Fuelless Friction Heater And Other Heaters

[SkyWatcher]

Hi folks, for those observing this thread, just want to offer some tips, if anyone decides to build something similar to the way this stock pot friction heater is built.

Was all set for testing, when i realized the shaft was wobbling.

The nuts that were holding the shaft to the wood plate that is connected to the top of the steel stock pot, were causing a slight tilt relative to the shaft and this added to the wobble.

Fixed that by using a small cast metal belt pulley and jb welded it to the wood plate and used the set screw to secure it to the 5/8" threaded stainless steel shaft.

Also, for some reason, the wood particle board plate itself, maybe slightly warped and is causing a little bit of that wobble.

Also, reinforced the bottom of the steel stock pot with 3/8" thick mdf board and jb welded it to the inside bottom of rotating drum.

This stiffend up the stock pot greatly and after running a dry test run, it has very slight wobble and seems acceptable at high speed.

Now i should be able to actually get some testing done with the vegetable oil inside, after i get back in a day or so.

Maybe i should have put the shaft all the way through the rotating drum from the start, now it has a 5/16" bolt secured at bottom, which seems to work well for now.

Will report results if it remains stable and sturdy enough to get results, hehe.
peace love light
tyson

[wrtner]

Also, for some reason, the wood particle board plate itself, maybe slightly warped and is causing a little bit of that wobble.

Particle board, aka chipboard, is not an engineering material.

It fails in all sorts of ways
Screws don't hold well with strength
Water makes it swell.

Interior shuttering ply is what I use if you cannot get good hardwood from somewhere, often secondhand furniture.

[SkyWatcher]

Hi folks, Hi wrtner, yes particle board isn't ideal, though it will work for now.
Had to make some more modifications to give more stability and balance to the rotating drum.
Brought the 5/8" stainless steel shaft all the way through to the bottom and into a bearing embedded in the wood bottom stationary plate.
Used 2 plates screwed together of 3/4" 5 ply compressed wood, sealed the bearing area well and siliconed in place the bearing and the usual aluminum flashing over that bottom wood plate.
Made a dry test run and dynamic balance is far better and stable.
Ran it up to around 1800 rpm and it was very stable, very little vibration.
So tomorrow sometime, will be testing with vegetable oil, since silicon should be dry enough.
peace love light
tyson

[SkyWatcher]

Hi folks, here are a couple of pics of the newest modifications, still waiting for silicone to dry fully.
All comments and questions welcome.





peace love light
tyson

[SkyWatcher]

testing update

Hi folks, did some testing today, though it was cut short due to shaft separating from the wood plate connected to rotating stock pot drum.
The jb weld broke loose between small pulley securing shaft and the wood plate.
So i went back to using steel nuts/washer to secure the wood plate to the shaft and since the shaft now goes through the entire rotating drum, it will work just as good and not cause any wobble effect.
But the results of the testing today up until the shaft broke loose from the rotating drum were positive.
Though the speed of the rotating drum has to be tweaked for maximum heat rise, it still rose fairly quickly up to 175 degrees F.
And since it is running much more freely, it was only drawing around 220 watts, then rose to 300 watts over time, probably because the motor does not like continuous duty and so when it heats up, it draws more watts.
When the silicone dries again, i will share better data when i can tweak it better for closer to ideal performance and efficiency.
But so far, i am happy with how it is working.
All comments and questions welcome.
peace love light
tyson

[wrtner]

I think you should bear in mind that, as the oil heats up, the viscosity will drop, and the power needed to maintain any given RPM should be less.

[SkyWatcher]

Hi wrtner, thanks for the continued interest and replies.
Yes i agree, it should be drawing less wattage as the oil heats up, though i think this particular ac induction motor is causing an increase in wattage, due to the motor heating itself.
At least that's my only guess at the moment, unless something else is causing the increase.
Though on the last test, it did level out at 300 watts and was stable there and that is the maximum watt rating of the motor.
It will be ready for testing again tomorrow, we will see how it goes.
peace love light
tyson

[shylo]

My attempt

Hi Tyson , I built a quick version of the paint can heater, It was very sloppy, but it did rise in temp.
I'll try to load the pdf I followed.

I hope it worked.
Can you post all the clearances you are using?
I'd like to couple it with a loaded generator.
artv

[SkyWatcher]

Hi shylo, thanks for the reply and pdf file.
I have just about all the creative science pdf's for some time now, if you or anyone needs any other pdf's from them, let me know.
I have also built a paint can heater and if that is what you are inquiring about, it wasn't built as well as it could be, was just trying to see if it worked like you.
Though it did get up to 182 degrees F. in 24 minutes.
The paint can had between 1/8"-3/16" clearance between paint can and outer cylinder. The rpm's for that were around 1900 rpm.

This particular setup I'm working on now, the 16 quart, stainless steel stock pot, has about a 3/32" clearance between rotating drum and outer cylinder and the usual 1/4" on the bottom seems to be the most efficient distance and still allows for the vegetable oil to rise up the sides of the rotating drum.

More accurate data still yet to come, with this stock pot friction heater.

Hope that helps for now shylo, feel free to ask any more questions or offer comments.

Sounds like an interesting idea, coupling it with a generator.
I know one thing from building these, it needs the right speed and the oil needs to rotate consistently smoothly.
Also, the rotating drum needs to be plunged into the oil at just the right depth, or too much watts are required from the motor to start up (if it does at all) and maintain any given speed, when it need not be so.

peace love light
tyson

[SkyWatcher]

Hi folks, to keep those interested up to date.
The stock pot oil friction heater worked well, though due to the fact that it is not very accurately built, i do not think it is adequate, stability wise, for long term use.
So, i am now testing an eddy current permanent magnet rotating heater.
I superglued (high temp. jb weld for permanent use) 10 stacks (spaced apart) of neo magnets onto the steel nuts of a stainless steel 5/8" shaft.
And with essentially the same amount of aluminum roof flashing as the stock pot outer cylinder, made a smaller diameter outer cylinder 3 3/4" diameter and the magnets 2 5/8" diameter, rotate inside this aluminum stationary cylinder.
Made some quick tests at around 2400 rpm and it heats up to 170 degrees F. in around 2 minutes using around 400 watt input to motor.
Since i can't hold the cylinder with gloves on to any higher of a temperature, hurts my hands too much.
So, next step is to mount the stationary cylinder securely and use high temperature jb weld to secure neo magnets, as it does get rather warm within the tube, though in normal use, it will all be enclosed, with a fan used as a forced air heater and so should keep the temperature down to a safer level for the magnets.
All comments and questions welcome.
peace love light
tyson

[SkyWatcher]

Hi folks, after some testing with direct drive, with magnets attached to a metal pulley on motor, i decided to go direct drive and use an aluminum cooking pot mounted above the rotating permanent magnets.
It works very well and since the magnets are all clustered in a connected circle, with alternating poles, there are no stray magnetic fields from the neo magnets.
With only one layer of neo magnets attached to pulley, meaning eight, 1/8" thick by 1" diameter magnets in a circle, it heated up a large aluminum skillet type cooking pot where it was too hot to hold in about a minute.
So, now i have glued 8 stacks of neo magnets in a circle, 3/4" thick for each stack.
So it should really heat up quickly.
The beauty of this setup, is that it can serve as a heater and you can cook food in the pot or skillet, if needed.
Will post pics when i get the structure around it designed and built.
peace love light
tyson

[shylo]

Idea

Hi Tyson , I had a similar idea, I'm sure you know the exp. where you let the magnet slide down a sheet of alu. or cu. the magnet defies gravity ,since the eddy-currents created are opposite the magnets'. That's where the heat comes from.
I going to try thin layers of aluminum sheeting (the wifes' throw away roast pans). Just haven't figured out how to make a layered shell yet .
I just think the thin layers will heat quicker. But maybe their less mass will make less heat?

Looking forward to your pics.
artv

[SkyWatcher]

Hi shylo, thanks for the reply.
Not sure which design you are planning to build, the magnets inside cylinder, which heat up the magnets alot, or like im planning now, running magnets outside and next to an aluminum cooking pan or brownie type pan, magnets stay cool with this type.
So, i tested a thinner aluminum brownie type (shallow) pan and the aluminum is too thin, it started to bow from aluminum shrinking, due to heat.
So, i will either use this large thick cooking pan or another thicker rectangular cooking pan.
Will be building structure soon, magnets are already glued to motor pulley and i used fiberglass reinforced tape around all magnets for safety.
Will post pics when i have something together to show.
peace love light
tyson

[SkyWatcher]

Hi shylo, thanks for the reply.
Not sure which design you are planning to build, the magnets inside cylinder, which heat up the magnets alot, or like im planning now, running magnets outside and next to an aluminum cooking pan or brownie type pan, magnets stay cool with this type.
So, i tested a thinner aluminum brownie type (shallow) pan and the aluminum is too thin, it started to bow from aluminum shrinking, due to heat.
So, i will either use this large thick cooking pan or another thicker rectangular cooking pan.
Will be building structure soon, magnets are already glued to motor pulley and i used fiberglass reinforced tape around all magnets for safety.
Will post pics when i have something together to show.
peace love light
tyson

[SkyWatcher]

Hi folks, just to show what is done so far and give an idea of how it is designed.
This is using an aluminum cooking pan, 1/2" threaded rods suspending pan.
Neo magnets on metal pulley, direct drive.
Motor needs a wood platform raised up to meet midpoint of aluminum pan.
Fan will be above and behind motor, blowing above pan, to force heated air from motor and aluminum pan out exhaust port.
Will post more pics as progress continues.



peace love light
tyson