I used to do something like this for tent heating and I'm trying to figure out how to make it work (safely) for mini-cam per van.
Soy wax is quite clean burning and can be purchased in bulk granules for $1.15 USD per pound. That makes it more economical than propane or really anything else. It also burns dry and can be compared to running a kerosene lantern. The best feature it is that it's a solid, dense, non-volatile fuel that can be stored anywhere.
Of course you want to have some ventilation. Do NOT use parrafin wax as it will leave soot in your nose and everywhere.
You can get 500+ watts of heat that will run all night with a steel pot, cookie tin or other container. Here's how.
A normal candle wick give you something like 80 watts, but you can get more by using thicker wicks, like wooden wicks, but anything will work, even strips of cardboard. For this you use more than one wick, but the using fewer thicker ones makes lighting the heater up easier.
And it's about that simple. Fill the steel pot partway up with wax, jam your wicks down into it and light them.
I've kept a tent nice and toasty and dry this way, but for a camper van I'm thinking I need added safety, like a closed lid pot with small holes in the upper portion of the pot and in the lid. This will prevent accidental contact with the flame but still allow airflow.
I've seen these "flower pot" candle heaters online but that's silly. Even if you heat up the flower pot, you're still only getting 80 watts from a single wick. But if you stuff five or six thick wicks into that pot and light them, you'll get 500+ watts easy. I've only done this with a smaller pot, but I'd imagine if you did with a big kettle cooker or something you could get 1000 wats or better out of it
The key, of course, would be making it safe to use in the enclosed space I have. But I guess it'd be no different than making space to run a propane stovetop or or woodstove or kerosene heater for heat. Thoughts?
Soy wax is quite clean burning and can be purchased in bulk granules for $1.15 USD per pound. That makes it more economical than propane or really anything else. It also burns dry and can be compared to running a kerosene lantern. The best feature it is that it's a solid, dense, non-volatile fuel that can be stored anywhere.
Of course you want to have some ventilation. Do NOT use parrafin wax as it will leave soot in your nose and everywhere.
You can get 500+ watts of heat that will run all night with a steel pot, cookie tin or other container. Here's how.
A normal candle wick give you something like 80 watts, but you can get more by using thicker wicks, like wooden wicks, but anything will work, even strips of cardboard. For this you use more than one wick, but the using fewer thicker ones makes lighting the heater up easier.
And it's about that simple. Fill the steel pot partway up with wax, jam your wicks down into it and light them.
I've kept a tent nice and toasty and dry this way, but for a camper van I'm thinking I need added safety, like a closed lid pot with small holes in the upper portion of the pot and in the lid. This will prevent accidental contact with the flame but still allow airflow.
I've seen these "flower pot" candle heaters online but that's silly. Even if you heat up the flower pot, you're still only getting 80 watts from a single wick. But if you stuff five or six thick wicks into that pot and light them, you'll get 500+ watts easy. I've only done this with a smaller pot, but I'd imagine if you did with a big kettle cooker or something you could get 1000 wats or better out of it
The key, of course, would be making it safe to use in the enclosed space I have. But I guess it'd be no different than making space to run a propane stovetop or or woodstove or kerosene heater for heat. Thoughts?
