Many owners of cottages and greenhouses have to decide how to heat these small rooms. Gas or wood-fired stoves require a lot of fuel, and this, in turn, costs decent money. To save on heating, people found this option: operate sawdust furnaces.
Sawdust furnace: benefits of using
Such heating systems have many advantages:
- each summer resident will find fuel for their work, chips and sawdust, including pressed ones, are suitable for this;
- You don’t have to dispose of the waste, it can be burned in an oven;
- damp wood chips, firewood and sawdust do not need to be pre-dried, you can lay in this form;
- maximum power is achieved in a short period of time;
- boilers give out the maximum amount of heat;
- anyone is able to assemble this system, and its maintenance does not require special skills;
- a boiler of this design can also be used for heating water and cooking, if supplemented with appropriate equipment;
- the ability to control their fuel costs;
- the temperature of the heated water can be adjusted;
- harmful substances burn out in the furnace, without harming the environment and the atmosphere.
How are sawdust furnaces made?
With their own hands, everyone will be able to assemble such a stove, you just have to stock up on tools and necessary materials. You will need black tin or
sheet steel, of which stoves are usually made. As a large form, an empty gas cylinder, a 200 liter barrel or a piece of a wide pipe with a welded bottom will do. The thickness of these elements should be more than 5 mm. The sawdust furnace is made with a double bottom: the first bottom is located at the top of the furnace, a hole with flanges is made in it. The second bottom is embedded in the central part of the wide pipe; it should have an opening of the same size as in the first bottom. In the center of the cylinder-stove, a conical pipe is installed, which is fixed in the cut circles. When the inner pipe is installed, you can pour sawdust to the level of the chimney or to the top of the conical pipe. They need to be tamped as they are laid so that they do not crumble after removing the cone. Further, this device is tightly closed with a lid. The bottom hole is provided with a shutter, firewood is put in and set on fire.
The principle of operation of the sawdust furnace
The flame from the set firewood gradually passes through the hole made and sets fire to the sawdust. If the material is well tamped, it will not ignite, but will smolder. This process is very long, at least 8 hours, so for this period of time the stove can be ignored, even if the wood goes out, you do not need to set fire to them again. The air above the sawdust warms up evenly and gradually. Such a sawdust furnace will do great with
heating a greenhouse, garage or workshop. To warm the cottage or house, it is worth making small changes to the design.
Modification of the furnace for heating a house
The area of the house is larger than the greenhouses, so you need to ensure that the long-burning furnace on sawdust gives more energy, could warm a large area. Furnaces manufactured according to the method described above have one significant drawback: when exiting through a chimney, thermal energy is lost. It is not always advisable to extend the chimney to the entire area of the heated room, therefore we recommend the so-called sawdust pyrolysis furnaces. They are characterized in that they have an additional air circuit for flue gases. There are two options to convert an existing stove: install a smoke circuit from the outside or from the inside.
It is easier to install it outside, that is, surround the furnace with another layer of metal, leaving room for the free movement of hot air. This design allows you to keep unchanged the amount of fuel loaded and, accordingly, the frequency of its loading. Installing an additional circuit inside the structure is approximately the same, but has a small drawback: fewer sawdust can be loaded. In both cases, the chimney should be located at the bottom of the structure. As can be seen from the description, the manufacture of a sawdust furnace with your own hands will not cause difficulties if you know how to handle the welding machine.
Connecting the boiler to the water heating system
Some owners of houses that have already installed a water heating system may wonder whether it is possible to connect such an economical sawdust furnace to it. The answer is yes, and no special skills will be required for this. It is necessary to set the register by connecting the supply and return to it, which are connected to the central heating system. To improve heat transfer, the installation option of a blower, a narrow pipe passing through the cover and the entire body instead of a cone is suitable.
So, for economical users who care about the environment, a long smoldering furnace with sawdust is an excellent option for heating a greenhouse, cottage or small house. It is not difficult to make and install it, it will bring warmth, tranquility and comfort to the house.