Are Clay Pot Heaters A Good Last Resort Warmth Tool?
Over the years, I’ve seen some pretty incredible claims in the world of outdoor and survival gear.
They usually center on getting something of high value for practically no cost. Using things you already have around the house!
Sound familiar?
It sounds sort of like an infomercial to me…
So, when I was asked to look into candle-powered heaters, I was intrigued.
He had heard stories of building DIY miniature space heaters. Ones built for free with only a few garden pots and bolts.
Some people even claim to heat an entire room with nothing but a few tea-light candles.
It sounds like the kind of improvised cold-weather survival solution we love around here!
So it’s worth uncovering if this candle heater was as good as the rumors claim.
To start off, let’s take a minute to watch one of the original videos that started this clay pot heater frenzy:
↓ Candle Powered Air Heater – DIY Radiant Space Heater – Flower Pot Heater ↓
So the idea is to use stacked terracotta pots and a couple of candles to generate enough heat to warm a room.
With an engineering background, it’s hard to see how math can work out on a project like this.
A candle flame only puts out so much heat, and it’s small compared to even a modest electric space heater.
After analyzing kerosene vs. propane heaters, I was extremely skeptical, to say the least.
But most projects like this are based on some bit of truth, so it was worth exploring.
So today, we’ll be covering the following clay pot heater topics in detail:
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Basic Clay Pot Heater Design
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The Clay Pot-Heated Debate
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But Can They “Technically” Heat Up A Room?
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3 Types Of Heat Transfer
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Why These Candle Heaters Do Work (sort of)
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Clay Pot Heater Upgrades
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Caution – Use At Your Own Risk
Are You Ready For The Tough Times Ahead? Take My 60 Sec Quiz To See If You’re Part Of ‘The Fragile Masses’ Or Not… Start Quiz Now!
Best DIY Clay Pot Candle Heater Designs
It turns out that people have been building versions of a candle-powered heater for years, and there are lots of videos and plans to build your own DIY version of it at home (which you can find later in this article).
↓ Easy DIY Terra Cotta Heater For A Greenhouse ↓
↓ How To Heat A Room With Clay Pots Heater ↓
Now, nearly all candle-powered heaters share a few things in common.
If you watched the videos above, you already know basic clay pot heater design.
A heater body is formed with a set of nesting clay pots, often separated by and attached to a central steel bolt.
The bolt has additional steel washers in the spaces between pots to form a basic heat exchanger.
This clay pot structure is usually nested at least two levels deep. This setup creates a series of internal spaces between the pots.
Once constructed, the heater body is flipped over and supported by bricks, pans, or a metal stand.
This allows you to position the center bolt directly above a small candle.
When the candle is lit, the flame heats the steel bolt directly, causing it to heat the clay pots.
The pots also trap the hot air rising from the flame. This “trap” slows the heat escape into the surrounding cold air and gives it time to heat the clay further.
As the candle burns, the interior chambers can reach quite high temperatures.
All the candle heat slowly builds in the mass of the clay pots. After a bit of time, you can begin feeling the heat on the outside surface of the largest pot.
Such a simple idea, but does it really work? Before I attempt to answer that question, let’s see what others have had to say about the clay pot heater.
The Clay Pot Candle-Heated Debate
In my research, I found many passionate people in favor of clay pot heaters and those against them.
These little heaters have caused quite a stir. People share videos of them working like a charm to warm a small room, with others debunking such claims.
And the debate is not always civil; I stumbled across a surprising amount of name-calling!
So let’s review the main arguments for and against the clay pot heater.
Those For
But don’t just take my word for it. Let’s hear from others who claim this clay pot heater does a good job of heating up a small space.
Here are three videos that “prove” these little candle heaters work: