Flower pot heater test

[Van-Tramp]

I have been reading about these flower pot heaters for some time, and I understand that some find them helpful. I’ve also seen the theory debunked, but for the minimal cost (less than $10) I thought I’d give it a try.

I set out to pickup a few small clay pots, only to find out that it is the wrong time of the year to consider buying clay pots. Walmart had 3 pots, all cracked, and none that were the right size. I had to go to Ace Hardware but only found a single pot in my size range and for double the cost of Walmart ($4). I also need a bolt and a few washers and nuts anyway ($1.50) so Ace was already on my list. I intentionally bought extra washers and nuts so I can add smaller pots inside my medium one… once I find more in stock. 50 tea-light candles cost another $2 but finalized my startup costs.

The finished product is simply a clay pot turned upside down with a metal bolt (which allows me to combine multiple pots later) all sitting above a tea-light candle. I decided to use my stove so the candle can sit below the pot while the pot has a safe place to reside. I could have even used a propane burner to pre-heat the pot if needed... Read more on my blog

 

[akblack10]

Van-Tramp, Thanks for posting your flower-pot heater test, I too was wondering if it actually worked! You answered my question! Stay warm!
-AK

 

[AimlessWanderLust]

Thanks indeed! I could only try to explain why it would seem to help, but never tried it myself.

 

[akrvbob]

I think you should at least summarize your conclusions here for us and have us go to the blog to read the details. It doesn't seem right to just have the opening paragraphs.
Bob

 

[Zil]

Yea, no heat.

 

[Donedirtcheap]

Good job on your write up and your point about the physics of it. I have said a lot about candles and probably tick some people off but to me its just a bad idea. Sorry. The candle gives off a certain amount of heat and that's all there is to it. The heat that is going into the flower pot or frying pan or whatever object you use is just heat that has not yet gone out into the surrounding area. When the candle is extinguished the heat in the object then dissipates into the area it would have gone into if it hadn't gone into the object.
There is X amount of energy in the candle and buying 10 flower pots wont help. Buy 10 candles, it may provide enough heat but you need to manually ventilate just as you would for any non vented heater. In my opinion its very bad to breath the soot.

Any burning process creates carbon monoxide so even candles need a window or vent open for fresh air.
A buddy heater is very clean hard to beat but there are vented and thermostatically controlled cat's available but they are pricey.


http://ventedcatheater.com/2.html


http://www.usfa.fema.gov/citizens/home_fire_prev/candle.shtm

http://www.burnsurvivorsttw.org/candles.html

 

[RVTravel]

SUMMARY:

"The candle produces the same amount of heat with or without the flower pot, that is just physics. The flower pots just acts as a dispersal and storage device for that heat, a heat-battery of sorts. The real question was, does the flower pot continue giving off any significant heat after the candles have used up their fuel, and for how long? Not much, and not long as I found out."

 

[Van-Tramp]

Last night I did go for a full-burn test. I started before the sun set, lighting 5 candles to burn for a few hours before it got too cold. 4 more candles were lit after the 5 went out.

As the sun dropped, so did the temps in the van. The thermometer was only about 8 inches away from the flower pot, but even after hours of "heating" the thermometer measured no noticeable increase in temperature.

As I said above, the idea is still a nice novelty and looks better than a simple candle being lit, but as for it being a heater... it simply can not heat any space larger than a few cubic feet. With a van being hundreds of cubic feet of air, a few candles as a heat source is really just a waste of money.

 

[kidkilowatt]

For my purpose, the significant thing is not that it can be used with candles, but that it can used on top of my kitchen's single propane burner.
In other words, my kitchen burner can now be my heater. I haven't made one yet, but I plan to use it because it seems like a great space saver.
It certainly wouldn't be safe to use while sleeping, but I don't keep any kind of heater on while I'm sleeping.

Steve

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

I find that lighting 5 candles and putting blankets and papers over the tops of them does a MUCH better job of heating your van...........for the LAST time. <G>
KinA

P.S. That reminds me of a poster I saw in a hospital emergency room , it read : PARENTS !! , buy your child a motorcycle.....for his LAST birthday ! ( I kinda sorta thimk they dont like bikes.....)

 

[ccbreder]

Steve, it could put you to sleep.

 

[VanDwellerMod]

A guest post as emailed to the forums admin:

I don't own a RV and Didnt want to register just to post this:
https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Flower-pot-heater-test

Concerning Flower pot Heaters:


Space heater capacities generally range between 10,000 BTU and 40,000
Btu per hour, and commonly run on electricity, propane, natural gas,
and kerosene (see wood and pellet heating for information on wood and
pellet stoves).

Now, how many candle do we need to produce 10 kBTU/h? It turns out that
the energy output of candles is well studied:

From measurements of the mean mass loss rate (0.105 g/min) and hceff
(43.8 kJ/g), the steady-state heat release rate from the candle was
calculated as 77±9 W

Which can be converted to be 263 BTU/h.

Therefore, by division, a 6.8kBTU room heater corresponds to 26 candles.
It is easy to see that the heat released by 4 candles, as in the claim, is
6.5 times smaller than an electric heater and thus vastly insufficient to
heat a room.

Best regards,
Rick