Moron Moments:
2:50 – Not wearing hearing protection (ouchie!)
3:19 – Oh, *now* I decide to put in some earplugs. What a moron…
3:21 – Not at all the most effective cutting tool for this, but it was the best I had.
3:31 – Oh look… it broke… just like most of the rest of the tools I used for this project. Someday I’ll have the right tools for the jobs I try to do. =D
3:42 – Not giving up on the project right here… definite moron moment. Why am I using a hack saw to cut a propane tank? INSANITY!
4:36 – Not using eye protection. If one of those little cutting discs hit me in the eye, I would be having a bad time.
5:08 – This is particularly dangerous, because although I let out as much of the residual propane as possible, there is no way to know for sure just how much is left to burn. Doing this outdoors with a much longer lighting apparatus would have made more sense, but then that just wouldn’t be moronic enough for this show.
5:24 – 4″ pipe with no damper. Seemed like a decent idea at the time. Figured the smaller pipe would eliminate the need for a damper. It more or less did, but the fire just couldn’t breathe enough. The test fires seemed okay at first, but it basically just became a charcoal maker. Though, now I know how to build a charcoal maker. 🙂
6:08 – Should have worn a hat to hide the bald. =D
7:06 – I was iffy about using silicone on this, but it was all I had. I’ve used silicone to seal exhaust pipes on cars due to its heat resistance. Unfortunately, it can’t handle this degree of heat. Ended up melting into the stove, then allowed smoke to fill the studio. Yeah… that was dumb. In the final scene, you’ll see where I gave up and spent $4 on the project for proper stove pipe sealant.
8:11 – Metal duct tape. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but the adhesive just can’t handle high-heat applications. The adhesive melted off, breaking the seal, and allowed smoke to fill the studio… again. 🙁
8:35 – Weirdest condom ever.

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In the final scene, you will see I changed to a proper 6″ vent pipe with a homemade damper. This gave better air flow for better burning while doing a better job of smoke removal.

Overall, this little propane tank wood stove is a success. In 1-2 hours it can go from 35 degrees Fahrenheit to 85. I’ve maxed out the 7×7 office at 94 degrees, just to see how warm I could get it. It’s nice to have some heat out there. 🙂

The downside? You have to make sure not to get the fire going too hot. Since the metal of the tank is much thinner than traditional wood stoves, overheating the metal is really easy, and will fill the entire place with smoke really fast.

I would never recommend a build like this in a proper home, as it’s too risky and requires far too much attention and maintenance. However, as a way to take the chill off out in a poorly insulated work shop? It’s not half bad. 🙂

I had a lot of fun with this project. Total build time is 4-5 hours since I didn’t have the proper tools. In fact, I broke nearly every tool I had in this process, but I still only spent $4 on supplies, so the cost of this project was still quite low. Total filming time was 3 hours 45 minutes, which would have been incredibly dull if I didn’t cut it down below 10 minutes.

I hope you have enjoyed this video! 🙂

***Update ***

There is a teeny tiny possibility I should have used a double walled vent. There’s also a possibility I may have had a chimney fire & I maybe could have had to use one of my fire extinguishers & my axe to put a 2×2 hole in the wall to keep the fire from spreading.

I love when stupid shit goes wrong! 🤣

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