After ten years, I got tired of being cold

Edit: March 12, 2013, new post #103. Sorry to bump the thread, but wanted to add to the thread.

My 60x60x16 steel building was finished, closed in early 2000. Since then I've depended on my old 85K BTU torpedo heater for heat when I had to work on something in the winter. It would raise the temperature gradually over a period of a couple of hours, by which time you had to get out due to CO the heater produces. I've spent the last three years or so researching used/waste oil fueled heaters and finally decided with all the early cold weather we've had this year, that enough was enough.

I started talking with Mark Testerman at Lanair about their heater packages and then I found a Lanair heater on Craigslist, so I went and looked at it and talked with the owner, but discovered it had some problems that I was not willing to deal with. I talked with Kevin at Lanair who is their technical support guru and we discussed this used heater at length and I sent him pics of what I suspected was a problem and he essentially confirmed it. He wasn't trying to sell me a heater, just trying to make sure I was happy at whatever I ended up with, especially if it had the Lanair name on it. After asking him some questions about new units, I ended up calling Mark back and ordering a new 200,000 BTU package with the 215 gal fuel tank and stand for the heater (I could hang it also, but this is MUCH easier). I ordered Wednesday, they shipped Thursday, and hopefully I'll see it next week.

MX-200 heater package





I think they must have alot of the large fuel tanks (215 gal) on hand as they gave me the package with the large tank and stand, plus the optional metering type fuel pump (no need to adjust fuel pressure manually) for the price of the small fuel tank package and standard fuel pump. Lots of cost up front, but little future cost other than electricity. Saves trips to the parts place to get rid of oil also.

I have a couple of neighbors and several co-workers who said they would give me their oil when they drained it, one co-worker says he has a 55 gal barrel nearly full of oil he's been accumulating over the years. I told him as long as it was not contaminated with antifreeze and brake fluid, or light solvents or gasoline, I could use it. I have nearly 50 gals I've accumulated myself over the past couple of years.

I'll update this when the heater arrives and when I get it installed and operating.

Charles

Very nice, I wish mine was on a tank stand. Does the gun swing out for maintence on that unit?. Do they included the chimney kit also?.

Charles, check with an automatic transmission shop for used oil. They drain plenty.

I wish you luck on getting enough oil to run a whole heating season. Keep in mind you may have to start doing oil changes for family and freinds and neighbors to get enough to supply enough fuel for the season. But at 50 miles south of ATL you may not have a problem.
________
WEED VAPORIZER

Sounds like an excellent solution for you. BTW: yikes! 60x60? Congrats!

Can it run heating oil if you run out of waste oil? Is there periodic cleaning you need to do if running waste oil? At an assumed 80% efficiency, your heater should produce ~ 44 btu/sq ft. This actually seems a little high for your climate. What winter temps are you experiencing, and are you planning on keeping the temp low then bumping it up, or leaving it at one set temp?

I was told they use about a gallon an hour. That is a lot of waste oil to come up with. I have a 3 bay shop full time and I only generate about 750 to 1000 gallons a year. Just saying.....

trackwelder said:

Very nice, I wish mine was on a tank stand. Does the gun swing out for maintence on that unit?. Do they included the chimney kit also?.

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Chimney and all, complete package. Its a Simpson Class A chimney so I can get replacement or additional parts, brackets, braces, etc, if I need. http://www.northlineexpress.com seems to be a good source. I may need a extended brace for the top of the chimney. I opted for the thru the wall package to avoid roof leaks and associated problems.

The burner gun removes rather easily for maintenance and the heater opens up for cleaning by removing some panels and 16 bolts that retain the "cold" end of the burner can.

Garys Garage said:

I was told they use about a gallon an hour. That is a lot of waste oil to come up with. I have a 3 bay shop full time and I only generate about 750 to 1000 gallons a year. Just saying.....

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Actually this one uses more than that, 1.44 gph, but that is running hour, and it won't run continuously, few minutes on, few minutes off, and it won't be on unless I'm working in there. It rarely gets below freezing in the building, so that is not a concern (was 13 outside last Monday morning and was 29 in the building, which is only for a couple of hours that it was that low).

I weighed the concern of not enough fuel, but this is Georgia, it was nearly 60 today, will be 20 in a couple of days, then 60 three or four days after that..........

Charles

jvitez said:

Sounds like an excellent solution for you. BTW: yikes! 60x60? Congrats!

Can it run heating oil if you run out of waste oil? Is there periodic cleaning you need to do if running waste oil? At an assumed 80% efficiency, your heater should produce ~ 44 btu/sq ft. This actually seems a little high for your climate. What winter temps are you experiencing, and are you planning on keeping the temp low then bumping it up, or leaving it at one set temp?

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Yes they can burn heating oil, diesel, kero, ****** fluid, gear oil,motor oil etc.

I have in the past run low on waste oil. I have no problem paying for oil just as long as I do not have to run that damn salimander.

jvitez said:

Sounds like an excellent solution for you. BTW: yikes! 60x60? Congrats!

Can it run heating oil if you run out of waste oil? Is there periodic cleaning you need to do if running waste oil? At an assumed 80% efficiency, your heater should produce ~ 44 btu/sq ft. This actually seems a little high for your climate. What winter temps are you experiencing, and are you planning on keeping the temp low then bumping it up, or leaving it at one set temp?

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I've swayed back and forth over the needed BTU capacity for a long time now. Finally settled on 200K as being a comfortable number. The building is tall, 16 ft eave, 21 ft peak, 66,600 cu/ft inside. Problem is, it has one wall that is largely un-insulated (its an aircraft hangar) and the doors on that East wall are 14 ft high, and 56 ft wide covered in translucent fiberglass, the north wall has a 10x10 roll up sheet door (thin metal, no insulation of course) and the west wall has a 12w x 14h glass sectional garage door, so no insulation there either. Quite a bit of heat loss.

Generally I will never need to raise the temp in the building over 30 degrees, and probably less than that usually.

As for cleaning, you open it up and vacuum it out at the end of each season, basically that is all it needs plus fuel strainer cleaning.

I also have Ceiling Fans which will help the situation greatly.

trackwelder said:

Yes they can burn heating oil, diesel, kero, ****** fluid, gear oil,motor oil etc.

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trackwelder said:

I have in the past run low on waste oil. I have no problem paying for oil just as long as I do not have to run that damn salimander.

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Lanair says the mix cannot exceed 50 wt, thats the only restriction. The optional metering fuel pump eliminates the need to adjust fuel pressure as it varies with viscosity, the pump handles it automatically. The tech support guy told me it made it very easy to set the fire, as the only adjustment becomes air pressure, keeps you from having to juggle two different pressures to get the fire right.

I agree on the salamander. Its been a good heater, and I'm sure it will get used occasionally for something, but the noise and CO are troublesome, I won't miss them.

Charles

What is your source of compressed air for the heater and the cfm rating for the burner?

tcianci said:

What is your source of compressed air for the heater and the cfm rating for the burner?

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The paperwork calls for 2 cfm at 15 psi. I have to supply it with 60 psi to the regulator on the heater, which is adjusted to set the flame, but supposedly 15 to 18 psi is the normal range.

Some brands of used oil heaters come with an onboard rotary vane air compressor, some make it an option or you can use shop air, and some don't even offer an optional compressor, leaving it up to you to provide the compressed air. I really don't care for having to run the shop compressor, but after thinking about it, the heater won't be used unless I'm out there anyhow, and it takes a certain kwh of electricity to compress a certain amount of air, whether its a small rotary vane compressor, or a large shop unit like my 7.5 hp two stage Husky.

I will be adding a T fitting on the outlet of the tank and off one side of the T will be the existing shutoff valve to my regulator and hose (never have got around to plumbing the place for air) and off the side of the T will be a shutoff and regulator for the heater. This way, I don't have to worry about leaking hose connectors and such wasting air when the heater is on and I'm not using the shop air for anything. Eventually I figure I'll get a electric solenoid driven pneumatic valve and the heater can turn the air on when it commands the fuel pump on.

Grainger is getting me the close ******* and T fittings, they don't keep the ones I wanted here in Atlanta. Most fittings are 150 psi rated and with a 175 psi two stage compressor, I needed the T and ******* to be rated to at least that pressure. I got a small Norgen regulator from Surplus Center for $8 to provide the 60 psi.

*****

My Lanair waste/used oil shop heater/furnace was delivered today. What a goat roping. I was told it would be an afternoon delivery and went to the flea market (yes, raining lightly but a fair number of sellers and buyers there anyhow) and then I called the vet and told them I'd come by and get some blood pressure meds for my elderly cat. Almost to the vet and the truck driver called (its 10:30) and asked for directions. Got the meds, headed home and beat the truck by a few minutes. Guy followed directions well, and backed down the driveway, bumped the 12,000 volt power pole, no damage but cracked the cover off the phone junction box, gotta call and get that replaced. Then.......... the fun started. It was a liftgate delivery, and yes the short trailer had a new looking, functioning lift gate. The pallet jack the driver had was the problem, it would go up and then back down. I played with the valve, checked the fluid, could not find anything wrong. Finally showed the driver how to pump it s-l-o-w and fully, not a quick jab like he was doing, and it would go up and stay long enough to get about two feet before it would leak down. Finally..... got everything unloaded. Then the truck would not start. Click...... bbbbssssszzzzzztttttt. Driver said he had been having this problem for a while, so I used the Ranger to jump off that big diesel, cranked right up.

After the driver left, I realized I was going to need a pallet jack before this was over. I cannot assemble the heater on top of the stand where it will finally be installed, but I can assemble it out in the middle of the floor using my portable gantry crane. The heater sits up 8 ft high on posts on top of the fuel tank. I figure I'll use the chain hoist to raise it in place (it has threaded fittings in the top to hang it and lift it) and then use a pallet jack to very carefully roll it in place (floor is flat and smooth and I won't get it over an eighth inch off the floor).

Back into the house and off to Craigslist to look for a decently priced pallet jack. Did a search, most were $149 and up and all on the far northside of town..... But wait, here is one on the southside in Peachtree City, just a few minutes away, and "nearly new" and with non-marring plastic wheels (steel wheels and my smooth concrete floor don't agree). The ad was a month old, but I sent an email and within minutes the guy called me. Yes he has it, yes, its ten years old and used just a few times. He bought it to move safe's he was selling, hasn't used it since he sold the last one....... He told me he got the email from his Blackberry and was on the way home at that time. I got an address, Google mapped it and hopped in the truck and headed off. It really truly was in excellent condition, no leaks, it actually works!!!!!!!!! $100 and away I go!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, to get the heater together, chimney mounted and everything working.

Charles

Please keep us informed. I am looking for heat for a 55x75 with 20' side walls.

it doesnt sound like you will be eliminating any trips to the auto store to get rid of oil... seeing how you have 50 gal already!! The unit looks nice though and it sounds like it will fit your needs.. i look forward to hearing more from you in the future.

GNwes said:

it doesnt sound like you will be eliminating any trips to the auto store to get rid of oil... seeing how you have 50 gal already!! The unit looks nice though and it sounds like it will fit your needs.. i look forward to hearing more from you in the future.

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Well, at least in the future, I won't have to carry it to the parts store. Now if I can just find someplace that will take antifreeze.

*****

Couple of pics for entertainment.

The 215 gal fuel tank from the front. The rectangular box on top is where you pour the oil in, lift the lid, and inside is a piece of raised expanded metal with a 50 mesh screen on top of that.

Second pic is a bunch of plumbing and tools on top of the tank. Quit for the night and left everything laying.

Last pic is the pickup screen, check valve and tube inside the tank, taken thru a 3 inch bung that normally will have a plastic cap pressed into it. It is the "Emergency vent". I held a stinger light in one of the other bung holes to help with illumination. The tank has extra bungs, which ones you use depends on which way the tank is turned, narrow and deep for the smaller heaters, and wide and shallow for the larger heaters (all models mount on top of the posts on the tank).

Charles

Charles, How high from the bottom is the oil standpipe. It looks kinda low to me, maybe its just the angle of the picture.

trackwelder said:

Charles, How high from the bottom is the oil standpipe. It looks kinda low to me, maybe its just the angle of the picture.

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Took a tape and hooked it on the bottom of the end of the screen, then pushed it to the bottom of the tank, its about 3 inches plus to the bottom. The pickup tube is welded into a bushing that is screwed into a bung and so the only way to raise it would be to remove the pipe, cut it off and re-thread it. I think 3" is sufficient. The filler box has a fine mesh (50 mesh is what they recommend so I think that is what Lanair uses), then you have the fine mesh screen on the pickup tube and the strainer also has a fine mesh screen. No substitute for a micronic filter however. It would be nice to put used oil in another container, allow it to settle the particulates out, then pump it via micronic filter to the fuel tank, but I don't think that is do-able, though I may start thinking about it.

Charles

Oh man, after reading the heading I thought my wife was making a post. Sorry

Thanks for the updates. I may have to wait til summer to pull the trigger. Do you store a plane in your shop?

Well, I've already had one co-worker bring me oil today, about 7 or 8 gallons, from his '07 Dodge 3500 Cummings. Another one said he would bring me ten gallons or so tomorrow. Both promise that it is not contaminated with anything, just oil. It won't be usable for a while, but by midweek I should be able to dump their oil in it and return their buckets to them next weekend. Portable gantry crane may not be tall enough after all, given that it is about 12 ft 6" under the beam and then the trolley and chain hoist hangs down quite a bit. May have to put a strap or chain around one of the truss beams of the building and lift it that way. I'll have updates and pics in a few days as I assemble it.

*****

kbkna said:

Thanks for the updates. I may have to wait til summer to pull the trigger. Do you store a plane in your shop?

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Yes, I have a Cessna 150. Motor is apart, and some other issues. I've owned it for 32 years and have put a good many hours on it, but haven't got around to putting it back together. Possibly the heater will help me get things done in cold weather that I might otherwise put off till warmer weather. Shop will be useful year 'round this way.

Charles

Thank you for the pictures and updates. Looks good !!!!!!

For those interested in learning and researching about used/waste oil heaters, I'll offer up these links to manufacturers while I'm out freezing my **** off assembling mine in the shop today (we had sleet last night and its about 28 outside right now.)

Charles

Reznor, which is an old manufacturer of heaters, now owned by Thomas & Betts
http://www.reznorheaters.com/

Firelake, Mt. Crawford, VA
http://www.usedoilheaters.com/index.html

EnergyLogic, Nashville, TN
http://www.energylogic.com/heaters.html

Heatwave which is also found under the name Siebring Manufacturing, George, IA
http://www.heatwave-waste-oil-heaters.com

Clean Burn, Leola, PA now owned by Lanair
http://www.cleanburn.com/

Lanair, Janesville, WI
http://www.lanair.com/Lanair2.0/

Omni by Econo Heat, Spokane, WA
http://www.econoheat.com/

Norki Energy Systems, Poughkeepsie, NY
http://www.norki.com

Looks good but I am sure you will feel better when running. With the upgrade feeder was it already installed? We have ice on the ground here in Bama. Almost busted my bum getting out to the shop.

A little bit of progress today. Yesterday, I spent the day fabricating some extensions to raise the fuel tank higher off the floor. I used 3-1/2" square steel tubing, 3/16" wall thickness, and cut it in 6 inch lengths. The feet on the tank have one 1/2" hole for anchoring to the floor on the outboard side of the foot, so I drilled the inboard side of each foot with two 5/16" holes to attach the extensions. Today I match drilled each of the pieces and deburred them, and primed them and painted them with hammertone paint to somewhat match the fuel tank. This will give me more room to get a broom under the tank to clean, and elevate the drain higher off the floor.

I installed the posts and the platform for the heater to sit on. The platform is too heavy and awkward to lift by hand so I used the chain hoist and a strap.

I also finished up the fuel pump plumbing installation and opened the strainer to see what it looked like, its 100 micron mesh screen.

The heater has four 3/8 threaded fittings in it for use in hanging from a roof or ceiling with threaded rods. Needing to lift the heater, I took two pieces of uni-strut and layed them across the threaded holes and bolted them down with bolts and washers. Then I used 1/2-13 unistrut channel nuts and bolted a cross piece and a third channel nut to attach the lifting eye. Its quite solid and the heater only weighs about 400 lbs. I loosened the bolts and bumped things around till I got the heater to hang level and tightened all the bolts, then I picked it up and put it on a steel table frame that will someday be my welding table (no steel top yet). I cannot use the gantry crane to install the heater on top of the platform, the heater platform is too high, and I will have to hang the chain hoist from a strap looped over on of the frames of the building (padded to prevent abrasion of the strap) The lift all strap is good for 6400 lbs in a basket lift, I will hang the chain hoist from it and extend the hoist. It should reach the heater on top of the table, If not, I have more straps to use, to make things reach.

Luckily I have a scissor lift to get up to the roof to hang the chain hoist.

Charles

Well, more progress today. Let the new paint on the feet extensions cook in front of heat lamps all night and then installed them today.

Put a couple of old jeans over the beam for padding and looped a 10 ft 6400 lb lift-all strap over the beam and hung the chain hoist from it. This raised it several feet higher than the top of the gantry crane beam. I put the plastic sheet the unit came wrapped in on the heater so the chain would not mess up the galvanize finish, and slowly lifted the unit up, then I rolled the fuel tank with platform in place under it, and lowered the heater down. It attaches with four #10 self drilling screws!!! to the platform.

I wired a cord directly to the fuel pump and after filling the tank, I filled the strainer and began priming the pump, using a section of polyethylene tubing to run the pump output back into the tank. I let it run for several minutes and will run it some more before I connect the line to the heater, and the wiring to the control box.

One of my co-workers gave me two buckets of oil but I will have to dispose of most of it at the auto parts place, as it has too much water in it. I'm going to give him two more buckets and ask him to keep them inside, He's quite willing to help, but water in the oil it difficult to deal with. I think I got some in the tank and so I tilted it toward the drain and will drain it in the morning and see what I get. The fine mesh screen in the fill box is a mess to clean when water hits it, as water will not pass through it after the screen has been wetted with oil. The oil my other co-worker gave me was perfect, from his 2007 Dodge 3500 with a Cummins, it had carbon flakes and such but otherwise was just oil. The tank is about 5 inches deep now and that was just enough to prime the pump.

Tomorrow I'll finish running the fuel line and wiring to the pump and get ready to move stuff to position the heater in its permanent spot.

Charles

Charles - if you ever get low on oil just let me know. I always have several gallons around the shop and it's always a pain for me to dispose. I'll start saving it for you if you like. I'm in Macon.

sperkins said:

Charles - if you ever get low on oil just let me know. I always have several gallons around the shop and it's always a pain for me to dispose. I'll start saving it for you if you like. I'm in Macon.

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Pretty fair drive, but we might be able to work out something. Biggest problem is keeping the oil clean of dirt, leaves, other foreign debris, and most of all, NO water. One of my co-workers thought he was doing me a favor and gave me a couple of buckets of oil from his Chevy Diesel truck. I poured about a gallon of good oil off the top and encountered water. Got some in the tank before i could stop pouring, and it took an hour to clean out the screen in the fill box of all the water/sludge that hit the screen. What a mess!. I think he left the buckets outside and rain water worked its way in thru the pull out pour spouts, they were some old tractor hydraulic oil buckets. I'm going to give him two "clean" buckets and lids to replace his old crappy ones and ask him to keep them in the corner of the garage, covered with the lids. I'll take his to the parts place (it does have lots of oil in it, but there is too much water and **** for me to deal with) and ditch the buckets. The recyclers have ways to separate the oil and other stuff, that I do not have.

I'll PM you later.

Charles

Let us know when you fire it up!

Used Motor Oil Hoarders aka Coworkers

Well, I started telling my co-workers about my used/waste oil fueled heater that I've been installing (still working on it, more work than expected). Well, I work in a large airline maintenance facility where hundreds of mechanics work, having been there over 21 years, I know practically everyone in the facility at least by sight.

Well, mechanics tend to work on their own vehicles more than the average joe, and alot of these guys drive or own diesel pickups, which require lots of oil for an oil change. It seems that everyone I mention it to tells me they have oil stored at home that I can have. Many have been bringing it in, and there is more to come. One guy has ten gallons he is bringing in Friday (if he remembers to) and says he has a full 55 gal drum "at his grandmothers". Another guy is going to bring his old oil in, about 20 gals worth. Even the foreman told me he has oil I can have.

In each case, I've been asking the same questions to make sure that there is no water, antifreeze, brake fluid, gasoline, thinners, or other solvents, etc mixed in, everyone tells me they just drained it and poured it in the gallon jugs the new oil came in or the 5 gal cans they get from work when they are empty (alcohol, thinners, solvents, etc, come in these).

Its crazy really, I'm glad they have it, and are willing to give it to me, and they will continue to, but I'm astounded at how many people have large quantities of old used oil stashed away.

*****

About the heater install, I have moved workbenches and a host of other stuff (thank goodness for the pallet jack I bought) to get ladders and the scissor lift in place to install conduit (ran most of it today for a dedicated circuit) and expect to start cutting a hole in the wall soon for the flue/chimney. Lots of detail work involved.

Charles

Thats because its such a PITA to dispose of it. The Autozone by me now requires my info before they will let me dump the old oil.

Thats why I go to Discount Auto exclusively. I generally buy a case of Mobile1 when I dump the oil. You would think they would want to encourage me to buy more stuff instead of running me off by making me fill out forms.

Charles (in GA): I really enjoy your installation adventure. Are you doing all this work by yourself? Keep the pix and info coming. P.S. My town transfer station takes all my oil with out any questions or proof of residency.

nice progress and good luck with the rest of your build, was wondering how fast you think your going to go through that 215 gallons, i was thinking that with it full it should last you about a year?

Its somewhere around 140 hrs of continuous running. I think it should last all winter given conservative use of it, and figuring that on a real cold day, it would run for a couple of hours, then begin cycling on the thermostat.

I don't think I'll have any trouble keeping it full.

Bought a couple of sections of cheap air hose today, and finished the conduit run, and then discovered I don't have enough 12 gauge white or black left to make the run (about 70 ft up and over and back down) so I'll buy a couple of more 500 foot spools tomorrow and pull wires. I also will pull a second 120v circuit in this conduit, that will run to the far end of the building to power a couple of MH floodlights I have.

Hope to pull the wires tomorrow and run the air hose. Might get started on engineering the spacers needed to fit the thimble into a corrugated sheetmetal wall. (thimble requires at least a 6 inch thick "wall" so I will have to make a square spacer that fits on the inside and another that fits on the outside to give it the necessary thickness and to properly seal on the wall.

Charles

Looks like you made a wise investment.

I thought the alcohol, thinners and solvents could be in the oil if in small amounts?

Since oil floats on top of water, can't you just pour it all into a container of sorts, let it sit and separate, then drain from the bottom? Once oil starts coming out, the water should be gone.

Am I way off?

This heater install is taking forever. The cold weather hasn't helped any.

As I was putting the heater on the opposite side of the shop from the air compressor, I had to get compressed air to the heater. It uses aprox 2 CFM at about 15 lbs. It has its own miniature regulator and water separator which I have to provide 60 psi to.

I took two sections of cheap air hose (later found 100 ft section of PVC air hose for about same price) and routed them up and over the inside of the building, ty-wrapping the hose to electric conduits as a TEMPORARY installation until such time as I run a PEX-AL-PEX line in a neat fashion up and over to the heater. At the wall next to the electric outlet I installed a bracket I made up from angle iron with a 3/8 iron elbow welded to it, and using reducer bushings and other fittings I installed the regulator and an air coupling. I then installed an air hose on the heater with a ****** for the coupling. The regulator is an English made Norgren regulator I bought from www.surpluscenter.com for about $8. It has a 60 psi output max so it was suited to what I was doing.

I also ran about 70 ft of electrical conduit up and over from the breaker panel, and pulled some #10 wire. This is a 20 amp circuit but with the rather heavy load, about 17 amps continuous to run the heater, and the 70 ft distance, I decided to upsize the wire to prevent voltage loss. I used a new Pass and Seymour 20 amp twist lock plug I had bought at the flea market for $2 and installed a twist lock receptacle, so the unit could not accidentally unplug, given the vibration from the fan, combustion blower, the combustion itself and the mounting of the unit on the posts. I used several feet of 12/3 SOOW heavy black cord connected to the power terminals of the heater.

The most difficult part was the hole in the wall for the chimney and thimble. The thimble was designed for a thick wall, such as a stud wall or a block wall, and there is no good way to mount it in a corrugated steel wall.

I took a section of scrap from the building construction and marked and cut a hole in it, and used it to build the frames to support the thimble and test fit everything. They will be bolted thru, sandwiching the insulation and steel sheet between the inner and outer frames. The inner frame was mounted on a section of 3/4 plywood with rounded corners and all the edges were rounded with a router to keep the insulation from tearing. The long section of plywood hanging down is due to the chimney mounting bracket outside that will be bolted all the way through the wall to the plywood inside. To cut the hole, I used the round section cut from the test panel as a pattern and a "sabre" saw with a hacksaw blade to make the cut.

I did this in a rather hurry this afternoon as rain was moving in from the west. I got everything put up and the hole covered over with plastic and duct tape just as the rain hit.

I will finish priming the interior frame with Kilz tomorrow, I only did the face toward the wall before installing it, and securing it with two decking screws from outside.

The wood frame outside will be caulked all around and heavily painted before it is finished. The chimney is supposed to be sealed with 500 degree sealer to the thimble, but Simpson doesn't call out a brand or part number for the sealer to be used, duh!

I will probably have to order at least one section of flue pipe to finish this installation, so it will be next week before the install is complete.

I still have people donating oil, a neighbor has 15 gallons I have to go and pick up, and a co-worker has a 55 gal drum of oil he says is un-contaminated and I plan to go to his place and pump most of it out into 5 gal containers I have.

Charles

I have an older clean burn waste oil furnace I got off ebay.

Just by word of mouth I get plenty of oil for occasional use - and I'm in SE Michigan where it gets much colder than in your area. I'm heating a much smaller shop - 30x50x12. It gets finicky sometimes with the oil pressure moving around for a reason I've not found yet - but in general, I can walk in - run the air compressor, ignite the furnace, and it's a comfortable temperature in about a half hour - it's a 185,000 btu unit that consumes 1gph running continuously.

And yes - if you have a drain in the bottom of your storage tank (I use an old fuel oil tank) the water / antifreeze will separate to the bottom and can be drained off.

Well, this installation is really dragging out. I did make substantial progress today however, as I finished the wall thimble installation and mounted all of the chimney. Only thing left to do outside is seal between the thimble and the Tee and glue down a couple of small water deflectors on the edge of the roof.

My scissor lift is not made to be on anything but a solid, smooth floor. I took it outside last week to cut the hole in the wall and fit the frame and seal it, and ended up having to drag it back inside with the tractor as the rain hit, as the smooth tires had no traction. Today, I went and bought three pieces of OSB and lay out two of them and drove the 2500 lb scissor lift out into place. It was pointed a little uphill but was level side to side. It took about five hours but I got the thimble sealed and screwed to the frame and mounted the top chimney bracket. I'm working by myself, so I have to be creative, I used vise grips to hold the nuts inside on the top chimney mount and tightened the bolts outside. Basically took it up piece by piece and assembled it and adjusted the brackets to center the Tee in the thimble and its all done.

Only thing left is to install the inside flue pipes, and I'm waiting on a piece I ordered, and to install the barometric damper in the flue pipe. More on this fiasco in the next post.

Last Wednesday I got 15 gallons from a man who I used to rent a small cottage from before I bought the house. He has built a pit on a downslope next to his garage. Poured concrete on three sides and open on the other, I beams and treaded metal and other heavy stuff, he's even had his bulldozer on it to change the oil! We just about emptied his Northern Tool oil drain container, which he keeps covered with an upturned trash can, and then I went to a co-workers place where we pumped about 40 gallons of oil from a drum he puts his waste oil in.

The tank is somewhere over half full at this point, and I still have people wanting to give me oil.

Charles

Great progress - there's a lot of systems involved in one of these things - so the set up time and $ can add up, but when you're heating for almost free - it will all be worth it.

What is the problem with your burner and paint thinner, carb cleaner, etc?

I have run all that stuff through one without trouble. I don't remember the brand though. I bring my oil to my friend and I dump everything in the bucket other than antifreeze. He said it wasn't a problem either.