Tealight Heater / Candle Oven - Instructions for a DIY clay pot heater

• material
• Instructions - Tealight heating
• Instructional Video
• Heating with a candle oven
  • Tealight heating test

A decorative tealight heater provides warmth at the table both in summer and in winter - but even more is the home-made candle oven for cosiness. In this guide we show you how to build such a clay pot heater yourself.

Like a miniature campfire in your own home, on the balcony or in the garden, the tealight heater ensures even warmth. In the test, we show you exactly how this heat distribution works. But first we'll tell you how to build a candle oven of this kind yourself.

material

You need for a clay pot heater:

• hacksaw
• tape measure
• vice
• Thick tape
• Threaded rod (10, M10)
• 5 nuts
• Connecting nut as spacer (M10)
• 2 washers (size 10)
• 4 larger washers (body washers)
• 2 clay pots with holes in the bottom (d = 20 cm and d = 16 cm)
• Tonuntersetzer (d = 20 cm)
• Drilling machine with appropriate attachments

All used materials can be bought in the hardware store for about 10 €. Thus, the self-made candle oven is a cheap and yet efficient variant of a clay pot heater.

Instructions - Tealight heating

Step 1: Begin by drilling a hole one centimeter in diameter into the sound coaster. This should of course be in the middle. Measure the center exactly. Then glue off the dot with thicker tape. This prevents the sound from splintering during drilling.

Step 2: Then the threaded rod must be sawn to the correct length, as this only exists with a length of 15 cm and 100 cm in the hardware store. For the tealight heating you need a threaded rod with the length of 30 cm. Clamp the threaded rod in a vise and saw to it.

Step 3: Pass the threaded rod through the hole in the saucer. This is now fixed on both sides with a small washer (size 10) and a nut.

Make sure that the coaster is needed the other way round, ie on the head.

4th step: Then a third nut is turned on top of the pole. Turn it down about 15 cm. A large washer is now placed on this nut. Now put the smaller pot (d = 16 cm) upside down on this pole. He now lies on the washer.

Step 5: Then insert the second large washer on the rod and place it on the pot. Now put the spacer on the pole and fix it with another, fourth nut.

Step 6: Then place a third, large washer. It follows the large clay pot (d = 20 cm). Last but not least, the last big washer is put on the pole. This is then also attached, with the fifth nut.

Go through all the nuts again and see if they are properly tightened. The tealight heating is now ready and ready!

The tealights are now placed on the saucer and lit. If you place the clay pots slightly higher on the pole, you can place tealights in small glasses underneath. But heat is lost.

Instructional Video

In the video you will see again all the steps of assembling a tealight heater.

Heating with a candle oven

Heating with a candle oven of this type has advantages and disadvantages. The clay pots and the threaded rod act as heat storage in the tealight heater. The heat of freestanding candles would simply fizzle out and get lost in the room. The clay pots above pick up the heat of the candles and store them. Then the pots slowly release this heat to the room.

The advantages of a clay pot heater:

• sustainable warming
• The clay pot heater has a larger surface, which ensures even heat distribution
• You can warm your hands on it
• does not get too hot
• the heat is distributed in the room

Tealight heating test

The room to be heated has a size of 15 m². The room is in an old apartment and it is autumn, therefore cooler.

The tealight oven was put into operation for 45 minutes and the temperature rise was monitored with a thermometer.

1st Test: Tealight heating with three tealights. The temperature rose after 45 minutes in the room by 0.5 C °.

2nd test: clay pot heater with eight tealights. The temperature rose in the room by 1 C °.

3rd test: It was measured directly next to the candle oven. The temperature rose right next to it, as if you were sitting at the table, on which the tealight heating stands, by 2.5 C °.

A tealight heater is therefore not suitable for heating a whole room for a long time. But in the immediate vicinity of the clay pot heater is a significant increase in the heat felt. The candle oven is therefore suitable as an additional source of heat in winter and a cozy eye-catcher on the table. In summer you can also place the tealight heating outside on the balcony.