Necessity is the mother of invention. That's certainly true for one person who needed an off-grid heating solution and came up with a space heater that runs on used cooking oil.
It's important to mention first and foremost that this type of innovation can be unsafe, especially in untrained hands. The cooking oil burner is a notable fire hazard, and if you live in an area that is surrounded by dry vegetation, the risk of starting a forest fire is high. Anyone looking to replicate this should do so with the utmost caution.
However, this Redditor appears to have a solid understanding of the creation's physics, and it seems to be proving useful.
"This was just a quick build to keep my greenhouse from freezing, but has been doing great," they said in the comments section. "I'll eventually create a more respectable design. It runs for about 6 hours on that 8L tank of fry oil, which computes to about 40k BTU per hour (42kJ/hr)."
They pointed out that the heater uses a 12-volt fan for combustion and a 12-volt peristaltic pump for fuel delivery.
"The tube going into the burn pot has a pattern of air holes drilled in it with the end closed off," they further explained. "The fan pushes air out those holes to mix with the oil vapors. This creates a vortex which further mixes the gasses.
"As with all of these burners, the design is around a gas flame, not a liquid like you might think. The idea is that the burn pot (or some surface in it) is so hot that the oil will instantly vaporize when dripped on it. Then it's just a matter of having the right fuel/air mixture to burn clean."
The post was shared with the r/OffGrid community, and it's the kind of solution that would be helpful to those with no access to grid power. Heating a space can be energy-intensive, and when you likely access power through solar panels paired with battery storage, electricity supplies need to be spared when possible to keep the lights on.
While the original poster noted that they had little information on whether burning cooking oil yields unwanted byproducts, Biofuel Watch noted that burning vegetable oil produces particulate matter, which is detrimental to air quality. Furthermore, it pointed to a study that found a car converted to run on straight vegetable oil presented increases in hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions.
This suggests that burning vegetable oil might not be so great for the planet, but using a waste product as opposed to extracting fossil fuels from Earth to burn for heat is arguably an improvement — and a cheaper and more resourceful option for the OP.
🗣️ Which sustainable cooking change are you most interested in trying?
🔘 Reducing my food waste 🗑️
🔘 Eating more plant-based foods 🥕
🔘 Using high-tech kitchen tools 🍳
🔘 Not interested 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Redditors were impressed by the ingenuity, with one saying, "This is awesome, I'd love to see more detailed pictures."
Another added: "I've searched the net high and low for a cheap simple solution without success. And I think this is it!"
Again, though, this option has its downsides, including safety risks, so it's far from being worth pursuing for most people. But it does spur some interesting thoughts on alternative off-grid cooking options.
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