the Hotmail Heater and water heater

RO

rowerwet

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Posts
2,075
I added some pics to my gallery of my latest idea for off the grid heat, I'll see if I can get them to show up here
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I only drew one fresh air/exhaust pipe, but two would probably work better, as long as the top one wasn't above the top of the glass, and the bottom one is aimed at the flame (so you can make sure it is still lit).
You want the top of the inner mailbox as air-tight as possible to keep the fumes out of your lungs, and allow the heat to transfer to the jumbo box.
The smaller mailbox lid needs to support the weight of a kerosene lantern, I figured a toggle (threaded rod with a wing nut on it)attached to the top of the arch, and a tab attached to the lid with a slot in it for the bolt to swing into should do the trick.
The jumbo mailbox should have two vents going into the TD, with a fan blowing the colder air into the bottom vent, any air leaks into the inner box would just blow more exhaust out the exhaust pipe.
I plan on mounting this in my tongue box with both lids pointing down. There would need to be a door on the bottom of the tongue box to protect it for travel and allow a kerosene lantern to be put in.
I figure mailboxes are fairly watertight, and with all the seams and holes sealed with high temp RTV they would be fairly airtight.
I'm not sure if an aluminum mailbox would be better than a steel or galvanized one, except that aluminum transfers heat faster.
According to the web, a kerosene lantern puts off about 1000 BTU's.
 
Brilliant! :applause:

Are your intentions to have some time of fan for air movement, or will you rely on gravity?

I love the mailbox concept.
 
this just came to me yesterday wandering around in the blue borg, still thinking as I go..., answered your question while editing my first post. blowing in the bottom with both ducts the same size, that way any air leaks in the inner box go out the exhaust (safety)
while trying to find the BTU rating for kerosene lanterns I came across a site that says many people in developing countries have lung issues from kerosene lanterns, stoves, and heaters that aren't vented. :(
 
most smaller twin engine aircraft use something like this, http://www.kellyaerospace.com/articles/Heater_AMT.pdf
I have spent more time than I care too troubleshooting these. They were designed to run on av gas which will ignite in nothing flat, as long as there is a spark, BOOM, and as long as the draft sensor works you get heat. Then they made them run on JetA (kerosene) and not only does the vent fan have to run, the vacuum sensor switch have to close (controls the fuel pump power), the fuel pump have to run, the combustion fan have to run, the high tension spark exciter work, and the spark ignitor have the proper gap, but if your fuel nozzle isn't spraying a fine even mist..... the pilot gets no heat. Kerosene burns dirty, the spray nozzles are always plugging up, the best way to clear them is pump alchohol through the fuel system........BUT, IF YOU CONNECT THE IGNITOR LEAD WHILE THE ALCHOHOL IS SPRAYING..... THE BANG WILL SET OFF THE FOAM SYSTEM IN THE HANGER!!!!! :thumbdown: :oops: :LOL: :shock: :applause: :frightened: :eek: :roll:
(we did that once, the pictures show the airplanes in foam up to their roofs)
 
The way I see your drawing is that the lantern is in a separate, ventilated inner container, and the bulk of the mailbox would be the heat ex-changer with a large opening to let warm air into the trailer, and the smaller opening to let air back into the exchanger.
 
version 2 pics.
-fan added to air inlet for safety, this will work without power also.
-exhaust pipe added to combustion mailbox. (sorry junk mail will not burn in here very well, do not attempt to burn any thing but candles or lanterns and maybe catalytic heaters (may require more venting due to low air shut off devices) in this)
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I got that from a bumper sticker I had on my first car, but it fits. I like some CC music but mostly listen to southern gospel and christian country.
 
more thinking last night, add a loop of copper pipe to the jumbo mail box and have a tank of water next to it, by morning you will have hot water for a shower/coffee. of course for Weight and balance this would have to be in the galley over the axle, or drained for traveling, but either way it is still dead simple.
My other idea is this would work as a tent heater, with a few extra pieces.
 
here is the Instructable for how to make the Hotmail Heater http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Hotmail-Heater/
including the hot water tank for a galley install.
Now I just have to figure out how to make the exhaust go through the water tank without leaking.
Of course now the way I have this drawn you will have to have a door from the foot well of the bed through the galley counter or wall to insert the lantern into the combustion chamber. a door into the footwell from the galley would let you do it from the galley instead of from the foot of the bed. :hammer:
one idea means changing something else.
 
latest sketchup design with a hot water tank for the galley using the "waste" heat to heat the water.
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This looks like an interesting heater. So you've already got the parts in the garage. Can you build it so we can see it in action?! ;)

Can we see a picture of the parts? I'm curious to see the actual sizes of the parts relative to each other, and the size of your kerosene lantern.

And I'm also curious how much you spent for your mailbox and your lantern.

Mike...
 
I got the lantern at wallyworld and other cheapskate places
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for something like $10 I think http://www.walmart.com/ip/FloraSense-Hu ... k/16783700 we use citronella oil in the lamps to keep the bugs down
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the mailbox is a standard rural one, I bought an aluminum one to help the heat transfer. cost $20 or so. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gibraltar-Ma ... oe_xnBjvac
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the lantern fits in the mailbox just fine. After a while of letting the idea roll around in my head, I see my self just mounting the mailbox inside the trailer somewhere. Instead of putting it in a jumbo size rural mailbox or building a plywood box around it. Both of those ideas would need to be mounted in the tounge box or galley, with a hole in the bottom of the trailer to insert the lantern.
This would also make it easier to control if you wanted a higher flame, or to shut it off.
 
the opposing thought, the lanterns seem to leak from the bottom seam (what I get for buying cheapo ones) the oil would drip into the tear off of the mailbox door.
the leak seems to be only if stored for weeks, normal use during camping, with the oil being filled and used each night, never left a ring on anything the lanterns were left on.
kerosene fumes are also not healthy to breath, putting the mailbox into a plywood box that had a fan blowing into it from the tear would cause any air leaks would be into the mailbox and then out the exhaust
 
brass, sink drain tailpiece I found to act as the intake and exhaust vents.
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measuring the height the upper drain tube needs to be, it should be aimed at the normal height of the flame top, to check for a smokey burn, as this will soot up the glass, making it useless for camp illumnation
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there is a "hair catcher" inside the drain tube, not sure if it can be knocked out or not, I don't want to ruin the tube, and it won't really stop enough airflow to be a problem.
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since a mailbox is only meant to be water proof when horizontal, the bottom holes will need to be sealed with a plank, this would also be the area to mount the box to the wall of the tear.
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