Homemade economical heaters. How to make a heater with your own hands: instructions for making a homemade device

Central heating comes on late in the fall, while it switches off early in the spring. And Russian winters are so harsh that the heating system is not able to cope with the needs of the citizens: the apartments are cold, the heat quickly escapes through the windows. The way out of the situation is to use an additional heat source. The best choice would be an infrared heater that you can build yourself.

To make an infrared heater from scrap materials, it is necessary to study the operating principle. How can you do something you know nothing about?

All heated bodies radiate heat, just like the Sun does. The rays emanating from a heat source are electromagnetic waves that heat bodies encountered in their path: pieces of furniture and people. In this case, the air does not heat up: the air receives only part of the heat during heat transfer from already heated bodies. Infrared heaters operate on the principle of thermal radiation, which includes two main elements:

Radiation source. In industrial heaters, these are thin metal filaments that heat up when an electric current passes through them, or lamps (incandescent, halogen, quartz and others);
. This is a highly reflective body, the function of which is to reflect infrared rays to disperse heat throughout the apartment or form separate heated zones.

Advice! To check the effect achieved by the reflector, take some food foil and hold it near your hand for a while. You will feel the heat, which is reflected and directed towards you.

Another important part in industrial infrared fireplaces is the controller, which regulates the degree of heating of the emitter. It may not be present in homemade designs. But its installation gives the advantage of being able to set the desired temperature range. The controller automatically causes the device to heat up if the temperature drops below normal, and cool down if the temperature exceeds it.

If you study the infrared ceiling heater, the operating principle will be the same as that of the floor/wall design. The only difference is in the installation method of the IR fireplace. But it depends on him which zones in the room will be more comfortable.

The figure shows the advantage of infrared heaters: heat reaches physical bodies and is absorbed by them, remaining there. Therefore, it may be warmer on the floor than under the ceiling. And when heating a house using the convection method, the floor is always cold: the coating itself does not receive heat. Heat is carried by air, which, when heated, rushes upward, and a new portion of cold air falls down.

Cheap and cheerful

Typically, devices that are heated by electricity are used as an emitter - incandescent filaments or lamps. But the simplest version of the emitter is a heating radiator. This is the same physical body as the Sun. And it can also emit heat. Stand by the radiator and feel the emanating heat - this is radiation. It just spreads in all directions. Why heat the walls if you can direct the rays towards the living space?

Take the foil, smooth it well to improve the reflective effect and stick it on the wall behind the radiators and radiators. As a result, the heat that the walls could receive will be directed in the opposite direction - towards you. This method helps to get up to 20% more heat without any tricks. The only drawback is the ugliness of the reflective screen: it spoils the interior.

Attention! Instead of foil, you can use heat insulators with a reflective screen. A striking example is the material penofol, one or both sides of which are foil-coated.

A homemade infrared heater can be made from an old Soviet-made reflector. In addition to this, you will need:

Nichrome thread;
Steel rod;
Fireproof dielectric (ceramic plate is suitable).

To make an IR fireplace from these things, follow the instructions:

Remove dirt from the reflector;
Check the plug, cord and terminals to turn on the coil (they must be intact);
Measure the length of the spiral that is wound around the reflex cone;
Cut a steel rod the same length as the spiral;
Wind a nichrome thread onto the rod so that there are 5 turns for every centimeter;
Carefully remove the rod from the nichrome winding;
Place the spiral on a plate (another dielectric) so that the turns do not touch each other;
Connect the ends of the nichrome spiral to the mains;
Now the heated spiral will easily fit into the grooves of the cone from the reflector;
Connect the ends of the spiral to the contacts.

The nichrome filament glows better than the spiral that was in the device before our manipulations. As a result, we get a powerful emitter, the energy of which is reflected from the walls of the reflector and hits opposing bodies, which begin to absorb heat.

Heater glass + aluminum foil

You will need:

Foil;
Two glasses of the same size;
Paraffin candle;
Sealant;
A wire with a plug at the end;
Cotton napkin;
Boxed;
Cotton swabs;
Any device for holding a candle.

Step-by-step instruction:

Clean the glass with a napkin from paint, dust, grease;
Light a candle. Place it in a glass, candlestick, or simply drip paraffin onto a flat surface and quickly place the candle on the puddle;
Smoke the glass on one side by passing it over the fire at the same speed. The soot will lie evenly if the glass is cooled before the procedure. The dark layer will eventually become a conductive element;
Run cotton swabs around the perimeter of the glass pieces so that you get a frame of clean glass 0.5 centimeters thick;
Measure the width of the smoked rectangles on the glass with a ruler;
Cut two rectangles of the same width from foil - these will be electrode strips;
Take one glass and place it with the smoked side up;
Apply boxing agent to it and place rectangles of foil on the edges so that they extend beyond the glass;
Place the second glass on top with the smoked side down and press well so that the structure sticks well;
Along the perimeter of the “layer cake”, spread sealant at the joints of the glass;
Check the power of the structure. If it is not higher than 100 W per square meter of room, then the heater can be connected to the network using a wire and plug;
To connect to the network, use a wooden block with metal plates reinforced at both ends. Solder a plug to one contact. If you install the glass on a block so that the foil coming out from the sides fits tightly to the metal contacts, you get a full-fledged heater.

Attention! To calculate the power of a structure, use a multimeter to measure the resistance of the conductive layer. Since the current strength in the circuit depends on the load, it is better to calculate the power using a more stable parameter - this is the voltage, which in the network is equal to 220 Volts. To do this you will need a formula: N=U*U/R.

N– required power.U– voltage (220V).R– measured resistance. Example: when measuring, we got 24 Ohms. Substitute into the formula:N=220*220/24. We get 2016 watts. This is enough to heat a room with an area of 19-20 square meters.

If your power is more than 100 watts per square meter, then it needs to be reduced by increasing the resistance (we cannot change the network voltage). If the power is very low, then it needs to be increased.

What to do if the power is not suitable?

Now let’s talk about how to make an infrared heater with your own hands of the required power. To do this, you need to know the area of the room you want to heat. For example - 15 meters. Now you need to calculate the maximum permissible power at the rate of 100 watts per meter. Since we have 15 of them, the power will be 15 * 100 = 1500 Watts (it is necessary to count in them, despite the fact that in the passports of electrical appliances it is indicated in kW).

If the voltage is constant (220 Volts), then you can calculate the required resistance. To do this, we derive the resistance from the formula given above: R=U*U/N. Substituting the calculated power and voltage into the formula, we get: R= 220*220/1500=32 Ohm (approximately).

In the example above we had 24 ohms. This means that the resistance needs to be increased. To do this, you need to reduce the width of the smoked strip on the glass. This comes out of the formula R=l*p/S. Where l– length of the conductive layer (constant value, because we will not cut glass), R– resistivity (constant), S– cross-sectional area of the conductive layer, which depends on its width. The wider the layer, the lower the resistance, the narrower it is, the greater it is.

Conclusion! To achieve the required resistance, you need to select it experimentally, making the soot strip narrower or wider, depending on whether you need to increase or decrease the resistance. In this case, each time you will have to disassemble the glass structure.

Heater based on laminated plastic

To assemble a homemade infrared fireplace you will need:

Laminated paper plastic - 2 pieces with an area of 1 square meter;
Boxed;
Graphite (you can buy powder or get it from old batteries, from a pencil - but you will have to crush it);
Copper plates;
Wood;
Plug with cord.

If everything is there, start assembling:

Mix graphite powder with bauxide to form a thick mass with high resistance;
Place the plastic sheet with the rough surface facing the table;
Apply bauxide mixed with graphite onto the plastic using zigzag strokes;
Prepare the second sheet of plastic in the same way;
Glue both plastic sheets together, pressing them tightly together;
On opposite sides of the plates, attach copper plates that will act as terminals;
Build a wooden frame into which you will need to insert the resulting structure;
Allow the future heater to dry;
Measure the conductor resistance and calculate the power.

Attention! Here, the calculation of power and resistance is carried out using the same method as in the previous case. Only the resistance will depend not on the width of the conductive layer, but on the graphite content in the box. The more powder, the higher the resistance, and vice versa.

You will have to disassemble and reassemble the structure several times before you experimentally achieve the required power. Only then can you connect the device to the plug and connect it to the network for operation.

Mini heater made from a shoe polish can

Prepare materials:

Flat shoe polish box;
Two conductors;
Can;
Graphite powder;
Sand;
Plug.

Step-by-step instruction:

Wash the box;
Mix sand with graphite powder, taking them in equal quantities;
Pour the mixture into the box, filling it halfway;
Cut a circle out of tin;
Attach a wire to it;
Place the circle on top of the graphite-sand mixture;
Add enough sand and graphite until the jar is full;
Close the jar with a lid to create pressure inside;
Connect the second wire to the body of the can and connect it to the network using a plug (you can use a car battery).

To regulate the degree of heating, screw the lid of the jar looser or tighter to change the pressure inside. The tighter the jar is twisted, the stronger the heating, and vice versa. But do not allow it to overheat, at which point the jar begins to emit yellow or orange light rays. In this case, the contents inside the can are sintered, causing the efficiency of the heater to decrease significantly. To improve performance after sintering, you need to shake the jar vigorously - then the graphite-sand mixture will again become loose and suitable for work.

To relax in the countryside in winter, you need a reliable source of heat (heater). It can be purchased in specialized stores. But there are summer residents who can easily design homemade heaters for their home, cottage and garage.

Not all summer residents and homeowners come to this decision, but only those who have special skills and abilities. Among them there are real self-taught engineers. They are able to calculate everything down to the smallest detail, carefully handle every detail, installing an original safe heater.

The cost of material for a homemade device for heating a room is minimal, since it can be found on the farm. Even if you buy the material for money, it will cost much less than a device from a store, and the effect of the work is the same. Why then spend money on purchasing ready-made equipment when you can install it yourself. How to make a home heater with your own hands?

Homemade gas heater for garage, home, cottage

When creating a heater with your own hands, you need to follow several recommendations:

The device must have a simple design without complex elements and parts.
It is necessary to focus special attention on safety, therefore it is best to purchase devices that shut off and supply gas from the factory, or remove them from old cylinders.
When creating, you should also take into account its cost-effectiveness.
The heater should not be bulky, and the methods for activating it should not be complicated.
The cost of materials for the heater should be no more than a third of the real price of a factory heating device from the store counter, otherwise there is no point in making it; it’s easier to buy a ready-made one.

As practice shows, the most effective way of heating at home is infrared radiation.

To make such a homemade gas heater for a garage, home, or cottage with your own hands, you need a minimum of parts and material costs (tin sheet, metal scissors, rivet gun, rivets, fine metal mesh, regular household sieve, drawstring gas canister with a capacity of 0.5 l. and a special burner with a valve).

The first thing you need to do is attach the heater to the burner. You need to take a household sieve, lean it against a galvanized sheet and circle it with a marker. Then, perpendicular and parallel, it is necessary to draw rectangular ears to the circle (one of them should be twice as long). Use metal scissors to cut out the design. It should be as smooth as possible.

The second stage of heater installation involves fastening the parts together. To do this, take the burner and bolt it to the tin circle. Then, using the ears, which are wrapped in the opposite direction, a strainer is attached. It helps dissipate heat to the sides. The result is part of the heater design.

The third stage of installing a homemade heater will be attaching the metal mesh. To do this, you need to cut out an identical circle from the tin again. It is also cut with metal scissors. The ears are bent, and holes (about 10) are drilled in the plane of the circle. Then the mesh is taken and attached to the ears of both circles. First you need to attach the lower part, then the upper. Fastening is carried out using a riveter and rivets. The result of these operations should be a mesh cylinder.

The final stage is the launch of an infrared homemade gas heater. Although it is not large, the heat emanates from it is sufficient to heat a garage, a room in the house or a small country house.

DIY oil heater

Thanks to their impeccable functionality, characteristics and efficiency, they have gained great popularity among summer residents. They are safe and compact, and have a high level of efficiency.

The design of a homemade oil heater is very simple: a sealed housing with oil (any gas cylinder or other sealed container can do), around which electric tubular heaters are wrapped.

To make an oil heater, you need the following materials and tools:

Hermetic container (car radiator, metal or aluminum battery).
Transformer or technical oil.
4 ten.
Electric motor or pump of low power (up to 2-2.5 kW).
Set of drills, drill, welding machine, electrodes, switches.

The process of installing an oil heater at home follows the following scenario:

A DIY oil radiator will be an excellent and effective heater for your home and garden. Its only drawback is its dependence on electricity and its high consumption.

DIY electric heater

If you make an electric heater with your own hands, the basis of its operation should be infrared rays, which heat not the air, but the objects in the room. Thanks to this principle, even a homemade electric heater will be effective. In addition, electricity consumption is minimal.

To make an electric heater, you can use two sheets of plastic and graphite shavings. The owner will get an aesthetic, flat device that will harmoniously fit into any interior.

A graphite heater is made using graphite shavings (you can use old, used tram brushes), two sheets of plastic (1 m2 each), epoxy glue, a piece of wire with a plug at the end.

A homemade electric heater is the most effective and convenient means of heating a room. Many summer residents are often interested in the question of how to make a garage heater with their own hands? For a garage, you can make a heater using the same principle, only you need to take smaller plastic plates, about half the size. This will be enough to heat a small garage.

Video: making a heater with your own hands

During the cold season, the need for heat especially increases. But not every owner has the opportunity to purchase a factory-made heater. There is nothing difficult about assembling a heater with your own hands.

We bring to your attention four options for creating a heating device from improvised means that will perfectly cope with the task assigned to it. We have described in detail the process of making homemade products. Described the principle of operation and features of operation.

We have included diagrams, photo compilations and video instructions for step-by-step guides.

The simplest models of homemade heaters are designed for local heating. Their maximum heating temperature is about 40°C.

Most heating homemade products are radiating devices that operate on the same principle as electric radiators. They are connected to a single-phase network with 220 V, traditional for household objects. Those who want to make their own devices need knowledge in the field of electrical engineering and electrical installation.

Image gallery

Despite the fact that today's market offers consumers many types of household heating equipment, homemade heating devices are found quite often in everyday life.

In most cases, the reason for using homemade devices is the reluctance to spend money on purchasing an industrially produced unit, the cost of which, especially from a well-known manufacturer, can be significant. This is especially true for situations when the heater is not purchased for an apartment, and the priority mistakenly turns out to be the efficiency of the installed heater, rather than its safety and aesthetics.

Homemade heat generators

Without discussing the extent to which such reasons are valid, let’s consider how to assemble a heater with your own hands using available materials in order to minimize the risks of operating such equipment.

Homemade heaters - pros and cons

As a rule, heat generators made by hand are copies of devices produced industrially. These copies, with rare exceptions, are inferior to the originals in many respects, but due to certain circumstances, the consumer often chooses a home-made unit.

“Pros” of using homemade devices:

relatively low cost (when made with your own hands and using improvised means);
the ability to assemble a unit of the required dimensions and manufacture a housing with the desired strength characteristics, up to vandal-proof design.

The main argument against — an uncertain degree of safety of homemade heating devices during operation, fraught with unpredictable negative consequences not only for the owner of the unit, but also for others.

This argument is due to many factors, and its validity is confirmed annually by numerous fires caused by homemade air heaters used in violation of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation. “On the fire safety regime” No. 390 of April 25, 2012 (as amended on November 18, 2017)

Excerpt from the Resolution on the fire safety regime in R.F. banning the use of homemade heaters

As for the secondary arguments “against”, they are as follows:

lack of legitimate manufacturer guarantees;
uncertainty of some characteristics of homemade devices;
low aesthetics and degree of automation of handicraft units.

If familiarization with these arguments still does not prompt you to purchase a factory-made heater in a store, let’s consider how to make a heater yourself so that the likelihood of an accident when using it is as small as possible.

Electric heater made of cast iron radiator

Sectional prefabricated batteries made of cast iron, traditionally used in water or steam heating systems, can also be used as a housing in the manufacture of electric - based on heating element DIY heater.

Electric heaters made of cast iron radiators: on the left - with an expansion tank, on the right - with a sealed core

Preparing the heat generator housing

Depending on the location and area of the room, a cast iron radiator with the required number of sections is selected and its condition is visually assessed. If the device has not been used for a long time, you will have to disassemble it, clean the threaded connections, free the sections from scale and reassemble the device using new seals at the threaded connections. This must be done, since oil or antifreeze solution (high permeability liquid) will be poured into the container, and there is a high probability of the unit leaking through old dried out thread seals.

Inspection of a used cast iron radiator

If you have no skills in this work, it is better to seek help from a professional - this will also eliminate the need to look for special keys.

Important! After disassembling and cleaning the threaded connections, while the radiator is not assembled, it is easier to remove old paint from its sections - this is done using an angle grinder or a drill with a steel brush attachment. But this operation can be performed later - after assembling the battery.

After completing the assembly of the radiator, first of all, determine its capacity - temporarily screw plugs into three of the four holes, completely fill the unit with water, and then drain it into a measuring vessel. This is necessary to determine the need for oil or antifreeze, and at the same time for preliminary testing of the device for leaks.

Removing old paint from a cast iron battery after disassembling and reassembling it

After cleaning with a grinder, the product is treated with coarse sandpaper, cleaned of dust and degreased with a nitro solvent. The radiator is then coated with a primer and, after it dries, with one coat of topcoat paint. Painting is done with a spray gun or a narrow brush with a long handle.

Preliminary painting of the body of an electric heater made of a cast iron battery

Selecting a heating element and its installation

For a future electric heater, it is necessary to select a tubular electric heater with the required power and the safest design for this device.

Important! A simplified basis for calculating the required power consumed by a heater is the rule: to heat 1 m 2 of a room in central Russia, the main heating unit requires 100 W of energy, and an additional heating device requires 2-4 times less.

That is, on average, for the main heating of a room with an area of 20 m2, the battery must be equipped with a heating element of 2 kW of power consumed.

The tube heater's power must be within 0.75% of the battery's heat output to prevent the heater from heating up and turning off too quickly, which reduces the heater's efficiency. The average heat transfer value of one section of a cast iron battery is 140 W. This means that the heat transfer of a radiator of 10 sections will be equal to 1.4 kW, and the power of the heating element should not exceed ¾ of this value - 1.05 kW. Thus, in a room with an area of 20 m2, it is necessary to install 2 cast iron electric radiators of 10 sections each, each of which is equipped with a heating element with a power of 1 kW, as the main heating devices.

When choosing a tubular electric heater, you need to keep in mind that ideally its length should be 10 cm less than the width of the battery - this ensures uniform heating and convection of antifreeze in all sections. You should definitely purchase a heating element with a thermostat - such a unit will increase the relative safety of the heater and ensure operation in a relatively economical mode.

Tubular electric heater with temperature controller

If the heater is planned to be used for heating non-residential premises, then after installation at the design site it can be equipped with an expansion tank - through the fitting on one side in the upper part of the battery, a plug is installed on the opposite side of the radiator. This will not benefit the aesthetics of the device, but will eliminate the factor of pressure from the inside on the radiator from the filler expanding when heated.

Cast iron battery with expansion tank

If the tank is not used, then a Mayevsky tap is installed in the lining instead of its supply pipe - to allow emergency pressure relief.

A heating element is screwed into the lower part of the radiator on one side, and a plug on the opposite side.

Before installing the heating element, transformer oil or antifreeze is poured into the battery in an amount of 80-85% of its volume. The external thread of the heating elements (an inch and a quarter) is identical to the internal thread on the battery, so installation of the unit is not difficult.

Identical threads of the heater and radiator

Filling the battery

The type of filler is determined (antifreeze, transformer oil or water), and the required quantity is calculated - 80-85% of the volume of water that was previously drained into a measuring container from a completely filled radiator.

Important! If the room temperature drops below zero when the heater is turned off, then using water as a filler for the battery is dangerous - if not drained in time, it will freeze and destroy the unit.

Cast iron radiator destroyed by frozen water in a garage

The sequence of actions when pouring liquid into the battery is as follows:

a heating element is screwed into the lower part of the battery on one side and a plug on the other;
a plug is installed in the upper part of the radiator on one side;
the heater is positioned vertically with the remaining open hole up, and filler is poured into the unit through it;
the section of the wall behind the installed electric heater is equipped with thermal insulation from a layer of foil foam foam with an excess in size of 10-15 cm in each direction - this will reduce heat loss due to heating of the enclosing structure;
the heater is placed at the design location, after which a fitting is installed in its upper free slot, to which the Mayevsky tap or expansion tank pipe is connected.

Important! A homemade electric heater made from a cast iron battery must be equipped with a separate supply line with an individual automatic shutdown device.

To get a clearer idea of the technology described above, watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=674&v=HOmXkuFKBUc

Electric spiral heater

A small homemade garage heater can be made in almost a couple of hours.

To do this you will need the following materials and tools:

fireproof (fireclay) brick – 2 pcs.;
nichrome spiral – 1.2-1.5 m;
steel or aluminum corner 35x35 or 40x40 mm - 1.5 m;
small grinder with discs: for stone and cutting for metal;
drill with drills: for metal – Ø 3 mm, pobedit – Ø 6-8 mm;
narrow chisel with hammer;
rivets with a key.

The device to be manufactured will be an insulating base made of two bricks with a spiral recessed into them, located on a frame made of angle steel.

Homemade electric heater based on a nichrome spiral

A square of 250x250 mm (the length of a brick) is drawn on a sheet of paper, in which a spiral layout is arranged - a labyrinth of strips 1 cm wide, directed from the edges of the square to the center.

Bricks that are selected with good geometry and without chips are cleaned, washed, dried and placed on a flat surface next to each other to form a square. The outline of the labyrinth drawn on the sheet is transferred to this square.

An example of marking a furrow for a spiral

Using a grinder with a stone disc (a dry cutter), a furrow is formed on the bricks. Along the boundaries of the groove, even cuts are made to a depth of 1 cm, and then the core between them is selected using the side edge of the same disk - this way the bottom of the groove is smooth.

Using a grinder to make straight sections of a groove for a spiral

If you cut out the middle between the cuts with a chisel, then there is a risk of splitting the brick; moreover, if the outcome is successful, you will still have to level the bottom of the furrow with a grinder.

By forming straight sections of the groove on the bricks with a disk, at turns there is no need to go beyond the boundaries of the contour in order to create the required depth of the groove - this is carefully done with a small chisel, which can be made from an M10 tap or a Ø10 mm drill.

Finishing the corner sections of the furrow with a chisel

After the groove is formed, a spiral is placed into it.

Important! In order to be able to place containers on the heater to heat the contents, the spiral placed in the furrow must be 3-5 mm below the plane of the bricks.

In the grooves of the beginning of the “labyrinth”, using a drill with a Pobedit tip, two through holes with a diameter of 6-8 mm are made - for subsequent connection of the ends of the spiral to the power cable.

Places for making holes in the brick for bringing the spiral down

Then they begin to make a tripod from angle steel for installing bricks into it.

Using a grinder with a cutting disc for metal, cut a corner to size - 4 elements for the frame and 4 support legs. Corner pieces can be connected in two ways:

electric welding, having previously cut the ends of the fragments for the frame at an angle of 45 o;
using blind rivets, drilling holes in elements placed on top of each other.

Assembled metal stand for brick insulator

The thickness of the brick is 5.5-6.5 cm, so at both ends of the spiral we straighten several turns to even sections approximately 10 cm long. The straightened ends of the spiral are passed down through the holes in the brick and connected to the ends of the power cable.

Connecting the spiral to the electrical cable after exiting down through the holes in the brick

The heater is installed in the working position, the spiral is distributed in the groove until it is evenly tensioned along its entire length.

Perform a test connection of the device to the network. Electrical wiring and automatic line shutdown must be designed for a power of at least 3 kW.

After the device enters operating mode, its spiral should not be bright red, but brown-crimson in color.

If the coil is overheated, it is necessary to reduce the current, which is done by adding a 20-40 A diode to the circuit.

Diagram of parallel connection of two heat-reducing diodes and normal color of the spiral in operating mode

The electricity consumption of such a homemade heater cannot be called economical, but it is quite acceptable for short-term activations - minor car repairs in the garage, for a small greenhouse as an emergency means of heating, heating food, etc.

Conclusion

You can make a homemade heater in many other ways - using sunlight, a car battery, liquid energy, but the chosen technology must combine a well-thought-out degree of safety, the necessary efficiency of the unit and sufficient competence of the manufacturer. The heat generators described above have this combination of criteria.

The main point of the article

Home-made heaters have not outlived their usefulness even in the conditions of saturation of the modern market with industrially produced heating equipment.
The use of homemade air heaters is prohibited by the current Fire Safety Rules, therefore responsibility for the consequences of their use falls entirely on the consumer.
An electric heater made from a sectional cast iron radiator based on a heating element is a durable, efficient unit, but due to increased electricity consumption it is not economical. However, given its relative safety compared to liquid fuel devices, the device is made by craftsmen and used in everyday life quite often.
An electric heater made of a nichrome spiral on a ceramic brick frame is a device that can be made independently in a couple of hours without any special professional skills. The efficiency of the device, despite its compactness, depends on the spiral used, does not imply the efficiency of the unit, but is combined with a relatively low degree of operating risk.
The choice of a heater for home-made production should be based on a successful combination of three characteristics - a well-thought-out degree of safety, the necessary efficiency and the manufacturer’s competence sufficient for assembly.

We continue to talk about, and our new master class touched on electric heaters - very useful things in everyday life that have saved many people more than once in the winter. In fact, assembling a simple heating element at home is not difficult even for an inexperienced electrician. You just need to have some available tools available to everyone, and a diagram according to which the assembly should be carried out. Below are some interesting ideas with photo and video examples that you can use to make your own heater for your home, garage, and even your car!

Warning

Before assembling homemade heaters, you need to understand that these devices are sources of increased danger; if assembled and used incorrectly, they can lead to fire and fire. Therefore, they should never be left unattended and should be used with caution. Particular attention should be paid to testing the device: they should be carried out away from flammable objects.

Idea No. 1 – Compact model for local heating

The simplest way to make an electric heater is this one. To get started, prepare the following materials:

2 identical rectangular pieces of glass, each with an area of about 25 cm2 (for example, dimensions 4 * 6 cm);
a piece of aluminum foil, the width of which is no greater than the width of the glass;
cable for connecting an electric heater (copper, two-wire, with plug);
paraffin candle;
epoxy adhesive;
sharp scissors;
pliers;
wooden block;
sealant;
several ear sticks;
clean cloth.

As you can see, the materials for assembling a homemade electric heater are not at all scarce and can be at hand for everyone. So, you can make a small electric heater with your own hands using the following step-by-step instructions:

Using this technology you can make an electric mini heater with your own hands. The maximum heating temperature will be about 40 o, which will be quite enough for local heating. However, such a homemade product will, of course, not be enough to heat a room, so below we will provide more powerful options for homemade electric heaters.

Idea No. 2 – Mini heater from a can

Another original model of a homemade electric heater, which is suitable for local heating in a garage or room. All you need for assembly is:

coffee can;
transformer 220/12 Volt;
cooler;
nichrome wire;
square-shaped textolite with a side equal to the diameter of the can;
drill with a thin drill bit;
soldering iron;
cord for connecting to the network;
push button switch.

This instruction is even simpler and you can make an electric heater from a jar with your own hands in 1-2 hours. To begin with, you need to remove the foil from the PCB and cut out the middle in it, as shown in the photo below:

After this, use a drill to make diagonal holes. We fix nichrome wire of a certain diameter and length into the holes (we provided a separate calculation of the length in the article:). We calculate these parameters using (U=R*I). Then we fasten the wires.

We connect the transformer, diode bridge, cooler, nichrome wire and switch into one circuit. We need a diode bridge to power the cooler, since it requires constant voltage.

We mount the fan in the jar using glue, after which we attach the PCB as shown in the photo:

We place all the elements of a homemade electric heater in a jar, drill holes in the lid and check the functionality of the device!

If you want to make a more powerful device with a spiral, we recommend watching the video tutorial below:

Review of a homemade electric heater with a power of less than 2 kW

Idea No. 3 - Economical infrared heater

So we move on to more powerful electric heaters, which you can easily make yourself at home. To make an infrared heater we will need the following materials:

2 sheets of plastic, each area 1 m2;
graphite powder, crushed to flour fraction;
epoxy adhesive;
two copper terminals;
cord with plug for connecting to a 220 Volt network.

So, you can make an indoor infrared heater with your own hands according to the following instructions:

By the way, in order for the structure to be more durable, it is recommended to place the infrared heater in a wooden frame, which you can also make with your own hands. Before connecting, do not forget to check the resistance of the device and calculate the power, otherwise the plastic may start to smoke and even catch fire! Therefore, during testing, carefully monitor the heating.

Idea No. 4 – Oil device

Another device model that is recommended to be assembled for either other outbuildings in the country. All you need is an old battery, a tubular heater, oil and a plug. You will also need a welding machine, welding skills and some free time. The photo below shows one of the options for a homemade oil heater.

A tubular heater is installed at the bottom left, and a plug for draining/filling oil at the top. A simple design of an electric heater, which will be enough to heat a small room.

The video below clearly shows how to make an oil heater with your own hands:

Review of an oil cooler made from improvised materials

Idea No. 5 – Automotive electric oven

Well, the last version of a homemade heater is a device that runs on 12 Volts from the car’s on-board network, which can be used to heat the interior of your own car. For assembly you will need the following materials:

case from an old computer power supply;
nichrome wire;
remnants of ceramic floor tiles;
fasteners: bolts, angles, plates.

Making an electric car heater yourself is not that difficult. It is recommended to view the assembly process in the master class in photo examples:

The disadvantage of such a heater is the increased risk of fire in the car, because nichrome wire is practically not protected. In addition, you need to correctly calculate the power of the device so as not to damage the car’s wiring. Ohm's law will help you with this.

That's all the ideas for assembling a homemade electric heater. As you can see, a simple electrical device can be easily made from various available materials, if desired. If you liked the master classes, share the recording with your friends so that they too know how to make a heater with their own hands for your home, garage or car!