DIY Radiant Brick Space Heater with Copper Plates! 300F/150C (12v) 220C/428F PTC (10lb thermal mass)

desertsun02
desertsun02
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Published 2023-02-26
DIY "Copper and Brick" Thermal Mass Space Heater! Radiant Brick Space Heater with Copper Plates! made with two 5 pound 'stone bricks', two sheets of 24-gauge copper (99.9% pure) and 4 12v DC powered heating tablets. the heating tablets have an average heat output of over 300F/150C (with max rating of 428F/220C +/-10%). the elements heat up the copper plates to 300F/150C in seconds (which then quickly transfers to the bricks). the elements heat up in seconds and within 10 minutes the bricks are fully heated. for extended heat distribution a small fan can be used. a 'heat powered' fan is shown in the video. all you do is set it on the hot bricks (or hot copper) and it runs. if you like the video, please share it around with anyone and everyone! 👍🙂

Couple of final thoughts...

🟢 The DC powered heating tablets (also called PTC heating tablets) can be powered using a 12v battery or a 12v solar panel (so the unit can be run 'off grid' if desired). unit was pulling around 10 amps during testing (measured around 2.6 amps per element). average total power draw of the heater (120w)

🟢 I made a similar unit with no copper sheeting a couple of years ago. it works good too, but it takes over 2 hours to fully heat up the bricks (versus only 10-15 minutes with this newer unit). adding the 2 copper plates makes a huge difference in both how fast the bricks heat up and how hot they get. the bricks in the older unit got to 200F in about 2.5 hours but the bricks in this newer unit get to 272F/133C in only 15 minutes. *so the unit can be made without the copper (but be prepared to wait a while for the heat).
All Comments (21)
  • @colinbrown3711
    I have done this, but amazon sent me 220 volt heaters, 130 watts. so I used 2 of these directly to mains. UK supply. They also come in 110 volts. This means you dont need a transformer. The results were similar to yours, amazing. I do think a fan is nescessary to spread the heat. I think when winter comes I will be able to heat one room for 25% of the electricity I was using. regards Colin England.
  • @mikeblackwell6220
    Dude I'm so impressed with this that I bought a smoker grill on clearance and got a sailboat switch panel and 8 of those elements and firebricks with copper I'm rigging it all up right now.
  • @1978rayking
    I would love to see difference in one heat element and fan with Cooper and thinner flat walking type brick, then 2 , 3 , so on heating elements all 12volt amp draws for each separately and together. I would also like to see if any amperage regulations are added or not and size of a 12volt battery used. Most us people need a 12volt safe in vehicle heater. Maybe the copper or brick could have a extra connection like a back wall for the air to pass and heat up more air.
  • @lm2205
    Super! So simple. Clear demo and very helpful. Thank you!
  • @davidpedder9048
    Set this up in a cook stove with the stove door open a few inches. The entire interior of the stove would also heat and the fan would push it all out the small opening.
  • @reddpill
    Be interesting if you mixed copper into the clay, fired it on a low heat and see what the outcome was. "Thermal brick". Could even modify it, to replace an Ondol system.
  • @woodworks2123
    If the bricks had holes in it, it would heat by convection aswell as radiant heating, convection works more efficiently with a radiator than just a hot surface.
  • @ericbenko5195
    This uses 8% of the electricity of a 1500w space heater. I would pay $10 to run a 1500w space heater for 24 hours straight in Connecticut. This set up uses only .80 cents.
  • @kanemahrofzade3219
    Hi, thanks for an informative video. Can you heat a room with this? How many watts does it use and how big a resistor do you have per unit?
  • @MichaelR58
    Awesome video , thanks for sharing , God bless !
  • @meb1233
    Any way to use the fans to generate enough power to keep this thing going on its own after it's up to temp?
  • @lorenwright3202
    Would adding thermal conductive paste to the PTC heaters and the copper plates and maybe even between the copper and the brick aid in it's thermal conductivity or transfer faster? I was using thermal paste alot I'm experiments for heat ain't worth shit for cold transfer also maybe try graphene film idk cool stuff thanks for the video
  • @helenfanning5821
    Would using fire bricks work the same as the stone bricks? Or does it need to be the stone bricks?
  • @duhhhh1723
    Another brilliant design , can you put a link to the fan and the heat pads , Please ? Thank you for taking time to teach and share , much appreciated .
  • @dudester873
    This sounds similar to a ceramic heater + fan that I bought from Big Lots for 20USD that uses 120VAC at 12.5A that can keep my bedroom warmish (door closed) on a cold day (high 30s F). BTW, what if the bricks were thinner or had additional external copper plates with radiation fins.
  • @TroyTime02
    Hey DesertSun02. Love your channel. Which do you prefer for heating, this double brick method or the sand battery. I know sand batteries are popular right now, but I’m leaning towards this double brick method being better. What are your thoughts???