I attended a class held at my church a couple days ago where we learned about and made emergency heaters. They don't cost much to assemble and they could make all the difference in case of an emergency. Since I think emergency preparedness goes hand-in-hand with self-reliance and frugality, I thought I would share what I learned. You never know when something like this could be useful, after all.
To make your emergency heater, you'll need:
- A new, quart-sized paint can with a lid. These can be purchased at paint stores and home improvement stores like Home Depot for around $2-3.
- A roll of unscented toilet paper (I say, the cheaper the better. I bought a package of the rough, store brand stuff for around a dollar. It wasn't hard to fit into the can -- others at the class had a difficult time because they were using their nice, multiple-ply stuff.)
- A bottle of unscented, 70% isopropyl alcohol
- A box of matches (I just learned that you can waterproof matches by dipping the heads in wax. Pretty cool.)
- A quarter and some tape (I suggest packaging tape)
When you want to use the heater, pop open the lid, using the quarter as leverage. Place the lit match or lighter carefully against the alcohol-soaked toilet paper. A small flame will develop. The flame only uses the alcohol as fuel -- the toilet paper shouldn't burn. If it does start to burn, that means you need more alcohol. To do this, replace the lid to extinguish the flame. Once out, add some more alcohol and light again. Once you've used this heater, the only thing that ever needs replacing is the alcohol since the TP doesn't burn. Assembling the heater is a one-time thing, really.
Important: if you're going to use this heater in a car, crack open the windows for ventilation. Even though the alcohol doesn't produce carbon monoxide, you still want fresh air in such an enclosed space.
The teacher of the class said that she burned her heater (to test it out) in her kitchen and it lasted for five hours. According to one site I checked, you can keep a car heated at 60-70 degrees for 24 hours with 4 pints of alcohol. These heaters can get hot, so be careful how you handle them and be sure to keep them away from anything that could catch (obviously). Another site I read suggested sliding the passenger seat in the car as far back as it can go and placing the heater on the floor.
You can also use this heater in your home in the event of an emergency. Since the area isn't as small as that of a car, the instructor of the class said that you should be fine without cracking the windows (if you're in a small room, it couldn't hurt to crack it a little). This small heater, of course, won't keep an entire room at 60-70 degrees, but it will keep the chill off enough. These heaters are great for 72-hour kits.
For under five bucks, you can create a heat source for you and your family in the event of an emergency -- and five dollars is a small price to pay for a little extra peace of mind.
48 comments:
Wow, what an awesome idea! This makes me think of all the emergency preparedness stuff I may be not thinking of (like propane tanks for cooking and stuff.)
Thanks Heather!
My friend gave me one of these YEARS ago as a Christmas present and I LVOE IT!
Two tips. Use a metal washer instead of a quarter and the card board will come right out after soaking in the alcohol.
A washer would work, too, but a quarter was more handy for me since I had plenty of quarters. Plus, I didn't want to go to the hardware store and buy washers (since I made several of these heaters -- one for each member of the family + each car).
As for the cardboard inside the roll, I would still suggest taking it out initially -- it makes getting the T.P. into the can easier. Plus, why fiddle with it when it's all wet when it's pretty easy to get out to begin with?(I was only being facetious in the post when I wrote that taking out the cardboard roll was the hardest part since it's not, really).
Thanks for reading!
How many rolls do you put into the can all 4? Do you just keep adding alcohol to it till the can is almost full? Thanks kateyes@rocketmail.com
Just one roll of toilet paper per can. Add the alcohol until it's just below the rim of the can. It takes a little while to fill the can with alcohol because you have to wait for the t.p. to absorb the alcohol.
Great idea! Great blog! And of course, I scroll down and you're LDS too! Shoulda guessed.
Can you burn more than one in your home at a time? My home is pretty open on the bottom floor.
Thanks for a great idea!
I'm wondering - is it possible to use one of these to cook or warm food over?
You're welcome!
I'm not sure if you can use these for cooking. I've sent a message to the lady who taught me how to make these heaters. Once I hear back from her, I'll post it on here.
So you totally can cook over these! Here's what my friend said:
"You take a #10 can. Puncture holes with can opener, place upside down over heater and cook."
Does that make sense?
@Survivor -- I'm pretty sure you could use more than one at a time in your home. Use your best judgment! :)
I love this! One of the areas I have been worried about most was heat as power outages happen more often in winter around here and even gas furnaces have electric force air and thermostats. I rent so a wood stove and those options aren't available for me or allowed. I have seen small cans like this that are meant for food cooking (minus the TP) so I imagine you could make this into a rocket type stove idea as well. I recommend if you have a large area and need heat from a source like this put up blankets or sheets to block it off into a smaller area and huddle up all in one room. For us that would be our master bedroom as it has the best use of space and an accessible large bathroom with a huge counter. So if I had to we could hole up in just those 2 rooms and be okay. Not to mention my stockpile is in a big closet in that bathroom.
Another safety idea is a $1 small cookie sheet for below it!
Is it completely safe if you were to knock it over by accident in the car? would any alcohol come out and then set on fire in the car? just had to be sure, but it sounds like a great idea thank you.
Just curious. Have you checked on the alcohol in the can since putting it in there? Alcohol evaporates easily. I had some denatured alcohol I put in 2 4oz squeeze bottles to go into my 72 hr kit. After about 6 months, I went to use it and the bottles were both empty - it had all evaporated.
If it were me, I'd keep the unopened alcohol taped to the side of the can as well.
Thanks for the post!
Darlene, the alcohol should stay fine in a new paint can like this. If you store it in containers not made for the right use, it will evaporate. When I buy Denatured Alcohol for my finishing with shellac and for alcohol stoves, it comes in a metal can. I am assuming this is for a reason. SO, I would think the alcohol would stay fine in a NEW paint can.
I wouldn't burn anything without ventilation. The alcohol doesn't really give off CO but it does consume oxygen. 20.9% O2 is normal all it takes is to drop it below 19% and you can start to have problems. But the heater is great, I've used something like this before.
Darlene, I would think if you melt some wax around the lip of the lid, it would seal in the alcohol.
Jack
Thanks for the advice! I’ll definitely make one of these if I’m ever left with a broken heater in the middle of winter. I can only hope I can keep my kids away from it as they are a bit too curious for anyone’s good!
Sincerely,
Roberta @ customcoolingandheatinginc.com
Ill' take your advice and follow this DIY procedure. Thanks.
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We used the same ideal years ago, useing a 3 lb. coffee can, drilled holes about an inch down-around the top for ventilation. Made coffee and cooked on it. Little slower brewing but works fine.
Hi! Great idea. We just moved into a 125-year-old historical home and as you can imagine, keeping it warm in this particularly cold winter has been challenging. My only change would be to tie one of those can keys the paint department gives you for free to the can's handle. The quarter or washer may warp the lid and eventually keep it from closing properly.
Don't use the quarter or washer to open the lid as these may warp the rim and lid and cause evaporation. Instead, use a can key. The paint department gives them away for free. Ask for them when you purchase your cans.
@Angie -- good point on the quarter/washer thing. I kind of forgot about the free can keys...
OK, with 2 cups of alcohol, that doesn't get you anywhere near 1/2 under the rim. Does it mean pour the alcohol into the center of the toilet paper role just a 1/2 below the rim until it absorbs and then continue to add until you have used your 2 cups?
It's been years since I made these, but I'm pretty sure it took two cups, especially since that the roll of toilet paper takes up a lot of space. I just put the toilet paper in (sans the cardboard in the center), poured as much of that 2 cups into the can that it can fit(it doesn't have to be poured in the center of the roll. Just pour it over the whole thing), let the TP absorb it and then kept adding more until it was a 1/2 inch below the rim.
Thank you! This is very helpful. With the biting cold that we're having right now, it is still entirely possible that our heaters may give out any day. It takes some time for the heating and ventilation companies to come out and do repairs on everyone, so this would really help in such emergency situations. Thank you!
Jeff Deem
I just made 2 of these heaters and they work GREAT, bought the paint cans at Lowes, Toilet paper (SMALL ROLL) at Food Lion and also the isopropyl alcohol. took maybe 3 to 4 minutes to make and seal and of course i had to try it out and it worked :). Puts off great heat also.
Hooray!!! I'm so glad they worked out for you! They are pretty easy to make, huh? :)
Question:
Do I have to stuff a roll of tp into a small can or can I use a larger can? We purchased some new paint cans to use for this heater, but I forgot what size can. So, we have some larger paint cans. Would this still work or do I need to use small cans?
Thanks for any help!
(I'm enjoying your blog. =) My dad got us interested in "prepping" and we've been doing a lot of research!)
Question: We are doing these for a project for church. We purchased the cans, but noticed they are now coated on the inside with something. (The one I did several years ago was not coated.)Could this be a problem?? Example-would the burning cause a reaction with the coating and perhaps give of toxin fumes?? Can you answer this?
@SuperG -- Hmmmm...that's a good question. I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. Personally, I'd be a little nervous about the possibility of fumes (but I also happen to be pretty paranoid about that kind of stuff). Then again, it's only the alcohol that's burning, so maybe it wouldn't be an issue. I wish I could be more helpful.
Thanks for this awesome post, you never know when you're going to need emergency water heater repair, and often you need to make do until you can get the problem fixed. In the dead of winter, being without heat for even just an hour or so can make for some very uncomfortable times.
These can be purchased at paint stores and home improvement ... woodstovepaint.blogspot.com
A similar idea to a small stove i have had to use in the past. Basically an empty food tin with three individual wicks about an inch wide held in place with folded tin foil. Fill the tin with vegetable oil, light the wicks and you have a stove that will boil water and fry a steak that will last a good week before you need to top up the oil.
This is a boy scouts stove. You can cook on it also. I made chili on mine when my stove broke in the house lol
I love this and plan on making several for my SHTF preps. I also thought of a way to improve upon it and produce more heat. Taking from the instructions for a DIY window heater, I'm going to adhere pennies to the side of the can with a spray adhesive, then cover them with a black spray paint (probably a high heat spray like we use for barbeque grills). The pennies should help in producing even more heat. Of course, the cautious placement and handling of this is highly recommended.
I'll be giving this a try today and might even post a video on YouTube if it works. Thank you Heather!
My husband also thought of this... take heavy duty aluminum foil and fold it up like you would a paper fan. Make several 2-3 inch sections of these "fans" Attach it to the sides with a high heat adhesive or maybe some kind of heat resistant band around the top and bottom to hold them in place. He thinks this would help disburse the heat even further into the room. We're going to give this a try, too.
These can be purchased at paint stores and home improvement stores ... gasfurnaceshomes.blogspot.com
Does it have to be 70% alcohol or is 50% ok?
I use a small christmas tin with a lid for mine. I also use a roll of streamer paper (aka crepe paper). The package says "flame resistant" which means it doesn't burn as much as the toilet paper and it "wicks" the alcohol liquid better. 1 tin, one roll of streamer and 70% alcohol. The lid extinguishes the flame when done. Just pop the lid on the tin to avoid alcohol evaporation. Just an alternative idea.
In Dec 1976 while on a camping honeymoon we used of these to keep warm. We used a coffee can which of course back then was real metal. It was unusually cold in San Antonio and it kept us toasty warm in my Dad's extra large able to stand up in it canvas tent. Those were some good days!
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Thanks for sharing this information. I found it very informative as I have been researching a lot lately on practical matters such as you talk about.
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Just came upon this article. Excellent. My suggestion to some trying these. Make one, use it. This way you can tell/smell if it gives off fumes or not. If it does, just put the cover on it to turn it off. Also, once satisfied of the heat you get for the space you have, I would then calculate how many I might want heating up the space more effectively.
Richard
Store the smaller can inside a gallon size can for four reasons. 1. More stable base to prevent knocking it over. 2. Creates a buffer from the smaller can if the smaller can gets hot to the touch. 3. Put the lid on the larger can to safely "snuff" out the flame. 4. Store the matches and other small items such as an emergency blanket, and a whistle between the two cans.
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