Billy Goat
Member
- Sep 5, 2017
- 332
Building your own elk tent heater!!
- Shane White (aka Billy Goat)
Our elk camp is easily accessible by truck, so I don?t need a ?lightweight? heater. I just want one that works, and doesn?t cost a ton. This isn?t hard to do?.
My elk hunting buddy Erik and I use ?UDS? smokers to cook all our smoked meat. UDS stands for ?Ugly Drum Smoker?. They aren?t pretty, but are highly portable, last a LONG time, and are very cheap to build. Using these to cook briskets, ribs, chickens, turkeys, etc made me realize I could build a pretty effective tent heater out of just a 55 gal drum, misc parts and some elbow grease.
If you want a BUNCH more info on how to build a UDS of your own, visit Eriks web-blog at:
Materials collected and ready to start building!
<!-- m --><a class=\"postlink\" href=\"http://disorganizedsports.blogspot.com/?_sm_au_=isVQQW7DJSKTTf7s\" onclick=\"window.open(this.href);return false;\">http://disorganizedsports.blogspot.com/ ... 7DJSKTTf7s</a><!-- m -->
Bill of Materials (Appx $80, max)
? 55 gal drum ? select one with a good-fitting lid and quick-remove lock ring. This is important.
? ~4? vent stove pipe (as much as you need)
? 4? vent flange
? 4? angle-adjustable elbow
? 4 ? 5? sections of ~ 1 ?? angle iron
? four ??bolts appx 1? long
? sheet of expanded metal
? 16? charcoal grate ring (Weber or equivalent)
? Steel coffee can for a ?cap?
? Rain hood for vent
? Spark arrestor screen
? Temp gauge that will read from ~200-600F or so (available at Home Depot/Lowes in the BBQ grill section. Academy carries these too.
Note: as you look at the series of photos, you?ll notice I didn?t entirely follow the build sequence shown. I did some steps ?out of order?, but I won?t make that mistake again. I?m putting these instructions together as much for me as I am for you! I sold the 2014 UDH as a drum smoker on craigslist (to avoid storing it for 2 years), and will be making another for our 2016 trip. ?
Instructions for the build:
1. Acquire all materials listed above
2. Study the plan, and consider whether or not you want to make design modifications
3. Make your ?fire box?
Short fire box ? for UDS Fire box, but better image for construction model?.
a. The fire box is just a sheet of expanded metal wrapped in a ?cylinder? around a standard charcoal base grate.
Fire box built and loaded into drum
b. Cut out a portion of the expanded metal as tall as you want it. For UDS builds, I normally make that basket about 8? tall, but for the tent heater, I want to load it with A LOT more fuel. So I made it 30?x56?. That?ll make your cylinder 30? tall.
c. Bend the expanded metal around the fire grate ring, and bolt it together, to keep it in place.
d. If you?ll put that charcoal grate about 2? off the bottom, it?ll give your ashes more room to settle as the week progresses. See the ?short fire box? picture to the right as an example.
e. Tip here- to temporarily hold the expanded metal in place, you can use bailing wire as a temporary hold. It?s easier to work with than the ? bolts. Just go back and add the ?? bolts once the bailing wire is in place. If that doesn?t make sense, you just don?t have enough practice using bailing wire in your life. =/
?
Burning out the barrel ? to remove original paint
4. Prepare the Lid:
a. Remove lock ring and lid
b. If there is a ?seal? under the lid, scrape it out with a big screwdriver. Once your barrel gets hot, anything that can burn will, and you don?t want it making your elk clothes smell funky.
5. Prepare the barrel:
a. The regular paint on a barrel like this, once it gets REALLY hot, will curl up and peel off. I don?t want that happening in a space where I?m breathing (on the mountain).
b. So?.I loaded it up with a busted up pallets worth of pine and oak, and let it roar. Sure enough, much of the paint discolored, and peeled off. See photos ?.
c. Once the fire dies out and your barrel has cooled, use a wire wheel brush to polish up the exterior, removing that last bit of paint that didn?t peel off already.
d. Re-paint the whole thing with a can or two of BBQ grill paint (high temp) to keep it from rusting (and still looking good)
?
e. Install the air intake ports.
Air intake ports
i. Drill a ? hole about 4? off the bottom, on either side and another about halfway to two thirds of the way up the barrel. Total of 4.
ii. On either side of the ? holes, drill 1? holes about 1 1/2? away. These are your air intake ports, and it?s how you control the operating temperature of your heater, by regulating the oxygen into the barrel.
iii. Take your angle iron pieces, and drill ? holes in the center.
iv. Use ?? bolts to attach angle iron to barrel. Verify tight enough to hold in place, but loose enough to allow intentional movement.
v. See ?air intake ports? photos for typical example of all instructions above.
Air intake ports on a UDS
vi. You should now have 4 sets of intake ports. Two down low and two about half to two thirds of the way up the barrel. See photo example.
?
6. Install the exhaust system
Exhaust stack installed. I also recommend having your 10 year old assist in any such project. ?
a. I like my exhaust coming off the side of the drum, not the lid, because the lid comes off pretty often (daily), and I don?t want to be messing with the exhaust system every time I do. You may decide differently. ?
b. Take the 4? exhaust flange, and mount it on the barrel side (again, my choice, may not be yours) with self tapping screws. You want this to be a pretty good seal, so put a bunch of screws in there. Make sure they are fairly short screws. No need in protruding deeply into the barrel.
c. Attach the adjustable elbow to the flange piece
d. Add as much exhaust stack as you need
e. Drill hole in lid, and add on the temperature gauge.
?
Using the heater:
Painted, loaded, and testing use!!
(in my backyard)
1. Here?s where you need to pay strict attention!
2. Of course, you want a CO alarm for use anytime anyone is sleeping. Still, a system such as this does a pretty good job of taking exhaust fumes (rich in CO) outside the tent.
3. I recommend using a fire blanket if you?re setting this heater near an external wall as we did on our 2014 elk trip. See reference photos later.
4. Insert your fire box (basket) into the UDH
5. Add as much UNLIT fuel as you want inside the basket. For hunt camp, you?ll want to use as much short pieces of aspen as you can. Pine will work too, but will heavily build up sap in the heater, the chimney, etc. it will condense in the exhaust stack and create a thick tar that you?d rather not mess with. It will also clog the spark arrestor after about 5 days of solid use.
6. Top off the pile with loose, cheap charcoal. This stuff burns really clean and is a consistent burner. That?s what I use in 99% of my meat smoking efforts, so that?s where most of my experience comes from.
7. Use a charcoal chimney to ?light? about 15-20 individual pieces of charcoal.
8. Place the lit coals ON TOP of the charcoal and wood in the fire basket
9. Put the lid back on your drum and clamp it down good! (do this in a hurry, or it will get smoky in your tent fast))
10. Open the intake ports on the heater. These intake ports are how you regulate the heater temperature. The fire basket has a GROSS oversupply of fuel, and the barrel, well sealed, should be starved on oxygen. So you control the burn rate by regulating the supply of oxygen to the system.
a. If you want to maintain a temperature of about 200F, just open both sets of bottom ports.
b. IF you want it much hotter, open up the top ports too. That?ll take the surface temp up to around 400F, or maybe higher.
c. Watch your temp gauge and adjust accordingly to set your desired heater temperature.
Actually deployed in elk camp ? 2014
Note 1: fire blanket deployed to protect tent
Note2: UDH not in use photo, and don?t leave the lighter on the heater!!!!
Exhuast stack outside tent
d. In the field, I recommend putting an old man pretty close to the heater. Old men always have the most opinions on how cold it is/warm it should be in the tent, so they can adjust it as often as they want.
11. Once you are ?done? using it (ie the morning), you can actually put the fire OUT (or very near it) by closing the intake ports, and installing the coffee can cap to kill the exhaust flow.
a. Doing so will vastly extend the life of your fuel source.
Legal disclaimer:
1. I don?t build these things professionally. If you take on the effort of building and using one, you do so at your own risk. I?m just telling you how I built mine in 2014, and how I?ll be building its replacement in 2016. ?
2. Good luck to you.
- Shane White (aka Billy Goat)
Our elk camp is easily accessible by truck, so I don?t need a ?lightweight? heater. I just want one that works, and doesn?t cost a ton. This isn?t hard to do?.
My elk hunting buddy Erik and I use ?UDS? smokers to cook all our smoked meat. UDS stands for ?Ugly Drum Smoker?. They aren?t pretty, but are highly portable, last a LONG time, and are very cheap to build. Using these to cook briskets, ribs, chickens, turkeys, etc made me realize I could build a pretty effective tent heater out of just a 55 gal drum, misc parts and some elbow grease.
If you want a BUNCH more info on how to build a UDS of your own, visit Eriks web-blog at:
Materials collected and ready to start building!
<!-- m --><a class=\"postlink\" href=\"http://disorganizedsports.blogspot.com/?_sm_au_=isVQQW7DJSKTTf7s\" onclick=\"window.open(this.href);return false;\">http://disorganizedsports.blogspot.com/ ... 7DJSKTTf7s</a><!-- m -->
Bill of Materials (Appx $80, max)
? 55 gal drum ? select one with a good-fitting lid and quick-remove lock ring. This is important.
? ~4? vent stove pipe (as much as you need)
? 4? vent flange
? 4? angle-adjustable elbow
? 4 ? 5? sections of ~ 1 ?? angle iron
? four ??bolts appx 1? long
? sheet of expanded metal
? 16? charcoal grate ring (Weber or equivalent)
? Steel coffee can for a ?cap?
? Rain hood for vent
? Spark arrestor screen
? Temp gauge that will read from ~200-600F or so (available at Home Depot/Lowes in the BBQ grill section. Academy carries these too.
Note: as you look at the series of photos, you?ll notice I didn?t entirely follow the build sequence shown. I did some steps ?out of order?, but I won?t make that mistake again. I?m putting these instructions together as much for me as I am for you! I sold the 2014 UDH as a drum smoker on craigslist (to avoid storing it for 2 years), and will be making another for our 2016 trip. ?
Instructions for the build:
1. Acquire all materials listed above
2. Study the plan, and consider whether or not you want to make design modifications
3. Make your ?fire box?
Short fire box ? for UDS Fire box, but better image for construction model?.
a. The fire box is just a sheet of expanded metal wrapped in a ?cylinder? around a standard charcoal base grate.
Fire box built and loaded into drum
b. Cut out a portion of the expanded metal as tall as you want it. For UDS builds, I normally make that basket about 8? tall, but for the tent heater, I want to load it with A LOT more fuel. So I made it 30?x56?. That?ll make your cylinder 30? tall.
c. Bend the expanded metal around the fire grate ring, and bolt it together, to keep it in place.
d. If you?ll put that charcoal grate about 2? off the bottom, it?ll give your ashes more room to settle as the week progresses. See the ?short fire box? picture to the right as an example.
e. Tip here- to temporarily hold the expanded metal in place, you can use bailing wire as a temporary hold. It?s easier to work with than the ? bolts. Just go back and add the ?? bolts once the bailing wire is in place. If that doesn?t make sense, you just don?t have enough practice using bailing wire in your life. =/
?
Burning out the barrel ? to remove original paint
4. Prepare the Lid:
a. Remove lock ring and lid
b. If there is a ?seal? under the lid, scrape it out with a big screwdriver. Once your barrel gets hot, anything that can burn will, and you don?t want it making your elk clothes smell funky.
5. Prepare the barrel:
a. The regular paint on a barrel like this, once it gets REALLY hot, will curl up and peel off. I don?t want that happening in a space where I?m breathing (on the mountain).
b. So?.I loaded it up with a busted up pallets worth of pine and oak, and let it roar. Sure enough, much of the paint discolored, and peeled off. See photos ?.
c. Once the fire dies out and your barrel has cooled, use a wire wheel brush to polish up the exterior, removing that last bit of paint that didn?t peel off already.
d. Re-paint the whole thing with a can or two of BBQ grill paint (high temp) to keep it from rusting (and still looking good)
?
e. Install the air intake ports.
Air intake ports
i. Drill a ? hole about 4? off the bottom, on either side and another about halfway to two thirds of the way up the barrel. Total of 4.
ii. On either side of the ? holes, drill 1? holes about 1 1/2? away. These are your air intake ports, and it?s how you control the operating temperature of your heater, by regulating the oxygen into the barrel.
iii. Take your angle iron pieces, and drill ? holes in the center.
iv. Use ?? bolts to attach angle iron to barrel. Verify tight enough to hold in place, but loose enough to allow intentional movement.
v. See ?air intake ports? photos for typical example of all instructions above.
Air intake ports on a UDS
vi. You should now have 4 sets of intake ports. Two down low and two about half to two thirds of the way up the barrel. See photo example.
?
6. Install the exhaust system
Exhaust stack installed. I also recommend having your 10 year old assist in any such project. ?
a. I like my exhaust coming off the side of the drum, not the lid, because the lid comes off pretty often (daily), and I don?t want to be messing with the exhaust system every time I do. You may decide differently. ?
b. Take the 4? exhaust flange, and mount it on the barrel side (again, my choice, may not be yours) with self tapping screws. You want this to be a pretty good seal, so put a bunch of screws in there. Make sure they are fairly short screws. No need in protruding deeply into the barrel.
c. Attach the adjustable elbow to the flange piece
d. Add as much exhaust stack as you need
e. Drill hole in lid, and add on the temperature gauge.
?
Using the heater:
Painted, loaded, and testing use!!
(in my backyard)
1. Here?s where you need to pay strict attention!
2. Of course, you want a CO alarm for use anytime anyone is sleeping. Still, a system such as this does a pretty good job of taking exhaust fumes (rich in CO) outside the tent.
3. I recommend using a fire blanket if you?re setting this heater near an external wall as we did on our 2014 elk trip. See reference photos later.
4. Insert your fire box (basket) into the UDH
5. Add as much UNLIT fuel as you want inside the basket. For hunt camp, you?ll want to use as much short pieces of aspen as you can. Pine will work too, but will heavily build up sap in the heater, the chimney, etc. it will condense in the exhaust stack and create a thick tar that you?d rather not mess with. It will also clog the spark arrestor after about 5 days of solid use.
6. Top off the pile with loose, cheap charcoal. This stuff burns really clean and is a consistent burner. That?s what I use in 99% of my meat smoking efforts, so that?s where most of my experience comes from.
7. Use a charcoal chimney to ?light? about 15-20 individual pieces of charcoal.
8. Place the lit coals ON TOP of the charcoal and wood in the fire basket
9. Put the lid back on your drum and clamp it down good! (do this in a hurry, or it will get smoky in your tent fast))
10. Open the intake ports on the heater. These intake ports are how you regulate the heater temperature. The fire basket has a GROSS oversupply of fuel, and the barrel, well sealed, should be starved on oxygen. So you control the burn rate by regulating the supply of oxygen to the system.
a. If you want to maintain a temperature of about 200F, just open both sets of bottom ports.
b. IF you want it much hotter, open up the top ports too. That?ll take the surface temp up to around 400F, or maybe higher.
c. Watch your temp gauge and adjust accordingly to set your desired heater temperature.
Actually deployed in elk camp ? 2014
Note 1: fire blanket deployed to protect tent
Note2: UDH not in use photo, and don?t leave the lighter on the heater!!!!
Exhuast stack outside tent
d. In the field, I recommend putting an old man pretty close to the heater. Old men always have the most opinions on how cold it is/warm it should be in the tent, so they can adjust it as often as they want.
11. Once you are ?done? using it (ie the morning), you can actually put the fire OUT (or very near it) by closing the intake ports, and installing the coffee can cap to kill the exhaust flow.
a. Doing so will vastly extend the life of your fuel source.
Legal disclaimer:
1. I don?t build these things professionally. If you take on the effort of building and using one, you do so at your own risk. I?m just telling you how I built mine in 2014, and how I?ll be building its replacement in 2016. ?
2. Good luck to you.
