Heater from the radiator of the car with their own hands

As winter draws near, staying warm in our houses becomes more important. But the growing price of conventional heating options can be a hardship. Using an automobile radiator to construct your own heater is a creative and affordable solution. This do-it-yourself project gives your home heating system a personalized touch while also assisting with the recycling of used auto parts.

Constructing a heater using a car radiator is not as difficult as it may seem. Anyone can make a dependable heat source out of a car radiator that has been abandoned if they have some simple tools, a little knowledge, and drive. Those who enjoy tinkering and have a knack for do-it-yourself projects will find this approach particularly appealing.

This heater works on the same water heating principle as standard residential radiators. The car radiator, which is normally used to release heat, can be effectively repurposed to provide warm air distribution in a room. In order to complete the process, the radiator must be set up, connected to a water heating source, and equipped with a reliable and safe heat-circulating mechanism.

Beyond just saving money, this do-it-yourself project has many advantages. Reusing an auto part that might have ended up in a landfill is a sustainable decision that lowers waste. It also gives you the satisfaction of using your hands to create something useful and functional. This tutorial will show you how to build your own radiator-based heater so you can stay toasty this winter without going over budget.

Homemade radiator: actual methods of manufacture and ways of their realization

Even though contemporary heating batteries are not very expensive, you don’t need to purchase them because their assembly can be done on your own.

This article will explain how to make homemade batteries that are nearly as energy-efficient as their factory counterparts, as well as what materials to use in the process.

"Warm baseboard" produced by copper pipework

Assessing your capabilities

It is obvious that not everyone will be able to construct a homemade oil radiator, making the design complex; however, it is not too difficult to create a device that will circulate water in the role of a coolant.

Radiators classified as "warm floors"

Homemade heating devices function in the same way as their factory counterparts, albeit it is not advised to install them in centralized systems with high pressure.

Heating register – the basis of homemade designs

The most popular kind of hand-made heating device is a homemade heating radiator made of pipes. This is not unexpected, as soldering a sealed system from a pipe is considerably simpler than manufacturing a heater using factory technologies.

A register is a product assembled based on a single pipe or a combination of pipes. A specific coolant circulates through the sealed system that is the register. The size, shape, and composition of the pipes, as well as the material they are composed of, all affect the register’s energy efficiency.

Assembling radiators by hand demonstrates that using steel pipes with smooth walls and an internal cross-sectional diameter of 32 to 200 mm is the best course of action. The device has a coil shape or a sectional register is made to optimize the heat exchange surface area while keeping the device compact.

Steel pipes are a popular choice for installation work because they are simple to weld with home welding equipment.

Advice: To make a register, you don’t need to visit a metal store to purchase new pipes. After all, you can use old pipes that don’t have any obvious flaws from corrosion or mechanical deformation to complete the planned work.

Configuration of homemade devices

Coil composed of copper pipe

There are two design variations for copper or steel DIY heating radiators:

  • Sectional registers, consisting of straight pipes of large diameter with sealed plugs at the ends, connected by pipes with a smaller cross-sectional diameter.
  • Serpentine registers with an S-shape or more complex configuration.

Important: The serpentine register configuration should have adjacent pipes spaced 5 cm apart from one another in order to maximize heat transfer.

Let’s examine the design elements of the aforementioned configurations in more detail:

  • A sectional register is a number of pipes arranged horizontally.

An image of a sectional register is shown.

Smaller diameter pipes connect the register’s horizontal components to one another in order to circulate the coolant. Consequently, the coolant starts to flow through the connecting pipe, which leads to the downstream section, and so on, as it moves along the upper pipe.

These designs are produced in factory form for heating entrances and other auxiliary spaces where the device’s aesthetics are less crucial.

The sectional register’s operating principle

Threading is used to connect the inlet and outlet. Sometimes, the spigots are just welded shut to expedite the installation process.

The adapter sockets are positioned as near to the end of the section as feasible. This ensures increased strength of the prefabricated structure and improves coolant circulation.

The best materials to use for sectional register self-assembly are galvanized steel pipes with an inner diameter ranging from 76 to 160 mm. It is necessary to weld the construction in a way that maintains seam tightness at operating pressures of up to 13 atm.

Important: A register with no more than three horizontal sections is designed in the best possible way. The effectiveness of the heated air circulation within the space will be diminished if the sections are overly cluttered.

  • The serpentine registers are structurally similar to the selection counterpart. The main difference is that the function of the lintel here is performed by the bend of the main pipe .

Coil, formed products, and steel pipe that has been welded

The difficulty of self-assembly of coil structures is a major drawback because it is challenging to bend large-diameter pipes, necessitating the welding of two elbows on each bend.

You will need a bending machine to create your own DIY heating radiators out of profile pipe.

As a result, the numerous seams increase the complexity of the welded construction, potentially impairing the register’s tightness and longevity.

However, because the radiator’s vertical and horizontal sections work together to heat the room’s air, an S-shaped register configuration is far more efficient than a horizontal one. Furthermore, coil radiators have substantially less hydraulic resistance than sectional counterparts because of their constant diameter.

Choice of materials

Handmade copy featuring sections that are vertical

The right choice of production materials has a significant impact on the lifespan of the operational resource, heat output, and, ultimately, the cost of a homemade radiator.

The selection of production materials is based on a number of factors, including cost, resistance to corrosive processors, ease of mechanical processing, and ease and quality of welding. Furthermore, the pipe needs to have a nice appearance if the radiator is set up to be used as a towel dryer in the bathroom later on.

Garage heater made at home using a car’s radiator

The following can be said to be the conclusion:

  • When assembling heating devices for operation and in entrances, garages and other utility rooms, it is advisable to use smooth-walled pipes from ordinary structural steel grade St-3. The wall thickness should be 2 mm, both for the strength of the entire structure, and for better weld quality.
  • For assembly of a towel dryer it is expedient to get more expensive pipes from stainless steel AISI 304 (passport designation 08Х17М10). As a result, the finished coil, if assembled with high quality, will look great due to the shiny surface and at the same time will last much longer than the analog, assembled from scrap metal due to greater corrosion resistance.

The kind of materials utilized will also affect the assembly instructions for the radiator. For instance, regular electrodes are used to weld pipes composed of structural steel. It is preferable to use argon welding for the assembly of stainless steel structures as using traditional electrodes will not result in a clean, visually appealing seam.

We thus learned which types of do-it-yourself radiators people can put together by hand. Furthermore, we discovered what supplies ought to be utilized for assembly. The only small issue is that you still need to buy the required supplies and put the heater together by hand.

Are there still some questions that need to be clarified further? In this instance, we advise watching the video included in this post.

How to independently heat the garage

For heating the garage can be used in various ways (central heating is not considered):
– with electric heaters – the most common, simple, but far from cheap way of heating;
– using a wood (coal) stove – cheap, in the presence of free fuel, plus takes away working time;
– with the help of a heater on diesel fuel – not a bad option, fast heating, again – significant costs for the purchase and for fuel.
– with the help of a heater on waste oil – a good option, especially if there is plenty of waste oil.
– other options are more exotic or classic stationary heating systems, which are laid down when the garage is built.

There are several benefits to using an electric heater, including its ease of use, low acquisition costs, lack of maintenance, and the need to stockpile energy raw materials. The primary drawback is the high cost and power consumption.

An inexpensive electric heater that can be made at home and used in a garage or other similar space is recommended.

As the primary elements of the DIY heater’s design It makes use of an electric motor, a car water pump with pipes and a fan, and any type of radiator. Even with partially clogged tubes, using the radiator won’t stop it from functioning. An industrial refrigeration unit’s radiator can be used in place of an automobile radiator. used electric motor that rotates at least 1500 revolutions per minute and has a power of between 0.3 and 0.8 kW.

The base of the heater is a frame, which is welded from a steel angle. In order to be able to move the heater, it is more convenient to put it on wheels made of any rollers, which are fixed on the frame. The motor, water pump, starter and radiator are mounted on the frame. In the lower tank of the radiator are placed three heating elements, each with a capacity of 1 kW, operating from 220 V voltage. The best option is a triple TEN, which has a common shank with a thread. The heating element is fixed in different ways, for example, it is possible to cut a hole in the lower tank and solder a ring with a thread for the shank of the heating element to its edge.

An explanation of the garage electric heater’s design:

One radiator, two expansion tanks, three fans, four fan casings, five pumps, and six pipes 8 – V-belt; 7 – magnetic starter; 9. an electric motor 10-frame support; 11-the drain cock TENS (12) and louvers (13).

The number of heating elements in the network can control the homemade heater’s performance, which in turn controls the temperature. Certain pulley diameters are chosen in order to set the electric heater to operate in the most efficient mode (at a liquid temperature of 80 °C in the radiator). An automotive expansion tank is used in the installation to make up for the liquid’s expansion during heating.

You can maintain a preset temperature with an electric heater thanks to a more intricate design. It is sufficient to connect the electric motor to the mains through a chamber temperature sensor (DTKB) rather than directly for this purpose.

Transformer oil is the best option for use as a liquid electric heater. It does not freeze even in very cold temperatures because it heats up quickly and cools down very slowly. Instead of transformer oil, car tosol of the A-40 brand may be used. By slipping the pump and fan into the designated mounting slots in the frame, the tension of the belt that connects the electric motor to the pump and fan can be changed.

Sawdust heater

After construction, sawdust and small chips can be successfully used to heat a garage or even a summer house if a regular "burzhuika" is installed with a pallet of steel sheet that is 2-3 mm thick and has a hole in the middle. It would be good to have a removable tray so you can use wood to refuel the stove when the sawdust runs out. Those who live close to logging sites, where sawdust is almost free, are advised to use these stoves.

The stove is used as follows: a conical stake that has been adjusted to fit the pallet hole exactly so that there is no gap is inserted through a hole in the stove from above. A dense layer of sawdust is packed around the stake. Remove the stake with caution so they don’t fall into the hole, shut off the stove, and light the wood through the stove door from underneath the pallet. Sawdust smolders after igniting. The heater heats the room for five to seven hours at night.

The layout of a do-it-yourself stove heater.

One, pipe; two, konich. stake; three, sawdust; four, stove body; five, pallet; six, door; and seven, blower.

Homemade heater for garage with flameless combustion

It works on the basis of the idea that fuel vapors, such as gasoline or alcohol, are oxidized by air oxygen with the aid of a catalyst. This takes place right on top of the heating element. Heat energy is generated through a chemical reaction rather than by burning fuel.

This garage heater with your own hands is done like this. A fuel tank with a neck and a stopper is taken. An old automobile fuel tank is best for this purpose. Next – burner, in which the heating element is placed – frame and two iron grids – they are equipped with a gasket, preferably made of asbestos wool, impregnate it with a catalyst. The wick should be made of cloth or can also be made of asbestos wool. It will be used to feed gasoline from the tank to the burner. Place the upper part of your wick evenly under the net, the lower part on the bottom of the tank. Fill the free space in the tank with absorbent cotton.

The building of a heater from scratch. tube-slide, tank body, tension lock latch, latch axle, and three others 5-a rack featuring lock lugs, 6-brace for tension, Lid number seven, rivet number eight 9 – grasp, 10 – nickel-chrome wire, 11 – catalyst-impregnated asbestos wool, 12-the clamping framework 13-metal mesh, 14-frame of the heating element, 15 – adhesive, 16-neck plug for the tank, Neck (17), asbestos wool (18), wick (19), internal bulkhead (20), and burner body (21). A: The heating element’s mirror (b X e).

Place a wire gasket (5 mm cross section) between the heating element’s mounting location and the frame when assembling it in the burner. Cover the wire with asbestos cord. There should be a metal cover for this do-it-yourself garage heater, which can be placed over the burner to turn it off. Pour 100 milliliters of gasoline onto the heating element’s grid, then light it. Gasoline fumes from the tank will soon begin to seep to the heated surface, putting out the fire. With the aid of a catalyst and an increase in temperature, they will begin to oxidize as a result of the oxygen in the air. Thus, flameless combustion will occur.

The heating element is composed of asbestos with long fibers. It needs to be impregnated with cobalt-chromium catalyst for one hour. Such reagents as concentrated ammonia, ammonium bromide, and cobalt and manganese nitrate are used to make it. Cobalt chromate will be applied to the asbestos by the impregnation process. It needs to be dehydrated at +120 C, loosened, and then calcined for three hours at +400 C. After that, distribute the mass evenly between the nets.

Important! When operating this heater, its working surface should be protected from oil, water and dirt penetration.

And one more variant of a homemade electric heater for garage

It is not permitted to use homemade electric heaters with open spirals to solve the problem of heating the garage because there can be fatal consequences if gasoline vapors, which are occasionally present in garages, come into contact with an open heating element. Due to their low heat output, portable industrial electric heaters are also not the ideal solution.

A water-type heating system with a separate heat source is one of the efficient ways to heat the garage. Once you are familiar with the scheme depicted in the figure, you can independently arrange the heating in the garage based on this principle.

The diagram illustrating the spigot’s connection displays:

– fastening nuts – gasket sealing; – washers – walls of boilers spigot

The heating scheme is depicted in Figure B and employs the subsequent components: – cap for the expansion tank – an expansion tank – riser pipe – the seal connecting the pipe connections to the electric boiler spigot TEN power supply terminal, convector pipes, metal plates, connecting hoses, heating element itself, and regulating valve – the drain cock

This DIY heating system works on the basis of the difference in volumetric weight between hot and cold water, which causes a unidirectional flow of heated liquid through the system. Boiler water that has been heated by the heating element rises to the top and travels through pipes to the convector. There, it emits heat into the space, cools down, and gains mass, which causes it to sink and re-enter the boiler. In order to improve the heating system’s circulation pressure and water movement speed, the boiler should be positioned underneath the radiator (convector).

Wishing you luck and a warm garage at all times.

Using a car radiator to make a homemade heater can be a creative and economical way to heat your house. With this method, an old car radiator is repurposed as a heat source that can be used independently or in conjunction with your home’s current heating system. You can put together a working heater that recycles materials and gives your home heating solutions a distinctive, personalized touch by adhering to simple, step-by-step instructions. This do-it-yourself project is especially appealing to people who want to improve their heating system without having to pay the hefty costs associated with commercial heaters. It provides an eco-friendly substitute that only requires rudimentary plumbing and engineering knowledge.

How to make an oil heater yourself?

It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the concepts underlying the operation of an oil heater and comprehend what the industrial version represents before designing and building one yourself. What systems and procedures are concealed within this appliance’s exterior?

The oil heater’s basic design consists of the following:

  • TEN (one or several);
  • oil;
  • control and automation devices.

The way the system operates is that convection flows begin in the volume when the heating element heats the oil surrounding it. The liquid redistributes the heat uniformly within the sealed metal casing by circulating in this manner. The latter radiates heat into the surrounding area through its surfaces as a result of this process.

Typically, the TEN’s power circuit has a rheostat to facilitate seamless power adjustments. Alternatively, discrete switches could be included with the product. Typically, automation systems consist of a thermostat and occasionally a rollover sensor. Advanced models come with extra features like a remote control panel, digital control panel with indicator board and programmer, etc.

The primary choice for positioning the oil heater is on a floor. The massive construction of the frame is made more mobile by the addition of wheels. It can also be mounted on the wall; certain models come with brackets and other necessary attachment components in addition to floor stands for this purpose.

A unique solution is the recently developed plinth variant, a kind of wall-mounted that is meant to be used in bathrooms and other spaces where there is not enough room to install a standard oil appliance. Its name, which reflects its design (long and narrow), is a reflection of its design.

An illustration of a homemade oil heater schematic

It should be highlighted that certain design elements must be closely followed for the handcrafted heater to have the same advantages as the commercial prototype:

  • Sturdy and hermetically sealed housing, resistant to mechanical influences, completely eliminating the leakage of liquid;
  • Using oil as a filler. It acts as an intermediary between the heating element, which is heated to several hundred degrees, and the surfaces of the body. This protects the heating element from corrosion, scale, self-combustion and air combustion. And, in the end, taking into account the considerable internal volume, provides a fire-safe surface temperature of the body (several tens of degrees);
  • The significant inertia of the processes taking place in the product, complemented by the thermostat operation, ensures efficient use of the oil appliance and additional energy savings.

It’s still to be discovered how to create such a heater by hand.

Selection of materials

As the above makes evident, you will need to obtain the following parts someplace in order to make a homemade heater:

  • housing;
  • oil;
  • TEN;
  • mobile stand;
  • control and automation devices.

You can use an old sheet or sectional radiator from the central heating system as a housing. Any product that is similar to an automobile and whose design permits liquid to circulate inside either naturally or artificially (with the aid of an electric motor) is also a good fit. Moreover, you can create a closed loop out of steel pipes by hand.

The most important thing to remember is that maintaining the tightness of the housing is a requirement for the system to operate normally. It is unlikely that a homemade device like this will be more trouble than help if the liquid leaks.

First, in terms of oil, the quantity needed must be determined using the formula below.

85 percent of the volume enclosed. Air fills the remaining space in the cavity. In order to prevent the oil from crushing the casing during operation due to thermal expansion, this 15% area is retained.

Second, the fluid’s quality attributes have to satisfy the minimum requirements of heat resistance and purity. Scale buildup from dirt and impurities will reduce the heating element’s lifespan. Additionally, the TENS’s reasonable temperature suggests that the right brand of technical oil needs to be chosen. Transformer oil is one example of a suitable option.

The number and qualities of heating elements are chosen based on the heater’s required power (while also considering the housing’s overall dimensions). Traditionally, it’s thought that in order to create a cozy environment in a room with a typical ceiling height,

1 kW per ten square feet. These figures may differ by more than 1 kW per 10 square meters in rooms with high ceilings, those that are poorly insulated, those situated in cold climates, etc. ο. Many times stronger products are needed.

Naturally, consideration should also be given to the power supply network’s potential in the location where the device made by them will be used. It’s crucial to think about potential metal combinations for the TEN and housing in terms of durability. For instance, using heaters with magnesium anode is not advised. Mix copper with aluminum and regular steel (not stainless steel).

The heating element is installed in the heater housing.

If the homemade device is to include a mobile platform on wheels, it must be able to withstand the weight of the design because it is highly likely to have an impressive mass. For instance, rolled steel can be used to make angles, channels, and other materials.

The total power load of the appliance should be taken into consideration when choosing switches or rheostats.

As a thermostat, use a bimetal plate (from an old iron, for example). In addition to energy conservation, choosing a temperature setting with ideal characteristics is important because overheating could raise the enclosure’s internal pressure excessively.

An additional option is to include a thermal fuse for increased safety assurance. or a comparable switch that runs under a specific pressure.

Not only is this a creative way to recycle old car radiators, but it’s also a practical way to heat small spaces. When finished, this do-it-yourself project can be satisfying and reasonably priced, giving you a sense of accomplishment. But it’s crucial to stress that when installing and using this do-it-yourself heater, safety should come first.

Although simple to do, turning an automobile radiator into a heater involves paying close attention to detail. To avoid any potential hazards, make sure that the unit is well-ventilated and that all connections are secure. It’s best to ask for advice or help if you’re not familiar with the necessary instruments and methods.

By upcycling, this kind of project helps the environment in addition to the individual by offering a do-it-yourself heating solution. Building a heater out of a car radiator encourages sustainability and waste reduction. Nevertheless, it’s critical to take into account the finished product’s energy efficiency and look into ways to maximize its heat output and minimize any needless energy use.

In conclusion, for individuals searching for a do-it-yourself project with useful applications, building a heater out of a car radiator is a workable idea. It produces a practical household item, promotes recycling, and calls for a moderate level of skill. As with any project of this kind, success depends on careful execution, adherence to safety regulations, and meticulous planning. An effective supplement to your heating options can be a homemade radiator heater, which you can use to heat a garage, a workshop, or any other small space.

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Sergey Ivanov

I like to help people create comfort and comfort in their homes. I share my experience and knowledge in articles so that you can make the right choice of a heating and insulation system for your home.

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