Friends, every day we analyze who and why search queries gets to our website. And we noticed that the word DIY eternal log got a lot of requests. Accordingly, readers wanted to find this information on our website. Maybe this is due to the fact that we have articles that describe products made from logs, stumps, saw cuts and they think that this also applies to us.
We decided to study and describe in this article what kind of wonderful log this is, which will help you save on heating costs and how to make it yourself, especially since there are a lot of negative and positive reviews on the Internet.
The device of an eternal log is shown in the diagram below.
This is not a log, but an ordinary metal pipe, welded on both sides. There is a hole in the pipe that can be closed using a valve. Water is poured through this hole and fills the entire volume of the pipe. Several small holes were also made along the entire length of the pipe. Accordingly, to prevent water from pouring out through these holes, legs were made.
According to the inventor in the video, this eternal log is an endless source of savings on heating and will work for a long time.
It is also said that the stove will work more efficiently.
How does it all work? Water is poured into the pipe, preferably hot, so that heating is faster, but cold is also possible. You can insert a funnel into the hole to ensure that water gets into the hole accurately. From hot water the full effect of saturated steam formation begins faster.
Physics
- The burning time of firewood increases significantly, for example, without an eternal log, burning lasts on average 1 hour 10 minutes, and with it - 1 hour 40 minutes, that is, 40% longer. It turns out that to heat a house or room, you will need less firewood.
- The heat capacity of steam is twice as high as the heat capacity of surrounding air. This is indicated in the reference book “Specific Heat Capacities of Solids, Liquids and Gases”. Specific heat capacity at constant pressure for air it is 1 KJ/kg*K, and for water vapor it is 2.14 KJ/kg*K at 100°C.
Anyone who has fired a stove, steam stove or potbelly stove at least once knows perfectly well how quickly firewood burns out. Even today, many dachas have solid fuel stoves. In order to support constant temperature, such stoves should be refueled regularly. However, there is one clever method that will make logs burn 30 to 50 percent longer while still producing the same amount of heat.
Materials needed for manufacturing
In order to create an “endless” log with your own hands, you must first prepare tools for work, as well as a sheet of metal for welding the ends of the pipe, an M12 bolt, a steel angle 10x10 mm - 20 cm, an M12 nut, as well as a thick-walled metal pipe d76 mm. The latter should be selected to match the length of a regular, medium-sized log for the stove. That's all. If the necessary items are available, you can begin the workflow. Let's do the following.
Manufacturing
We take a pipe with a diameter of 76 mm and cut it to the length of the block. If you have a large combustion chamber in your stove (and you can load a lot of firewood into it), then it is recommended to use a pipe as thick as possible. There is nothing complicated in the process of making the device itself. First from cooked sheet metal you need to cut two circles along the diameter of the pipe and hermetically weld its ends. The stable legs should be welded crosswise.
After this, we make a filling hole by drilling a hole in the top of the tube and welding the nut. A bolt prepared in advance is screwed onto it and becomes a lid. It is recommended to weld a metal rod to the head so that it can be turned without using a key.
How to use
Using an “eternal” log is even easier than creating it. First, unscrew the lid and pour water inside, completely filling the device. For the process to start immediately, you can pour boiling water. The “eternal” log is placed deep into the stove and lined with firewood on the sides and top. After this, all that remains is to light the fire.
For heating, I use an ordinary stove, the wood in which burns out very quickly, so when intense heat is generated, a significant part of it goes into the chimney. As a result, to maintain a normal temperature level, fuel must be loaded constantly. To solve this problem, I started using “eternal logs”, which helps save 30-50 percent of firewood. Without it, one load of the firebox burns out in 1 hour 10 minutes, and with it it takes 30 minutes longer.
Materials for manufacturing
To make an eternal log you will need:- thick-walled metal pipe d76 mm, the length of a regular log for a stove;
- sheet of metal for welding the ends of the pipe;
- nut M12;
- bolt M12;
- steel corner 10x10 mm – 20 cm.
The process of making eternal logs to save money
I used a pipe with a diameter of 76 mm. I cut it to length to fit a standard log, which I put in the stove. The diameter used affects the filling capacity. If the combustion chamber of the stove is high, and a lot of firewood can be loaded into it, then a thicker pipe must be used.
There is nothing difficult to make. It is necessary to cut two circles from sheet metal along the diameter of the pipe and hermetically weld its ends. After this, I cut the steel angle, getting 2 pieces of 10 cm each. I weld them crosswise to the pipe along its edges, getting stable legs. Next, I simply drilled a 12 mm hole on top of the tube with a drill. I attached a nut to it and welded it, getting a filler neck. After this, you can screw a bolt into it, which acts as a cover. A small twig was welded to its head so that it could be unscrewed without a key. I made a series of holes along the entire perimeter at intervals of 4 cm with a 3 mm drill.
There are no strict criteria for the dimensions of the pipe used, since everything depends on the parameters of the stove, or rather the amount of firewood that can be loaded into it. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that you need to use thick metal so that it does not burn through. Also, you cannot make few holes, much less use thin drills of 1 or 2 mm, since steam under pressure is no joke. If, during testing, the log makes a whistle from strong pressure as steam escapes, then there are few holes, so it needs to be removed urgently. After this you will have to drill the holes until larger diameter. But there is no need to make them too large, since ash will get inside, and it is inconvenient to wash the welded pipe. It's better to have more small holes than a few large ones.
How to use
To use the eternal log, you need to unscrew the lid and pour water inside the pipe, filling it completely. I try to use almost boiling water so that the process starts right away.
After refueling, I close the filler neck with a bolt.
Eternal log I put it on the bottom of the stove and lay it on the sides and on top with firewood.
After that, I light the fire and close the stove tightly.
Why does it work
Using an everlasting log increases the duration and quality of combustion of one load of firewood. Fire and heat can last up to 50 percent longer, depending on the design of the stove. Personally, for me, combustion is extended by up to 30 percent. My friends with other stove parameters have seen savings of 15 percent or more, which is explained by the inappropriate parameters of the dimensions of the log itself for their firebox.
This result is achieved due to the fact that specific heat water vapor is higher than that of air. This is a physical fact that has long been proven. For air this figure is 1 (kJ/(kg K), and for steam it reaches 2 (kJ/(kg K).
I would also like to note that eternal logs are not suitable for all types of wood stoves. It is ideally compatible with ordinary potbelly stoves with a direct chimney. If the brick oven has duct chimney in the wall, then in certain cases there is a possibility of condensation of unburnt steam. If you want to use eternal logs with this stove design, I advise you to inspect the chimney inspection hatches for the appearance of sticky soot. If it is not there, then the log is suitable and you can safely use it.
Many people, wanting to reduce their expenses, search the Internet for ideas that will help them achieve this. One of them is an eternal log, which allows you to reduce yard consumption by half! At the same time, the heated room will be as warm as before.
Although they write about a log - it’s not wood, but a piece metal pipe. Plugs are welded to it at both ends, and there is a hole on top that is closed by a valve. The hole serves to fill the pipe with water - this is done to the entire volume.
On the top of the “log” there are several small diameter holes located along the pipe. The latter, so that water does not splash out through the holes when tilted, has legs at the edges - the simplest of transversely welded sections of corners.
The inventor who came up with the “log” claims that such a device works for a long time and allows you to save on heating. It, placed in the stove, allows it to work more efficiently.
First, the pipe is filled with water through a hole with a valve. It is better to use a hot one, which will ensure faster overall heating of the “log” and the formation of saturated steam. It is then placed at the very bottom of the wood stove, which is filled with regular wood.
The presence of “logs” among firewood increases their burning time by an average of 40%, which leads to fuel savings. In addition, the steam formed from water when heated and released from the “log” into the stove firebox through a series of open small holes has a greater (2 times) heat capacity than ambient air. The latter leads to better heating of the stove, and from it the air in the room.
The inventor indicates that the effectiveness of the “log” has been proven experimentally. Although, given that the laws of physics, in particular the conservation of energy, have not yet been abolished, it is difficult to agree with him. In principle, it is possible to obtain additional energy. But this will certainly lead to the loss of the same share of it elsewhere.
There are other crazy and not so crazy ideas that save fuel in stoves. However, all of them may turn out to be ineffective if you do not follow basic rules to help maintain heat. They are as follows: the stove must be properly built or manufactured; it is necessary to close all unnecessary openings and cracks through which heat escapes, to clean the vent and exhaust pipe in a timely manner; For heating, use firewood from hardwood trees that have greater heat transfer.
Anyone who has fired a stove, steam stove or potbelly stove at least once knows perfectly well how quickly firewood burns out. Even today, many dachas have solid fuel stoves. In order to maintain a constant temperature, such stoves should be refueled regularly. However, there is one clever method that will make logs burn 30 to 50 percent longer while still producing the same amount of heat.
Materials needed for manufacturing
In order to create an “endless” log with your own hands, you must first prepare tools for work, as well as a sheet of metal for welding the ends of the pipe, an M12 bolt, a steel angle 10x10 mm - 20 cm, an M12 nut, as well as a thick-walled metal pipe d76 mm. The latter should be selected to match the length of a regular, medium-sized log for the stove. That's all. If the necessary items are available, you can begin the workflow. Let's do the following.
Manufacturing
We take a pipe with a diameter of 76 mm and cut it to the length of the block. If you have a large combustion chamber in your stove (and you can load a lot of firewood into it), then it is recommended to use a pipe as thick as possible. There is nothing complicated in the process of making the device itself. First, you need to cut two circles along the diameter of the pipe from the prepared sheet metal and hermetically weld its ends. The stable legs should be welded crosswise.
After this, we make a filling hole by drilling a hole in the top of the tube and welding the nut. A bolt prepared in advance is screwed onto it and becomes a lid. It is recommended to weld a metal rod to the head so that it can be turned without using a key.
How to use
Using an “eternal” log is even easier than creating it. First, unscrew the lid and pour water inside, completely filling the device. For the process to start immediately, you can pour boiling water. The “eternal” log is placed deep into the stove and lined with firewood on the sides and top. After this, all that remains is to light the fire.
Video material
Continuing the topic, a story about that and more.