Off Grid Heating Prototype- Copper Coil Water Heater / Heat Exchanger / Radiant Heater

With an ammo box, mason jar, and copper coil, I constructed an off grid water heater / heat exchanger / space heater.
Important to note:
- Notice that this is an "open" system. Meaning that I made sure to leave a vent hole to prevent any pressure buildup.
- This system is not for drinking or cooking, as the ammo can and other components are definitely not food grade rated. I designed this as an experimental heater only.
- Once the water became hot enough, I made sure to remove the copper coil from the fire, to ensure that the temperature tolerances of the hoses and fittings would not be exceeded.
- And of course this is a prototype, meaning that it's not perfect, but something I've been working to develop further.
- The copper obviously isn't designed to be set directly in fire, but I simply wanted to see if the concept of heating with copper was possible. Now my goal is find a way to shield the copper from the flames in order to protect it from degradation.
Outsider Store: teespring.com/en-GB/stores/th...
Here's a list of materials I used for the project:
Copper Coil- amzn.to/2NJsEFZ
Tall Ammo Box- amzn.to/2ZHn35A
Metal Braided Flexy Hose- amzn.to/2zC1Lf4
Rain Barrel Spigot- amzn.to/2LcdQy7
Copper Pipe Connector- amzn.to/2Le1iq9
Candy Thermometer- amzn.to/2MMFiEC
Digital Aquarium Thermometer- amzn.to/2LcmAV9
Snowmobile Camper Series:
• Building a Logging Sle...
Other equipment I use on a regular basis:
Trail Cam: amzn.to/2Q6MD0B
Wristwatch- amzn.to/2ZTuTcM
Fiskars Axe- amzn.to/2EJVdhR
Pocket Knife- amzn.to/2Udm1MJ
Fixed Blade Knife- amzn.to/2HnrT2i
Drone- amzn.to/2IPucxH
GoPro- amzn.to/2XDHRee
Camcorder- amzn.to/2HnpLHq
Solar Power Bank: amzn.to/2Fgt4Og
Solar Panel (similar)- amzn.to/2D18amh
Propane Cook Stove- amzn.to/2CaGXgy
Little Power Bank- amzn.to/2TeUpui
Handheld flashlight: amzn.to/2unfweO
Headlamp: amzn.to/2CyEe0u
Camping Wood Stove- amzn.to/2UA0luc
Backup Camcorder- amzn.to/2Tb3sMG
Flexible Tripod- amzn.to/2EIlRrj
Cordless Drills- amzn.to/2Tb4tV0
Chainsaw (Poulan)- amzn.to/2IP1fls
Chainsaw (Echo)- amzn.to/2VykyB2

[@TheOutsiderCabin]

Want to see the final product? Here's the next episode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eIOogoxnibFqgKM

[@bulbousbumbo3762]

I haven't bathed in 4 days

[@cnote3492]

have you thought about an under cabin heating system? running some pipe or tubing under the floor would sure make it toasty in there. although im not sure how it would hold up if the water freezes, maybe a cold rated rubber or something, would be cool to see regardless.

[@MAGnetICus_Attractus]

I heat 10 feet of copper 1/4" pipe around a coffee can. Pair of check valves and the water will only flow one direction. I use 20 feet of pipe to cool before going to a pressure cooker. I get up to 180 degrees in the tank.

[@-powerband-gamer-6117]

An ammo box? really, just use a big thin radiator you fool, its made for heat transfer, its thin it can also be wide and tall, just find the right one before I find you

[@TheGunsAndGloryShow]

Does this system require a check valve?

[@dncg4040]

this is a good simple design, I'd go for a tight coil around a metal bucket with the fire inside the bucket so the copper doesn't get oxidized and crack and the amount of wood can be controlled so in the snow you don't have to gather so much wood and less heat is wasted and you'll get a good idea of how much wood to put in the bucket to last all night when you sleep...

[@kevio6868]

Excellent idea

[@blockthenock1733]

making the copper the heater and the metal box the fire conductor?

[@Shadow1The]

well said man

[@natsudraga2252]

As well as the fact that there is a toxic affect on the air which due to the oxidization which he is feeding straight into the water meaning that any steam it puts off my be toxic. In a addition to coiling the copper around a bucket it would be a good idea to cut 3 holes in the bottom of the container and make a small coil at the bottom which feeds out from a second hole

[@natsudraga2252]

God dammit I ment to write to coil the coper at the bottom of the box

[@senioroutsider2975]

I would like to give my sincerest condolences to those of you who spoke of losing a loved one in comments on Outsiders tribute to his Mom. It is truly the hardest thing losing a loved one, that a person has to go through. The world is different afterward!. I would like to honour and give tribute to my wife of 44 years, after a short illness that did not respond to treatment! Mrs Senior Outsider was truly a selfless person. She has also left a wonderful legacy in a tremendous family of sons, "daughters" and grandchildren. We do sorrow but not as "those with no hope". It is hard but we as a family will be ok. She is greatly missed! I know you are at peace ... with Him!

[@Huzzahgamers_inc]

May God Bless You sir and your family, You have been in our prayers. My sister is struggling with Stage 4 Cancer so I understand all to well the hardships that you must have faced. I know Your Wife is in Gods loving arms and she is among loved ones as we speak. Take Peace in knowing she is in a far better place with many of our loved ones. I pray peace and comfort over you and your family, My love goes out to you and yours. Even though I don't know you I want you to know I love you brother, and you are blessed! Take care and keep smiling :) In Jesus Name Amen!

[@ldg2655]

Senior Outsider : My heart goes out to you all on your loss... Your wife sounds like she was a truly remarkable person. I am sorry for the illness that she suffered in this life, but i know that it is truly Glorious where she is now. My prayers go out to you all for your comfort and Peace..

[@chefbillyx]

Let her live through you! God bless you all. Stay strong and I'm sure you will meet again.

[@jenny-lynn8034]

Prayers sent ♡ She left the world but she will never leave your hearts. May the Lord heal all of your hearts & God bless you all♡

[@chetthejet3896]

We do sorrow but not as "those with no hope". AMEN BRO! I am 85 this year so I should be a liitlle more informed but you appear to have more knowledge for your years. Your are a great father keep up the your son is blessed.

[@beearodeewye6023]

You coulda just Googled how radiators work but I appreciate the inventive process.

[@bobcreamier9854]

Hahahahaha

[@TheVocoderGuy]

You should make a large foot base for it so it won’t fall over and scald you in your trailer

[@kennyg1953]

He'll probably have it bolted in.

[@trexeater101]

@@kennyg1953 yeah just make a frame and screw that bad boy to the wall

[@NorthernScrub]

In the UK we typically use hot water systems for heating our homes, and they work extremely well because they also provide radiant heat, as opposed to hot air circulation which does not heat the surroundings as efficiently. Our systems are closed, though, since excess moisture will cause mildew to form. For this reason, it might be a good idea to install a third flexible pipe in the top of the tank, and route it outside the camping sled. This will prevent excess humidity inside the sled, which would otherwise cause visible mold to eventually form. Regardless, this is a fantastic idea and I suspect it will work fabulously in winter.

[@ricoviselli]

brilliant suggestion, nobody likes a moldy mobile camper.

[@sonofeloah]

Great idea! And a good point about the mold garden, not so great in one's sleeping space.

[@ChipsNeeson]

Add a breather to the outside end of it too.

[@tovaritchboy]

Could attach a tube to the top run outside and then feed back into the top kind of like a condenser so that the steam cools and condenses back into water and then is dripped back into the water reservoir. This is such a GREAT idea, when I lived in Australia the people I worked for heated hot water for showers in a drum that had the copper tubing coiled on the inside and led to the water tank. Fire in the drum and the water heated circulated and stays hot for HOURS just from the coals left in the drum.

[@private15]

rico viselli mold is the least of his problems as moisture will dampen all his bedding quickly and he will be wet and cold. Maybe he could also try just one loop of copper coil buried under the coals and ashes to produce heat without actually boiling !!

[@chetthejet3896]

We do sorrow but not as "those with no hope". AMEN BRO! I am 85 this year so I should be a Little more informed but you appear to have more knowledge for your years. Your are a great father keep up the your son is blessed.

[@gallopingg1]

BEAUTIFUL WORDS, GOD BLESS YOU, MICK FROM UK

[@thearnoldarmy1899]

An off grid expert posting tutorials of off grid stuff for other off gridders, onto the most gridded of grids there is: KZbin. This truly is a wondrous time.

[@dabartos4713]

Some could even say the noon is coming up :D

[@dancoulson6579]

That snow mobil camper looks so cozy! Can just imagine waking up inside a warm roop, opening the door, and having snow around for miles.

[@team3383]

Imagine the dilemma for a claustrophobe. Do I freeze outside or do I cook inside ? Its like a travelling coffin. Very cosy. Far too small. and if it dumped alot of snow overnight then I suppose he's just put himself to bed in his own home made coffin ...

[@kennethm.pricejr.8921]

That was a very cool demonstration of a convection-powered water circulation pump. I was surprised at how fast it began circulating!

[@RumMonkeyable]

WOW, one step closer to having a warm, cozy camping space for this winter. Huge fan of the portable mini-cabin you built last year, and this 'new' source of heat is genius. I'm sure there are some folks here who know much more about how it should/won't work, but I'm going to say the glass is half full, and it will work! 👍🏕🔥

[@bigmilk2003]

gaskets in set ups like that should be on the side of the water so the preasure helps to make a better seal . just something i learned , great video

[@rogeranderson8763]

Love to see a guy using 'my' portable hot tub idea. Many years ago, I was in Alaska with my sailboat and as it is pretty rainy and cold much of the summer, we were sure wanting some WARM. The area we were in had no hot springs so we decided to MAKE a hot spring. Next time we went to town I purchased a coil of copper tubing pretty much exactly like this....a couple of hose fittings from copper pipe to garden hose...and we already had a couple garden hoses on the boat. We put it all together with a funnel on the end of the garden hose, found a suitable place on the beach near a creek and started the fire. ran the hose over to the creek (uphill, as you can imagine) and awaited developments. The water coming out steaming too hot to touch and after a half hour/45 minutes we had a skiff full of hot water. In we went, feeling clever as hell....until I started wondering how we were going to make our getaway if a bear came down to beach to see what was going on. Next time, we brought the kayaks ashore as well. -Veteran '66-68

[@dadcanufixit]

Necessity is the mother of invention. Great to see you back in the woods doing what you love. Best wishes to all the family from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@ashenverdict]

I would have the ammo box mounted on the outside of the camper and have copper piping run inside the camper for warmth, like a towel rail. That way steam inside the camper is not an issue.

[@jeffh4505]

Having the thermal mass inside is a good idea, but it would need to be vented outdoors to prevent steam buildup inside.

[@bwakel310]

I suggested this awhile ago. Still a good idea!

[@utubeape]

@@bwakel310 yes me also, I suggested the tank be the size of the cabin and under the bed

[@ElementofKindness]

Piers Morgan Exactly! Running through a small car or ATV radiator in the camper, on the way back to the coil would be ideal.

[@mra6308]

Or just have the tank inside and run a steam outlet pipe through the wall or so to maximize on heat from the tank.

[@ShadovvV]

Very well done. Concise and visually informative, which is the way educational videos should be. People need to see everything that's happening. Best I've seen online concerning this topic, so far.

[@markstraszynski2574]

Basically... this guy just showed us how to boil water. Good Job!

[@thomas5240]

Boil huge amounts of water indirectly, enough for a shower or to heat up a tent, in the middle of nowhere.

[@leomonk974]

Hehehehe

[@leomonk974]

@@thomas5240 sit down quit your squawking it was a joke

[@thomas5240]

@Steve Broadsmith Bruh are you 12?

[@namesplease4350]

@Steve Broadsmith what exactly do republicans have to do with anything? Considering that the thermometer was in celsius this probably isn't even in the US

[@sargis_02]

Thank you for indicating the temperatures in Celsius

[@bigunone]

Well you answered my question about keeping an open fire all night. Years ago I took a part an old boiler demo at college it had Modine heat coil with a fan for mounting in the system, I salvage it along with a solar reservoir tank, I knew where there was an discarded panel and had planned to combine the whole lot into a heat source for my trailer, till the head of the department came in and wanted to know where the Modine unit had gone because he wanted it for his own!

[@WorldWalker128]

Simple, yet effective, just as all reliable (and easily tweaked or repaired) designs are. Good job.

[@user-nj2ol1tg8t]

We built one and used it in cub scouts, ours was an old smoker with the tubing inside of it and a 20 gallon drum, we even had a tap on the drum to use for hot water.

[@stevenverrill4348]

If you are ever with out that thing here is what I do when camping: I pick out ideally 1, 60-70lbs rock. Move it around the fire throughout the evening. Until it's a little too hot to touch. I wrap it in a bath tow or something to insulate just enough to not burn me. That in a 40°f rated bag in a tent has kept me completely comfortable for 8 hours in 20°f. For your well insulated camper In the northern cold I would think 2 or 3 60lbs rocks would very comfortable in there. Just an idea, sorry for your loss, and keep em' coming

[@straight-up-shots]

This was his method prior to building this .

[@stevenverrill4348]

@@straight-up-shots I must have missed that. Do you recall when he showed that?

[@straight-up-shots]

@@stevenverrill4348 It was when he showed the finished product of the travel shed thing. Maybe 2 months ago?

[@stevenverrill4348]

@@straight-up-shots I'll find it thanks

[@stevenverrill4348]

Ok I watched the video. I would say the small stones have too much surface area:mass. That would explain it working well but not for long.

[@JamesCouch777]

An old car radiator would work great and put out more heat.

[@matthewkleinmann]

I totally agree! And if you get one from a car with an electric fan, you also have the option of running the fan to circulate some of the heat.

[@jameswitte5167]

Agree ... A radiator would be a more efficient heat transfer to the inside air ... Maybe even a thermal powered fan like for wood stoves ...

[@paradyne1T101]

Car radiator with the fan would be the better option

[@ChuckD59]

And if it was oriented on its side there wouldn't be a need for a fan to circulate. Air would be heated and rise drawing in more cooler air from below. Kinda like traditional baseboard or radiator heating. Waitaminute...

[@davidmayhall6567]

Seriously you won't need a radiator or a fan! The cabin is small and heater will run him out of there he will have to open vents to let out heat and let in fresh air

[@Howie875]

Really cool! A friend of mine tried a similar setup for a camp shower. He set it up and instead of just jumping in and using it, he turned it on from the outside to test it. Boiling hot water and steam came out! He would have suffered very bad if not fatal scalding if he had not done that...

[@rfcomm2k]

We had this idea in Boy Scouts back in 1972. Went on a deep freeze camping trip on Lake Geneva. Used a huge heavy duty aluminum pot with two holes drilled and tapped to accept 1/2" brass gas pipe fittings. Made a 3hree loop copper pipe coil about 18" diameter and connected the two ends of the pipe to the pot. Added water made from melting some snow in a smaller pot to the big pot, then filled rest of big pot with more snow. Water in coil heats up and flows to the upper pipe connector into pot, melting more snow to keep the water flowing. We had hot water for coffee, hot chocolate, freeze dried meals, etc all week. Just had to add clean snow occasionally.

[@BKeithAbyss]

GREAT job! The shot from inside the tank was beyond cool.

[@Chubbicat]

thermal siphoning seems very practical, i could see a lot of uses.

[@steves7896]

Thank you for the addition of Fahrenheit readings.

[@__WJK__]

@The Outsider - Great vid! Here's some additional thought's/ideas you might want to experiment with... 1) Clamp the copper coils with some metal brackets so they're not so unruly/less likely to sway/bend. 2) Get a folding campfire grate to set the clamped copper coil on, to optimize the heat transfer from the campfire... arguably the folding campfire grate might not be necessary but they're nice in that they're cheap, compact and most of all, serve awesome double duty regarding things of necessity such as cooking and drying. 3) Add a second (clamped) section of (spaced) copper coils and run this into your shelter and maybe add/rig a couple non-electric wood stove fans to the coil...doing this may provide enough heat as to not require setting the ammo box of boiling water in your shelter and risking knocking it over or introducing excessive humidity(?) 4) Since you're not dealing w/high psi, you might consider switching from (interior) residential steel braided hose ($) in favor of high flex synthetic (interior braided) automotive hose and brass hose barbs(?) 5) If at some point you decide to experiment with a "closed or semi-closed" piped heating system, be mindful of the stored pressure potential and don't seal the system without including a few pressure relief valves. (peace!)

[@robertbailey369]

We had one in Boy Scouts hooked up to a 35-gallon grease can it worked great wash dishes and ourselves thank you for your time and great video

[@CCRider5312]

Great to see you back, Good Morning! 🌞👍

[@Iceflkn]

I appreciate you sharing the failure you encountered and the solution needed!

[@youseemerage9711]

Its an amazing concept and did pretty well in practice. if you still want the jar idea to work, add a pressure release valve to the top for steam

[@handiman5]

I find your videos fascinating, informative and professionally done! Thank you!

[@RobCooper]

Absolutely needed this information right now. Going to use the same principle to heat a 2' thick cob wall in a greenhouse from a compost pile. And to heat a hot tub in the same greenhouse. Heat the thermal mass. Thank you. Perfect timing to find your channel

[@Steak134]

Just catching up on all your great videos man! I'm about a year behind on all your videos, I haven't gotten the chance to watch for a while and I remember updates used to be scarce. As an American I have to thank you for reading the temperature in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.

[@lindaowens2959]

You have such fantastic and unique ideas fr alternative ways to heat and survive outdoor. Thanks for the awesome videos ♥️

[@brianspencer4220]

Well there you go being inventive again. An old idea but a new application. There are lots of things to consider still but a creative way to tranfer heat . Thanks Brian 79

[@akbychoice]

I’ve seen campsites with hot tubs made from tarps that were heated with a coil in a fire and a small pump feeding water from a nearby creek. Makes hunting camps so much more enjoyable on extended stays.

[@resonantdave]

I just found this channel and I love everything about it.

[@MarkWitacher6022]

This is really a simple way to do simple things in a very, very complicated way.

[@657tgjhf]

Low tech solution: place rocks inside fire until hot, move to a bucket (with a shovel or something) and cover with sand. Sleep next to bucket. High tech solution: build low-weight heat exchange system from thin tubing with smart control for your safety. It's great that you share your project with this community though. Thanks for putting the effort into making it. Regards from East Germany!

[@AlphaMachina]

He's already done this.

[@scottmcintosh2988]

Place a pressure relief valve like from a hot water heater on the lid of the ammo box where your hole is so if the ammo box gets josseled the hot water will not burn you in the snow camper get everything wet in the winter for safety sake .Love your videos this would work for a van or tent too great idea thermal sifon ! SCOTT from N.H.

[@melvinmoorman4512]

Just add additional tubing from the hole in the lid to the exterior of the camper thereby eliminating any chance pressure could build behind the pressure relief valve, keep it an open system. Will keep moisture out of camper and prevent any chance of exploding the ammo box. Good idea overall.

[@YoutubeTM432]

@@melvinmoorman4512 Searched the comments for something about the humidity.. I bet a lot of moisture would build up in that little camper if you filled it and got it to almost boiling..

[@jreg0028]

If your gonna use a relief valve, buy one that's designed for a steam boiler NOT a water heater. The relief valve for the boiler is rated about 15 lbs. A wh is 150lbs, you will turn that ammo can into a bomb. KZbin what happens to a wh with a stuck relief valve.

[@jim.h]

A pressure relief valve is designed for a vessel that's designed to hold pressure. An ammo box was NEVER designed to hold pressure. If you put anything on that ammo can will stop the pressure from escaping, you've just created a potential bomb.

[@peterpiper_203]

scott McIntosh Hot water heaters use a pressure temperature relief valve Not a relief Relief valves are found on boilers and are set by the BTUS and pressure rating PT valves have a stem that is submerged in the vessel Just my.02

[@jimmijames6294]

YT recommended this to me and I am glad they did, very cool video. Subbed as well, looking forward to viewing your archive and future vids. Great video.

[@jonathandcc23]

I love how the DIY sauna, a bit of luxury, somehow was inadvertently invented in the process of you inventing the DIY water heater..

[@tdc8795]

Permanently plumbing the system into the camper would also be a consideration. Letting the hot coals keep heating the water for an extended period of time throughout the night. Consider fabricating a metal screen to keep the hot coals & embers inside the bucket for safety while you sleep. I love watching your ideas come to fruition. I have subscribed to your channel. Keep up the good work.

[@cookiecrumbles4024]

As in run the tubing in among the rocks to be the heat pipe and the rocks the radiator.

[@cathybrewer8958]

Enjoy your videos very much. Great ideas and your snow camper is awesome. Tiny house on ski's. Great work.

[@smallcabinliving4524]

Thanks for sharing.....really looking for alternative water heating sources for our Small Cabin Project and you have given me many ideas...Thanks and enjoy your Small Cabin Living.

[@jamesrobin9961]

Kickass ma man! Did the same basicly, I added a pressure relief valve...get’em online for under $10 and I rigged an old handwinch using metal cable to raise and lower my copper pipes up n down outta the fire, which actually gave a good amount of control (thermostat!) so I didnt have to leave my camper so much to adjust it! Awesome video sir!

[@carlossousa8575]

Such a well documentated step by step invention, truly makes me want to try it out just for fun. Amazing video

[@maryblaylock6545]

Ditto!

[@raynoladominguez4730]

Smart idea you have there. I was thinking that you could run coiling lengths in the floor and then placing a layer of flooring on top; making a radiant floor condition.

[@barringtonasmith6595]

Thank you for your idea, this is a simple concept to used a metal drum and a galvanize tub off grid.

[@AwakeningEnthusiast]

I would add a few things in line that would make even more use of that hot water and energy. Great work thanks for the free knowledge. :)

[@Banjo-lm2wl]

Very clever great job. Good to see a video hope all is well with your family now. I pray for you and your wife. God bless from Australia.

[@mrtomsr]

Nice idea, maybe in the winter when you need that heat, it won’t heat so fast or so hot. That will be difficult to control, but bursting the tube overnight because it got too hot so you took it off the fire, then the tube froze and burst will be a problem to think through before the fact. Condolences to you and your loved ones for your loss.

[@d3sc3n7]

So, what if there were a battery powered pump to run at night to keep the water moving? Should prevent freezing but you'll lose heat faster.

[@tomrainwater5598]

Nice build.... Brilliant and simple... You need to a temperature and pressure valve to run out of your sled camper... It will keep from steaming up your sleeper and you could always return it to the water supply via air gap and directional check valve. Awesome video

[@simpleforging3339]

the house my father grew up in had what they called a heat front. water circulated through a tube in the furnace and a water tank up near the ceiling. I think it was mainly for hot water in the house in those days. Thanks for the content

[@1981dasimpson]

you could run the copper pipe along the bottom of the portacab and have like underfloor heating this should save space also a small rocket stove style system from another ammo box might work well as the heat source this syem should need less water and smaller fire that can burn longer for more even heat

[@1981dasimpson]

@IndyHelis ideal would be the pipe from a large old fridge for giving the heat off ammo can rocket stove with copper coil as heat collector with a small water res

[@crispjon]

First thing I thought of, subfloor heat unbelievable efficient.

[@nerocreations9344]

Thats a good idea a ammo box stove with a way to reduce the air in take might help you control the fire and at the same time control the heat plus a controlled flame will give you peace of mind that the fire is less likely to go any where near the lil cabin

[@joshlarochelle1298]

crispjon can’t store the water tank outside though or it will freeze 100%

[@joshlarochelle1298]

David Simpson still have to store the water container inside or it will freeze 100%

[@fynbo1007]

So cool idea, love it. Thank you for sharing your amazing idea. God bless you and your family

[@jdisdetermined]

The snowmobile camp trailer is like survival glamping.. 😁👍✌

[@raymondo162]

survival and glamping: pretty much total oppposites.......................

[@lendoggtheking]

an adult male puts out about 100W of heat, given that your camper is so small it would be much less effort to simply insulate it sufficently to retain that energy!

[@PapaBear_Gaming]

When I read that I assumed you were telling him to pick up a boyfriend, lol

[@angelagrace8499]

@@PapaBear_Gaming That *would* solve the heating problem

[@ayporos]

I don't think that's feasible due to the fact that you need a bit of air circulation from outside.. especially with a camper that small. Or, do you suppose he should install an oxygen tank and CO2 scrubber instead? :)

[@lendoggtheking]

@@ayporos i wouldnt be too worried, an adult at rest needs about 8 litres per minute of air, that would be 133ml/sec. if you had a 40mm diamiter vent hole you could supply that with a flow rate of 0.1m/sec. i wont pretend to have done the maths on it but i suspect the convective flow through a 40mm hole in the canadian winter would be much greater than 0.1m/sec

[@barlowjmb]

Less effort yes... less cool too.

[@colbydrags]

Put the jug outside the camper. Run the lines under your flooring. Keeps you away from scalding water tank, as well as keeps space inside. Good work.

[@vedavision6002]

Glad I rewound to the snow mobile camper, its a sledge, so cool, so funny, love it. You can safely have a mini stove and flue with hot water pipes coming off. They have them in caravans. You could use all kinds of fuels and run the pipes around the bottom corners. Then it doesn't matter about the rain putting the fire out when you need it the most. See you have silver inside but not everywhere. Would you really need that much heat and what about the steam inside ? How much heat and fumes comes of those lanterns ? Could rig a lantern to a flue. Trouble with big channels they rarely interact. Subscribed, awesome. I want to try and design a light weight, single pole mini tipi after watching this.

[@heit90]

"Now there wouldn't be any room for air to get trapped in the lines, and create steam like it had before"... Mate water makes steam. Not air

[@dansw0rkshop]

Agreed. That's what you call vapor lock.

[@IloveJellow]

he isn't wrong but not quite correct.. the issue with feeding hot water above a water surface with a vent causes air to be sucked in and because the top opening wasn't fully sealed allowed air be sucked in acting like a vent which allowed space for the steam to build up in the jar which is the vapor lock however though if he did seal that top hole with the jar the pressure would have built up from the compressed steam and explode more than likely the jar would have gave out before the steel ammo box. The correct way for making water heaters is to have hot above the water level and cold at the bottom level with a opening above the water level to allow excess steam to escape which is what he did don't know if he looked it up or not, but my guess is he probably did.

[@whatevernamegoeshere3644]

@@IloveJellow There is absolutely no way it could suck back literally meters of lenght in air though

[@darkfur18]

@@whatevernamegoeshere3644 don't need to fill the entire thing with air a small bubble will do. Kinda like a bubble of air stopping your heart.

[@whatevernamegoeshere3644]

@@darkfur18 Yeah but how does an air bubble go downwards into the pipe under water?

[@marshallsmith6100]

A friend and I made a version of the water heater using a metal trash can and copper tubing in the 80s. I wondered about some of the innovations you had added. This was an interesting video and their are others on youtube showing other versions. We did not use as much tubing as you, We only had about 14 ft for ours. The only problem we had was explaining to the ranger that came by and thought we might have been setting up a still. Which also uses the same principles involved I gave you a like

[@jonnyboat2]

I’d weld some cooling fins on it as well as a base plate to keep it from tipping over. This is a great idea.

[@tommygunz8692]

I love learning...That was totally interesting to me....I know it’s not rocket science buts fascinating how the hearted works...Thanks for sharing

[@Shigatoxic]

you should do voice over work. your voice is absolutely perfect for technical instructions like this excercise. very cool contraption by the way.

[@kreynolds1123]

THREE SUGESTIONS. 1) Praffin phase change heat storage: substances going from solid to liquid absorb a lot of energy just to go from a solid to a liquid storing that energy. Conversely, when it is allowed to cool from a liquid to a solid, it gives off all that stored energy. Bottles of paraffin wax can heat exchange with water in the ammo box. They will take in and store lots of energy when phase changing it from a solid to a liquid, and it releases that stored energy when phase changing back to a solid. One might even fill the ammo box with paraphin wax and coil a copper tube inside. 2) Considering it's winter and you don't want water freezing in the hoses or copper pipes or ammo box you should use an anti freeze. 3) Lastly, use a pump to circulate. Possibly even a stirling engine and pump. You will get less boiling, get up to full heat faster, and prolong the life of your coil the fire by not requiring it to boil, and keeping the copper lines cooler.

[@RobertWiggers]

Dude, you have to be 100 % sure you strap that box secure inside your tiny cabin. If it falls, you got problems.

[@harrynips1614]

I'm fairly confident he knows what he's doing !!!!

[@seanm81416]

3rd degree problems

[@its_me_dave]

Just let the pipes run beneath the sled, underfloor heating 👍

[@greenspiraldragon]

even accidentally touching it can cause a serious burn. in that small space.

[@raymundom6974]

Boiled balls

[@craiglenhard-rvrguyd]

Based on the final boiling water temp my guess is that placing the heater in your sled shelter will not only cause the small space to become too hot, it will also cause it to become a sauna. The hot water vapor will soak your sleeping gear and you will become hyper thermic as the temperature drops. If you just heat the water in the ammo can, remove the coil, seal the top hole, you can place the hot tank in the sleeping area and enjoy the warmth without the condensation.

[@bryceg5709]

Assuming the idea is to develop a heater for something like your snowmobile camper I would consider the following - first would be that some form of coolant would be preferable to water, pink RV antifreeze for instance will not freeze and as such you wouldn't have to drain when not in use and blow out the lines. A small insulated tank on the outside of the camper would hold this. On the inside of the camper I then run lines from the tank through essentially a radiant heat grid on the floor and use a small pump of some nature to circulate the fluid through the floor for temperature. The reason for this is that you would then not have all the heat energy built up inside the camper but you would have some control of the amount of heat you wanted. The larger this tank would be the slower it would come to temperature but the longer it would effectively provide heating if needed.

[@sgthaggis1448]

Not only did you create an off grid water heating system, you have also made a potential off grid wallpaper stripper with the right attachment. Jokes aside, good work Buddy.

[@CCRider5312]

Outsider you will have to consider condensation build up in the camper which will freeze 🥶. So you will need to figure out how & where to route that steam to keep it from building up into the camper. Maybe you could route the steam back into the Ammo box with a loop of tubing. Steam out & steam back in if you can do it with pressure build up. Otherwise you will need to route it out of the camper from the Ammo box.

[@annwithaplan9766]

Also, maybe lengthen the tubes so they can be under the camper, so the heat rises up and heats the floor? This way nothing gets wet inside.

[@mommajefferson]

CC Rider, I was thinking maybe Outsider could do infloor heating in his camper.

[@CCRider5312]

Craig 😁👍

[@CCRider5312]

AnnWith APlan 😁👍

[@CCRider5312]

Kimberly Jefferson yeah that’s a thought 🤔 💭 👍

[@ryansantrock7195]

Unless you are living a week or more in that small sled shed I’d just take a Buddy Heater and a 20 Lbs propane tank along with a good winter sleeping bag. Otherwise mount your transfer tank to the outside of your shed and run a second coil under the bed for radiant heat with a valve inside to control water flow and the inside temp. The first coil is still in the fire for primary heat in the transfer tank. Fill the whole thing with glycol so it won’t freeze up and crack the tubing. Make it so you can just pull the primary coil off the back of the shed and throw it onto the fire without having to hookup or unhook anything.

[@doughboy5840]

But the buddy heater produces carbon monoxide and dioxide. Which can choke you

[@ryansantrock7195]

The buddy heater emitting CM has been disproved. It is safe for enclosed spaces. Plenty of videos testing it.

[@doughboy5840]

@@ryansantrock7195 perhaps but it seems doubtful. Needs oxygen to burn..... There's only so much OXY in a given space

[@AndyFriedl]

Very cool! We used heat exchanges similar to this for carpet cleaning. One thing that might help is to have 2 separate loops. One in the fire into a tank and a loop from the tank to the cabin. This way you could more easily control the heat and you do not have boiling water in the cabin. Just an idea but this is a very cool project.

[@AndyFriedl]

I may have not explained that to well. haha.

[@Poopticklingbandit]

Campfires can indeed burst and melt copper piping so the only solution that is the best is literally...... moving the copper away slightly from the fire lol. Fire dissapates heat extremely quickly even a centimeter or two. The melting point of copper is 1000c while all it takes for steam to produce is 100c. Great work and I will be trying this on my own, even without being a space heater you can easily convert this into a potable water machine! Again amazing work.

[@TheOutsiderCabin]

Hey guys, I had a lot of fun working on this heater concept. If you have any ideas to develop it further, I welcome your input in the comments. In the meantime, here are a couple important points about the system: - Notice that this is an "open" system. Meaning that I made sure to leave a vent hole to prevent any pressure buildup. - This system is not for drinking or cooking, as the ammo can and other components are definitely not food grade rated. I designed this as an experimental heater only. - Once the water became hot enough, I made sure to remove the copper coil from the fire, to ensure that the temperature tolerances of the hoses and fittings would not be exceeded. - And of course this is a prototype, meaning that it's not perfect, but something I've been working to develop further. - The copper obviously isn't designed to be set directly in fire, but I simply wanted to see if the concept of heating with copper was possible. Now my goal is find a way to shield the copper from the flames in order to protect it from degradation.

[@peterroper9090]

Do you think a pressure fed system would work? So a hose connected to the cold feed and just collecting the hot, i was wondering if it would actually heat the water properly using 10m of 10mm copper microbore

[@marilynfisher1712]

Have you thought about mounting your ammo-can reservoir above a shelf on the nose of the snowmobile camper where it would be best suited for thermo-siphon action and accessible to add water or or drain hot water into the interior of the of the sleeper berth. In this way you could avoid spillage and increase safety to yourself and your bedding. By having another ammo-can (or several) of equal volume inside; you could fill them one by one as hot water became available outside by gravity feed through a hot water garden hose. If you wish to provide a long term flow of hot water through the camper for the night your system will need to be carefully designed to cope with steam developing at hot spots in your coil. Steam exerts pressure in all directions and has the net effect of interrupting smooth thermo-siphon flow. By forming your copper coil so that the cooler water enters the fire at the lower end of a consistently rising coil (picture an Archimedes' screw) and exits the coil into a rising hot water delivery line, should solve most of the difficulties. If too much heat is applied, a one-way check valve on the cooler end of the coil might be necessary. A consistent heat source under or near the coil that would last the duration of the night is the other requirement. Perhaps a banked fire full of coals and hot rocks would do the trick. I have a home made copper coil under my desk right now, that I enclosed in a two foot length of galvanized 5 inch diameter stove pipe. It is reinforced with heavy steel wire so it could be mounted on a small wood stove, but I suppose shielding like this could useful over or in an open fire to protect the copper coil inside. I have recently solved my issues with my pressure cooker boiler sending hot water occasionally up the wrong line; by applying short term suction with a handheld kerosene pump or a rubber suction bulb to the line I want to get hot. Once heated, it draws cooler water down the companion line into the boiler; no longer confused, it runs consistently and silently. If the system gets too hot I remove some heat or turn on a 12 volt fan under the radiator attached to the hose returning to the pressure cooker boiler. This cools the returning water which immediately increases the speed of the thermo-siphoning action and cools the system so a boil will not produce a geyser. Very controllable and easy to balance with a propane burner or perhaps gradually dying embers from a campfire. I hope this information will prove helpful: aim for hot water not steam. Fred Fisher

[@markbevans5787]

Use an old wood burning stove. Wrap the copper around the entire thing. Would prevent fire damage... maybe won't heat as fast as in the fire directly but should work Might even heat faster now that a think about it. Seeing as a stove is more efficient then a open fire. Just an idea

[@seanhammer6296]

Seems kinda noisy. Maybe you could leave the can outside and run a second coil inside the camper? Or put the can in the fire and coil on the inside?

[@ChuckRobertsonProject]

Great video! Have you considered reversing the whole system? Heat the ammo box up over the fire...and run the copper through either the floor or walls of your space. You would then essentially have radiant heating. I think that copper will radiate much more efficiently than that ammo box.

[@Napster9810]

Couple considerations...scalding liquid in an enclosed structure can lead to a pretty big safety risk if it were to spill while you are in there. Also; thermal siphons work both ways. Once the fire is out the radiant heat won’t linger near as long in sub freezing temps as the copper will cool rapidly and start to suck the heat out of your tank. Also something to think about is all that extra moisture evaporating off inside your little building. More of a sauna than a simple heater.

[@Bettinasisrg]

Looks like my neck of the woods! Any time you want to build something extra, I've got space. Cool design.

[@rondyechannel1399]

Copper coils in wood stoves have been around since the 1800's. In the Canada wilds we plumbed the kitchen cook stove to 55 gallon drums above the ceiling for our hot water. Our pressure system consisted of a pipe run up the hill to a creek. Our laundry room had the same set up.

[@krunk6270]

You want radiant heat, not a sauna, move the copper near the campfire, not above it.

[@crashzone6600]

Make a pipe going out of the hut for the steam maybe.

[@2Truth4Liberty]

That's what I was thinking. Just a few rings (or even just one) for a large coil that can encircle the campfire, or maybe one or more large coils with one small coil in the fire on the end nearest the return to ammobox. REGULATING is the difficult part with this design. You want large coils outside the fire when the fire is big and little coils in(or closer to) the fire when the fire dwindles down.

[@bob-ny6kn]

A few capped containers of hot water inside the shelter would suffice. We used the sun to warm a few dozen gallon-containers of water in our greenhouse to keep the plants alive during snowy winters. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't freezing. Sleeping in a sub-freezing tent, a bare, incandescent bulb is a heat source. Been there.

[@EPFForsyth]

Wholly crap that was amazing, and Hell yeas I subscribed... Love the fact you showed the mistakes...

[@mattsprayberry0]

That's one hell of a introduction

[@kencohagen4967]

You might want to do fins to the ammo box to help it disperse heat. This will help it warm your living space while cooling the water. This may help you problem with too much heat, and help it to warm a larger area, like your cabin. A smaller version would work well for your trailer. It’s beautiful by the way, and something I would want if I was young enough to live off the grid.

[@seansysig]

A typical pressurized radiant heater water temp is 195°F/ 90.5C. To use your amo box you'll need to vent the top outside.

[@badassbees3680]

Sweet ,I'd run lines under cabin back and forth ,but Awesome video

[@haunted5594]

If it were me, I'd do lines on the inside of the camper. The underside would be great, but you'd need to somehow insulate the wood bottom from direct contact and without a cot to sleep on, it would be unbearably hot on the floor. I use a water block in my wood furnace to heat all of my hot water in the Winter and had to move up to an 80 gal. stone lined tank to keep everything from blowing off because of the temps the water gets up to. The larger tank still doesn't cover it all and I have to release hot water when I have steam coming from the tap.

[@Helyx525]

They make 1 meter radiant floor tiles that have the coil built in. He could line the floor and/or walls with it and use a valve to adjust the flow rate.

[@yourname-mz1jo]

Hey my friend I just wanted to let you know, this video that you made really has helped me with figuring out how to get hot water my camper where I live. I have been living in this medium size camper for 4 years without any hot water other than what I heat up from my hot eye with a large pot for soups. I have designed my own prototype for getting hot water into my VERY large bath tub that I recently installed. I will let you know how it turns out Thanks Noah D. Birmingham Al.

[@MoniJohnson]

Awesome build. Got me wanting to tinker now.

[@knarftrakiul3881]

Run tubing under ur floor just like they door for some homes. Heat will radiate upwards keep u toasty

[@spydergto1]

and the side walls too fuck it do the whole thing, might take 2 hours but once hot your in a hot box while its snowing outside brilliant

[@MindlessSuccess]

100 C floor heating sounds fun.

[@nicksurfs1]

That’s what I was thinking. He just needs a reliable way to manage flow to keep it from getting too hot.

[@JohnDoe-bd5sz]

@@nicksurfs1 No, what he needs is some way of controlling how much heat he puts into the system. If he puts some form of restriction to the flow of this system, while still adding the same amount of heat will only result in something overheating and possibly breaking due to steam pressure buildup. The only real way to adjust the heat with this system, would be to make it so, that he could adjust how much heat was inside and how much heat was put outside. Could do that with a system that had a heater outside as well, and when the inside heater got warm enough, switch to the outside heater. Or just take the coil away from the fire.

[@markbevans5787]

Couldn't you use a copper valve along the line feeding into the fire. So if it gets to warm just shut the valve and water no longer circulates to get heated? It's clear once the water gets to a certain temp it stays pretty darn hot lol

[@peterpan9596]

A simple metal arm hammered into the ground, like what was used to hang the old iron pots over the fire, the coil could be hung on that so as to move it in and out of the fire.

[@muhammedsajilrahman1286]

Thanks for sharing your experience 👍

[@subdawg1331]

good simple design place the coils on the outside of the fire rocks , less temp but still will work, also put a line from the hole you left on top to remove the moisture to the outside of your shed..

[@BenryanALS]

I wouldnt have the copper directly over the flames like that. You want it set back slightly under some ash and mud

[@doughboy5840]

Why?

[@Korsik01]

@@doughboy5840 Because you will boil the water in a closed system with no vent or real expansion minus the loop. Also if he leaves the hole in the top open eventually the water will boil away and the copper will take all the energy and burn up.

[@TheKamiBunny]

Also the uneven heat and expansion from a direct fire like that can cause the copper to warp, in addition the hottest part of the fire isn't where the coils are currently located but radiant heat towards the sides as well as the convection heat rising above. So mud and ash walls will help with the even heating as well as catching as much of the radiating heat as possible.

[@IloveJellow]

​@@doughboy5840 its not a permanent solution is why. At some point the copper coil will warp and fracture at some point with hot water spill out though it would take some time before this happens so not exactly permanent construct. Best way to do that is too incase the metal into concrete like making it into a firepit basically with the metal tubes inside too allow evenly disrupted heat this will last a lot longer than just throwing the coil onto the fire it honestly depends if you're wanting to spend money every 2-3 years on replacing copper pipes compared to maybe 7-10 years respectively with the pipes incased in cement though that wouldn't be too easy to carry around on a mobile platform some other okay alternative would be fiberglass bowl which is lightweight and you could just attach the pipes onto the underside or even just place the coil under the fiberglass bowl. @Kevin that isn't so much of an issue however he should have made a much smaller hole for the volume of water in the tank to slow down the loss of water all water heaters have release holes drilled into them for purpose of relieving pressure if not your water heater would be a ticking time bomb. Also since it seems he is out during winter with it he could just melt snow into a pot and then pour any missing water into the tank.

[@Finn-McCool]

Just remember, fire is used to forge metal. I understand that water in the copper will not allow the tubing to melt. But this is the most unrefined and scary heater yet. Steam is not to be taken lightly. Neither is scalding hot liquid. This bush fix needs a ton of refinement. You might even be able to find a small radiator from an old house. Let's see more cabin build!

[@chetthejet3896]

You sound like an engineer, they make the worst designer. Too many things to go wrong. BUT it would be wise to take care for sure.

[@Finn-McCool]

@@chetthejet3896 I'm a master woodworker. I have ten fingers ten toes and no extra holes. I simply know that safety first is always the call.

[@chetthejet3896]

@@Finn-McCool If you have ten of each I know you are doing it right. I too have all my fingers and toes and do wood working big time. Fire and water are a great combination to respect.

[@itshappeningmaybe]

@@chetthejet3896 I work with large industrial boilers, but even small boiler units can have catastrophic consequences. There is a reason we use steam to generate power, do work, etc. It packs a lot of energy into a little space. Have you ever seen a pressure cooker explode? And that's only 15-20psi...

[@jacob2790]

Fire alone is the most unrefined scary heater ever, this is a clever creative harnessing of man's great 🔥 using caution and due regard that has potential practical uses given the circumstances. If he is smart enough to get so far as to design and build this it is pretty safe to assume he understands the processes and potentials that are at work.

[@kylesorg]

Run Tubing inside the snowmobile cabin, mobile radiant heated box. Looks simple and effective. Good work

[@risingsun49]

This reminds me of my radiator steam heat in my old apartment.. I like this very smart.

[@Awsimilate]

The fire will degrade that copper tubing to swiss cheese in just a few uses.

[@Guerilla423]

That was my initial thought. Copper tubing is expensive and a soft metal. Campfires are thousands of degrees hot, is it gonna sustain?

[@jimbojones9665]

@@Guerilla423 lol no. A campfire is a five to six hundred degrees at most, not thousands.

[@dontaskme9047]

@@jimbojones9665 Actually, the coal that is produced at the bottom will reach thousands of degrees.

[@Shonicheck]

@@dontaskme9047 you are mistaking it for a hard coal. Coal that is left from burning wood will burn at much lower temperature than 1000 °C , though it will depend on the variety of wood used.

[@jimbojones9665]

@@dontaskme9047 lol how do you figure? I'm serious, please explain how a ~600 F fire can transfer more than ~600 F to it's surroundings. I get that soft copper probably won't last very long, but the laws of thermodynamics still apply. You can't heat something to "thousands of degrees" by using a heat source that won't ever get that hot. No one is adding coal coke and a bellows to their campfire.

[@themoddedguy7765]

When I looked at the title picture... I thought someone was making Moonshine!

[@sunnyskye1106]

I think you just saved me a lot of money and trouble. Bless you.