Kandle Heeter - Do It Yourself or Buy It

[Mountain Cur]

Has anyone tried one of these Kandle Heeters inside a smaller insulated cargo trailer? Wondering if the candle model made any differce at all.

[Wolffarmer]

I would think that as a cargo trailer is a bit large, in general, would need more than one, to make a difference. For a cargo trailer I would go with a single mantel Coleman lantern. Will heat it up right away would make some very useful light and Coleman fuel would cost less. DO NOT, use auto fuel in enclosed spaces. Or even outdoor unless you have to and are willing to clean up mess. The single Mantel Kerosene is also good, but unless you can find a kerosene pump the fuel will cost the same, or more.

Randy

[parnold]

According to what I can find, on a ten degree day, to maintain 72 degrees inside a 72 cubic foot box, you would need 84 btus, or only 28 watts of light bulbs, allowing for the 95% of wattage as heat, 5% as light.

The problem with this formula, is it is assuming a well insulated area, so in my case, this number is way off. When I camped in OCT 2010, the temps went down to the 30's at night, and my ceramic heater on low (750 watts) was cycling on with a duty cycle of about 10 to 20%. This is an estimate as I didn't actually time how long the heater ran, but with the heat loss that I suffer due to no insulation, it is more likely in the area of 75 to 150 watts of constant power to maintain temp at 30+ degrees. If my math is correct, 120 watts on a 12v system would be 10amps, so I would be able to heat my tear for 5 hours before my battery was at half life.

[IndyTom]

I just found this thread. This looks like a really nice idea for a small heater, and I cannot see how it should not be safe, since the pots will undoubtedly take the heat. I have seen people using the large variety as small smokers, with live charcoal burning directly in the pots. I think I will be on the lookout for the right sized pots and try one myself. The trailer I am building is a little large for one of these, but I think it would take the chill off on a "cool" morning.

Bob, I can't believe you built one of these and did not post pictures. I am still figuring out how I will support the unit over the light bulb.

Tom

[john warren]

awww heck with it....i'm gonna turn on my electric blanket.

[campmaster-k]

The candle flame may well be a easy and cheap source of heat but it burns the wax inefficiently. If you burn candles in your tear on a regular basis every surface inside your tear, including your lungs will be coated with wax. The super heated wax vaporizes and then re condenses as soon as it finds something cooler than itself. The wax that does not burn from a candle does not simply disappear it just moves.

[pete42]

In the past I used a large clay pot sitting on my travel trailer's stove the flame was very low the pot once heated would radiate heat
worked very well for those cool mornings when we had stayed in a wal-mart or cracker barrel
I know enought not to use a burner for heat over night
just lit it to take the chill off before we cooked breakfast.
when breakfast was over the pot was cool and it rode in the sink very well.

I know I know never heat with stove burners
don't know how not to use them when cooking
they heat then.........

[rowerwet]

I hadn't seen that before Mike, whats the details on this layout?

Whose turn it is for the hot wax treatment determines who sleeps on the heater side.

Interesting concept, though.

I believe these would be sealed boxes when burning, made out of metal, a good idea to use those christmas cookie boxes now that they are empty. pop the lids off, light the candles, close the boxes and the heat would go for hours without any combustion air worries

[Ron Dickey]

I have a friend who has a grass hopper type td that used tin cans in each corner with a candle they vent out side and have sliders so he can light or put in new candles.

He said some people think it will catch fire he has had it for many many years.

[jstrubberg]

Can't see that this wouldn't work in a tear, but it seems like an electric blanket or 12v heating pad underneath you would be a lot more effective and not take up any space.

[mike_c]

Here's a possibly safer option that won't coat the inside of your trailer with vaporized wax or with soot. It's safer because it only burns for a defined length of time, then it consumes it's fuel and goes out-- no worries about falling asleep with burning candles inside a teardrop. Boils a quart of water in minutes, so this little sucker produces lots of BTUs, which the clay pot would then radiate for a while. In a small space, I'll bet it would work well.

The homemade alcohol stove:



--Mike C.

on edit-- on the other hand, the notion of ANY open flame inside something like a teardrop trailer is not for the faint of heart....

[Wolffarmer]

That might work, but I would fear getting alcohol lose inside the camper and as alcohol flames are hard to see could cause much mayhem. A friend of mine got burned on a sail boat once and now will not use the stuff.

Randy