Homemade gas boiler for heating a private house and cottage: the manufacture of three proven designs

Buying expensive equipment for organizing heating in a rarely visited cottage, a bathhouse or a small house is not always advisable. It is especially unreasonable if there is no constant supervision of the suburban property and a security alarm is not installed. What if periodically still requires heating?

With heating, a homemade gas boiler assembled from improvised materials or used household units will quite successfully cope. A self-made device can become the pride of the owner. The construction of a gas-fired structure will help to show skill.

The article we have proposed describes in detail the steps of assembling and modernizing gas units that can adequately heat private buildings. We cited as examples the most popular, tested in practice options for homemade products. Our tips will provide home masters success in a difficult task.

Is it worth it to design a gas boiler yourself?

We will begin the analysis of the manufacturing options for a gas boiler with our own hands that the fuel they process is classified as toxic and explosive. Gas is flammable. The slightest miscalculations in the design and implementation of homemade products can result in serious destruction, causing damage to health, loss of property.

Therefore, we do not recommend developing a model of a gas boiler to people who do not have a technical background with a specialization in the design of gas equipment. Yes, often experienced gas workers will not take up such a project.

The optimal solution is rightly considered:

• Alteration of the solid fuel model in a gas boiler by installing a gas burner in the firebox;
• Improvement of a used, but functional unit with a focus on use in the heating circuit. Supplementing the factory model with devices for heating and movement stimulation coolant;
• The manufacture of a pyrolysis boiler - equipment that generates gaseous fuel as a result of processing solid fuel at the initial stage. At the secondary stage, the gas emitted during the burning of firewood is burned in an additional firebox.

If you still have a desire to thoroughly study the issue and invent a variant of a home-made gas boiler for an autonomous heating device in a private house, get ready for a literal “going through the agony”. You have to get permissions and confirmation of the safety of the invention in a number of state supervisory authorities.

An independent craftsman will need:

• Check boiler for compliance with safety requirementsand then receive a supporting or refuting document.
• Obtain permits from the State Technical Inspection, Pozh Inspection of the Ministry of Emergencies and GorGaz.
• Apply for a patent and certificateallowing production in a single or continuous execution.

This albeit not numerous, but rather impressive list is able to discourage the desire to invent any docks from the people. However, he will not be able to quench the desire to modernize the existing unit by installing the burner modules assembled at the plant. Improvement easily combines operational safety with increased efficiency.

The most important working element in gas equipment is the burner. Its installation will turn any boiler into the type of heat carrier and hot water required for us for sanitary purposes.

A lit ignitor heats the working part of the thermocouple, which eventually begins to generate current. The charge enters the coil of the gas valve, it acts as an electromagnet and magnetizes the washer, which closes the gas path

Depending on the method of supplying combustion air to the combustion chamber, burners are divided into two main groups:

• Atmospheric. They are installed in open combustion chambers atmospheric boilers. In them, air is freely drawn in from the room in which the boiler is located.
• Fan (they are blasting). Closed combustion chambers are equipped with such models, into which air is forced forcibly with capture on the street. To remove flue gases, they need a coaxial chimney and a fan.

Blowing constructions are too complicated for home creativity. They are simpler and more profitable to buy. Indeed, the acquisition of all adjustment and safety devices for the operation of a fan burner can be more expensive than buying a module in a ready-to-install form.

An atmospheric burner is also desirable to purchase, but you can make the simplest variety with your own hands. Below we consider how and from which it can be assembled.

The process of manufacturing an atmospheric gas burner

An atmospheric type burner is easier to build, as it is structurally much simpler than a fan counterpart. The most characteristic and most known example to most Russians is the burner block in the old-style gas columns. There are no volatile elements in its design that force gas and air to mix in the required proportions.

Air is drawn into the chamber with an atmospheric burner module spontaneously as needed. The products of the processing of blue fuel are naturally removed through a standard chimney due to the presence of draft. All work consists in the construction of a manifold with gas nozzles through which gas will flow at the right speed.

If you want to build a gas burner with your own hands, it is better to take factory-made products as the basis, or rather the drawing in its data sheet with dimensions and designation of structural elements

To make a burner with your own hands to equip a gas heating boiler, you will need:

• Valve series VK-74. Typically used on oxygen cylinders, designed for a maximum pressure of 20 MPa. The complete set must have a 3/4 ″ union nut, with which you can tightly connect to the gas supply pipe or hose. The valve will serve as a support base for fixing the nozzle.
• Nozzle cap. The device will hold the gas dispenser and form a narrow stream. At the top of the cap, a hole is drilled into which the nozzle is to be placed. The base is screwed onto the valve.
• Nozzle. It is better to buy it in finished form with the expectation of supplying the main gas or liquefied gas mixture. At nozzles the diameter of an exit differs. Instead of nozzles for boilers, a nozzle from a gas burner can be used.
• Homemade injector. It is built from a steel tube with a wall thickness of up to 2 mm. A piece of pipe about 10 cm long is required.
• Piezoelectric element. It is installed at will, although you can do without it. Homemade can be set on fire with matches.

All of the above elements are assembled mainly by welding.Therefore, the initiative "homemade" skills and minimal knowledge in welding are very useful. However, where threading is possible, it should remain a priority.

The gas supply channel must be impeccable and airtight, because safety depends on its condition. Between the gas inlet to the device and the nozzle, a distance of 10 cm must be maintained for mixing the fuel with air.

It remains for the home foreman to figure out how to fix a home-made gas burner in the combustion chamber of a spent stove or in the firebox of a former wood-burning boiler. It should be noted that for the flow of air you need to leave the opportunity. Air must regularly enter the chamber, for which it is necessary to cut round or longitudinal holes in the door.

Do not forget that the above option can hardly be called a safe gas supply device. There is no automation in the design that interrupts the operation of the boiler in the event of blowing out or an unstable flame. Owners will not be able to adjust the pressure and gas flow, because neither convenience nor savings can be discussed.

Installation of a gas burner in a solid fuel boiler

After sound reflection and a real assessment of their capabilities, most home craftsmen still prefer modernization solid fuel boilerspreviously processing firewood or coal. They just put a factory-made gas burner in their furnace.

For the arrangement of suburban property, you can purchase a solid fuel unit, which can be converted into gas. For example, a Teplodar stove, in which a gas burner is mounted

Consider the steps for installing a burner device brand Teplodar AGG:

• Dismantling the firebox door, ash pan flap (or the ash pan itself, if it is designed as a drawer with a monolithic door), a chipper and a grate. In short, you need to remove all structural parts that are within the furnace and ash pan.
• Fixation of the burner device. A burner block is mounted in the firebox channel freed from the above elements. If the Teplodar stove is designed to change fuel, then the burner module is fixed in the channel through regular ears with screws and nuts threaded into them.
• Connecting automation to the remote. The devices available in the design of the burner block that ensure automatic operation of the boiler are connected to the control panel.
• Mount thermostat sensor. It is installed on the supply pipe, wrapped with insulation to protect it from external mechanical and thermal influences, and on top with ties.
• Launching to work. It is carried out after checking the draft and salvo ventilation of the room with the modernized boiler. With the help of a simple handle, the most suitable mode is selected.

We remind you that according to the requirements outlined in the "Safety Rules for Gas Distribution and Gas Consumption Systems", all work on installing equipment, replacing burners, servicing equipment and connecting to a network supplying blue fuel must be carried out by gas workers.

In the technical documentation attached to the Teplodar stove, there is a detailed description of the process of installing a gas burner for converting a solid fuel unit into a gas

In accordance with federal regulations and standards, representatives of gas services must enter into a contract for the supply of gas and related services. It is clear that not all remote settlements will be able to serve employees of gas organizations. However, adhering to the requirements is desirable in order to avoid disastrous consequences.

With a decrease and sharp extinction, the current coming from the electric element is weakened, as a result of which the gas supply channel is blocked. The overheating of water in the boiler is detected by a temperature sensor, which transmits a signal to open the contact pair that blocks the burner

To risk or value and protect the health with the well-being of your loved ones? It is up to you to decide. It is wiser to abandon threatening events, but it is very useful to know about the process of their implementation in order to monitor how well and honestly gas workers work.

Homemade gas boiler options

In fact, all the homemade products we presented are a modernization of gas equipment with the aim of operating them as heat carrier heaters. We give only ideas, we strongly recommend not to take risks, but to put an atmospheric or fan burner in a solid fuel unit.

# 1: Homemade gas water heater

If you changed the obsolete gas water heater to a new generation boiler with automation and a closed burner, do not rush to part with old equipment. It will also serve perfectly in a suburban bathhouse or garage. Improvement does not require much money and effort.

In this case, the whole alteration consists in changing nozzles or a complete burner unit if it is planned to burn a liquefied gas mixture outside the city. It will be necessary to buy an atmospheric burner block of the dimensions corresponding to the combustion chamber. Then it will need to be fixed inside the camera.

If the owner decides to install a fan burner in a makeshift gas boiler, the heating circuit will have to be supplemented with mandatory functional systems. This is a safety group, a circulation pump, an expansion tank, an automatic air vent or Mayevsky taps

Those who want to put a ventilation burner will have more expenses. They will also need to purchase a security group, including safety valve, manometer and device for automatic air bleeding. You will need a small diaphragm tank, a circulation pump and a coaxial chimney to supply fresh air to the burner and remove combustion products.

# 2: Gas stove device

The old gas stove does not require special changes, because remaking it into a gas boiler is simply unrealistic. You can only put a metal tank on one of the burners, the volume of which is selected depending on the load-bearing capacity of the stove and the volume of the coolant in a home-made heating system. Usually it is 100-150 liters.

In the lower third of the metal tank, a pipe is welded into it to connect the return pipe, in the upper third - a pipe to connect the feed. When heated, the water will spontaneously rise up and flow into the main, moving the heated coolant to the heating devices.

Neither a safety valve nor an air vent will be required for such a home-made system. Excessive heated water will evaporate naturally, bubbles will be released through a loose tank cap.

# 3: Making a pyrolysis boiler

Pyrolysis boilers are loaded first through the top door with firewood or coal. In this case, the choke on the chimney channel is fully open and the fan is turned on to stimulate combustion. The process at this stage takes place in the traditional mode for a solid fuel unit.

After waiting for the coal and firewood to fully ignite, the choke in the chimney is closed to limit the access of oxygen to the place of processing of solid fuel. Due to the weak air supply, it begins to smolder, i.e. the pyrolysis stage starts - the decomposition of fuel into coal and pyrolysis gases.

A reasonable advantage of a pyrolysis boiler is considered to be fuel economy. In addition to the main type, the unit also processes gases generated during the combustion of firewood or coal

Pyrolysis gases are transported through the nozzle to the combustion chamber. Heated air is injected into it, which is required for the oxidation of pyrolysis gases. Under such conditions, pyrolysis gases quickly ignite and burn at a temperature of 1100º C.

Heat exchanger pyrolysis boiler placed above the combustion chamber of the same gases, quickly heating the coolant flowing through the tubes. If you want to figure out how to make an efficient and economical gas boiler yourself, we offer a proven pyrolysis design.

For the construction of a home-made pyrolysis boiler, it is desirable to find a scheme of a design that has been tested in practice. Experiments in this area are far from always having a positive result.

The main thing is to understand the principle of the device and the operation of boilers using the gases obtained during combustion. In each design of this type, structural elements are repeated. Well, the body can be either welded or made of a metal barrel, a pipe of large diameter or an empty gas cylinder.

For the manufacture of a pyrolysis type boiler, it is better to use an already proven development. It will require the skills of a welder and a welding machine, an inverter, a drill with a set of different nozzles and a drill for drilling large holes. You also need to cook ordinary locksmith tools and clamps.

You will need to stock up on material, a list of which we provide below:

To build a pyrolysis boiler, you need to stock up on material, an approximate list of which we provide to help independent home craftsmen

If you do not have all the tools required for cutting parts, it is best to order this matter in the workshop. Without experience, and even using one angle grinder, a smooth cut cannot be achieved. Precision cutting can also cause problems.

The construction of the pyrolysis boiler begins with the assembly of the housing:

Now you need to make a heat exchanger, then install it and the throttle in the housing:

The inside of the boiler body is assembled, the throttle device is welded. We’ll check how high-quality welding is done by the simplest method - we will light a flashlight inside the boiler and see if light penetrates through any segment.

The inside of the pyrolysis boiler is ready. Now it needs to be sheathed. In the sheathing device in the model presented for the example, the master used sheet steel 4 mm thick

The outer skin of a home-made boiler is produced on all planes, except for the top panel. It is welded after the installation of control tunnels, with which the condition of the ducts will be monitored.

Now before further work we check the quality of the welds in the simplest way - pour water into the formed “containers”. Then we dry the structure and lightly strip the welded joints with large sandpaper or a grinding disk.

And now you can begin to design air intake and air movement control systems:

It remains only to complete the lining of the chambers with sawn fireclay bricks. We make a cut with a grinder with a disk for cutting stone. We finish the cuts with a grinding stone.

Before putting a homemade boiler into operation, it is imperative to check the tightness of all systems that conduct blue fuel and flue gases. To do this, pressure test the boiler by putting sealed plugs in the return pipes with the supply. The unit must be free to hold a pressure of 3 bar.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

The following video will introduce an interesting development of a gas heater:

The device of a gas burner for installation in a solid fuel unit:

Design features and the manufacturing process of the pyrolysis boiler are graphically presented video:

Homemade products useful in the household are an excellent option for solving the problems of arranging suburban property. They will provide heat to buildings that need heating, and almost do not affect the family budget. The master owner's cottage, garage, bath will be in perfect order.

It is important to remember that gas-fired heating equipment is a potential hazard if it is not properly assembled and if operating rules are violated.

Tell us about how the boiler was made for the arrangement of suburban property. Share your manufacturing options and interesting designs. Please leave comments in the block below, post a photo on the topic of the article, ask questions.