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Oil Burner Conversion for M1941 Heater

LC

Member
27
0
6
Location
Cuba, IL
I was wondering if you could burn used oil in these? A guy selling them on ebay says you can but I thought I would check before I bought one. I figured I might need to add some diesel to thin the oil out. Or if anyone here has one for sale let me know.

Thanks
 

acetomatoco

New member
2,198
7
0
the burner conversions, I believe are for gasoline... the "carb" has a return line which will clog when the oil gets cold and you will have to store the fuel in the tent... for sure...I have been there and burned several tents in 1963-66 due to drunk First Sgts..etc....
 

jatonka

Well-known member
1,801
56
48
Location
Ephratah, New York
oil burner conversion for 1941 heater stove

Hi LC, when I first opened mine up I had instructions and it said I could use gasoline, kerosene or diesel fuel. I was afraid of the gas and had plenty of diesel, so I burned diesel. It smokes a LOT LOT on diesel, I tried kerosene and it smoked less. I have a feeling used oil is going to be like a smudge pot. One way to know is try it. John T
 

cbvet

Active member
1,567
20
38
Location
Northwest (Knox) Indiana
RE: oil burner conversion for 1941 heater stove

In VietNam we started out burning gasoline in them, but switched to diesel because it put out more heat. I don't remember it smoking all that bad, but heck! There are a lot of things I don't remember from 40 years ago.
I too, bought one recently. Haven't set it up yet, but plan to burn used motor oil. I plan to use a 55 gallon drum for the fuel tank. I'll keep the tank inside the insulated building, well away from the heater.
Shop is a long way from the house.
Eric
CBVET
 

moosebgy

Member
72
2
8
Location
Big Lake, Alaska
I also just picked up 2 of these heaters and haven't had a chance to play with them yet. I'm looking forward to experimenting with them to see how they burn on WVO and WMO. The guy selling them said that you can burn both but we'll see.
 

CARNAC

The Envelope Please.
Supporting Vendor
8,272
606
113
Location
Corpus Christi, TX
If they are the same type of heaters I had in Germany in the 80/90's, we used 60% df2 and 40% mogas. Within the past few years they began issuing new guts for these that are for burning just DF2/JP8. I also recall them smoking alot with straight df2 but that subsided after they got broken in.

Be careful with these heaters. We always had to maintain a fire watch. I've seen tents catch fire because the chimney pipe got red hot (too much mogas) and torched the tent. Ensure the rubber area for your chimney plate is in good shape.

We use a propare heater in our gp medium for hunting season. It's not military but I think it's safer.
 

cbvet

Active member
1,567
20
38
Location
Northwest (Knox) Indiana
Well, I finally decided to get my heater going. Cut the bottom out of a 55 gallon drum to set over the oil burner. Made 2 holes in the top. One for a 4" chimney pipe & another for lighting. Put it together outside to burn the paint off the barrel.
Not knowing what is correct, I made some guesses.
I raised the burner pot 1" above the ground so that air could come up the center tube. Raised the barrel 1.5" so air could get in.
Lit alright. Smoked a lot on diesel, but that did get quite a bit better after about 20 minutes. Burned for 2 hours with regulator wide open. Barrel never got hot enough to burn off paint.
Shut off fuel completely. Kept burning for over an hour on excess fuel in burner.

Good part?
Will burn 3 hours on about a gallon of fuel.
Bad parts?
Doesn't get very hot. Doubt it will heat very well.
Apparently the burner pot is getting fuel faster than it can be burned. Some danger of excess fuel overflowing through air holes in side of pot.

The lack of heat output & the excess fuel building-up make me think there is a lack of combustion air. But I sure don't see how thats possible the way I set it up.

Your thoughts please?
Eric
CBVET
 

Ferroequinologist

Resident railroad expert
Steel Soldiers Supporter
4,806
723
113
Location
Liberty Hill, SC
I have used one in a M1941 stove in my 20X20 cinder block garage for about 4 years now. I save all flammables over the summer in a drum behind the garage. Old oil, diesel, paint thinner, old gasoline. Come winter I pull the burner out and put the grate in, and burn all my pallets I built up. That doesn't take long, that pine burns fast! Then I put the burner in and burn that soup. Set it on about 2-3, and it will run you out of that garage in a few hours! I let it run then shut it off after the garage heats up, it holds it pretty well unless I have the door open. I have had the whole stove red hot, but it was set up outside, I was burning the cosmoline off of it.

Had great success with mine, I like it alot.
 

cbvet

Active member
1,567
20
38
Location
Northwest (Knox) Indiana
Adam,
I'm getting way more waste motor oil than I can possibly use in my Deuce, so I'd really like to use it for heating my shop.
My 55 gallon drum stove is a lot bigger in diameter & height than the 1941 stove. I wonder if that's part of the problem.
Maybe you can answer some questions:
1. Does the oil burner pot sit directly on the bottom of the stove?
2. Or is it somehow raised off the bottom to allow air to come up thru the flame spreader?
3. As it does fill in the space between the stove wall & the burner pot, do you think the adapter ring is necessary for correct air flow?
4. I'm wondering if my larger diameter barrel doesn't heat as well, because there is no direct contact between the flame & the stove sides. What do you think?
5. Should I use a smaller barrel, or buy a regular GI stove?
Any suggestions appreciated.
Looks like there may be several members here contemplating a similar setup, so input can help us all.

Thanks,
Eric
CBVET
 

cbvet

Active member
1,567
20
38
Location
Northwest (Knox) Indiana
Okay,
I built a stove using a 15 gallon drum. This throws quite a bit of heat.
I ran it on diesel first. It worked fine up to about #5 on the dial. If I turned it up higher, it would flood & smoke a lot.
Set it up last night with waste motor oil filtered to 100 microns. Due to the thicker oil, setting #5 only gives me a flame the size of a beer can. There isn't enough fuel to even cover the bottom of the burner pot. Probably used a gallon in 24 hours, & put out no heat.
I'll be in the shop tomorrow, & I'll try higher settings.
It may be necessary to enlarge the orifice or something for waste oil.
Eric
 

akdale

New member
2
0
0
I also am interested in burning WMO.
I currently am running an m1941 in my shop. My 55 gallon tank is inside the same building about 10 feet from the stove.
I drilled out the oil inlet orifice to about 3/32" and the oil still shuts off when I turn the knob off.
Before I drilled the office, I did not get much of a burn---Not much heat---
After I drilled it, my heat increased, but not enough to make anything glow like it does on gasoline and oil.
After about 8 hours of running on WMO, I have to turn the stove off and vacuum out the burner pot. There is a crusty build up in the bottom of the pot that does not let the fuel vaporise properly.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Dale
 

5tonpuller

Member
572
23
18
Location
Thompson, Pa
heat

akdale said:
I also am interested in burning WMO.
I currently am running an m1941 in my shop. My 55 gallon tank is inside the same building about 10 feet from the stove.
I drilled out the oil inlet orifice to about 3/32" and the oil still shuts off when I turn the knob off.
Before I drilled the office, I did not get much of a burn---Not much heat---
After I drilled it, my heat increased, but not enough to make anything glow like it does on gasoline and oil.
After about 8 hours of running on WMO, I have to turn the stove off and vacuum out the burner pot. There is a crusty build up in the bottom of the pot that does not let the fuel vaporise properly.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Dale
From what I been reading about that kinds burner is that it is a common thing to have that mess in there when Bio is used. Mix some gas or kero in the fuel. I don't think it will need much.
 

akdale

New member
2
0
0
RE: heat

I can now put too much pure WMO into the burner pot. (I drilled out the on-off orifice and the slot in the side of the flow regulating tube)
The problem that I have now is getting enough air flow to burn that much fuel. Black smoke = too much fuel---not enough air.
If I keep the burner pot from flooding--Now a setting of 5---There is no smoke.
But there is no part of the stove that glows red, and I believe that I get only 1/2 the heat that I can get with diesel.
Looks like I may have to enlarge the holes around the perimeter of the burner pot.
I can now burn Pure WMO for 24 hours before I shut down and vacuum the burner pot.
 
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