Alternative Home Heating Options for DIY Coal Waste Oil

Coal Types

• A coal furnace or boiler can be purchased at alternative heating stores, and with the right welding techniques and components, you might be able to build your own. The coal itself, however, is not really a do-it-yourself project. If you have a coal-making kiln you might be able to produce fuel, but in most cases it is more efficient to purchase pea or buckwheat anthracite coal, which has lower environmental effects compared to other, mined coal options.

Waste Oil Types

• You can also build waste oil furnaces yourself. The oil burner is a complex part you must buy, but plans exist to assemble the rest of the furnace or boiler yourself. Waste oil burners also provide you with more customization when it comes to fuel. You can collect waste oil from restaurants, use pure vegetable oil, set up a filtering system to produce fuel from used motor oil, or choose to buy processed waste oil from nearby suppliers.

Considerations

• Coal heat requires carefully planned exhaust routes. If you are using the coal heater indoors, you will probably need to re-line your chimney in order to bring it up to code. Coal burners also require frequent cleaning to prevent build-up problems, and are not environmentally friendly. Waste oil heaters are more environmentally sound, but the oil still has contaminants in it and filtering is key. You will need to frequently replace fuel filters to prevent clogging problems.

Supplemental Systems

• While both coal and waste oil heaters are options for your home, you do not need to settle on just one system. For example, when it comes to boilers you can use a solar heating system to provide extra warm water and take pressure off of your primary heat source. Likewise, pellet stoves and drain stoves can help heat homes, too.