Old Fools Journal: DIY Heater

This is what I want to see when I look into a stove. Many years ago I had that in several incarnations but as I moved further south and space became limited space saving methods came to bear. A fire of that magnitude here and I would have to live outside. We use electric heat that we get very cheap from the grid (.065/kilowatt USD so far). We could augment that with wood heat but the cost of adding an efficient stove is cost prohibitive. In my hovel (THE BUS) space is at a premium. A piano, a work table and a sewing machine are where the stove would have to go. So for now clean electric heat is what we got except when the power is off then it's clean propane heat or nasty gasoline generator electric heat. I don't like to be cold. Which brings me to this days project.

My tiny bathroom in my hovel (THE BUS) was really cold this morning. It was 33*F (1*C) and since my tiny bathroom is closed off from the main living area it gets a little cool in there until the door is open for a while. A very early in the morning visit becomes a problem for a naked old man that really needs to pee. So I finally added some heat.
This little device is stuff from my brass pile, my electric lamp pile and electric wire pile. Except for the lamp socket it is all brass and copper. The lamp socket is a 250 watt standard bulb socket with a scrap piece of 3/16 inch thick rubber insulating the back, the heavy duty cord is from god knows what discard and the structural wire is 14 gauge copper stripped from plain old household wiring. The heat source is a 150 watt halogen bulb. The radiating surfaces are brass and copper stuff from the brass and copper stuff box.
This simple solution puts out an amazing amount of heat along with a warm and cheery night light. No more frozen pipes (more like a disappearing pipe).

In a few months I'll be wondering why I made this but for now I'm sleeping in my clothes.