hay bale heater

[damianarabbitry]

I'm building a heater for my rabbit barn. I'm useing an old under ground tank 1/4" thick metal 6' dia and 10' long. I have most of the plans done, but I don't know how to do the door so it wont worp. I'm not making a boiler out of it. Just a air heat, like an old wood stove.

[Hartmann]

With a signature like that, you shouldn't have any problem making doors.

I'll wait for the more intelligent answers. Shouldn't be too hard, with 1/4" walls.

[damianarabbitry]

I have been welding for my supper for the last 18 years. If I was at the shop I could use their supplies, but I`m at home with limited tools and supplies at hand. You might chuckel a bit at my signature but thats about all I have. So all the advice that I can get is a help. need to keep the door light as posiable its is going to be 6' dia.

[Daniel]

Why so big?

[spotsineyes]

Why so thick? By the time 1/4" steel gets warm, winter will be over.

[damianarabbitry]

I'm useing an old underground storage tank. I'm putting a 4'x5' round hay bale in it with a forced air fan on a thermastat to blow into the fire box to make the hay bale burn hotter when heat is needed. I'm going to install the heater in a well insulated room with only the door outside. There will be a fan blowing into the room at the bottom and fan blowing into the barn throu a duct system. I'm going to install a heat reclamer made from a 55 gal. drum above the firebox to make it easer to heat. I only have to keep the rabbit barn around 45 or 50 deg. The door is the only thing thats giving me problems I need to have it insulated but keep it from wouring and keep a seal.

[FabTech]

damianarabbitry, Being from So. Calif I don't get it. Your going to heat the bunnies with a hay bale Is this going to be bacon wraped wabbit Post some pic, I got to see this. We had a frost once but that was it
Sometime last year we came across two white bunnies in a cage someone left out on the trail, we now have 6. There cage now is a 60 X 30 yard
We got them fixed. Don't want to taint the wild bunny jean pool here.

[damianarabbitry]

My welding job is closeing there doors so I'm going to start rasing rabbits to sell to a meat processer. I'm useing the hay bale heater to heat the barn that is 40'x 100' with around 400 rabbits in it. (once we get the buisness up and going) the heater is to keep the barn warm enough to keep the water from frezing. Right now its 25 deg. with 18" of snow and snowing again.

[FabTech]

holy crap 400. what type of rabbits?

[damianarabbitry]

NewZealand Whites