How to make a Babington burner

Are you sick and weary of your heating costs rising dramatically in the winter? Searching for an affordable, eco-friendly, and effective way to heat your house? The Babington burner is a do-it-yourself heating solution that is becoming more and more well-liked due to its ease of use and efficiency. We’ll walk you through the process of building your own Babington burner in this guide, so you can use waste oil to keep your home warm and your wallet happy.

Let’s start by defining a Babington burner. This inventive gadget, created by Robert Babington in the 1960s, is intended to burn a variety of fuel oils effectively and cleanly. The Babington burner, in contrast to conventional burners, uses a special atomization technique to produce a fine mist of oil that ignites quickly and emits few emissions. For homeowners who care about the environment and want to lessen their carbon footprint, this makes it the perfect option.

The adaptability of the Babington burner is one of its main benefits. It can run on used motor oil, vegetable oil, and even biodiesel in addition to conventional heating oil. This provides a plethora of opportunities for obtaining inexpensive or even free fuel, making it an economical choice over time. Reusing waste oil that would otherwise require expensive disposal or wind up in landfills also helps to reduce the impact on the environment.

So what is the precise mechanism of a Babington burner? The burner is made up of four main parts: an ignition system, a nozzle, a pump, and a fuel reservoir. Oil is drawn from the reservoir by the pump and forced under high pressure to the nozzle, where it is finely atomized into a mist. After that, this mist is set on fire, creating a constant flame that emits heat consistently. A Babington burner can achieve remarkable levels of efficiency with the right tuning and upkeep, keeping your house toasty throughout the winter.

Principle of operation of Babington burner

A brief overview of the invention’s past. The method of burning liquid fuel with heavy fractions that is being considered only emerged in the mid-1900s. More specifically, the diesel-powered burner was patented in 1969 by Robert C. Babington, also known as R.S. Babington. All interested parties can now purchase the device, though, as the patent has long since expired.

In contrast to conventional oil burners, which inject the fuel/air mixture through a pressurized nozzle, Babington’s invention operates on a fundamentally different principle:

1. The waste oil or diesel is fed from the tank by a low-capacity pump.
2. The fuel drips onto the working surface, which is spherical or inclined. The fuel flows downward along this surface, forming a thin film.
3. In the center of this surface a small diameter hole is made (not more than 0.3 mm), through which the compressor injects compressed air.
4. Babington burner on waste oil works according to the following principle: a stream of compressed air, coming out through a small hole under pressure, tears off part of the oil film from the surface.
5. The result is a jet of fuel-air mixture, which after ignition forms a stable flame torch. It is directed into the furnace or boiler furnace, heating the walls of the chamber or water jacket. The figure below shows a schematic of the burner device:

This makes it evident how the waste oil residue that hasn’t burned off moves from the hemisphere into a designated container before returning to the main tank. From there, the fuel is preheated for liquefaction and fed into the combustion already under low pressure. As you can see, the design does not include any filtering elements.

It is crucial to heat used oil or diesel fuel before using a Babington burner for the following reasons:

1. The heated waste liquefies and forms a thinner film on the working surface, which is well atomized by the air stream. This promotes more efficient combustion.
2. The finer the liquid fuel droplets suspended in the jet, the easier it is to ignite the boiler or Babington stove in manual/automatic mode.

Citation. Finding and purchasing a factory-designed Babington burner that is already assembled is impractical. They are not produced by well-known producers of oil and diesel units, such as KROLL or EURONORD. The only options are to either make it yourself or order the burner from a reputable master.

"Building a Babington burner offers an efficient and cost-effective solution for heating your home," states the main thesis of the article "How to Make a Babington Burner" on the "Heating and Insulation of the House" website. Building a Babington burner can drastically cut heating costs while having the least negative environmental impact possible thanks to its straightforward design and readily available components. Homeowners can make their own Babington burner by following safety guidelines and step-by-step instructions. This allows them to use the power of atomization to produce clean, reliable heat for their needs. With the help of this article’s thorough instructions, anyone can build a Babington burner and take charge of their heating systems, improving their homes’ energy efficiency."

Pros and cons of the Babington burner

This kind of burner device is unique in that its positive and negative sides counterbalance one another. The use of heavy liquid fuels of any quality is the main benefit, as you may have already surmised. A homemade burner with an air supercharger will work properly even with a lot of impurities in the waste oil (unlike other stoves made for the use of similar fuel).

Small malfunctions could happen, but the presence of water or car antifreeze in waste oil (within acceptable bounds) won’t cause any problems. the difference between the surface tension forces of liquid hydrocarbons and water. As a result, when the air supercharger in the Babington burner is operating, the waste film separates from the working surface more readily. In the event that there is a small amount of water present in the oil, it essentially flows down into the sump rather than into the combustion zone.

Advice: Don’t take advantage of the burner’s "omnivorousness." Prior to use, it is preferable to pass the waste oil through a coarse mesh filter.

The large variety of liquid fuel types utilized is another feature that makes the user happy. It’s true that you will need to adjust the burner’s fuel and air dosage when switching between them. These kinds are listed as follows:

• waste oils and fuels of any origin and viscosity – from cars, machine tools and other machines and mechanisms;
• diesel and biodiesel;
• fresh, old and burned out vegetable oils;
• fuel oil;
• light heating oil, kerosene.

Now for the drawbacks, which are also significant:

1. Babington oil burner – the device is relatively simple. But the system of metered supply and drainage of fuel will be more complicated. The scheme involves 2 tanks, a pump and a fuel line with combustion intensity regulation. It is important to ensure the quality of connections, otherwise oil will start to leak.
2. When using liquid fuels, especially waste oil, the boiler room is rarely clean. It must be understood that dirt and odors in the furnace room are inevitable. The disadvantage manifests itself in the process of adjusting the Babington burner for joint work with a homemade stove or boiler. This also includes reconfiguring the equipment to switch from waste oil to diesel, oil or vegetable fuel.
3. Occasionally, the burner malfunctions because the nozzle, or rather the tiny air hole, becomes clogged. Most likely, the cause lies on the side of the compressor. For example, a worn piston group leads to oil from the crankcase getting into the nozzle and can cause malfunctions.

It is important to discuss fire safety precautions separately. It is advised to have a fire extinguisher close by while performing any work associated with installing the oil burner. The latter needs to be kept in the boiler room permanently.

How to make a burner yourself

You must examine the Babington burner device’s design from the drawings in order to comprehend how to assemble it. You can find a lot of these on the Internet, but in order to manufacture something, it is best to use the expertise of professionals and start with a working prototype. Here is a sketch of a burner created and examined by a knowledgeable member of one of the niche forums:

Let me now discuss some materials that can be used to construct the unit in accordance with this drawing. The author connected pipes with a 2 inch diameter by using a regular steel tee with threads (DU50). A cross piece the same size works well in place of a tee. Other components, as stated in the list:

1. A hemisphere or a hollow ball for the Babington burner. There are several variants – starting from a brass door handle and ending with various spherical nuts.
2. Nozzle – a bend from a metal pipe with an external pipe thread, length – 150-200 mm.
3. Copper tube with a diameter of 10 mm for the fuel line.
4. Metal tube for organizing the air supply. Diameter – at least 10 mm.
5. Threaded fittings, used to connect the copper tube to the body.

A small pump is also required for the purpose of pumping waste oil. The units from a motorcycle or VAZ car handle this task quite well; all you have to do is make sure the electric motor rotates them. Any low-power compressor, including those from refrigerators, can use this compressor because the air path pressure should only be modest (maximum 4 bar, nominal 2 bar).

Installing a special valve on the fuel line is worthwhile for dosing or shutting it off.

Drilling a precisely measured hole with a tiny diameter in the homemade nozzle is a crucial step. However, since the size of the hole will depend on the power of the future homemade Babington burner, you must first get a drill of the necessary size. The next section will cover power calculations, and the video provides step-by-step instructions on how to drill a small hole on your own:

Power selection

The trick is that doing this kind of calculation by yourself with formulas is really challenging. Based on data collected in real-world settings, various artisans create one or more holes ranging in diameter from 0.1 to 0.3 mm. More specific information is available as well: a boiler output of up to 15 kW can be achieved by creating a burner with a single 0.25 mm hole (depending on the type of fuel).

A word of caution: drilling holes larger than 0.3 mm will cause the atomization and combustion of waste oil to deteriorate. Moreover, it will be harder to ignite the device, and liquid fuel consumption will needlessly rise.

These data allow one to choose the unit’s thermal capacity based on the hole count. Drilling more than one hole at 0.25 mm and two will be required to reach 30-35 kW. Additionally, they need to be kept at least 8 mm apart to prevent the fuel-air mixture’s torches from putting one another out. Experience has shown that the Babington burner can burn waste oil with a single 0.25 mm hole and consume up to 2 liters of oil per hour when operating in maximum mode.

Recommendations for manufacturing

The air supply tube must be installed inside the tee and attached to the ball once the hole is ready. To ensure that the tube exits the housing hermetically, a threaded plug must be made. The tube is inserted through a hole that has been drilled in it. A fitting is soldered from above into the tee, and the copper fuel supply line is attached to it. We employ the following techniques to heat the spent oil before burning it:

1. An electric heating element with a thermoregulator is built into the tank, from where the waste oil is fed to the hemisphere.
2. The tube leading from the tank makes several turns around the heated nozzle, due to which the fuel passing through it is heated up.

After screwing the nozzle onto the tee, a copper tube that has been spirally bent is placed on top of it. After that, the connector is attached to it. In addition, the nozzle for the secondary air intake needs to have two holes drilled in it, each with a minimum diameter of 8 mm. The video below provides a thorough tutorial on making a Babington burner on your own:

The waste oil is supposed to be drained into the sump tank using the tee’s lower outlet. It is safe to place directly beneath the burner, but the flame is too close, making it unappealing. It is preferable to move the tank to the side and create a connector with a tube and a threaded plug for waste oil drainage. Electronically inclined people can mount a controller-equipped ignition and safety automation kit to the burner.

One or two car spark plugs inserted into the nozzle’s opening can provide electric ignition. By doing this, the boiler can be turned off and turned back on automatically, stopping and starting the flow of waste oil and air to the burner. The flame sensor, boiler water temperature, and tank fuel level can all send signals to the controller, which can then use that information to shut off the pump and close the fuel line valve.

About converting a blowtorch to burn waste oil

After learning how the Babington burner works, some do-it-yourself enthusiasts attempt to reassemble a standard blowtorch to burn spent oil. Because the processes in the two devices are supposedly similar, the objective is to make it easier and less expensive to manufacture. This view is incorrect because the homemade burner outlined here does not operate the same way as a blowtorch.

Air is pushed into the gasoline tank of the lamp with the sole intention of pushing the fuel out and feeding it to the injector. Here, there is a heating and vaporization phase for the fuel. Fuel vapor is already fed into the combustion zone by the nozzle; liquid is only visible there during the ignition stage, when the blowtorch’s "head" has not yet warmed up. Waste oil does not contribute to normal combustion because it cannot be vaporized and will be delivered by the nozzle in the form of large drops. Yes, and a variety of impurities will cause the jets’ cross-section to quickly clog.

The straightforward conclusion is that a blowtorch cannot be modified to burn heavy liquid fuel.

For those looking to add efficient heating to their homes, building a Babington burner can be a satisfying project. Using the concepts of atomization and combustion, this do-it-yourself burner provides a potent and clean means of producing heat. You can build a burner that minimizes emissions and maximizes fuel efficiency with basic parts and careful assembly.

The adaptability of a Babington burner is one of its main benefits. This burner is a versatile choice for homeowners as it can accommodate different fuel sources, such as waste oil, diesel, or even vegetable oil. Due to its adaptability, waste oils that would otherwise be thrown away help to promote sustainability and lessen reliance on conventional heating fuels.

Furthermore, a broad spectrum of do-it-yourself enthusiasts can easily access the Babington burner due to its straightforward design. You can build a burner that performs on par with commercial systems using simple tools and parts. By empowering homeowners to take charge of their heating needs, this accessibility may result in lower energy costs and a smaller environmental effect.

On the other hand, building a Babington burner requires careful planning and close attention to safety. It’s important to handle combustible materials and open flames carefully and to follow safety procedures. Make sure you comprehend the assembly procedure thoroughly before starting this project, and take the appropriate safety measures to avoid mishaps.

In summary, installing a Babington burner is a do-it-yourself project that can improve your home’s heating efficiency. You can design a flexible and environmentally friendly heating solution that satisfies your needs by utilizing basic materials and combustion principles. You can take advantage of a homemade burner that minimizes energy costs and environmental impact while providing dependable warmth, provided you plan ahead and pay close attention to safety.

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