inlet. The door is 16” square. From an old boiler stove from the 40’s or 50’s. Short stack an low draft an low fire. Higher stack an bigger fire and stove didn’t smoke when I opened it. I could leave the door open like a fireplace and get roaring. All I did was add ten more feet to the stack.

[@benthere8051]

Instead of making the air intake larger, you could add another inline fan to boost the airflow. It would be easy to make the fan speed variable with a rheostat or a variable voltage regulator. Instead of multiple candles, you could use an oil burner with several wicks. That way you could ensure that the flame is at a constant height and you could easily add oil without opening up the stove.

[@blaircox1589]

Downside of kerosine lamps/wick burners is they require constant attention. Not exactly something you want to go to sleep while running. The box makes it substantially safer, bit still not the best idea. Without getting crazy complicated, taking your box and either forced air ventilation or larger/multiple intakes (do a second horizontal in case the cold outside air is resisting rising into the burn chamber) and build on the propane idea to adjust the burning on a thermostat. Unless you could take the control mechanism from a small propane stove and if it would fit, perhaps too complex. But you likely don't need it at 20C all night. 16-17C is great for sleeping. So if you could regulate your heat source as needed, that would be very neat.

[@ws4860]

A common fan will always need energie, for its production and use, a one inch bigger hole is for free and eco-friendly.

[@benthere8051]

​@@ws4860 A thermoelectric cell could power the fan using the heat in the box. In fact, thermoelectric cells could power everything. You have cold surfaces and hot surfaces in the same box. The input combustion air is very cold and the output cabin air is very warm. It is an ideal situation for generating electricity with something like a 27145 thermoelectric power generator. The generator could power all three fans.

[@ws4860]

@@benthere8051 Effort and income. Generating electricity from exhaust heat .. well, it's possible, but does it make sense? Enlarging a hole with simple means vs. complex features for the temporary heating of a mobile shack? Does this even need to be discussed? It hasn't to be done everything that can be done. How high do our mountains of rubbish have to get? PS: There is also the non-electric version, where the rotation is only driven by an electrothermal converter (Peltier element), but even that would be too much effort in my opinion.

[@ronson-natsarim]

@@ws4860 I don’t think you fully understand what Ben There is saying. I have considerable experience with thermoelectric generators and I see the merit in what he’s suggesting, definitely worth considering harvesting some of that excess thermal energy as electricity. The way I have several of mine setup in off-grid cabins and even my bus and sprinter van is with thermoelectric plates on top of the wood stoves with stainless water tanks on top of the thermoelectric plates so they’re sandwiched between the stovetop and the water tank. The water tank acts as a heat sink, cooling the upper side of the thermoelectric plates and increasing their output as well as heating the water in the tank for use in beverages, food, bathing, etc. In winter I fill the tank with snow to boost the electrical generation as well as create fresh water from the fresh powder (lots of it up here in Finland). I have a fan, powered by the thermoelectric generation, which stokes the fire, increasing the thermal output and, therefore, electrical generation, to extent of a net-positive over and above the consumption of the fans. The excess electrical energy is stored in batteries, of course, to power other things. This is scalable, of course, with larger, hotter stoves, more thermoelectric plates and larger water tanks generating more electricity.

[@TM-tw1py]

We need more men like this gentlemen - solving problems, self-sufficient, not afraid to go out in the wilderness and survive on their own.

[@2A_supporter]

Just what the us government hates cause then your not reliant on their tyrannical asses

[@TM-tw1py]

@@2A_supporter - And that makes me 3 times more motivated to get out of their matrix.

[@marl9543]

Lol, he has a Snowmobile, so he is certainly not self-sufficient.

[@GeneralKato]

@@marl9543 well, at least he knows how to drive that thing! That is something. We all are dependent on something. We are not made to be alone.

[@TM-tw1py]

@@marl9543 - That is why men created snowmobiles - to conquer the wilderness.

[@cryptoverse_ca]

Make a thin metal platform under the candles and have pegs in the side so you can raise the platform like a shelf to have the candles closer to the horizontal pipes once they're too low.

[@rickey5353]

Candles on a spring-supported platform would, in theory, move nearer to the pipe as consumed.

[@davestationuk7374]

You can buy those

[@SuperTROOPER469]

That is frikin awesome!! Simple, cheap, safe, EFFECTIVE, and usees a renewable fuel. It ticks all the boxes. I think you nailed it this time! Your ingenuity is truly inspiring.

[@limpingoatfarm]

candles are made from petroleum products. Sure there are beeswax candles but that would have been a VERY expensive night of heat. Alternatives are far too expensive to use to heat. So no, no more renewable than burning gas or kerosene. BUT WOOD IS RENEWABLE...Which reminds me I need to check my fire, you know in my WOOD STOVE. People just do not realize how much we depend on FOSSIL FUELS EVEN FOR THE FOOD WE EAT, BUT YOU WILL SOON FIND OUT AT THE GROCERY STORE. "Paraffin wax is a byproduct of petroleum, created by removing the waxy substance from crude oil. Paraffin wax is cheap and holds both dyes and scents well. However, it’s not biodegradable or natural, and it’s made from a non-renewable resource, so many people avoid it for environmental reasons. Heating paraffin wax releases soot and 11 known toxins - two of which are carcinogens - into the air. For these reasons, paraffin wax candles have been falling out of favor in recent years."

[@SuperTROOPER469]

@@limpingoatfarm cool story brah... I think you left out soy, coconut, vegetable, and other plant based renewable waxes. Renewable like your WOOD, and easy to make at home, with home grown resources. Even beeswax can be highly affordable if one keeps bees. All things a bit more accessible and alot quicker to renew once one cuts down all their local trees, that is if we were in an apocalyptic scenario. Your WOOD would not be efficient or safe in his tiny camper, otherwise I'm sure he wouldn't be going through all the trouble of inventing alternate heating. Great chat!

[@limpingoatfarm]

@@SuperTROOPER469 lady, a $60 burn of those alternative candles makes no sense. They are NOT ALTERNATIVES, wood lots are MANAGED by people intelligent enough to acquire the acreage they require. Please, don't suppose I could ever run out of wood, you have no idea of what my circumstances ARE. ALSO there are tiny woodstoves that people use in tiny houses that burn little more than big twig sized wood. The price is quite prohibitive for casual use, which is probably why he did not consider one. .I have been heating with wood just about my entire adult life and have always maintained a woodlot either on the property I live on now or property purchased for that purpose. You don't know very much about the subject, maybe some research would make you aware of reality.

[@limpingoatfarm]

@@SuperTROOPER469 maybe he should take his woodstove out of his cabin then, raise bees and heat it with candles, eh?

[@johnswanson3741]

@@limpingoatfarm Why argue with a female... it is always wasted energy...they just don't get it

[@jcrnda]

A hint: 1. Add a corrugated aluminum radiator to the exhaust pipe for better heat exchange. 2. Add a reflecting surface behind the candles to send the irradiating heat to the cabin.

[@MrDmadness]

irradiation is not a thing in heating and not at all the same as radiant heat

[@zertilus]

Hint? This isn't a puzzle game, the word you meant was "tip"

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

@@MrDmadness Likely auto correct mate.

[@MrDmadness]

@@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking that's fair point.

[@jessl1934]

@@zertilus No, that's actually the correct usage of the term hint it's just less commonly used. Don't be that guy. There are already too many of them on the internet.

[@wesleylummis7712]

An interesting experiment to try: on a similarly cold night, try prewarming the inside of your cabin with large campfire like shown at 12:40 in the video, then close it up, tuck in for the night, and see what the temp is in the morning with no candles lit ever. With such a well insulated cabin, and your own body generating heat all night, it would be interesting to see just how much difference the candles make.

[@jacemiller2593]

Thank you. Awesome idea and build. Amazing part of the country. The separation of intake and exhaust separate from the inside air was genius. I’ve tried candles in my camper before. After a while the candles become irritants to your breathing and throat in a small space.

[@oloilmann4288]

Outsider I really like this episode. Wanted to say you could buy a small piece of Soap stone, or two pieces, one for on top of the ammo box and one for inside on the heat pipes. If you don't know soapstone retains heat so after your candles have burned for awhile you could take the stones into your sleeping bag or put into your boots to dry them, or I'm sure you can figure out what to do with the soapstones heat.

[@dougholdem2898]

Very impressive. If you wanted to simplify this heater without using a fan, consider installing the two pipes you are heating above the candles so that one side is a couple inches higher than the other. That way as the air inside is heated, it will rise and begin flowing through the heater on it's own. The air won't flow at the speed as when using the fan, but the air will flow through. Just a thought

[@tnc4700]

👌

[@MaximusJohal]

You could create an adjustable bottom shelf so as the handles no longer reach you could move the candles closer. This also helps with different size candles.

[@robertschemonia5617]

I have seen some BBQ grills with something like what you said. Has a knob or handle on one side to raise or lower the heat source closer to the grate. That could be handy if you could make one and it not take up a lot of space in the heater.

[@daphneraven6745]

that’s a nice idea, but you can actually get spring-operated set ups to do that automatically. That way you’re not waking up periodically throughout the night, to have to make the adjustment manually.

[@cgavin1]

Absolutely brilliant! To get that much heat from 3 small candles is a real triumph of science! Bravo!

[@OffGridBackcountryAdventures]

Man, thanks for this video. I've been thinking of different ways to heat up my truck topper with candles. This idea is way more efficient than my current set up. Going to try a variation of this to see how it works. ~ Brian

[@TheOutsiderCabin]

Thanks! Best of luck to you. 🙂👍Let me know how it goes.

[@OffGridAussiePrepper]

gday fellow offgrider, can u make us a vid to see how it all works out??

[@ryanmcclellan4741]

Perhaps, simply consider lighting each candle 1 hour apart from the prior one. This would give you (roughly) a 3 hour differential and longer burn time. You wouldn't have maximum heat at the beginning or end of the cycle, but it may be a worthy trade-off. Really ingenious concept though!

[@metatechnologist]

This thing screams for some electronic control.

[@awo1fman]

@@metatechnologist Out in the middle of nowhere, the last thing in the world you need is something that needs electricity. What would be better is a wind-up mechanism that gradually raises the candles on a little platform.

[@bigbubba4314]

@@awo1fman no electricity? What makes those computer fan turn?

[@metatechnologist]

@@awo1fman Anything mechanical is going to be noisy if you're trying to sleep. A wind up mechanical gear likely would produce "clicks". Not to mention exponentially more difficult to manufacture.

[@zerotoleranceforsataniceli4794]

@@metatechnologist Not really !!!

[@Angora573]

Not only is the heater great at keeping you warm but it is aesthetically pleasing too, nice to just sit and watch the flames in their attractive ex-ammo surround. Great job.

[@ghostsniper2099]

A very well done video that is peaceful and calming in a gorgeous setting by someone with a soothing voice, and oh yeah, a built in learning experiment at no extra charge. All win!

[@jf3518]

You could also put the air intake pipe around the chimney. This way the incoming air is preheated. This a very common system nowadays. My chimney preheats the incoming air to 100 - 150deg C, which makes a significant difference in burning efficiency. At the same time the air intake functions as an insulation from the hot chimney pipe.

[@richardthompson6079]

What temperature does wax melt at?

[@ssnerd583]

@@richardthompson6079 Depends on the wax....but....yeah, good point

[@eaglechawks3933]

@@ssnerd583 Yeah - good point, and maybe another reason to try the crisco can candle instead of wax.

[@redpill6201]

​@@eaglechawks3933 Yes, a 3 or 4 wick oil lamp system with the wicks at a fixed distance from the heated pipes would offer a constant heat output compared to the reducing candle height reducing the heat output & with multiple wicks drawing from a common oil reservoir, the heat output could be adjusted by the number of wicks lit. The fuel level could be visible from the outside and topped up.

[@jerrystott7780]

If you increase the intake pipe, remember the incoming air is denser than the warm exhaust and it actually needs to be larger than the intake. Restricted outflow might be why you can't keep more candles burning. Have a great day.

[@tomrogerlilleby2890]

I believe you are absolutely right about this one :. the exhaust pipe needs to be slightly wider than the intake tube for better air circulation.

[@neilchapman5145]

Maybe even a throat plate coupled with a wider exhaust. Something like an open fire has. That might increase the airflow but also make the candles burn too fast

[@northernheightsaviation3216]

I think having the air intake higher would help. The gravity feed principle applies with air as well as in liquids. Cold air falls hot air rises. The candles aren't creating enough heat to warm the chimney and sufficiently draw the cold air up from under the floor. My suggestion would be to have the cold air intake higher then the stove. Route the pipe down the side of the stove and port it into the stove at about the mid candle height level. Also insulate the pipe so it stays cold and the intake air doesn't have a chance to warm as it travels down. This will ensure. You have proper gravity feed of cold air into the combustion chamber with out unnecessarily cooling the heat exchange pipes. I would also insulate the chimney so it retains as much heat as possible. Very cool build.

[@artsmith103]

The exhaust should be at least 1 pipe size bigger than the intake. You pretty much said that. I have a BlazeKing wood stove that does great with 4'" combustion air and I think 8" exhaust. My combustion inlet is not hard piped to the stove just in case the stove wants to suck a little more in. It makes huge difference to not pull a draft across the house. ~40,000 btu/hr if you want to scale to the candles.

[@jerrystott7780]

@@artsmith103 I have the princess version of the same stove and similar experiences. Also familiar with heat exchange systems and AC&R from my navy days. When I've built stoves I always put in double the exhaust from the intake. Have a great day.

[@wolfevickery6081]

Awesome. The lower temp in the morning is about the same as it would be if you had a wood stove in a larger space. So it looks like an excellent system. Thanks for sharing.

[@steamenginebear8738]

Great video! Not sure what you used to put the angles into the pipes on the stove but the wrinkling happening on the inner wall is a sign that you need a mandrel supporting the inside of the pipe and a wiper die attached to the bend die. The mandrel should go about 1/16th past the tangent (the line between the the pressure die and clamp die) and can be made of a softer metal, such as brass or aluminum, or even of a sturdier plastic. The wiper die needs minimal rake (angle of approach on the tube) for that particular thickness of pipe wall. Increasing the pressure of the pressure die can mitigate wrinkles with smaller diameter material to the point where no mandrel or wiper die is needed.

[@farnsmark]

This is brilliant, I hope folks in Europe can use this idea to keep warm this winter!

[@almamater7860]

Thanks! We‘ll see how we survive cold nights and stupid, corrupt politicians.

[@mshomefire]

Well I'm hoping I will be able get one made and shipped to England

[@jonasschmidt9996]

Danke dass du an uns in Europa denkst, mal sehen was der Verrat von Klaus Schwab, Habeck, Baerbock und Scholz so anrichtet diesen Winter ...

[@Gabriel-gabriel]

folks from europe???

[@smallbluemachine]

That's why I'm here! Technically Switzerland isn't part of Europe, but we're sinking in the same ship.

[@das564]

Have you considered an adjustable shelf for the candles? This way, you can move the candles closer to the pipes as they burn down. If you make the adjustment mechanism external to tht stove (maybe a vertical threaded rod under the shelf that extends through the bottom with a knob to turn it), it would be way easier than swapping in new candles at 4am.

[@matthewguyot453]

I had the same idea. A dial which would raise and lower the candles.

[@andrewallason4530]

I have a device called a Northern Lights, which is a small candle lantern. The candle is in a tube, with a spring pushing it up so the flame is always at the same height.

[@francoloma2971]

Like a raise/lower BBQ grill !

[@MuskratOutdoors]

@@andrewallason4530 I have one of those. They work pretty well most of the time, but I have had wax drip down somehow onto the spring and mess it up.

[@patprop74]

Was thinking the same thing, only with the addition of a small geared stepper motor with an Arduino with a temp sensor on the outlets to auto control the height of the adjustable candle shelf.

[@TheSgtDucttape]

I have enjoyed your videos for several years now, from back to the fern leaf tea and that mushroom type stuff you cut off a tree. I really appreciate the manner and content you present. But it occurred to me, in this video, that if you could raise the floor the candles sit on they we get closer to your heat exchanger tubes. Also, if you ran your heat exchanger tubes at an angle, lower on one side rising to a higher point on the other, it might work well enough to not need the fans. On a different note, I believe if you ran 2 - 1 3/4" exhaust pipes in the back corners (intake & exhaust) this might have enough increased airflow to run your small propane burner while leaving enough terrain in the middle to house the burner. I don't know much, but these were just a few thoughts I wanted to share. God bless y'all, and thank your wife for sharing you with us.

[@keithbroh5730]

I don’t know just as much as you but those are fantastic points using basic knowledge of thermodynamics. I think it’s worth a shot

[@MrSmithToday]

That candle heater is the best longterm heating alternative I have seen.

[@StMyles]

🤔🤔.. I don’t think anyone I have known has ever come up with such an innovative idea. Plus cost saving. Thanks for sharing your adventures.

[@johnvaluk1401]

Always good to view your videos and ideas. How about a system like the UCO candle holders that are spring loaded to keep the candle flame in same position and force the bottom of candle up as it depleates itself?? Just a thought.

[@Cekmore]

Good thought🍻

[@Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

An upside down scaffolding screw jack might work perfectly for the candle length problem, since the base is a plate you can rest candles on. It would be especially good for making minor height adjustments. You’d probably need to build a small box or something that the nut can push against to raise/lower the plate though. There’s a few ways to make it work.

[@Ttalos]

A “lab Jack” could also be used.

[@keywestpuma4095]

This is brilliant for heating a small space. very affordable, easy to build and install. Awesome!

[@Rod_SCL]

Maybe you could use an oil lamp, that way you can keep it close to the pipes and just replenish oil as needed. Great vid as always.

[@stevejones9788]

Agreed, use an oil lamp and add a double walled chimney to increase the draw

[@roosdad1]

That wasn't the assignment.

[@MonsoonEast]

Your journey of heating the camper has been as good as the excellent content building the log cabin. Thank you.

[@iofthefox2723]

What a fantastic solution. Not only is it easy to make and cost effective, it even looks quite nice and cosy. Thank you for the enrichment.

[@harrymills2770]

You could stick a little Robert Murray-smith alcohol stove in that cabinet, and it'd do much the same. I've got a mini-camper that only needs a tiny amount of heat, similar to your "4-candlepower" setting. Using one of the side door openings, I plan something similar to what you're doing. I'll make a plywood blank that fits the door opening and cut holes in it for the chimney. It's a tiny 6x8-foot floorplan, with 4-foot height. If I mount the ammo can IN the plywood, I can get good performance from TEGs on the outside wall, with cold side giving me Peltier effect. Run the fans and charge my battery off the heat of whatever's in the ammo box. Could be alcohol/oil/wax candle.

[@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN]

Harry, it was quite a treat finding your comment. I too have been comming up with ideas with heating and charging at the same time using TEG's. I've also been considering selling my campervan at some point and getting a Vivaro, similar dimensions you mentioned above. The issue I read about TEG's is they are rather inefficient. You may end up losing more good heat through the cold back of the stove than the power generated by the TEG's is worth. I was considering at one point to sandwich TEG's between the metal skin of the van and stove back, then use thermal paste in between everything. I was also going to insulate well the rest of the van. I also realised that my power demands are quite low anyway. The van at the moment has just over a six foot High ceiling and it's got little insulation in it. My eberspacher uses way too much battery power, my biggest power hog, I don't need a fridge as an ice cooler does when I want some fresh food to last a few days; I use a lot of tins and dried food/milk etc. A short drive of around 15 minutes per day would give me enough juice for my battery and suit my needs in a smaller van, without a fridge and eberspacher diesel heater of course. I don't mind this too much as I like to move anyway a little bit most days. A Good lifepo4 battery and High amp DC to DC charger would be needed though, along with a couple hundred Watts of tilting solar panels for those odd sunny winter late mornings. I've been for a while now, designing a heater to run on diesel with a little isopropyl 95% or higher (although above 70% should also work) It will have between 8 to 10 wicks although 8 should be more than enough and hopefully burn with a blue flame which is hotter than yellow, but this could be a challenge although I think I have it figured out. Apparently 20ml up to 30ml of isopropyl alcohol to every litre of diesel will burn Good like paraffin but I'm yet to test this Harry. Apparently 25% to 30% kerosene mixed with 70% to 75% diesel (25%/75% to 30%/70%) also burns like straight paraffin but also something I have yet to test. As long as it gets air from the outside and flues out the roof, all should be Good. Interesting fact...a low output full combustion burn requires as little as a one inch flue, check out the old force 10 boat heaters, there's a paraffin and a gas version. Both are 1.3kw/4,435 per hour output if I remember correctly, I have the gas version which I guess I could modify if I really wanted to. It would be interesting Harry to know how you get on with those TIG's!

[@harrymills2770]

@@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN Good thoughts and intention to a fro'! Vivaro? Never heard of it, but the first thing that comes up in a search is a van conversion. Yes. (Gooogling) Vauxhall Vivaro. Impressive cargo room and weight capacity. You can do all kinds of things. I'm experimenting with carbon felt wicks for heaters that run off of high-grade lamp oil. I'm also going to experiment with vegetable oil. The carbon felt I got on eBay worked great for heavier oils and less great for isopropyl, which was the first thing I tested, because I had it on hand. I applaud your experimenting! I think you can take more energy with you when you use something like fuel oil or kerosene or gasoline than the methanol, ethanol and isopropyl. But methanol burns CLEAN. I haven't done any mixing of my own, but I can see where you would want to "cut" some of the long-chain fuels with lighter, shorter-chain fuels, to keep your fuel from turning to sludge.. The heavier fuels create more soot, and I'm pondering ways to burn the oils I'm burning as cleanly and completely as possible. I like the idea of burning wood, but all too often, you are too hot and too cold, by turns. I think a good oil/alcohol heater that put out a small amount of heat for long periods would be ideal. The way you talk, you sound like you might be looking at van life for a time. I like the option of being on the road for extended periods, but I would never part with the land I have. I love my work shop and my garden. We just harvested out last tomatoes and squash, this week.

[@TJStellmach]

People seem really fixated on the problem of the candles burning farther from the pipe, but I have to agree that going from room temperature to merely cool (not even cold) over the course of the night is a non-issue. Maybe not if you were expecting even more extreme use cases, I suppose, but the current design has the virtue of simplicity.

[@MuskratOutdoors]

I agree! It is nice to get dressed if it's warm though, but this is a near perfect set up!

[@Nakihashi]

You're absolutely right, Tim. It's very simple and easy to throw together, which is part of the beauty of it. That being said, all of us construction nerds live to solve problems. We take anything that someone has made and immediately look for ways to improve it - not because we're mean or trying to be rude, it's just how our brains work. It's the driving force of innovation that infinitely propels us forward! 😁

[@jbird6609]

Yea, some times less is better. There isnt much i would change, Maybe insulate the exhaust out side with rock wool and tape. For camping in a tent, Its not just the heat, its the drying out of the tent that's a plus, Often i would sleep without the heater then use it in the morning for an hour to dry things out. I used propane catalytic heater with small ventilation on each end of the tent, a must for safety.

[@mehere8299]

At these temperatures, yes, but if it got really cold or really windy - and where I live in Manitoba, -11ºC with no major wind is pretty mild for the winter - four candles wouldn’t be enough.

[@steveniemyer9288]

I thought the candle burning down would be an issue , but if it is 50f when you got up that is acceptable. Also the build of your camper (insulation) makes that heater work efficiently. We have tent camped with a propane heater and as soon as the heater goes out it gets cold quick. God bless you and your family.

[@Baumeister40]

I have an UCO lantern that holds the candles such that as they melt down, a spring below their base keeps the wick at the same height. Maybe you could rig that system up to keep your temp constant. GREAT concept video. Very practical application.

[@georgeosborn3553]

One thing you might want to do is install a wire screen mesh over the air intake pipes that are below the floor , mainly to keep unwanted guest from possibly building nest in them , just a thought 🤔 but otherwise great job 👍

[@crewealex1125]

I didn't realise I'd been missing these videos, the cabin ones have been keeping me going really nicely! That little heater is terrific, I'd never believe you could get that much heat out of those candles!

[@ws4860]

Google candle heater. I have one made of flowerpots. Looks nice but all the emmisions stay in the room. I love the solution with the external airflow. Good idea.

[@priestesslucy3299]

@@ws4860 It's nice to use internal air with a chimney. Gets you clean air (granted there is an efficiency question at play)

[@ws4860]

@@priestesslucy3299 Internal air means, your oxygen is taken away and this can be a problem, especially in small rooms.

[@priestesslucy3299]

@@ws4860 only if you build it too tight. Even then all you have to do is crack a window

[@ws4860]

@@priestesslucy3299 Break a window to get oxygen? :D It shouldn't have to come to that. All I meant was that constantly using oxygen-rich internal air for combustion is not advisable. What speaks against the supply of fresh air from outside?

[@stevepoling]

This is an excellent heating solution for your snowmobile camper! This series keeps getting better. Your heater grew less efficient as candles burned down. Consider a spring-loaded candle holder: fit the candle into a chamfered tube with a spring-loaded base. The spring pushes the candle up as the candle burns. This keepa the flame a fixed distance from the heat-exchanger pipe as the candle burns down. I believe the UCO original Candle Lantern may be cannibalized to do this, but have not tried it myself. If you think this sounds interesting, please advise.

[@kcjazz62]

Finally!… This idea struck me as soon as I saw what he was constructing. This will also force the candles to burn more efficiently, thus longer burn times in the chamber. In my humble opinion, this setup could be modified to include a small water heater (billy can size). By wrapping a copper coil loosely around the exhaust pipe leading to a billy can coil below that point. This could slide up & twist to the side when not in use or to be drained. Another option is to use the heat exchanger to use a gravity flow floor heater using copper tubing in the exchanger tubes, connecting to plastic tubing snaked to whatever specific areas needed concentrated heat. The thermal units would be consumed 100% within the structure & not be vented out from the opposite end air vent. I would also screen the lower intake vent for the burner as well as the exhaust to keep debris/critters from entering. It seems to me that if I were dragging this through trees & branches, I would keep the exhaust pipe lower than the roof edge, then place the extension on while setting up camp. The top of the ammo can is an obvious warmer/drier too! Intake & exhaust dampers might be good ideas as well as increased intake/exhaust capacities. Minimal efforts on these mods for maximal returns. Good job, man!

[@waterboy8999]

Or have it set up like set of scales, as the candles get lighter the rise up, gravity is free!

[@wilber19541]

Great job...propane, adjust the flame,larger intake and some more baffles, perfect.

[@dd1665]

Very impressed with the thoroughness of your design & testing . Awesome job my friend!! 👏

[@yopenzo]

If you build the same stove but horizontal, you can have a greater length of the heating pipes, so you can add a candle or two and have a greater heat output. You can also make a larger air pipe with a simple regulating flap to optimize the flow of fresh air in.

[@mbirth]

And put your cup of tea on top to keep it warm.

[@petehenry7878]

But then you would need to use shorter candles and that means less burn time. But consider this, at roughly $2.50 per candle is it even worth it?

[@yopenzo]

@@petehenry7878 True perhaps. But even if shorter, in the horizontal configuration, the standard candles can still *on average* be closer to the heating tubes, even when worn out (and it must be remembered that they are more numerous). Also change the candles every 8 hours, just to say, instead of 10 hours, I think little on a practical level. Practical tests should be carried out, because with hypotheses alone one goes not far.

[@petehenry7878]

@@yopenzo I get what you're saying, but I don't think there would be that much improvement in the long run. More testing is definitely needed.

[@billybangbang9180]

Wow, besides being a great video on how to build a DIY heating device, to keep warm in the dead of winter... your video production is a second-to-none, world-class lesson on creating an informative fantastic great video with real skill, style, and a true proper art form of world-class video creation, that is just a pure perfection of beauty!!! Well done sir... well done indeed!!!

[@dhardy6654]

This loser Canadian could have bought a little buddy heater and a 20# propane tank and had something real.

[@tonyk3912]

Great video. Put the candles on a seesaw so as they burn they raise up staying in contact with the heat exchanger. Also the vertical exhaust pipe would be better if it was many small pipes that way it would act like a car radiator.

[@mrfixitusa6165]

As a heating and air conditioning contractor & indoor air quality specialist, I must disagree with your comment about changing the exhaust/flue pipe to a bunch of small pipes. Yes, it may more efficiently move heat, but that's not its purpose. Its purpose is to vent deadly gases out of the living space. Doing anything that would compromise its ability to do that is strongly discouraged.😝 For a flue pipe, you want the best potential for air flow possible, with the least possibility for failure. A large diameter pipe has both; a smoother, restriction free airflow, and less potential for failure. Smaller pipes are naturally more, plus they can develop airflow restrictions much easier, and are harder to inspect and clean. Yes, if you use enough smaller pipes you can equal the air flow of the single larger pipe, but the small ones have so much more potential for developing air flow restrictions, it's just not worth the risk, especially for the minimal efficiency gains. There definitely are other ways to increase efficiency, without increasing the risk of failure. And when "failure" means high risk of permanent brain damage or death, I think I would be looking at the OTHER options to increase efficiency.😜 But you certainly are on to something with the idea of smaller pipes in larger numbers, for increased efficiency. But the focus for that, should be on the heat exchanger pipes, not the flue/exhaust pipes.

[@pdufusc]

I moved to South Alabama in 1990 for my job, aircraft mechanic, and stayed. In the 30 years I have lived here, I have only had five nights that the temp went below 20 degrees. That makes working the flightline a tad more comfortable. :-)

[@lindawolffkashmir2768]

Two things: insulate the cold air intake pipe, it may help bring the temp up a couple of degrees, and you can get a small teakettle or aluminum coffeepot to set on top of the stove for some hot water for tea, coffee, soup, or other hot drinks.

[@MrDmadness]

No, insulation does not create heat.. heating doesn't work like this.. heating major in commercial design here.

[@mowtow90]

Would it be better if he just adds a fan to the intake like the hot air ones. It will increase the imput air.

[@cholompes]

chimneys work because the air inside is hot, in your case the air in the chimney is cold and your pipe is quite long. I reckon if you get rid of the upward pipe with the shorter exhaustion possible you would get much better results.

[@tommorgan6665]

@@MrDmadness I was thinking this. The obvious engineering issue is the distance from the source of heat (the candle flame) getting larger over time from the desired warm output (the air in the pipes). A simple counter balance could be employed to maintain the flame height (Read: move the candle up) as they get lighter.

[@MrDmadness]

@@tommorgan6665 engineering ? I saw no I value or r value calculations ?? Did I miss something? As a heating system designer I can tell you that the human sleeping in that small quarters releases a LOT more heat than the candles ( humans are about 400 btuh at rest ) and that this will not overcome a large de.taT

[@marcusgrant9892]

Love the idea very much. I would like to suggest another improvement though. Using water with a little salt in, put the candle in and no matter how small it gets the flame will always be the same distance away from the pipe. Plus when at its end it drowns the flame instead of sputtering. Water is common, salt you should have with you at all times. Could you not make a hole in the top, one blank cover for heating, and one with a metal shaped mass for a heat sink for making or keeping hot drinks or additional heating. Just an idea. Might make one for my house if gas keeps going up. Lol

[@TheOutsiderCabin]

All excellent ideas! 🙂👍 Thank you.

[@petehenry7878]

With the price of candles being what it is, I'd stick with gas if I were you.

[@AnalystPrime]

How about an oil lamp? I have seen a video of how to make an oil lamp out of a can of tuna so nearly any oil should work. It would keep the flame at standard height and because of the heater ventilation design there is no worry about inside air quality(there is a good reason why oil lamps have "only for outside use" stamped on them).

[@petehenry7878]

@@AnalystPrime Let me tell you a story. One spring a few friends and I decided to go back to the hunting camp and see how it had wintered. We gathered up food and blankets and everything we needed to spend a couple nights. So, we get to camp, sun's going down and we can't find the lantern. Came to realize we left it sitting at home. So, we start looking around for candles or anything that might have been left at the camp, but nothing. Nothing that is but a jar of mayonnaise. It must have frozen because the oil and egg whites had separated. Well, I knew that vegetable oil was flammable, so I poked a hole in the lid and ran a piece of wash rag through it for a wick. Low and behold, we had light. So yeah, I figure just about any oil would work. And I think you just came up with a better idea. Good job.

[@christhomas1102]

Another small fan in the intake will increase your intake flow. I scrapped a junk gaming computer of the fans and a fan speed control on the front. I have used those fans and speed control for testing so many projects it is crazy. Food for thought. It is all 12 volt also. Hope this helps.

[@ralfoverbeck5127]

You should replace the candles with a melting light. In Germany we say "Wachsfresser" wich means wax eater. It is made from Copper and melts the wax itself. You only lit it and throw candles in it. You can build it with as many flames as you want. With this melting light the flame is always at the same spot and you dont need to fix the high. And the flames are bigger than normal candels.

[@kylewilloughby5255]

Insulate the flew and it will pull more combustion air. You have to keep the flew hot to have good draft. A taller flew will draft better as well, provided it stays hot. In-floor heat (hot water/glycol) heat would be a fun build as well.

[@johnransom1146]

Flue

[@michaellange6598]

@@johnransom1146 flu

[@michaellange6598]

Eye aye I cap'n

[@artsmith103]

My wood stove has 25' flu. It heats 1300 sq.ft. running 24/7 against typical outside 20F. 7 ft up the flu, still inside I can easily hold the single wall pipe. It doesn't need to stay very hot to flow. Insulate flu outside to help prevent ice in exhaust.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

You, sir, are a genius. This is one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time as far as heating a camper. Well done.

[@doubletappinhillbilly]

Do you know about hydronic furnaces & cloths dryers?

[@dadbudgetadventures]

@@doubletappinhillbilly not a bit

[@CptnSavage]

I just found this video and wow, I'm really impressed. Both your camper sled and the heater are great ideas. I used tea candles and ceramic clay pots to heat my woodworking shop which is 12'x20' and they work great.

[@PersianMotorcycle]

that is creative and well done, I recommend using lamp oil somehow stay longer than candles 👍

[@ginaallen3797]

What an outstanding design. This portable cabin has come a long way my friend. Peace.

[@DesertPackrat]

Okay. This video was pretty cool. The snow sliding off the roof. The ingenious design. The camera angles. Well done. Nice to see people who are the real deal.

[@kennethread5637]

On the candel becoming to short Uco candle lanterns has a idea you could adapt to your heater. Each candle has a tube they go in with a spring at bottom. They will burn to the end keeping the same wick height.

[@ericarbo5044]

That’s exactly what I was thinking about too. Just what Ben had said. I was also thinking that no matter the size of the heat source , it would draw air for the amount of heat rise from the exhaust. But a fan is a sure thing so barometric pressure would not matter and wind shouldn’t blow down the pipe easily.

[@mwhyte1979]

Great idea! You never cease to amaze me with your projects. If you wouldn't mind a suggestion you should make a small slit on the pipes where you placed your fans on the inlet. Do this so that the wires for the motors arent pinched. As your moving the camper the vibrations will eventually wear the insulation off the wiring and eventually cause a short. Can't wait till your next video.

[@williamthomas2278]

Yeah my idea was a small hole behind moter with plastic sleeve for wire to slip through and no cut in outer diameter of tube

[@kcjazz62]

The chamber itself could be used as a warmer/drier. The top as food/drink warmer. Side shelves/racks mid way up could also be used here, either firmly attached, or fold down from top (wire rack or solid metal). This is a good base to build upon. I like how this is progressing!

[@Imnotyourdoormat]

Kool Video...Of course, any up-to-down or down-to-up circulation suffices, but I can't help but think if the elbow was bent upward for the intake to draw down pre-warmed ambient air from the ceiling to start with, and then elbowed the exhaust down to and near the floor where you are, somehow it may improve efficiency even if it's a small percentage. Maybe like chill factor science, it may just provide a warmer effect which would be OK too. After all ambient temp has everything to do with thermoelectric heating efficiency, maybe the same dynamics will show up here.

[@user-yi6td6fu2g]

love the masonic sweatshirt kind of makes you understand how this channel has over a million subscribers

[@TheRealMycanthrope]

Yeeeees, it's all a biiiiiig conspiracy, whooo-oooo! Tf is wrong with you people

[@TheRealMycanthrope]

Also, not a Masonic design on the sweatshirt anyway

[@RumMonkeyable]

So good to see you, again. The convection heater is genius! You make winter camping so much fun AND warm. Have you thought of getting a patent on the heater? Shop drawings would be EXTREMELY popular! Stay well and safe! 👍😎❤

[@davewilliams6172]

No point trying for a patent as the concept has now been published!

[@RumMonkeyable]

@@davewilliams6172 Thanks for the update. 👍

[@TheOutsiderCabin]

Thank you, my friend! I'm not worried about getting a patent though. Just happy to share a concept, which others might find useful. 🙂 👍

[@poopsifter9022]

Instead of drilling a larger hole in your floor, you could place a third computer fan inside the pipe to blow in fresh air. You may have to damper it since it may draw in too much fresh air as well as cooling the stove. Neat idea. Candles can heat a small enclosure very well. I source of glass would be a recycled glass from a toaster oven window.

[@user-tf8mi3nt6j]

Possibly make the whole project from a toaster oven.

[@pappy451]

@@user-tf8mi3nt6j too much plastic and not big enough internal size i would think .

[@chriscraftsman3898]

Good idea about the toster over glass.. I'm gonna use that. 👍

[@elemar5]

I'm not sure why the fan is needed anyway. Heating the air will automatically rise and draw cold air in. Saves needing electrickery.

[@elemar5]

@@user-tf8mi3nt6j You mean a toaster? In no way is it an oven.

[@sicks6six]

An easy way to keep warm in winter.. get some tea light candles and burn them under an upturned clay plant pot (bigger the better) it's an old gardener's trick to keep greenhouses warm in winter, you'll be amazed at how warm it gets, I've tried it while camping in a tent and was warm as toast, and as the candle in under the plant pot its safer than an exposed flame..

[@mathquir190]

You can also make diy oil lamps that use non-toxic oil. You put the oil container out of the flame chamber and use a cotton oil lamp wick that will fuel the fire by just being wet so that make it safe.

[@tomkiser1418]

your ingenious heater is so simple but very effective!! Congrats on something we all can use. Very nice indeed!!! Bless you and your family!!

[@HoneyHollowHomestead]

LOVE this concept. It is so hard to find heaters to heat small spaces other than electric. This seems like the perfect set up for a small space. Here's a thought, what about kerosene? All you would need is a wick and reservoir large enough for a minimum of 8 hours of heat.

[@geopro19FBS]

What about a computer fan on the air intake to get more oxygen into the burn chamber?

[@justthink5854]

@@geopro19FBS and also a reostate for it

[@MegsCarpentry-lovedogs]

​@@justthink5854 Good idea to you both Ron and Just think💡

[@MegsCarpentry-lovedogs]

@@geopro19FBS Good idea to you both Ron and Just think💡

[@philondez]

Kerosene lanterns actually put out a lot of heat, some people use them to keep small-medium greenhouses warm during the winter. I'm sure it would be more than enough to cook you out of a space that small if you ran it on the highest wick height. It'd definitely be interesting to try and modify one to fit in a little stove like that and still burn well. I think an Aladdin style one without the incandescent mantle would be good, though I'm not sure the ammo can would be tall enough to fit the necessary glass chimney so it'd require a full rebuild to pull that off unless he could modify the ammo can's chimney to accept it

[@dbennett151]

I know I'm late to comment and haven't taken the time to read through everyone's suggestions, but I think you have missed out on a lot of heat by not running the exhaust pipe up and across the length of the ceiling and exited on the opposite side. Awesome idea and video, will definitely build one of these.