Waste Oil Burner

I started off with a candle in a metal bucket to do experiments with heat and fire. Then I added some used cooking oil, so now it is a waste oil burner. When the original candle wicks got lost, I added shredded paper as the new wick. Since there is still some wax in the fuel mixture, it makes a gel at room temperature. Sometimes on hot days, the wax/oil blend turns into a liquid, because the melting point is around 80 degrees F. The melting point of pure paraffin would be 99F, and canola oil 14F.

In one experiment, I injected air with my airbrush compressor through a copper pipe and it made the bucket so hot it glowed, and aluminum foil over the top drooped. In another experiment, I made a water heater. I pumped air into the fire, which didn't help it burn cleaner, but made it burn hotter. The water was going through a coil of copper pipe. With multiple runs through the system, the water got nice and warm. For another experiment, I put wax on a pie tin over the flames, and it smoked and then the fumes ignited, kind of like a grease fire. The next experiment I did was melting solder.

Water heater with air injector.

Mom safety note- experiments were done outdoors with lots of ventilation, over a non-flammable surface, with parental supervision, eye protection, and fire extinguisher nearby.