Coleman stove-Computer Heat pipe heater

[EL34xyz]

I  experimented with a simple way to get less heat than my Mr Buddy portable
My Mr Buddy will run me out of my van. It's way too hot at 4000 BTU (on Low)
Even the golf cart heaters are 3800 BTU and that is way too much for a small space

A long time ago I saw that Bob used the same coleman single burner stove that I do and he said he uses it to heat his van
Just today I saw that he has a new video about his modified stove heater

I wanted a way to harness the heat from my stove and blow it sideways instead of just letting it rise to to the ceiling

I rigged up an old aluminum pan with a computer heat pipe on top
The heat pipe has a block of aluminum at the bottom and 8 copper tubes that transfer heat up to a finned heat sink
The heat sink has a 12 volt fan blowing air through the heat sink

The experiment worked great but I found that the 12 volt fan runs way faster than I needed it to and so I rigged up a PWM LED dimmer so I can slow down the fan

It works awesome
I set the stove burner as low as I can without the flame going out
At temps in the 30's, the van stays a nice comfy 60 degrees 
My van is well insulated and that is with reflectix panels on all the windows to insulate them also
I can turn the stove up higher if I need more heat than that.

If I get time, I want to take the experiment a step further and make the unit into a small box with a 1 lb tank
That would require the tank be side by side with the heat pipe
The tank has to be upright and a Z shaped propane delivery tube to take the gas from the top of the tank, back down to the bottom of the box
That tube would go down to a small single burner stove element and a big block of aluminum above that to capture the heat
Don't know when I would have time to do that as the current heater on the stove works really well

Here's some pics of the heater and a youtube video

[video=youtube]

 

[wagoneer]

I would like to thank you for this excellent IDEA.

 

[morongobill]

Bob should interview you and tour your van on Youtube!

Subbed to your YT channel as well.

 

[GotSmart]

Make sure to have a good co detector.

 

[tx2sturgis]

What about the teflon coating on that pan? Did it melt? Scorch? Burn?

Back when I first got my RV and heated with the stove on low, I found that turning the burners down really low, sometimes the flame went OUT. Now you have raw propane being emitted.

I'll stick to using heaters for heat and stoves for cooking.

 

[MLV_Tim]

perty ingenious if I do say so myself!

 

[breaker1nine]

cool idea. thermocouple needed if flame goes out but how to do that. i would like to see a rig to lower the flame even more with thermocouple attached somehow and somehow lower the drip of propane.

 

[EL34xyz]

Thanks all

I don't think I would run this rig while sleeping

I never smelled anything coming off the old Teflon pan
Then again, the heat level is way lower than frying something in the pan

I do have a CO alarm in the van, but my Mr Buddy never even triggered it
And that was a bunch more propane being burned

A thermo couple device would do the trick to shut off the gas if the flame went out
Maybe scavenge something from a dead Mr Buddy?
If you have ever run one of these stoves really low, you know that just by waking by it, the flames get influenced by the air draft you make

Then again, I would like to get away from the stove itself and make a self contained rig
It's one of those ideas that is rolling around inside my brain
Just finding the time to pursue it is another thing

 

[EL34xyz]

BTW, this is the computer heat pipe I bought on Amazon
It was $14.99 on November 8 2017
I noticed they jack the price up and down on this thing all the time

One week the price is low, next week it' high
Currently it's $29.04, but I have seen it as high a $50 before

Amazon and their price games

I liked this unit because it had 8 copper heat pipes and a big radiator
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KBXKP8W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

 

[John61CT]

Great science project, but yes never while sleeping and beware offgassing.

Bit too complex for my taste.

Cast iron or closed pot of water on the super-low stove to act as a thermal buffer / store.

Cheap little fan pointing downward to circulate.

And done.

 

[tx2sturgis]

BTW, does your screen name EL34 have anything to do with the audio tubes?

 

 

[FinallyFree]

Brilliant, and your presentation was well done. Love your build out.

 

[EL34xyz]

BTW, does your screen name EL34 have anything to do with the audio tubes?


Yes, my business is Tube amp building supplies for vacuum tube guitar amplifiers
I used the name EL34 in games going back to mid 90's
Quake 3 was probably the first time I used it

So I have been using it ever since on forums

 

 

[wagoneer]

Howard Dumble comes to mind Santa Cruz not far from me. Do you do mods?
Sorry that was off topic.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Cool...I have a few EL34 and EL84 stereo amps, is the reason I asked...

I even have a review of a little tube amp published over on Tube Depot. 

Well small world.

Ok, back to pipe heaters and heat pipes....

 

[EL34xyz]

What about the teflon coating on that pan? Did it melt? Scorch? Burn?

Back when I first got my RV and heated with the stove on low, I found that turning the burners down really low, sometimes the flame went OUT. Now you have raw propane being emitted.

I'll stick to using heaters for heat and stoves for cooking.

Howard Dumble comes to mind Santa Cruz not far from me. Do you do mods?
Sorry that was off topic.

No, sorry, only tube amp parts
http://hoffmanamps.com

 

[EL34xyz]

I thought I would do another test this morning of the stove heater
BTW, my van is in my driveway, I don't live in the van

I meant to get out early when it was 13 degrees F but I forgot

It was 23 degrees F when I entered the van and 23 F is the high of the day

I set the stove flame on low and the 12 volt stove fan on high so it would blow the heat away to the side faster

One hour later is was 44 degrees F in the van

Pretty good considering the entire interior shell keeps radiating cold and it's way harder to bring up the temp from a very low temp like that

It way easier to maintain a temp or bring the temp back up a bit if the interior has already been warmed up previously

Anywho, just throwing out info here if case anyone wants to try this, modify it and take it a bit farther

 

[tx2sturgis]

Yes, we need to plan a man in a van with a fan blowing on a pan.

lol....and I hope his name is not Stan. 

 

[EL34xyz]

May I suggest, if you have a similar day, to run the test over without the computer parts, just the fan blowing on the pan. I am curious if there would be any difference since the flame is a constant and the only source of heat.

Guy

I don't think I am not going out to the van today, it's 5 degrees F right now  :-/


Also, I don't want to take my rig apart
It has thermal paste between the pan and the aluminum block on the heat pipe which gets messy and I don't have any more of it on hand

I probably have several old mother boards and computer cases with 12 volt fans
Most like a bunch of people here do also


If someone else wanted to try that....
You would have to set the fan off to the side away from the heat because they are plastic
And you would have to raise it up and aim it at the pan so you did not blow out the burner flame
And somehow hold it in that position so it did not vibrate around and move

 

[skyl4rk]

I have always thought that it would be ideal to have a built in duct running from the ceiling to the floor, with a small fan to blow the hot air near the roof at one's feet.