In many regions, the problem of heating private houses still remains relevant. Of course, the modern market offers a huge range of equipment that uses a wide variety of materials as fuel, be it gas, firewood, electricity or oil, etc. However, access to gas mains and stable power grids is not available everywhere, so solid fuel heating remains the most preferable in many regions.
One of the best options for a solid fuel heating unit is a pellet boiler, which you can assemble with your own hands.
The unit in question is one of the modifications of an ordinary solid fuel boiler, optimized for operation using special pressed pellets as fuel.
- The granules used are a very inexpensive fuel, second only to main gas in this indicator.
- By assembling a pellet boiler, you can provide economical and efficient heating of your own home.
- In addition, pellet boilers are one of the safest types of heating equipment for private use.
Operating principle of a pellet boiler
As noted, such boilers use pellets as fuel, that is, pellets made from pressed wood shavings, sawdust and other similar waste.
The operation of the boiler is based on an extremely simple principle. You load the pellets into a special hopper, from there they flow through an auger in small portions to the burner, in which the pellets are burned.
Under the influence of the flame, water is heated in a special tank connected to the heating system.
As a result, at minimal cost you get reliable, environmentally friendly and highly efficient heating.
Boiler advantages
Among the many advantages of pellet boilers, their durability should be noted. Steel units can easily serve for up to 15-20 years without the need for major repairs. If the boiler is assembled using cast iron, the durability indicator increases up to 50 years.
If desired, you can assemble both a non-volatile model of a pellet boiler that does not require connection to the electrical network, or a full-fledged automated unit. In this regard, be guided by your needs and preferences.
Boiler Assembly Guide
Pellet boilers have a rather complex design. The instructions for assembling them will also be difficult and multi-step. For greater convenience, the assembly process of each main unit is considered separately. Buy or make the necessary elements, and then simply assemble them into a single system.
It is highly recommended to buy this element of a pellet boiler ready-made. The burner is where you will spend the most money.
Making a burner yourself is almost impossible for the reason that this part of the boiler is not simply a container for igniting loaded granules, but a complex control and regulatory mechanism.
Pellet burners are equipped with special sensors and have several preset programs that allow you to achieve the most efficient fuel consumption and ensure the most efficient heating of your home.
Housing and heat exchanger
You can handle the assembly of the housing and the manufacture of the heat exchanger yourself. It is best to make the boiler body horizontal - with this placement of the unit, maximum heating efficiency is achieved.
It is recommended to use fireclay bricks to make the body. You simply assemble a kind of box without a top cover and place a heat exchanger in it with connected pipes and other elements. Brick is recommended for the reason that it accumulates heat much more efficiently than cast iron, steel sheets and other popular materials.
The heat exchanger of a pellet boiler is a system of pipes interconnected and connected to the heat supply pipes of a private house.
First step. Assemble a rectangular heat exchanger from square pipes. To do this, cut the pipes into pieces of the required length and weld them into a single structure.
Second step. Make holes in the profile that serves as a vertical post for connecting round pipes.
Third step. Prepare holes in the remaining front pipes for drainage and water connection pipes. Hot water will be discharged through the top hole, cold water will be supplied from below.
Use metal pipes with a length of 150 mm. Next, you can use polypropylene pipes. Be sure to install ball valves where the pipes connect to the boiler. Additionally, you can install filters if necessary.
Fourth step. Weld the back of the unit to its front and weld the side pipes.
At the same stage, select a convenient place to connect a chimney pipe with a diameter of 10 cm. At the bottom of the heating unit, provide a small chamber for collecting ash. Also, the design of a pellet boiler necessarily includes a firebox. More about him later.
Firebox
In the firebox, as already noted, pellets are stored and from here they are supplied to the burner.
First step. Prepare the necessary materials and equipment. You will need an auger with a diameter of 7.5 or 10 cm, an electric motor and a metal casing. You will connect the engine to the pellet burner control unit.
The function of a metal casing can be performed by any container of suitable volume with sufficiently thick walls.
Second step. Install the inlet pipe of your auger into the discharge mouth of the casing. Connect a corrugated plastic pipe to the other part of the auger to supply granular fuel to the burner.
The burner sends a signal to the electric motor - it starts the auger - the combustion chamber of the pellet boiler is filled with the required amount of pellets.
In conclusion, all you have to do is assemble all the listed elements into a single structure. Do this and proceed to installing the boiler.
Boiler installation
At this stage, you will have to take care of arranging the boiler room and smoke exhaust system.
The floor and walls of the boiler room must be made of material that does not support combustion. The floor can be made of concrete. If desired, pave it with ceramic tiles.
Place the boiler on a strictly flat surface. Choose a place so that the distance from the front side of the unit to the nearest wall is at least 100 cm. Select the distance from the remaining walls so that in the future it will be convenient for you to carry out preventive maintenance, maintenance and repair of equipment.
It is important that the air temperature in the boiler room does not fall below +8-+10 degrees.
Pay special attention to the arrangement of the smoke exhaust system. Not only the efficiency of a homemade pellet boiler, but also the safety of the residents of the house directly depends on the correctness and quality of the chimney.
In most cases, a pipe with a diameter of 10-11 cm is sufficient for effective smoke removal. It is important that the diameter of the pipe is slightly larger than the diameter of the hole for removing smoke from the heating unit. The more powerful the boiler, the more massive the pipe should be.
Select the length of the chimney so that it rises above the roof of the building by at least 50 cm, preferably more.
To make a chimney, use a sealed pipe. It is important that the material used to make the pipe does not support combustion and can withstand high temperatures.
The chimney must be insulated. To protect the pipe from precipitation, install a protective cone on it.
Make a hole at the bottom of the chimney to remove condensate. For greater convenience, you can connect a tap to the hole. Also prepare a hole for cleaning the pipe from soot.
Starting and maintaining the boiler
Launch
The equipment can be started only after installing the pellet boiler and connecting the corresponding heating system pipes to it. Once the mentioned tasks are completed, turn on the cold water supply to the heating system.
Observe the operation of the boiler. If any unusual symptoms occur, turn off the equipment and do not use it until the problem is resolved.
Care
Homemade pellet boilers, like any other heating units, require appropriate care.
Every 2-3 weeks, empty the ash pan of waste. Clean the smoke exhaust duct every 2-4 weeks. This will not take you much time, but ignoring such simple maintenance will lead to a significant decrease in the efficiency of the boiler and make the equipment potentially unsafe.
If desired, additional automation equipment can be connected to the pellet boiler. This will make operating the equipment more convenient - you can simply forget about the need to reload fuel and other related activities for some time.
Modern automation tools even allow you to set up remote control of the heating unit, which is also very convenient.
And these are not the only possible additions. How do you like, for example, self-cleaning systems for boilers? Be sure to study the available modifications and, if desired, purchase such additions for your boiler.
You can assemble a simple pellet boiler with your own hands, following the instructions you received earlier.
Good luck!
Video - Pellet heating boilers
Video - Operating principle of a pellet boiler
Different fuel options are used for heating. These include pellets, which are heat-pressed and granulated wood processing waste, in particular sawdust. Compared to liquid fuels, they do not emit harmful fumes, do not require wood harvesting and are explosion-proof. If you wish, you can save more on heating if you know how to make a pellet burner yourself.
Pellets as fuel
Pellets as fuel materials have many advantages. They burn well and produce large quantities of ash. But it also has its own characteristics. For example, in special burners there is a possibility of backburning. In this case, the pyrolysis zone enters the fuel bunker. This may cause a fire.
Burners are also critical regarding air supply, since if there is too much air, sawdust can be blown away. It is necessary to ensure the desired combustion mode, which is very difficult to do.
You can light a homemade pellet boiler like this:
Sawdust for heating is considered an energy-intensive fuel. About 5 kW/h of heat is released per kilogram. To heat a medium-sized private house located in the middle zone of the country, about 2 kg of such fuel must be burned in a burner per hour. Pellets should be added to the bunker once or twice a day and do not forget to empty the boiler ash pan. Used ash can be used as fertilizer.
Description of the boiler design
If you purchase automated equipment for heating your home using pellets, you can spend up to 3 thousand USD. That is, which is very expensive. More budget-friendly but reliable designs will cost about 500 USD. You can make them yourself, which will save you a lot.
But before you get started, you should thoroughly study the structure of the pellet burner. Its key task is to ensure flame stability and uniform burning of sawdust. Attention should be paid to adjusting the combustion intensity.
The main structural elements of the product are as follows:
- the combustion chamber;
- bunker for loading solid fuel;
- screw-type conveyor for fuel supply;
- a fan that forces air into the chamber.
The duration of maintenance of the automatic boiler depends on the volume of the bunker. The fan is controlled via an electronic control unit. The intensity of fuel combustion is directly affected by the intensity of air supply.
You need to be well prepared to properly assemble a sawdust burner with your own hands; drawings can be found in open sources. The device is energy-dependent; without electricity, the unit, fan and conveyor will not be able to operate.
The operating principle of a pellet burner is as follows:
Bulk fuel is supplied to the burner using two methods. In the first case, you need to install a large bunker; pellets are immersed in it for 10 days, subject to continuous operation of the equipment. In order to supply fuel to the pipe, a screw conveyor is installed. It has a length corresponding to the distance between the boiler and the hopper. In the second case, it is placed directly on the burner, and the fuel enters the auger under its own weight. This type of burner is called gravity burner.
A DIY pellet burner helps to significantly diversify the functions of a solid fuel boiler. There will be an opportunity to save coal and firewood. It is also easy to maintain. Fuel will only need to be added once a week.
Manufacturing of the unit
There are many design options for home production. There are different drawings of a pellet burner with your own hands; on them you need to indicate the dimensions of each element and prepare the necessary materials for the work. Among them:
DIY pellet burner
The burner is assembled according to existing drawings. The pipe must be secured to a flange plate attached to the casing. The open part of the chamber from which the fire comes will be located inside the combustion chamber and will be used to heat the water jacket.
An auger is placed under the pipe inside the pipe, which will feed pellets piece by piece into the combustion zone. Depending on the intensity of the air supply, the speed of its operation will be adjusted.
If you install a manual regulator, you can set the required number of engine and fan revolutions. This is inexpensive and simple, but you will have to carefully monitor the operation of the device and, depending on external and internal factors, change the mode of electrical devices.
To automate the process, you will need to install a special control unit. Fan and auger motors and temperature sensors are connected to it. When receiving signals from them, the work will be controlled automatically.
A homemade device can be equipped with a device that allows you to automatically ignite and control the flame. Thanks to the filling sensor in the pipe, you can see how the fuel is supplied. Naturally, automation tools will increase the cost of producing the device, but it will be more convenient to use.
Gravity type devices
Gravity-type burners may not depend on electricity. The fuel enters directly into the pyrolysis chamber; pressurization can be provided thanks to the chimney draft. You can put the burner into operation manually, using one damper and a draft regulator in the chimney. But this type of device requires serious maintenance.
Non-volatile manually controlled products are only homemade. Only gravity-driven semi-automatic designs are available for sale, where fuel is supplied by means of a “self-dumper”.
To prevent fire from entering the bunker, you need to install a gateway based on elements that expand when heated, or use a double-grate design. It is movable and periodically moves back, picking up some of the pellets and transferring them to the combustion zone, while at the same time the ash is pushed into the ash pit. But there is a risk that the gap between the grates can quickly become clogged with ash. If the grate gets stuck in the rear position, fire may enter the hopper.
Sizing
As already mentioned, the basis of the work is a drawing indicating dimensions. They must be correct. The subsequent operation of the product depends on this.
The basket is the most important part of the structure. The pyrolysis process can be disrupted due to sawdust getting stuck in the inclined rear wall. To prevent this from happening, the slots in it should initially not be solid, but 2-3 mm smaller than the size of the pellets themselves, but not more than 6 mm.
And in the front wall, which separates the pyrolysis part of the structure and the combustion chamber, there should be continuous gaps, preferably open from the bottom. The secondary air channel under the bottom of the basket should be about 30 mm, provided that the burner is 15 kW, and the wall slope should be 45 degrees. To burn 2-3 kg of fuel per hour, you need a basket with a tray 130 by 130 mm and a depth of 100 to 120 mm.
Attention should also be paid to calculations during the production of the bunker. Usually this is where the fire jumps. Many people recommend using drawings from factory Pelletron burners, the same applies to the parameters of the combustion chambers. It is recommended to make the secondary air channel L-shaped, and an upward bend should be provided, due to which it mixes with pyrolysis gases.
It is recommended to use heat-resistant steel for the combustion chamber; its thickness should be 2 mm or more. It is difficult to weld hot steel, so you should roll the reamer and peck the joints or weld it using the spot method.
Pellets themselves as fuel, and burners for them, are not always used. Technically, both raw materials and equipment cannot yet be called ideal. However, their improvement in this regard occurs on a regular basis. And this applies not only to factory-made ones, but also to home-made ones.
The issue of heating in the house has always been quite acute. The search for the best options still does not stop. Some choose solid fuel heating, while others opt for gas. One of the good options is a pellet burner.
In this article we will look at what this design is, what is the principle of its operation, features, advantages and disadvantages. Although the mechanism of the furnace is quite complex, we will consider the technology of its manufacture, since the furnace is expensive.
Why use a pellet burner
Pellets are a material for the firebox. We are not talking about ordinary pallets for transportation. Burner pellets are compressed wood in the form of small cylinders. Their diameter reaches 25 mm. They successfully broke into the market and continue to conquer it. People who have used such fuel note its high quality and use only it.
However, if pellets are the same wood that is loaded into the firebox, why waste money and effort on creating an additional mechanism? Although this is logical, in this case the solid fuel material will burn by 80 and even 40%. The remains are simply disposed of. As a result, the efficiency of such a furnace decreases significantly. If you use a burner, the combustion of the material will be 98%. The difference is significant.
Note! Pellets are not suitable for pyrolysis boilers. During operation, they cause harm to it, and the equipment has to be serviced more often.
It is also important that the temperature inside the burner as the pellets burn reaches 1 thousand degrees Celsius! That's why it's worth considering whether you can install a pellet burner for your boiler. This is quite rational if you understand the principle of operation of the pellet burner during assembly and also follow the instructions. Then the burner will be an excellent addition to the boiler, improving its efficiency. The video shows a pellet burner and the principle of its operation.
The main task of the burner device is to organize a powerful torch that will heat the boiler. A pellet burner is used for the same thing and consists of a small combustion chamber in the form of a wind tunnel. Pellets are fed into it from a hopper. Under the influence of air flow, a directed flame is formed. The combustion chamber is made rectangular or round. The outer part consists of a screw conveyor. Fuel from the bunker is supplied through the inlet pipe. The next indispensable element is the fan. It will supply air to the bottom of the chamber.
The principle of operation is as follows: pellets fall into a chamber where they are set on fire. The fan turns on, supplying a minimum amount of air. As the flame gets hotter, the fan spins faster, pumping in more air. The result is an even and powerful torch. Factory burner devices are fully automated. The pellet burner controller allows you to regulate the supply of pellets, air, etc.
Why pellets
For those regions where gas is not available, such biofuel is a salvation. It is very effective and has a reasonable cost. For comparison: burned 1 kg of pellets release thermal energy equal to 0.5 liters of diesel fuel. They are capable of delivering 5 kW/h. To heat a one-story house in an area with moderate winters, you need 50 kg of pellets per day. The advantage of fuel is that it can be filled once for several days. It all depends on the boiler model. Pellets are loaded into a hopper, and then they are fed into the burner itself. A DIY pellet burner requires maintenance twice every 7 days.
If we talk about the disadvantages of this solid fuel and burners, then this is the possibility of reverse draft. In this case, the fire will burst into the bunker. The result is a fire in the house. The second point concerns the quantity and intensity of air supply. Pellets are lightweight, which means that the air flow sometimes blows them away from the device. Then they won't burn. And when the air supply is small, the fuel does not burn completely. In order for the burner and oven to function correctly, it is important to follow the sequence.
You need to light the fuel with a ceramic rod lighter. It doesn’t just apply direct fire to the raw materials, but heats up to more than 1 thousand degrees. This is done so that during ignition the flame does not go into the hopper with other pallets. Then air is supplied inside so that the combustion flame remains stable and even. After this, the operating mode is reached, since a large amount of air is supplied inside. The process can be stopped by stopping the air supply to the burner.
What types of pellet burners are there?
Products are divided into several varieties. After considering them, we can choose the option that is best suited for different conditions. For example, for a pellet burner to function, electricity is needed to power the mechanism. But what to do when electricity in an area often goes out? We find out this by considering these types of burners:
- pellet burner with forced intake;
- gravity pellet burner.
Pellet burner with forced intake
This device is one of the best when it comes to fire safety in the house. The representative is the Teplodar pellet burner. The downside is the high cost of the burners, reaching $3000. The burner has several mechanisms that ensure the supply of pellets inside. One mechanism operates the auger, and the other operates the pneumatic system. The safety of the product lies in the fact that the channel runs from bottom to top (pellets move along it). The flame will move in the opposite direction, so it will not get into the bunker.
Note! Fuel is supplied in portions and does not remain in the channel along which they move.
Another advantage is that designs with a pneumatic system are equipped with large hoppers. They can be downloaded once a month.
As for screw feed mechanisms, they have two main units. The first is the auger. He takes the pellets from the hopper, pouring them into another mechanism. Another auger lifts them directly into the burner. Even so, a fire is possible, since the fuel remains along the entire length of the auger. For protection, engineers create another unit made of material suitable for the burner. It melts and self-extinguishes. This is a kind of fuse that cuts off the fire.
The disadvantage of such mechanisms is that they are dependent on electricity. Without it, the supply of pellets stops, and what’s worse, the heating system may suffer. Power must be supplied to two electric motors. In the case when the electricity is stable and does not disappear, you can purchase additional air inflating. With it, the combustion of pellets will be better, as will the efficiency.
Gravity pellet burners
Such designs are easier to handle. Their great advantage is their ability to operate even without power supply. The principle of operation of the device is to pour pallets into the firebox under their own weight. The behemoth pellet burner and the pelletron pellet burner are prominent representatives of gravity products. You can put them into operation by adjusting the supply damper and the draft regulator on the chimney. The disadvantage of the design is that the pellets in the bunker can ignite.
To solve the fire hazard issue, manufacturers install thermal dampers on burners of this type. When the flame breaks out from the hearth and moves towards the bunker, a special gateway comes into play. It is heat activated. The airlock serves as a fire barrier. Another protection option is a double grate. This is a simple mechanism consisting of two parts. The upper one approaches the pellets and picks up a certain amount of them. Then the part moves towards the flame. The second part begins to dump ash into the receiver.
Advice! For a double grate it is also recommended to install a fire sluice. The mechanism may jam, and the fire will penetrate the pellets loaded into the hopper.
Making a burner with your own hands
How to make a pellet burner? The combustion chamber is made of steel pipe. Wall thickness - 4 mm no less. The steel is heat-resistant and can withstand high temperatures. Attachment to the body of the boiler installation is carried out using a flange plate. For manufacturing you will need 3 mm steel. It is better to buy a conveyor for feeding pellets or use an auger.
To rotate the mechanism, you need bearings, a low-speed motor (electric) and a gearbox. A fan for supplying air can be purchased at the store. It is fixed on the plastic, in which the place has already been prepared. The plate is made based on the drawing. The configuration depends on the boiler door itself. A drawing of the burner can be seen in this photo.
A mandatory step is to adjust the amount of incoming pellets and air. Without this, the device will work unstably or constantly at full power. To change the intensity of the fan and auger, you can install a manual regulator. In this case, you will have to constantly monitor and adjust the burner, taking into account the temperature of the coolant and air.
It is important that during various work processes, fuel and air are correctly selected. Only then will the torch be even and stable. To do this, you cannot do without an automated device. You will need a control unit. The burner controller has free control contacts, to which the electric motor from the screw and fan is connected.
To automate the ignition of pellets and control the flame, you cannot do without a photosensor and an electric incandescent element. A photo sensor monitors the appearance of a stable flame and notifies the controller. It will turn off the filament element. But an incandescent element is needed to ignite the pellets. The supply pipe is equipped with a filling sensor. It stops feeding pellets when the auger and top pipe are full.
Conclusion
Having understood the principle of operation of a pellet fuel burner, you can make it yourself. It is difficult and requires certain skills. However, buying a finished product for pellets will cost much more. Thanks to the visual video from the article, you can understand the process of making a pellet burner.
Hello, dear forum users.
I hope that the proposed topic will be of interest not only to me.Why on pellets? A little background.
1) I am from Ukraine, Donetsk. There are heaps of coal. On every pole there is a notice “I will sell coal”.
As of today, and this is 02/23/2013, I am heating my TT with anthracite at a price of 1,000.00 UAH/t (120.0 $/t)
2) At this price, anthracite is comparable to the cost of pellets, which today can be bought in our area at the same price.
3) But in the rest of Ukraine, further from Donbass, coal turns out to be much more expensive due to delivery, and pellets, I assume, are cheaper.
4) After reading the materials of this forum, I came to the conclusion that I am now successfully drowning with anthracite, compared to others. No headaches. I load the boiler once a day... and don’t go near it anymore. The boiler has a thermostatic air damper regulator on the blower, which very clearly, with an accuracy of 1-2 * C, regulates the temperature at the outlet of the boiler. I don’t have a heating system, all the heating is on a warm floor, without a single radiator, so the supply temperature is +45 during the day and +30 at night (this is the minimum that allows you to set the thermostat).
5) As far as I understand, after reading the forum materials, users of other boilers have a lot of problems. That is, I should be happy. Moreover, I bought the boiler used at the beginning of this season, and everything worked out for me, including the cost of a self-made chimney of 2,000.00 UAH ($250.00)
BUT! What are the disadvantages compared to pellets:Large amount of ash.
I tried to burn pellets in the same boiler, placing a fine mesh on the grate. All other things being equal, the effect is the same, but there is incomparably less ash. Moreover, ash from pellets is an ideal fertilizer for the flowers that the wife grows.Coal makes dirt and dust, I hope pellets will be cleaner
Another factor that makes you look towards pellets is energy prices in Ukraine! The gas pipe is 10 meters away from me, but the cost of connecting to it is comparable to the cost of a pellet machine. Again, not today or tomorrow, preferential gas prices will be removed from the population, which the IMF is strongly insisting on, and the benefits of blue fuel will become very illusory. Moreover, the “price lever” is in the same hands and the owners of gas heating are completely dependent on these hands. But pellets are diversified. They are already produced by a lot of manufacturers, the technology and production is simple, raw materials are in bulk in Ukraine. By the way, fodder oats, which burn perfectly in pellet burners, are sometimes even LOWER in price than pellets can be bought. True - pickup, large volumes, but still - a trend, however. Those interested can check me out and google this question.
That is, it turns out that in the future pellets will be more and more accessible and elementary competition among the mass of manufacturers will not allow them to increase in price.
Coal. Price issue. I myself worked in a mine. A simple miner. So, according to official statistics, today in Ukraine the price of coal is 1 human life for every 250,000 tons. This is the highest figure in the world. This is probably why coal is so inexpensive in monetary terms. And as a person who has personally visited the mine, I affirm that if you start honestly fighting for the lives of miners, you will simply have to follow all safety regulations. At the same time, I think, the cost of production will increase significantly. At least 4 times. Well, why were the British scared to close their mines and prefer to pay for gas at world prices?
Thus, my choice is pellets. In the future they are the cheapest. And - they lend themselves to automation of the process.
Homemade burner for pellets, sawdust, grain waste...
The history of the production of this “box” is quite long. .. Even 10-12 years ago, I often watched the flame in my “potbelly stove”, which heated the work room. It was there that I noticed that the flame can burn in different ways - sometimes it is bright, sometimes “nondescript,” sometimes cold, sometimes hot, sometimes wood barely burns, and sometimes a piece of rubber blazes without smoke or ash... Reply to I received these “oddities” on the “Kuznetsov Stoves” forum - where the principle of pyrolysis, high-quality combustion of fuel, in which there is no smoke or burning, and you get more heat than with ordinary wood combustion, was described “piece by piece” pellets, sawdust, etc... That’s when I started thinking about making something small, that is, compact, but, if possible, “putting” the principle of high-quality combustion into it...
I lightly mentioned my burner in one of the topics on our forum a year ago ( ). It was then that I began to correspond with one person. This is the last video that I sent to that friend a couple of days ago. So, this fall, that comrade also had a production need to heat his work space, and here he was, a couple of weeks ago, when he was making the first test ignition of his potbelly stove, calling with delight and sharing his emotional impressions... What is burning with the neighbors smoke in the chimney and with the formation of a large amount of ash - in his potbelly stove it burned without smoke or soot. The comrade even checked the chimney, but apart from the light, as he said, sweetish, barely noticeable smell of a fire, he did not find anything in his chimney... Now that comrade is making an automatic fuel supply to his potbelly stove, in addition to the fuel that was still a month old back, I wanted to take it to the trash so that it wouldn’t take up space...And so, if I mentioned fuel, I’ll tell you briefly about it. I live in the countryside, the endless fields of the Poltava region, where there are forests and no weeds are grown in the fields. So in our region there is sawdust at sawmills, and grain waste at currents, grain mills... In general, this is what pellets are made from. But pellets are not cheap, but the raw materials for them can often be obtained for free... So, I made a burner for this fuel. You can buy coal in Donbass for 500 UAH. to buy it for a ton, but here its price is twice as expensive, and sticking it into the firebox of your stove or boiler is a pleasant event. Firewood... Just 15 years ago, our KAMAZ sawed firewood cost about 100 UAH. (it’s funny to remember), but today a LAWN of logs that still need to be sawed and chopped costs up to 1000 UAH. About ten years ago, everyone in our area rushed to install wood-burning boilers, and today, gritting their teeth, they are returning to gas boilers again. But this is not so simple and not so cheap... Nearby, a gorgeous village in its natural beauty is Yareski. This is where Dovzhenko filmed his masterpieces. An amazing film about the beauty of man and nature was shot here - “The Voice of the Grass”. And today, instead of that gorgeous pine forest, there are stumps, all the way to the horizon. It is impossible to look at this without pain in the heart. The Germans did not allow this during the occupation...
And what is it like to heat with gas today... Yes, this is a separate, very sad topic. A house like mine, of standard construction, a quarter of a century ago, was built without any heat insulators. Because in those days they paid 3 rubles a month for gas, and burn that gas “as long as you want.” And today, in order for the house to be warm and cozy, when you open the windows for ventilation, up to 1,500 cubic meters of gas per month will burn in the boiler, because the walls are made of simple brick, and it freezes “at once.” And not everyone has enough money for wall-to-wall insulation. So people are now heating their houses, with great and great gas savings, so that the children have at least some penny left for their notebooks.
I went through all this and know perfectly well what it is like to have eternal coolness in the house. And now for the third year, I remember with a sad smile all my past “torments” with that gas and the lawlessness of the gas workers, when the floor of the village froze for 10 years - the gas pressure in the system did not correspond to the norm... Sorry for the unnecessary chatter, but for an example I’ll give you an example of those terrible pictures of the past... A neighbor got up early in the morning and, in order to prepare breakfast for her gas-worker husband, set the water on two burners to heat, and then poured everything into one saucepan so that she could have time to boil the pasta for her husband. The gas barely burned. And my husband was afraid to complain at work for such gas, because he knew that he would be fired on the same day...
Last winter, a guy came running to me in the evening to print out sketches for himself on a printer, sat for only about twenty minutes near the computer and, leaving the house, said, “It feels like the house is heating up.” Yes, now in the “Tashkent” house, you can safely open the windows in any cold, and look at the gas meter with a smile. What yesterday was composted or thrown in the trash today gives warm comfort in the house, which acts like a balm for the soul in these endless inflationary years...
Over the course of three heating seasons, I naturally encountered dozens of times with various problems in the operation of this burner - ignition, entering stable combustion mode, ash content, controlling the volume of fuel in the combustion chamber, heat penetration into the auger, combustion temperature, afterburning, etc. etc. But a “gut” always told me that the way out was somewhere nearby, so in my free time (at least a couple of days a month) I “shamanized” with that burner, achieving simplicity and at the same time reliability. And the main thing is that, if possible, do not use “lambda zones,” sensors, cybernetics-automation, but so that the natural properties of plasma flames maintain the stability and safety of the combustion process...
Registration: 01/22/12 Messages: 372 Thanks: 1,044
Registration: 01/22/12 Messages: 372 Thanks: 1,044
Here I have attached a short video about the burner, where I showed how I heat the house today.
Today we drown wheat grain waste, and those that have been removed from the winnowing bins by aeration, that is, there is nothing valuable in them, straw chaff, with dust and dirt, they are light (a bag weighs 12 kilograms). By the New Year there should be enough of them and we will switch to grain waste by seed, that’s the thing, they are heavy - a bag weighs 18-20 kilos, there are a lot of weed seeds, the remnants of not standard seeds, but they are oily and burn like coke...
We also tried to burn the sawdust, but all the sawdust we had was from a band saw - it was as fine as powder, there was a lot of volume, but little weight, the bag was only 8-10 kg. weighs We tried it on pellets - there is generally “PesTnya” - pure heat, without ash and ashes...
And regarding the ash content. At high temperatures, problems with ash are not as bad as with normal fuel combustion. An example was described on the “Kuznetsov Furnaces” forum when they were heating a large (in my opinion, three-story) building of a monastery under construction. So they heated it with freshly cut wood after clearing the territory of that monastery. And in three weeks of round-the-clock heating, only half a bucket of ash was formed...And on our forum, a lot of examples were described when, at high temperatures in the afterburning chamber, there was no soot or ash at the outlet, that is, the heat sink always remained clean...
Here I am, when “playing with flames” - I was convinced that if you create “intense heat” in the firebox itself, then problems with coking recede into the background, even if you burn with stale grain waste, in which dust collects - not just a little, but it - then, at low temperatures, it is precisely sintered into a “ground beetle”. If the combustion chamber is all heated with a dazzling white flame, then this embarrassment burns out without a trace... To be honest, I was surprised by this effect when 8 years ago I drowned even solid dust, dirt swept from the floor in my potbelly stove at high temperatures, which had pieces of earth and sand - everything burned, as they say, “without soot and dust,” but unfortunately, the walls of that stove, welded from sheet metal, began to flow and melted. This means you need a good lining on all sides, and then you can safely raise the heat in the firebox with high-quality airflow...
Now I only get ash in the burner when I turn it off. The fanning of the flame stops, the fuel supply stops, but, unfortunately, the pyrolysis itself does not stop, it slowly stops its activity over several hours. The chamber cools down, but the fuel in that burner continues to smolder and if there is a lot of dust and sand, cakes begin to form. But if the fuel is clean, then ash will simply form there, which will simply be blown out of that burner the next time it is started. But if “cakes” have formed there, then before starting, I simply open the “ash window” at the bottom of the burner and remove those cakes.
Overall, there are pros and cons to this burner. The advantage is that everything that can be fed into the firebox with an auger burns. Moreover, it burns with a colossal temperature at the outlet, even on straw - iron can be burned. And the control is simple, more fuel means more heat, less fuel is supplied and the heat output is less. You can do Tashkent in your home in three hours, or you can carefully maintain the optimal temperature throughout the day. Another plus is that when turned off, smoldering continues for ~ 8-12 hours, which in turn makes the entire system energy-independent from power outages. If there is no electricity for an hour, the burner resumes its combustion mode within 2-3 minutes. If I turn off the burner for 10 hours, then it’s enough to turn on the bag on the control panel and the fan will blow up the remaining smoldering and the burner itself, although after 10-15 minutes it will start to burn, and after the same amount of time, the lining of the chamber will heat up and the burner will begin to produce heat in the afterburner in its usual mode.
But there are also embarrassments... For example, you turned it off in the evening and turned it on the next day, and after half an hour you hear that it is already burning “all over”, but there is no characteristic hum that always accompanies high-temperature combustion (as in a blowtorch) - that means one hundred percent - after yesterday's shutdown, ground beetle cakes formed there. Then we approach the burner, open the ash pan window and remove that embarrassment, while remembering what we poured into the fuel bunker yesterday, squinting from the dust...
In general, the burner is not ideal, but sometimes, in a free moment, you go up to it and looking at the flame, you warm your soul, because it already warms the house perfectly, and for some reason your mood lifts looking at that flame... Sometimes, visiting guests me They can’t understand, but when I suggest they look into the bunker with fuel, then they, in some kind of enthusiastic bewilderment, often say, “We thought that you were drowning with something special, but this is garbage...”
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Newbie
Registration: 01/22/12 Messages: 372 Thanks: 1,044
Good evening, Rebentrop. I have attached a drawing here in RAR, but it is in the “KOMPAS-12” format (I sent it to a friend in the summer, so it remained ready on the computer). At the same time, a fragment from the price list of the Poltava electric motor...
I've tried a lot of fuel supply options before... Well, as for me, smooth means a uniform fuel supply - the key to stable and uniform combustion. For example, a plunger feed, a simple and reliable system, but at the same time it gives sharp changes in the temperature regime in the combustion chamber (the previous portion of fuel burns out, the temperature and combustion mode have stabilized, and in each ball there is a full portion of cold fuel... ). And the auger has its own problems, but for that it provides a smooth movement of fuel when it carefully moves from the cold volume of the auger to the hot zone, where the heating of the fuel begins, etc., until the fuel gets into the hot environment of the firebox.. .
As for geared motors, in my opinion the main thing here is reliability and low cost. You can put anything there that comes to hand (which is what I did about five years ago). It was then that our FEM opened the production of gearboxes here, and what is characteristic is that their gearboxes are many times cheaper than imported ones, special ones, for pyrolyzers...
But here, I repeat, it’s not about the burner, there’s nothing ingenious about it, everything is very simple, it’s all about a high-quality lined combustion chamber, where there is no “cold core”... A friend actually makes this “image” in a potbelly stove - auger, retort, blowing... And it seems to work
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Registration: 10/24/13 Messages: 3 Thanks: 5
Newbie
Registration: 10/24/13 Messages: 3 Thanks: 5 Address: Russia
Hello Valera2829. Thank you very much for the price list and for the diagram, but I couldn’t look at the diagram, I have RAR installed, but I don’t know what to do with the compass!... as for the cost of the motor, it’s a bit expensive for me, maybe something can you recommend something less expensive? Now on my auger there is a windshield wiper motor from a VAZ 07, if you heat it with husks, it does an excellent job, because the husks are light and there is not much resistance. But at the moment I’m burning with husk pellets, and they are correspondingly much heavier; the motor, of course, pulls them if you put a maximum of half a bag of them into the bunker; if more, the motor stops. Based on your experience, maybe you can tell me something! And you also write that your friend uses a blower in his potbelly stove, if you know, then tell me how, I will be very grateful to you!
Registration: 01/22/12 Messages: 372 Thanks: 1,044
Good evening, Rebentrop. If you have a problem with "Krmpas", I posted "Autocad is not commercial" on file sharing - at the very least, using that AutoCAD you can make out those drawings and diagrams (http://files.mail.ru/60BB924F7D824245B1798F4553213A75)
As for which geared motor is suitable, there are a lot of options. The main thing is that there is enough power to supply fuel and to steal that fuel from the bunker. The gearbox from the windshield wiper is really weak for this, and that’s putting it mildly. For example, five years ago I wandered around the markets of Kharkov and Poltava and took whatever I came across. And already here, in place, I assembled it, somehow it spun and the module (thickness) of the teeth on the gears of those gearboxes withstood the load.
Here I have attached a short video where you can see what I have attached to the auger drive...
And this is only a part of those options... It happened that I removed the impeller from the engine and put the gear motor on it, and then set the rotation of that motor with a belt drive from another motor. But even then I was convinced that it was more expensive to sculpt something “more interesting” from trash, and I almost gave in to the temptation to buy an imported toy, but when I carefully read the reviews, I refrained. Those “things” are very delicate and are designed only for their standard fuel. And it will be rather weak for our brother. Today I drown with sawdust, and tomorrow I throw coal into the bunker, and that imported toy will “die” from such blasphemy...
But today, getting a suitable gear motor is even easier... It’s just that the Internet has become more accessible than five to ten years ago, and naturally, everyone rushed there with their suggestions. Everything imaginable and inconceivable is on sale. Often, sellers have no idea about the real cost of the goods, sometimes they don’t even know what they are selling...
For example, in the summer, I accidentally typed in the search engine the model of my side-discharge blower, added - buy, Ukraine and the search engine gave me a whole “footcloth” of sellers of this product. One friend offered this unit for 1500 UAH. I was surprised, because a new one costs from 10,000 UAH. It turned out that my friend didn’t even know what he was selling; he called it a vacuum pump. Another water pump was sold as a fan... Another “living” example - today the friend who makes his own potbelly stove called and found and ordered a gear motor with a power of 250 watts from "Aukro" - for only 250 UAH. (yes, it’s new - it costs one and a half grand)...
So, good luck in your search, because it (the gear motor) is definitely nearby, lying covered in dust and waiting for you!
p. s. And regarding how that friend makes his potbelly stove - honestly, I, in my opinion, have no right to post someone else’s work, but I have attached my advice to that guy here in the form of a drawing... Details - a little later (I have to get up in four hours , and I haven’t gone to bed yet)
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Registration: 10/24/13 Messages: 3 Thanks: 5
Newbie
Registration: 10/24/13 Messages: 3 Thanks: 5 Address: Russia
Valery, hello, thank you very, very much for such extensive material, honestly, I didn’t even hope that you would answer at all, why the hell does anyone have my problems in quotes... in general, regarding the engine, I understood the limitations of any doesn’t exist, which means I’ll definitely find something... I haven’t looked at the diagrams yet, but I’ve already downloaded AutoCAD - thank you a thousand times, as soon as I look at it I’ll definitely post...
Registration: 03/16/09 Messages: 14,023 Thanks: 11,750
Dear
You are amazing! We made a very interesting burner. Without knowing it, you yourself have produced an analogue of the very expensive and advanced boilers produced in the West. These boilers are built according to the same principles and layout that you used in your product. For example, a very expensive and venerable bowler hat is attached.Just bravo to you!
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So, about five years ago, I read an article with attached formulas, which explained some, at first glance, fabulous phrases. There it was told and explained that with the usual combustion of wood, on grates in a stove or on a fire, one “volume” of heat can be obtained. But if you burn that wood in some kind of “cunning” installation, you will get THREE times more heat. But it was necessary to create conditions in that wise stove when the already burnt combustion products had to pass through the hot coke and then a “miracle” would happen, carbon monoxide would turn into methane, and water vapor would decompose into “explosive gas” - and the combustion process repeats, which will double the caloric value of the heat transfer of your flame. And then, it was necessary to pass that flame through a combustion catalyst consisting of aluminum oxide - and then the temperature, supposedly, should rise by 300-400 degrees.
Comrade Kuznetsov created such conditions in his furnaces. He described and showed what and how. But I wanted to make something compact, with the ability to move that installation. And a kiln containing several tons of bricks is stationary “equipment.” You won’t drag it around your yard in order to heat it in one place - a boiler with water, in another place - an air heat sink (dryer), in a third - a blacksmith’s forge, and in a fourth - just like that, to have fun in the fight against spring and autumn frosts - at night, warming the street air near the flower beds... This is only in the fairy tale “At the command of the pike...” Ivanushka was trotting on his stove. And for me, in place of the magic pike, there is the simple prose of life...
To be honest, I wanted to attach a video in this place, where this fall, at one end of the yard, everything froze “to the roots,” and at the other end, where the boiler is located, although everything was covered with snow, nothing was frozen over. .. But this is probably not the main thing...
Combustion of coke in a burner...
How to make combustion products pass through hot coke, and even in a very small volume of the combustion chamber, turned out to be not difficult. Simply, the limited volume of the firebox, with forced airflow, the flame in this firebox swirls and the flame begins to “circle” around that coke. And at this moment that miracle happens when carbon monoxide, passing through coke, turns into methane, and water vapor decomposes into hydrogen and oxygen and these “explosive mixtures” burn, adding heat to the flame. And this is where the second “miracle” happens. That hot, sintered fraction of the fuel, in the form of hot coke, burns without a trace... And this process itself is very interesting, and quite funny to watch how the sintered mass of fuel (sawdust, grain waste) suddenly turns from red to dazzling white and straight to eyes” begins to melt, it’s hard to find another word, but this process is very similar to how snow melts... Sometimes, pieces of the red caked mass break off from the total volume with an edder and fall to the bottom of the chamber. There they begin to become white-hot, all the while decreasing in volume, and in the end it completely “burns out” - it becomes weightless, begins to sway in the flames and disappears...
This spectacle is fascinating, but capturing it on camera at home is very, very problematic. In the combustion chamber itself there are colossal temperatures and at a great distance, in order to protect the chamber, it is not possible to remove the combustion process. Everything is filmed as a solid white spot, and only from a close distance the “brains” of that camera “squint” the diaphragm and it’s already possible to make out something. But thermal radiation tries to punish the camera that, without asking, tries to spy on the vital activity of the flame, the lenses melt, and the pieces of glass installed between the camera and the viewing window burst...
From a whole heap of videos, I selected a couple, and on them, it seems that you can see with your own eyes the process of converting burnt combustion products into “explosive gases”, and most importantly, you can see with your own eyes where the ash goes during combustion in that burner...
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