Even before I started melting metal with propane I dreamt about building a
burner that cleanly burned used or "waste oil." I got interested after seeing an
old article from "Mother Earth News magazine" about a homemade heating stove
that burned waste motor oil. A guy like me is big on recycling, Earth friendliness
and saving money... So if I could build a burner that used FREE fuel, was clean
burning and easy to use then I'd be set. Nov./5/2002
CAUTION! Working with or around burning and hot oil/grease can be dangerous,
especially when proper safety precautions are not taken. Water should never be used to
put out an oil or grease fire. Use dry sand or dirt. Because of the variations in materials
and workmanship there are no guarantees on the information in/on this web site. This
information is simply what I have been successful with in my own experiments. I will not
assume responsibility for any injury, loss, or damage that may result from following the
instructions, advice or plans on this web site. There are always dangers in foundry work
and they have been pointed out whenever possible but it is not the purpose of this web
site to, nor is it possible to mention all known or unknown dangers.
...Okay, not exactly. It was sent to me by Vincent Phelps. He wanted to share his
oil burner info in hopes that it will 'cause clean burning homemade oil burner
designs to evolve and become as popular as the propane burners did recently. The
Lab's "department of energy and combustion" was happy to assist since it was
already involved in this research field.
CAUTION! Working with or around burning and hot oil/grease can be dangerous,
especially when proper safety precautions are not taken. Water should never be used to
put out an oil or grease fire. Use dry sand or dirt. Because of the variations in materials
and workmanship there are no guarantees on the information in/on this web site. This
information is simply what I have been successful with in my own experiments. I will not
assume responsibility for any injury, loss, or damage that may result from following the
instructions, advice or plans on this web site. There are always dangers in foundry work
and they have been pointed out whenever possible but it is not the purpose of this web
site to, nor is it possible to mention all known or unknown dangers.
This burner was inspired by
the info I received. Vincent
sent me a few pages of a
mail order info kit
(advertising stuff, not
No lazy flame here!
construction plans!) from
the 1940's about a burner
called the "Ursutz" burner.
It appeared to be a device
that the designer built in his
shop and sold through the
mail. The advertisement
info's short description was
enough for me to build
something based very
roughly on the same
principals. While it was far
from a set of plans I was
able to "wing it" and make
something that works.
The original burner was
made from what looks like a
large steel pipe with fittings
and ports welded to it. I
lacked the ideal material so
decided to use sheet metal
for the body. Being that
square parts are easier to
attach than round ones (at
least for me) I made
everything square and pop-
riveted the parts together.
This work was done with the
crudest of sheet metal
working tools (i.e. regular
pliers, a wood board to bend
and form the corners,
blah...blah...blah...)
I collected the waste (used)
motor oil from the lawn
mower and a friend's
motorcycle. I put about 1
quart into the burner's fuel
tank to compare it to used
cooking oil. It lasted about
15 or 20 minutes (equals
about 1 U.S. gallon/hour).
A lot of people are against waste oil as a fuel and assume it always burns with a
smokey, dirty flame. This is only true if your burner design sucks! Therefore in
2003 I took it upon myself to begin perfecting homemade waste oil combustion
technology.
I'm convinced that for anyone wanting to melt large batches of any metal at one
time or melt iron (except for iron in a cupola), oil is by far the most economical
fuel. I think waste oil burners could become the majority in hobby foundries in
the future. The burners are destined to become more compact while the ease of
use and efficiency continues to increase. And the fuel is FREE! -June/20/2005
CAUTION! Working with or around burning and hot oil/grease can be dangerous,
especially when proper safety precautions are not taken. Water should never be used to
put out an oil or grease fire. Use dry sand or dirt. Because of the variations in materials
and workmanship there are no guarantees on the information in/on this web site. This
information is simply what I have been successful with in my own experiments. I will not
assume responsibility for any injury, loss, or damage that may result from following the
instructions, advice or plans on this web site. There are always dangers in foundry work
and they have been pointed out whenever possible but it is not the purpose of this web
site to, nor is it possible to mention all known or unknown dangers.
This is the furnace unit back
in 2003. THE STEAM is
from a newly poured open-
face mold. This is a self
contained unit. The furnace,
burner assembly, and fuel
tank are attached to a cart-
like frame on wheels.
www.BackyardMetalcasting.com
This is an experimental
rotor that I cast from
aluminum for the blower
assembly. It has reverse
inclined blades because I
read that they are more
efficient. I also cast a non-
inclined rotor for the
blower. I didn't notice much
difference in efficiency
between the two.
Can this burner explode? No, oil is far less flammable than gasoline or propane. It
requires so much heat energy to ignite and maintain combustion that if too much oil
were to enter the burner the flame would cool off and begin to extinguish, not explode!
No matter how nice your propane burner is, propane is still very expensive is
many parts of the U.S.A. (and other parts of the world) It cost me $21.00 last
time I got a refill on my barbecue sized tank in 2004 (up from $17.00 in 2003).
This price gouging has caused many metalcasters to return to cheaper, simpler
fuels like; wood, charcoal and even regular coal. But more interestingly it has
helped spur an increase in various types of oil burners (kerosine, diesel, waste oil
etc.). Now oil in general is the "newest" backyard foundry technology. Used
cooking or motor oil fuels the Lab's foundry for free and can melt any metal from
lead to iron! -June/20/2005
CAUTION! Working with or around burning and hot oil/grease can be dangerous,
especially when proper safety precautions are not taken. Water should never be used to
put out an oil or grease fire. Use dry sand or dirt. Because of the variations in materials
and workmanship there are no guarantees on the information in/on this web site. This
information is simply what I have been successful with in my own experiments. I will not
assume responsibility for any injury, loss, or damage that may result from following the
instructions, advice or plans on this web site. There are always dangers in foundry work
and they have been pointed out whenever possible but it is not the purpose of this web
site to, nor is it possible to mention all known or unknown dangers.
DE-CLASSIFIED
Over the past 4 years I've received probably over 200 e-mails asking for more
details about the waste oil burners. Specifically the G4 and G5 designs. Well here
it is so don't say I never gave you anything! - May/31/2007
www.BackyardMetalcasting.com
Here are some miscellaneus photos that you may consider interesting. Rumor
has it that Lionel's Laboratory is like the government... No technology is
declassified unless something better exists... - May/31/2007
Short Answer:
Negative. The G5 burner's flame is the perfect color for this burner, yellowish white. Oil
molecules have so much more carbon than propane has that the oxygen in the air can not burn it
all at once. So the temperature of the excess carbon drops down to the yellow/orange color range
and burns slower. The great quantity of this yellow burning carbon blocks out the blue areas of
the flame which would otherwise be visible.
Oil burners which use a coil to vaporize the oil can burn with a blue flame because the coil
removes the excess carbon and turns the rest of the oil into a gaseous vapor (like propane). But
just like propane there is less heat provided from this method because much of the carbon has
been removed and left in the coil as soot and crud which must be cleaned out from time to time!
Long(er) answer:
Oil is MUCH more dense than gas (such as propane or natural gas) Oil molecules
have many more carbon atoms in their molecules. Also the bonds between the
molecules are stronger (as oil is used the heat weakens the bonds breaking them down
which is partly why used oil is easier to burn than new oil). However as the oil burns
the bonds between the carbon and hydrogen atoms must be broken for the oxygen to
combine with the carbon and hydrogen properly. This takes more time with oil than
with gaseous fuels.
Oil molecules have so much more carbon than propane has that the oxygen in the air
can not combine with and burn it all at once. So the temperature of the excess carbon
drops down to the yellow/orange color range and burns slower and further from the
burner (sometimes as an orange flame that blasts out of the furnace vent if the furnace
is too small). The great quantity of this yellow burning carbon blocks out the blue
areas of the flame which would otherwise be visible. You can think of this orange
flame as millions of tiny sparks all grouped together.
That is in reality what it is! A spark is a burning piece of material, such as the sparks
from charcoal are burning specs of charcoal. The orange flames blasting out of the
furnace can be considered millions of tiny sparks created by the excess carbon atoms
burning in the orange color rage! This is lost heat/fuel. If the furnace were larger then
this carbon would burn within the furnace chamber and the heat would not be lost.
If this excess carbon contacts a comparatively cold surface then it may cool
completely and form soot (the excess carbon)! However given enough space (a large
enough furnace chamber or out in the open) the carbon can combine with oxygen and
burn completely (at least in theory since there are other variables to consider).
Oil burners which use a coil to vaporize the oil can burn with a blue flame because the
oil has been turned into a gaseous vapor (like propane). But just like propane there is
less heat provided from this method because a lot of the carbon is left in the coil as
soot and crud which must be cleaned out from time to time! And this carbon is
therefore lost as a fuel source! Thusly, an oil burner with a true vaporizer assembly
may burn with less heat than a propane burner!
Additionally since the propane flame is blue (a higher temperature color) the flame is
hotter than a yellow oil flame, but the larger oil flame and oil's higher heat density
(British Thermal Unit - BTU content) makes up for it with a quality burner!
Unfortunately the manifold design was
flawed. There seemed to be some air
turbulence in the manifold which
prevented the burner from running
properly. The turbulence seemed to be
some "back flow" of air. To solve the
problem I removed the cap from the top
of the manifold and replaced it with this
swiveling lid which provided a gap for the
excess air to "leak" out of. This greatly
reduced the turbulence and let the
burner run much better.
Unfortunately again, The gap from the
swiveling lid allowed oil droplets to splash
out fairly often. So to "encapsulate" the
sprayed droplets I used this elbow fitting
and section of pipe. The turbulent air was
still able to escape but the oil droplets
were mostly caught. Most of the oil shown
on the manifold was from it dripping down
when the swiveling lid was in place. Often
a lot of this oil would vaporize off the
surface when the burner was hot.
This is the final page of photos taken out of the Lionel's Laboratory vault. I
have dozens of others. I always take a lot of photos that usually never make it
onto the website. Maybe new "vintage, nostalgia, throwback" pages will be put
together in the future. - May/31/2007
Metalcaster #1: So I see you're melting metal with used motor oil,
how's that working out for you?
Metalcaster #2: It's great but I only accept it from American cars to
reduce my dependancy on foreign oil!
Here it is, the first true oil injection style burner that I've built. It's actually
designed to be able to run on either oil alone, propane alone, or both
simultaneously. Check it out!
CAUTION! Working with or around burning and hot oil/grease can be dangerous,
especially when proper safety precautions are not taken. Water should never be used to
put out an oil or grease fire. Use dry sand or dirt. Because of the variations in materials
and workmanship there are no guarantees on the information in/on this web site. This
information is simply what I have been successful with in my own experiments. I will not
assume responsibility for any injury, loss, or damage that may result from following the
instructions, advice or plans on this web site. There are always dangers in foundry work
and they have been pointed out whenever possible but it is not the purpose of this web
site to, nor is it possible to mention all known or unknown dangers.
Here is my first attempt at an "injection"
type burner. Technically it's called the
G6-IS1 which stands for "Generation 6
Injection Style 1" since it is my sixth
generation of waste oil burner and the
first of the injection type rather than
the "box burner" like the G1-G5 designs.
Those are two terms that I use to classsify the burners based on their method of igniting the
oil. The "box burners" are the G1-G5 designs. They are basically metal boxes internally lined
with refractory. The oil ignites and burns inside them and the resulting flames are blown into
the furnace. Plenty of heat is produced but the burner itself absorbs a tremendous amount of it
making the system less efficient. And the insides can get clogged with ash and oil residue like
creosote. As if that weren't enough the refractory lining can melt and deform decreasing the
effectiveness of the burner. Problems...
The "injection style" burner is like a fuel injector in a car engine. The oil is sprayed (injected)
directly into the furnace as small droplets that burn mostly in the furnace chamber. Almost all
of the heat is generated in the furnace. The burner is much more efficient, lighter and can be
built in about an hour from scraps. There's basically no maintanance. Nice...! In truth since the
oil is merely blow into the furnace and it burns there, the oil burner is not really a burner but
rather an "oil injector."
Page contents copyright © 2007 by Lionel Oliver II - www.BackyardMetalcasting.com
Here is a general overall view of the
burner with what I call the "thermal
transfer ring" on it. Basically it's a ring
that fits over the burner's tip. The flame
heats the tip and conducts the heat into
the ring. At the top of the ring a pipe is
cast within it and the oil moving through
the pipe absorbs the heat. Waste heat
put to good use.
A lot of interest has been shown in this form of waste oil burner so I have
included more details about it. I classify these burners as "injectors" because all
they really do is inject (spray) the oil into the furnace. The oil actually burns
inside the furnace NOT in the "burner." Thusly it's just an injector. --
Jan./21/2008
CAUTION! Working with or around burning and hot oil/grease can be dangerous,
especially when proper safety precautions are not taken. Water should never be used to
put out an oil or grease fire. Use dry sand or dirt. Because of the variations in materials
and workmanship there are no guarantees on the information in/on this web site. This
information is simply what I have been successful with in my own experiments. I will not
assume responsibility for any injury, loss, or damage that may result from following the
instructions, advice or plans on this web site. There are always dangers in foundry work
and they have been pointed out whenever possible but it is not the purpose of this web
site to, nor is it possible to mention all known or unknown dangers.
To ignite the propane I put a wad of newspaper in the furnace and ignite it. Once it
is well ablaze I turn on the blower and then open the propane valve. The propane
usually ignites immediately. If the propane does not ignite, close the propane valve
and let the blower ventilate the furnace of propane fumes and start over with a
larger piece of paper (or paper with a few drops of oil on it) if necessary. Burning
pieces of paper will be blown out of the furnace vent so use caution.
Here is a short piece of pipe that I'll
demonstrate forming the taper on. The
taper on the end of the burner acts as a
venturi. I have however built a burner
without a taper and it also sprayed the oil
nicely so it might not be necessary. But
the Brute uses one for insurance.
Preheating:
I've run the furnace on days as cold as about 20 degrees F. and it ran
perfectly. I merely increased the preheat time by using more scrap wood.
A thorough preheat of the furnace is a must. The oil used on these cold
days was always used motor oil which doesn't thicken nearly as much as
vegetable oil (used cooking oil). I've had a jug of used cooking oil that
literally turned to slush when I had it stored on the uninsulated outdoor
steps leading to the basement.
The first test was considered a rousing success since it actually worked on the
first attempt. The only problem was that too much oil was entering the furnace.
After a few burner modifications the new results should be a lot closer to what I
want! -- June/10/2008
CAUTION! Working with or around burning and hot oil/grease can be dangerous,
especially when proper safety precautions are not taken. Water should never be used to
put out an oil or grease fire. Use dry sand or dirt. Because of the variations in materials
and workmanship there are no guarantees on the information in/on this web site. This
information is simply what I have been successful with in my own experiments. I will not
assume responsibility for any injury, loss, or damage that may result from following the
instructions, advice or plans on this web site. There are always dangers in foundry work
and they have been pointed out whenever possible but it is not the purpose of this web
site to, nor is it possible to mention all known or unknown dangers.