A friend pointed me to a video for making this space heater made of terracotta pots. I was intrigued and thought it would be a great resource during the winter in the event of a power outage – and maybe even save some money on the electric bill.  So, I decided to give it a shot. The whole setup with 100 candles cost less than $20. The 100 votive candles should be worth 30 days of use… so, ongoing, about $10/mo to heat the living room in my apartment.

Notice Seahawk manicure for Super Bowl. Go Hawks.

First, I found these cool terracotta planter legs and spent $3 for a pack of 3 of them –  and arranged them in a circle on a 12″ terracotta planter tray.

These are going to prop up the first terracotta pot to allow airspace for candles to burn.

1/4″ x 3″ hex screw with two washers and a hex bolt.

Next, I took a 1/4″ bolt about 3″ long and anchored with two washers and a bolt on the inside. (Several DIY videos said the long bolt helps to pick up the heat faster to transfer to the pot.)

Then, set this first pot on the planter feet on the tray.

Next, I just took a slightly larger pot and inverted it over the first one. (No bolt in this one.)

I got lucky and both pots fit well on the planter legs, nice and secure.  Below, I decided to just use 3 vs 4 candles, to go with the 3 legs… and voila!

I lit this about an hour ago and it’s starting to put out some heat. Outer pot is touchable, but not for long – and the bolt showing thru the top of the outer pot is TOO HOT to touch.

This is supposed to work on convection heat principle, heating the inner pot first and forcing air down and around the second. I’m not sure I’m clear on that, but the bottom line – it’s 42 degrees outside and the furnace is turned off and there’s no chill in the air!

I LIKE IT!