Wood Fired Tank Heater

B

big a

Member

• Jan 9, 2015

• #1

Got some horses at a place with no electricity. Been chopping ice, but that's been a losing battle. Been looking for a wood burning tank heater, and can't find one anywhere.

Are there any commercial ones available? About to fire up the welder and get creative, but no time!

 

Greg_Ky

Member

• Jan 9, 2015

• #1

Click the link an scroll to the bottom of the page..
Poke Here

 

N

notjustair

Well-known Member

• Jan 9, 2015

• #1

We had an LP one growing up. It seemed to work well but it
was a fairly big affair. A big tin box with a smoke stack as I
recall.

I'm in the same situation you are at one pasture. This week
has sure made me rack my brain looking for solutions. I would
get an LP unit, but what I need to keep thawed is one of those
automatic gravity fed pond waterers. Right now I have it shut
off and I am chopping the pond all day.

 

4

44 massey

Member

• Jan 9, 2015

• #1

Dad used to have one or two of that style and they worked good as I recall!!!

 

K

Kerry50

Member

• Jan 9, 2015

• #1

A tire tank below one of my ponds. This pic was taken Thursday morning when it was down around 0. Inside the tank is a hose I turn on in the winter, keeps the water circulating so it doesn't freeze. Some guys around here used to have a "whirrly bird thing of a ma jig" that was on an axle, and they would back it down into the pond. The wind would turn the propeller which was in the water to keep it from freezing. I don't know if any of that made any sense or not, lol. Maybe that would work for ya and something you could build fairly easy. I will look and see if I can find a pic of one somewhere.

 

V

vscummins

Well-known Member

• Jan 9, 2015

• #1

That looks like a good idea I wonder how much fuel that uses .

 

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BANDITFARMER

Well-known Member

• Jan 9, 2015

• #1

Why not get a kerosene wick heater to put under the tank. There the same as the old huracaine lamps people had in there houses just shorter. When I still had cows I had two under a 100 oval tank and they work good. had to refill them about every 2 days. The tanks never froze over. Bandit

 

D

Dick2

Well-known Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

We tried every type on the market years ago and the most reliable was the old wood burning tank heater. The bottom section was horizontal and hat to be weighted down into the tank. The upper section was at about 30 degrees from vertical.

I'm guessing that it was about 14 inches square (welded steel) and both sections were about 24 inches long. We put the wood into the angled upper section and gravity pulled the wood down as it burned. I think we also used lignite coal in it sometimes when we wanted to keep fire overnight. The upper section had a cover to protect the fire. The lower section had a small steel tube for a chimney. Can't remember what the vent looked like, but there must have been one somewhere - maybe in the cover?

Those heaters eventually rusted out. Probably would have lasted longer if they were made of stainless steel.

 

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Nebraska Cowman

Well-known Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

I was thinking I saw them advertised online just
recently. If I run onto it I'll post the link.

 

1

1370 pwr in ne

Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

Young,s welding at Friend NE.402 947 5131.They have them you will need a long extension for the exhaust, 5or 6ft of 4inch stove pipe and some weight of some sort to hold it down.suit case weights work well.Better ask on the length because they are pretty long.Our Bomgaars store has them also.

 

S

S2710

Well-known Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

Neighbor had one like that and he had a small LP tank about 150 or 200 gal. and it would last all winter in Wisconsin.

Bob

 

Geo-TH,In

Well-known Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

I wish I had taken a pic of my nephew's swimming
pool heater, it's what you need. My sister, her
husband, and two sons are in a family run HVAC
business. My nephew came across some used copper,
5/8. He coiled about 50 ft of it and built a fire
under it using scrap pallets. Real redneck. He
pumped the water from pool filter through the
copper and got hot water.

I worked with another redneck who made his own
hot tub using a metal water tank, oblong shaped.
He had the tank sitting over a hole in the ground
where he built a fire. You can't get any more
redneck that.

If you make a tank heater, you may have a
freezing and cracking issue when fire goes out
and the water inside freezes. So raise the tank
enough to build a fire box under it.

 

I

IA Steve

Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

http://csd.craigslist.org/grq/4786887865.html

 

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WCS

Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

Here's my wood burning stock tank heater. Hope the picture
uploads.

 

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sideconsole4020guy

Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

The old Sebring wood fired tank heater built not too far from me in George Iowa. We had them when i was younger then dad got one that was built in Menno SD that I still use today.

 

Pitalplace

Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

(quoted from post at 12:19:24 01/10/15) Here's my wood burning stock tank heater. Hope the picture
uploads.

Click to expand...

Dad had 3 or 4 of them and I was very glad that the replaced them with propane heaters. We burnt lots of pickup loads of old ash fence posts.

 

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vscummins

Well-known Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

That's amazing that might just be the thing I need but maybe next winter we've been having 45 degree temps and higher this winter.

 

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uncle scat

Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

Had 3 25years ago. Cowboy was the name. 100to120 lbs cast iron. Lit them in morning ,let them go out at night unless 0 or below . One was by silo,very windy,ate a lot of wood. Burnt junk wood during day, old boards etc. All tanks replaced in 90s with mirifount waterers. A lot less work. Silo location mirifount still has to be thawed out in morning with 5 gallon bucket of hot water but I don't have to carry wood. Cowboy heaters worked good in open tank if you have a ready supply of wood, time to fire it. Make sure you find one that it isn't cracked, (tank freezes solid around heater) because it's junk if has a crack. Have fun thanks.

 

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Wheatfarmer

Member

• Jan 10, 2015

• #1

Ours back in the day was a small Gal tank that drip fuel oil down into it. Every now and then Dad would turn it off at night. Let the tank freeze and we could make Ice Cream the next day.