How to make a pot belly stove from gas bottles part 1.1

[LTDanno360]

i supose you purge it by filling it wth water first let sit a day then make your cuts

[jmg1957]

nice..

[jmg1957]

nice

[dossiify]

you should have put the video of how to purge the bottle on as the first!! =) still brilliant vids though =) very very usefull stuff, many thanks!!!!

[MrAntho26]

hi do u have a copy of this on a cd by any chance as i am new to all of this

thanks in advance

[veryoldmacdonald]

@MrAntho26

HI - Sorry I didn't do a CD (was too busy building the stove). If you need any advice whilst making it please feel free to mail me and I will help as best I can. . . . Mac

[ThePotbellyman]

Hey Mac

I'm new to this stove building-correction, I never done it before. I'm gonna go off your step by step. Only 1 question. What welder do I use. Is stick welding the best or will Mig do? I dont want the frigga falling to bits the first time I set a fire in it.

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have

Fred

[veryoldmacdonald]

Hi Fred - Definitely stick welding. These bottles are very strong and take arc welding with no problem. Best of luck with the build - any problems please contact me . . . . Mac

[ThePotbellyman]

Thanks for that Mac.

Just found 4 bottles lying on a dirt track. I've removed the valves, filled them with water. Then I'll stand them upside down for 48 hrs in a day or so. ( for the benefit of the 'elf and safety boffs who might be reading)!!! GOD!!

Any way, Just a couple of questions where will I get some decent 4" flu from? Also fibre glass ribbon has me stumped.

Thanks again advance Mac

Fred

[veryoldmacdonald]

Hi Fred - Hmmm 4 inch flue? I went round the scrap merchants and used a bit of 4 inch pipe lying around - you might get some from Machine Mart, but then that means paying for it! The fibre glass tape is used for going around the glass doors of gas fires. If you cant find any from your gas supplier let me know as the place I get it is only up the road, and it isn't that expensive - you will need the special resin to hold it on - again I can get it no problem - keep in touch , , , Mac

[veryoldmacdonald]

Hi again Fred - Just to point out - don't make the air intake in part three - I ended up welding the hole up and using a front air intake with airwash system . . .

[bude587billing]

hi mate, when i asked you about the bottom(the ash pan)you said its just the base of the cylinder. but in the video it looks flat,is it the angle of the video or did you do anything with it. could you also tell me what 1/8th is in mm

[veryoldmacdonald]

Hi - Sorry about the mix up. I see what you mean now. The bottom of the ash pan is indeed flat - again about 1/8th inch. I can't be any more precise as I just picked up a piece of scrap metal that I used for the job. I'm not much good at mm (too old to change LOL) Reckon you will have to search for some conversion charts. Hope this helps . . . Mac

[samljer]

If an inch is 2.2cm

an inch is 220 mm.

divide that by 8. you have your 1/8

[chuckypud]

an inch is 22mm, an 1/8 is just under 3 mm

[samljer]

i know, the 0 was a typo

and for the record i also said 2.2cm which is 22mm.

[vindicter]

1 inch = 25.4mm,

1/8 = 0.125 thousanths of an inch,

therefore if you divide 1.000 by 25.4 you find the number of thousands of an inch in 1mm.

therefore 1mm = 0.039

next divide your 1/8 value in in thous (0.125) by the number of thous in 1mm

therefore 1/8 = 3.2mm

hope this helps

[bude587billing]

hi mate, i like your pot belly stove i just want to know what size flue pipe you used and how thick the top and bottom metal plate is.

[veryoldmacdonald]

The Flue is 4 inches - the top plate was around 1/8th inch. The bottom is just the base of the cylinder itself. It has worked great during this cold spell plenty of heat and lots of baked potatoes cooked on the top plate. . . . . . Mac

[sasktank]

tripod much ???

[leekmuncha]

Extremely foolish of the clip maker not explaining how to purge a cylinder of gas! Even a cylinder that seems empty probably isn't.

So probably a better description of instant hospitalisation it seems.

[veryoldmacdonald]

If you check out my clips you will find one showing just how to vent a gas bottle before startiong this build . . . thanks

[leekmuncha]

Hello veryoldmcdonald, thanks for pointing that out to me and i'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. Perhaps it would be worth changing this clip title to "part 2". I will certainly have a look at your other clips. Regards Trevor

[Cytacon]

Anyone stupid enough to take an angle grinder to a gas bottle without purging it first probably deserves there fate. Common sense.

[veryoldmacdonald]

Check out my clips and you will find out how to purge a tank . . thanks

[TerraFirma369]

Just one thing. Be extra sure there is no gas left in the tank. A good friend of mine tried cutting one of those tanks. He shook it to see if there was gas, but heard nothing. Well, the propane that remained was in gas form, he sparked when he was cutting, and put himself into the hospital with burns over 60% of his body and even in his lungs. Maybe do a video on how-to make sure the tank is empty? Peace.

[veryoldmacdonald]

I WIll post a video on how to ensure there is no gas left in the tank. The simple rules are 1) Depress the valve to remove any gas - you will hear ir hiss and certainly smell it - if the valve doesn't depress DONT USE THAT TANK. 2) After leaving it to vent remove the valve from the bottle (these are very tight). 3)Fill the bottle with water and leave for a day or so. 4) Turn upside down to drain for another day. You will then be OK - Mac

[hotcreations]

Mac, i have known bottles to still have residual gas ( enough to blow a bottle across the workshop and give me one hell of a scare) even after a couple of days with water in. i started rinsing them twice and even then i still test them from a distance by dropping firebombs down the valve hole from burning bailer twine on the end of a long stick. much much better safe than sorry.

[veryoldmacdonald]

That is why I leave the bottle upside down for a couple of days. The gas is heavier then air and any residual will be drained to atmosphere. Thanks for your comment . . . Mac