DIY heat gun for used oil: step-by-step manufacturing instructions

Alexey Dedyulin
Checked by a specialist: Alexey Dedyulin
Author: Victor Kitaev
Last update: April 2024

Heat guns are auxiliary devices used to maintain a comfortable temperature in the conditions of repair and construction work. But their application is more extensive: devices are used for domestic needs, and in everyday life they use a lot of constructively interesting homemade products.

We will tell you how to assemble a heat gun on waste oil with your own hands. In the article we have proposed, the most popular schemes are presented, recommendations are given on the competent implementation of the developments. Tips for safe and trouble-free operation of manufactured units are provided.

How do heat guns work?

Heating devices related to heat guns are technologically constructed according to a single principle. The design of such plants usually consists of a heating module and a fan installed in a single housing.

Construction heat gun
The design of the heat gun manufactured in industrial production. Compact, safe, convenient device, thanks to which you can get the necessary heat in a short time

A common constructive option is electric. In this case, an electric heater is used as a heater. However, there are also heat guns, where heating is carried out due to other heat sources, for example, burners that burn engine oil.

At the level of domestic use heat guns often associated with ordinary stove stoves. But such a design as a stove-potbelly stove differs significantly from a heat gun, since it does not provide a system for the forced distribution of heated air.

The principle of operation of an extensive group of heaters, united by the technical term “heat gun”, is considered in featured articlededicated to the device and the types of unit.

Homemade heat gun
Home-made stove-potbelly stove powered by liquid fuel, namely, waste engine oil.The design is dubious in terms of safety and not very convenient to use. But on the basis of such structures, craftsmen make heat guns

True, home craftsmen creating the technique manage to attach a ventilation module to the stoves, thereby achieving the effect of a heat gun. Consider the popular design with waste oil heating, which is often done with your own hands.

Working out as an inexpensive type of fuel

Spent engine (technical) oil is seen as an effective fuel for household heating installations. This type of energy resource allows saving on electricity consumption and at the same time obtaining the required amount of heat. But from an environmental point of view, the burning of used oil is equivalent to chemical emissions.

Testing - gun fuel
Waste engine oil is an ideal fuel for homemade domestic stoves and heat guns. Turning to this type of fuel allows you to solve two problems - save money and recycle

However, no one pays attention to the environmental moment. The main thing is to get cheap heat. In addition, do-it-yourself guns made from oil are often technologically hazardous equipment.

There are many examples when several private garages burned out at once for the reason that some of the car owners did not have enough heat, and he decided to solve the problem with a makeshift cannon for working off.

Therefore, when deciding to manufacture such a heating system, one should approach the matter with full understanding. It is necessary to calculate all the constructive options, to protect personal property and the property of other people.

Instructions for the implementation of the project

The circuitry of one of the popular designs of a heat gun operating on waste oil involves the use of a conventional steel pipe D = 219 mm as a body.

A pipe wall size of 10 mm is enough for long-term operation of the device. A piece of pipe with a length of 780 mm from the ends is closed with steel caps.

Heat gun circuit
The scheme for assembling a simple heat gun with your own hands: 1 - oil tank; 2 - dispenser with a tube; 3 - top cover; 4 - viewing window; 5 - a side of the top cover; 6 - hatch for maintenance; 7 - air pipe; 8 - a bowl for oil; 9, 10, 11 - holes of different diameters (3.5 - 5 mm)

Moreover, the lower lid is welded tightly, and the upper one increased in diameter to 226 mm, is equipped with lower sides and is removable. At the bottom of the body pipe, an oil bowl is installed, made of a pipe D = 133 mm and supplemented with an upper flange.

The top cover of the gun body is equipped with two holes. One for the viewing window, the second for the air inlet. The air nozzle of the heat gun is made by hand from a metal pipe D = 89 mm.

This structural part, according to the scheme, is passed with an interference fit through the central hole of the upper housing cover and fixed on it (scalded).

The air supply pipe is fixed so that when the cover is installed, the distance between its bottom and the bottom of the oil bowl in the body pipe does not exceed 50 mm.

Air inlet
Variant of manufacturing an air nozzle. The distribution and diameter of the holes play an important role in the operation of this detail of the heat gun design. The thickness of the metal, which determines the durability of the pipe, also matters

The air pipe is also supplemented with an oil pipe - a small diameter copper pipe (6-10 mm), which runs inside the air channel in its central part. The free part of the tube remaining outside is connected to an intermediate tank - a regulator for the supply of used oil.

At a distance of 80-100 mm from the top cover, a hole D = 100 mm is cut out on the wall of the casing pipe and a tap is welded. This is a pipe designed to connect a chimney.And on the opposite side of the case, in its lower part, a hatch with a diameter of 100-120 mm is made for maintenance (ignition). The hatch is placed on the same level as the oil bowl.

The stove a potbelly stove at working out
A variant of the final product is a heat gun on waste oil. However, it is wiser to make the top cover removable, which simplifies not only the maintenance of the system, but also technical repairs if necessary

To carry out work on the manufacture of such a homemade cannon, which operates on a working out, it is enough to have a welding machine, a standard set of metalwork tools and pipe material according to the size of the circuit.

You will also need a steel sheet and a metal corner for the support legs. The main process consists of welding prepared parts. Preparation of structural elements does not take much effort and time.

Manufactured heater operation

The principle of operation of a home-made stove-potbelly stove for waste oil is simple. A portion of the engine oil is pumped in through a copper tube. Fuel fill the bowl in the bottom of the pipe and set fire to the contents through the lower hatch.

Close the hatch and observe through the viewing window. Allow to flare up to operating temperature, after which they turn on a constant dosed (drip) supply of mining.

Preparing the gun for work
Preparing a homemade device for launch. A cover with an air pipe is put on the stove body, after which it remains only to fill the system with oil, set fire to liquid fuel and adjust the drip feed

By adjusting the drop dosage, adjust the operation of the device so as not to overheat the case. As the furnace heats up, the oil entering the dosing tube will heat up. The characteristic of the fuel ignition point will change.

It is clear that in such conditions without automation it is extremely difficult to achieve clear adjustment. Therefore, if there is no automation, the oil heat gun cannot be left unattended.

Varieties of waste oil circuits

From the point of view of design features, there are two varieties of heaters operating on waste oil:

  1. Direct burning.
  2. Isolated burning.

Similar characteristics underlie the division into subgroups diesel heat guns. Direct combustion designs are more pronounced in efficiency, but when working together with heat they emit combustion products that are harmful to health.

Direct heating gun
Scheme of direct combustion for industrial production: 1 - combustion chamber; 2 - oil burner; 3 - burner nozzle; 4 - valve with electric drive; 5 - feed tube; 6 - fan; 7 - electric motor; 8 - pump; 9 - power unit; 10 - capacity for oil; 11 - control panel

Direct burning device is easy to do with your own hands. Moreover, there is an opportunity for the implementation of a mobile project. Such guns are produced at the industrial production level. You can do it yourself on the basis of an industrial scheme.

To work, you will need:

  1. Capacity suitable shape and size.
  2. Lightweight metal pipe (stainless steel).
  3. Axial fan.
  4. The fuel pump is miniature.
  5. Burner for technical oil.

The oil tank is equipped with wheels and a handle. Inside the steel pipe, in its rear half, a fan with a fuel pump, a fuel supply and injection system, an oil burner are mounted.

The front half of the pipe (inner part) of the heater is equipped with additional protective plates. A flame stop is made directly at the output. That's the whole design.

Indirect heating gun
The scheme of installation of isolated combustion: 1 - combustion chamber; 2 - chimney pipe; 3 - oil burner; 4 - burner nozzle; 5 - valve with electric drive; 6 - feed tube; 7 - fan; 8 - electric motor; 9 - fuel pump; 10 - power unit; 11 - oil tank; 12 - control panel

Practically by the same principle the heat gun of the isolated burning is made.The difference with the first design is noted only in addition to the front area of ​​the chimney pipe and the creation of an isolated combustion chamber.

When the combustion chamber is arranged inside the pipe, the diameter of this part of the structure is made one third smaller than the diameter of the body. Due to this design, annular channels are formed. The air blown through them leaves the heated nozzle through the nozzle.

Features of the operation of homemade products

It’s easy to get heat from a gun in used oil. Another question is how to use all this economy in order to exclude spills of used oil and the danger of its ignition. Therefore, special attention in the manufacture of such structures should also be given to mining repositories and the furnace feed system with this working fluid.

Homemade gun installation
An attempt to equip a home-made heating system with used engine oil with electronics. However, for a reliable automation system, it is necessary to install several sensors and use a multi-stage control circuit

For fuel storage, it is advisable to use sealed metal containers equipped with a dosed feed system. To place vessels with engine oil is permissible only in places remote from sources of open fire, including at a distance from a home-made stove.

Used oil is not recommended as a fuel if it contains even a small amount of water. A mixture of engine oil and water exhibits “explosive” properties during combustion.

Once in the burner nozzle, such a composition ignites and is ejected at high speed in the form of a mass of burning oil droplets. This uncontrolled process often causes a fire.

Industrial Heater - Diesel
Compact, convenient and also mobile heat gun operating on liquid fuel. A direct alternative to homemade devices. The cost of such an installation is not so great that you can completely ignore the purchase option and make a gun with your own hands

Homemade direct burning heaters are sources of the spread of carcinogens. It is forbidden to use such installations indoors.

If an assembly with an isolated combustion chamber and the removal of combustion products outside the premises is used, measures should be taken to reduce environmental pollution. For some, all these requirements are seen as a “diploma,” but a true designer should not ignore generally accepted rules.

In general, a heat gun is, of course, a worthwhile thing. Provided that the assembly is really high-quality in all respects homemade, using such devices is not prohibited. However, the assembly of an effective system is proportional to the cost of an industrial design unit.

You will learn how heat guns capable of working on various types of fuel are constructed next article, the content of which we strongly recommend that you read.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

How to make a heating device for the garage and increase its efficiency, you can learn from the following video:

If there are not enough opportunities or the desire to make a heat gun with your own hands, you can simply contact a specialized store, choose the appropriate device and buy without unnecessary body movements. The advantages are obvious: guarantees, safe operation, high efficiency with low consumption of combustible material.

Want to talk about your own assembled heat gun? Have a desire to share technological nuances that will be useful to site visitors? Please write comments, post thematic photos, ask questions in the block below.

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Visitors Comments
  1. Dmitry

    Yes, now if you look at the cost of heat guns even in the same online stores, your eyes will climb on your forehead. Chinese still okay - more or less tolerant prices, but this is consumer goods. You need to buy quality, and quality is expensive. So, of course, it’s easier to do it yourself, especially since our people are savvy. The main thing is that more hands grow from that place. And then, if there are no skills, then you can specifically nakosyachit with a heat gun, these are not toys after all.

  2. Maxim

    For the first time I hear about heat guns on waste oil. But here the potbelly stoves at mining are “famous” for their increased fire hazard. So I would not risk it.

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