DIY infrared top heater. How to make a heater with your own hands: instructions for making a homemade device

Thanks to the development of production technologies, new materials are constantly appearing on the construction market. The choice is expanding all the time, and the same problem can sometimes be solved in several ways. So, for example, when there is a need to insulate a room, heated floor technologies will come to the rescue. Among them, infrared flooring is gaining increasing popularity. How to make such a floor will be discussed further.

General description

First, let's define what it is and what its main operational characteristics are. An infrared floor is a type of electric floor, which is heated by applying an electric current to carbon radiating elements. On the modern building materials market you can find several varieties of such floors.

Film. Perhaps the most common option is a film inside which the active elements are located. The heating intensity is monitored and controlled using a special thermostat included in the system.
Rod. Another type of heated floors, which is supplied to the market in the form of rod elements, inside of which there is a heating part.

Infrared floors do not have any fundamental differences in functioning, but their installation technologies and some operational characteristics will differ to some extent. By the way, let us note the most important characteristic qualities:

First of all, it is necessary to note the extreme ease of installation of the system. With basic skills and a minimum set of tools, almost anyone can handle the job.
Cost-effectiveness of the system. Thanks to the use of advanced technologies, the efficiency of the entire system is very high and allows you to get maximum results with minimal energy consumption.
Another quality that can be noted is the versatility of application. In general, infrared heating elements are intended for installation under floor coverings, but can also be used as additional measures for heating a room, in the form of mounting them on walls or even ceilings.
Reliability also characterizes the system on the positive side. If installed correctly, such a floor will perform its functions for many years.
Among other things, the system is devoid of open heating elements and, even in the event of failure, remains as safe as possible for humans.

But, as mentioned above, in order for the listed qualities to fully manifest themselves, the installation of the system must be carried out to the highest possible quality.

It’s probably impossible to say unequivocally which infrared floor is better. Both the rod and roll versions have their pros and cons.

Laying the strip type in a room with a lot of heavy furniture, such as cabinets, beds, etc., is undesirable, since a large mechanical load can damage the heaters.

Installation technology

Speaking about the technology for installing infrared floors, it is worth noting that regardless of the manufacturing option, the main stages of work will differ minimally, so below we will consider the question of how to lay the strip manufacturing option. It should be said right away that it is better to divide the work into several stages and carry them out sequentially.

Preparation

As in all other cases, work should begin with preparation. Here, special attention should be paid to the quality of the base. The fact is that, in accordance with the rules for installing film (and rod, too) floors, the maximum difference in height of the base should be no more than 3-5 mm per m 2. If necessary, it is necessary to level the surface using a leveling mixture or concrete screed in particularly critical cases. Among other things, the base must be clean.

Thermal insulation

After the base is ready, you need to lay a layer of thermal insulation. It is best to use foil rolled material. Strips of the required length are laid on the surface and fixed with a stapler.

It is necessary to constantly ensure that there are no gaps between the sheets of insulation, and the joints should be taped.

Film floor installation

The film floor itself can be laid on top of the thermal insulation layer. To do this, strips of the required length are cut from a roll of material and laid in the same way as insulation. The task is not difficult, but damage to the contacts or the active element must not be allowed, so all work must be carried out in strict accordance with the attached instructions.

After laying the heating film itself on the surface, you need to make the initial connection of the system, that is, connect the wires to the terminals on the film. For this purpose, the design provides special clamps. It is worth adding that in order to ensure that, following the results of the work, the wires do not protrude above the general surface of the floor, before laying them in the insulation, special grooves are cut out, along which the wires are laid.

All connection points must be insulated.

The heating floor must be connected through a special thermostat.

As a rule, the work does not cause any difficulties. It is necessary to connect the wires to the contact points on the regulator in accordance with the instructions. If everything is done correctly, the heating will be smooth and uniform.

Laying the finishing coating

The final stage of work is the installation of the finishing floor covering. In this case, you should be careful not to damage the connection points or active heating elements. At this point, the work will be completed, and the film heated floor can be considered ready.

In conclusion, we can add that installing an infrared warm floor system will make staying in the house more comfortable and safe, which is especially important if there are small children in the house who spend a lot of time on the floor. And adults will also enjoy the comfort.

Video

This video shows how to install an infrared film floor:

And these are detailed instructions for laying an infrared rod floor:

Until recently, infrared heaters were a curiosity. Now they are becoming common devices that are used everywhere: at home, in the country, in production workshops and even in open areas. It has gotten to the point that many “Kulibins”, having frozen in the garage, use improvised materials to make an infrared heater with their own hands. Below we will look at several ways to make IR from improvised materials.

Unlike other types of heaters, IR does not heat the air in the room. It works on the principle of our luminary: heats up objects that get in the way of infrared radiation. And heated surfaces share heat with the surrounding air.

An infrared heater consists of two main elements:

heating element-emitter;
reflector (reflector).

Both of these elements are assembled in a heat-resistant housing.

The reflector is made from aluminum or polished steel. The reflector's task is to generate a radiation flux and direct it to the desired area.

Lamps are used as a heating element (emitter):

halogen;
carbon and quartz.

Heaters with halogen lamps are cheaper than those with carbon or quartz lamps. But they have one drawback that does not favor the use of the device in residential premises: their operation is accompanied by the glow of a lamp. Agree that you can’t put such a heater in the bedroom, or in the nursery either. Although, on balconies and loggias, if they are not combined with the main room, it is possible.

Unlike halogen lamps, carbon and quartz lamps do not produce light (but their price is higher). Actually, this is their only difference from halogen lamps. Some sellers claim that carbon and quartz, in addition to heating the room, also improve the health of residents. Such statements should not be taken seriously: doctors clearly state that infrared heaters do not have any effect on human health.

In addition to the emitter and reflector, the heater design contains a fire hazard sensor and thermostats. The first ones automatically turn off the heater when it overheats or tips over, the second ones serve to maintain the set temperature.

Making your own infrared heater

IR heater from an old reflector

You will need:

Soviet-made reflector;
nichrome thread;
steel rod;
fireproof dielectric.

Tip: As a dielectric, you can use a plate of any diameter made of glazed ceramic.

Your actions:

thoroughly clean the reflector reflector from dirt and dust;
check the integrity of the power cord, plug, connection to the terminals for connecting the spiral;
measure the length of the spiral wound onto the ceramic cone of the device;
take a steel rod of the same length and thread a nichrome thread onto it. Winding pitch – 2 mm;
upon completion of winding, remove the spiral from the rod;
lay the spiral in a free state (its turns should not touch) on a fire-resistant dielectric;
connect the current from the power outlet to the ends of the spiral;
turn off the heated coil and place it in the groove of the ceramic heater cone;
connect it to the power terminals.

Made from glass and foil

Required materials:

glass: two pieces of the same size;
aluminum foil;
sealant;
paraffin candle;
power cord with plug;
epoxy glue;
cotton swabs;
clean cotton napkin;
candle holder.

What we do:

remove dust, dirt, grease, traces of paint, if any, etc. from the surface of the glass;
light the candle and smoothly move the glass plates over its flame (alternately and only on one side). As a result of this operation, a uniform layer of soot should form on the glass. It will serve as a conductor in the heater;

Tip: If the glass is cooled before processing, the layer of soot will lie more evenly on its surface.

Using cotton swabs, we form a transparent “frame” about five millimeters wide around the perimeter of the glass;
Cut out two rectangles from a sheet of aluminum foil. Their width should be equal to the width of the conductive layer (the same soot that you diligently deposited on the glass at the beginning of work). The foil strips in our IR will act as electrodes;
place the glass plate with the smoked side up and apply epoxy glue to its surface;
We place foil on the edges of the plate so that their ends extend beyond the glass;
carefully cover the resulting structure with a second glass plate (smoky side inward) and glue the “pie” together, carefully pressing its layers together;
We seal the perimeter of the structure;
measure the resistance of the conductive layer;
Using the obtained result, we calculate the heater power using the formula:

N = R x I 2, where

N – power (W);

R – resistance (Ohm);

I - current strength (A).

If everything went well and the power did not exceed the value allowed by regulations, you can connect the homemade infrared heater to the outlet. If you don’t guess correctly, disassemble the device and start all over again.

Note: For orientation, keep in mind that the wider the soot strip, the lower the resistance. Consequently, the heating temperature of the glass will be higher.

IR based on laminated plastic

You will need:

paper laminate with an area of 1 square. m – 2 blanks;
epoxy glue;
copper busbar for making terminals;
wood for making a frame;
power cord with plug.

Graphite can be “mined” from batteries that have expired.

What to do:

Graphite for heater

mix epoxy glue with graphite until a thick mass is obtained (this prepares a future conductor with high resistance);
Place the plastic blank on the workbench with the rough side up;
Apply an epoxy-graphite mixture to the surface of the plastic using zigzag strokes;
similarly prepare the second plate;
We place the plates on top of each other with the treated sides facing each other and glue them together;
We attach copper terminals on opposite sides of the graphite conductor;
We construct a fixing wooden frame along the perimeter of the structure;
leave the product alone until the graphite-epoxy layer has completely dried;
we measure the conductor resistance and calculate the power (see option 2).

The resistance value of the conductor depends on the amount of graphite in the mass. If, as a result of testing, it turns out that the conductor resistance is too low, prepare a new epoxy-graphite composition by increasing the dose of graphite. Accordingly, high resistance can be reduced by reducing the amount of graphite powder in the conductor.

After you achieve a positive result, you can connect the power cord to the terminals and plug the device into the outlet. You can improve the design by installing a simple thermostat.

We have considered only a small fraction of the methods for making infrared heaters. In fact, there are a great many options, because home craftsmen tend to use different things that have served their purpose. Their diversity determines the number of inventions of homemade infrared heaters.

Severe Russian winters, turning on central heating on an inconvenient schedule, the absence of any heat sources in the room - all this leads to the search for alternative heating options. One of them is an infrared heater, which can be made with your own hands from scrap materials.

How it works and what it is used for

Operating principle of an infrared heater

An infrared heater is a radiation source with a reflector - a reflector. It is these two main elements that allow it to heat the room evenly. The scope of use of such a heat source is quite wide:

residential premises;
premises for utility and utility purposes;
industrial facilities;
open areas, etc.

The action is based on the principle of infrared radiation, characteristic of our luminary. It is not the air that is heated, but the objects surrounding the heater. And they, in turn, share the received heat, creating a comfortable temperature within the range of the infrared heater.

Types of infrared heaters

Classification of infrared heaters is carried out on several grounds. Thus, according to the method and place of fastening of such equipment, the following groups are distinguished:

The mobile infrared heater impresses with its compactness

mobile - compact dimensions, minimal power;
stationary - larger in size, with different power levels:
- ceiling - wide range of radiation, do not take up space in the room;
- floor-standing - efficiency is reduced due to the presence of additional obstacles in the path of IR waves;
- wall-mounted - installation directly under the window is acceptable.

Ceiling heater saves a lot of space

The heating elements inside the device differ in wavelength, which not only allows them to be divided into separate groups, but also determines the scope of use:

long-wave - for premises of any purpose with a ceiling height of no higher than 3 m;
medium wave - for country houses and administrative buildings, the premises in which have a height of 3 to 6 m;
shortwave - for factory floors and the street, because The ceiling height should be higher than 6 m.

Based on the type of heating element, there are:

halogen products;
carbon varieties;
ceramic heaters;
tubular.

Components

An infrared heater of the simplest design consists of the following elements:

metal body - surface can be painted;
reflective element - most often made of aluminum;
heating element - any type;
thermostat - there may not be one, but its presence allows you to regulate the frequency of heating (maintaining the optimal temperature in the room).

Calculations

When starting to make your own infrared heater, you should decide in advance on the required number of these devices and the optimal power. The calculation is made based on the norm: for 10 square meters of room area, one heater with a power of 1 kW is sufficient. So, for a garage of 20 square meters, you will need to install 2 infrared emitters, while for a kitchen with an area of 8 square meters, one device with a power of approximately 800 W will be enough.

The connection diagram for the IR heater is standard for any electrical appliance - through a separate line from the machine on the electrical panel. In this case, a thermostat is installed between the device and the switchboard, to which and from which the cable for phase and neutral is laid. The grounding is pulled directly from the shield to the emitter, bypassing the thermostat. If the total current consumption is less than 10 A, then the device can be powered from the outlet line.

Required materials and tools

The list of necessary materials and tools depends on the model chosen for self-production. So, for the simplest heater, in which the function of the heating element will be performed by the radiator of the heating system, you should stock up on reflective material - foil, as well as material for its fastening: thick cardboard, glue, etc. It is enough to place the reflective element behind the battery, without pressing it to the ribs radiator, and the heat reflected from the walls will heat up surrounding objects.

For a homemade spiral heater you will need:

tungsten filament;
steel rod;
metal with good reflective properties (aluminum, copper, galvanized, etc.);
asbestos tube or piece of slate;
brackets;
thick wire for the stand;
wire with plug.

DIY instructions

The process of making an infrared heater with your own hands consists of the following steps:

Make a spiral from a tungsten filament by winding it on a steel rod of a suitable diameter. Then the rod is removed, and the finished spiral is set aside. The required length can only be calculated experimentally, during testing of a completely finished sample (see point 5).
We bend a metal sheet with a reflective surface into a trough, hiding the shiny side inside.
We wind the spiral on a heat-resistant material, which is used as pieces of slate, pieces of asbestos board, etc. We fasten it with brackets inside the reflective “trough”.
The frame of the stand is bent from thick wire and placed in the right place (depending on how the device will be located - vertically or horizontally).
We attach a wire with a plug to the ends of the spiral and test the product. A spiral with a length similar to the heating element of an electric stove will heat very strongly. If its length is doubled, then the heating temperature will decrease proportionally. By lengthening or shortening, the length of the element for optimal heating of the room is determined in practice.

To make a gas infrared heater, you will need to additionally “conjure” with a reflective element:

from a galvanized plate we cut out two round blanks with a diameter the size of an ordinary tea strainer with ears for fastening;
in one of them we drill holes in a circle with a diameter of 3 mm, in the other we cut a hole according to the diameter of the gas burner;
We make a cylinder from a metal mesh, the diameter of which is equal to the diameter of the workpieces, and we attach them to it using rivets, placing a spiral inside this structure;
The device is attached to the burner of a gas cylinder.

If you need a heater that will operate from a current source with a voltage of 12 volts, then use the following algorithm:

The washed, degreased and dried glass rectangle is smoked over a candle, achieving an even layer of soot. The manipulation is stopped periodically to allow the glass to cool.
Two strips are cut out of aluminum foil, the length of which is equal to the width of the glass. They are placed along the edges of the smoked glass, pressed with a second clean glass and resistance measurements are taken using a multimeter.
If the resistance is 120 ohms, then proceed to the next step. Otherwise, soot is added to reduce the indicator or excess is removed to increase resistance.
Using a cotton swab, clean 5 mm of soot on each side and coat it with glue or sealant, lay down pieces of foil, cover with a second glass and leave until the surfaces are completely glued.
Wires are attached to the foil terminals and connected to a current source.

Video: DIY infrared heater

Features of operation and care of a homemade device

The device, made from improvised means, must be assembled in strict accordance with the rules for the safe operation of electrical and gas appliances. During use, it should not be left turned on without control. As a rule, their continuous operation does not exceed 4 hours.

Regular maintenance of the heater involves wiping off dust. This procedure is carried out after the heating element has completely cooled and is disconnected from the power source. Wipe with a dry cloth.

An infrared heater, made independently, significantly saves energy without losing the quality of heating. This allows it to be used even where a traditional heating system cannot cope with its functionality or is completely absent.

This article will discuss not only how to make an infrared heater with your own hands for a small room, but also a mobile installation that you can easily take with you on a fishing or hiking trip. Moreover, the small structure can even be used for a tent at a temperature of -20 0 C, if you decide to go outside the populated area in such weather. In a word, it will be a universal design.

For fishing

The main problem is that you can’t take much with you when going fishing. And if fishing rods, tackle and bait are not even an issue, you have to take everything, then with a heater you have to look for a lightweight alternative. For obvious reasons, a diesel generator will not work either - there are no 220 V outlets when fishing.

The best option would be to use liquefied gas. There are 2 main types of cylinders on sale - threaded and collet.

The threaded cylinder resembles a medium-sized fire extinguisher, with a thread on top for screwing on the nozzle. Such cylinders are very expensive, and also heavy. And we remember that when fishing, the less additional weight, the better.

The collet cylinder is similar in scale and shape to a large cylinder of hairspray or dichlorvos (whichever is closer). The action of one cylinder lasts for 3.5-4 hours, which means you take as many of them as you plan to spend outdoors.

How to make a simple model based on a collet cylinder

In order to use the cylinder, you will need a special burner, which consists of the following elements:

pipe with flange;
burner;
divider in the form of a hemisphere;
brackets for mounting on the cylinder.

This burner is designed for cooking and heating food, but is not designed for heating at all. Despite the fact that its power is 1 kW, even warming your hands is problematic. The heat instantly rises.

In order to correct this deficiency, it is necessary to redistribute the heat and direct it to the heat-releasing surface.

The main part of an IR heater is a heated body that gives off heat due to the presence of a heat-transfer surface. The following can be used as such:

ceramic grate;
metal pipe;
halogen lamp.

We will make a mesh structure based on a regular tea strainer.

You can use a ready-made design in the form of a heat diffuser, but its cost is about 1000-1500 rubles.

Required tools and materials:

a small piece of galvanized steel;
strainer;
a piece of mesh with small cells;
2-3 clamps;
copper bus 2-3 cm;
rivets;
hammer,
pliers,
screwdriver,
drill,
metal drills.

Design and step-by-step assembly instructions

If we take the industrial design as a guide, it is a cylinder 100 mm high, 50 mm in diameter, where all the walls and the lid are made of metal mesh. A hole is cut at the bottom for the flame entrance.

In order to replicate the design as accurately as possible, we will need the most ordinary tea strainer.

When cutting according to the template, make at least a minimum margin of 1-2 mm!

The end result should have been details like these.

This is how the adapter is attached to the collet cylinder.

This is what a homemade nozzle with an adapter looks like.

This is not the most successful option for reconstructing a collet cylinder, since in the end there is still not enough heat. Even if you place a burner with a diffuser in a small tent, only close by can you get at least a little warm.

A fine mesh metal mesh will help improve the design and make it a truly effective source of heat.

Cut out the required size piece from the galvanized sheet.

Apply a strainer to the mesh and cut out a piece so that it will fit around the edges.

For cutting, use metal scissors - it will be much faster and more accurate.

Drill small holes along the top to ensure normal traction.

Bend the straps on the sides and place them on the mesh.

Be sure to secure with rivets to prevent the mesh from falling off the base of the cylinder. During combustion, it becomes white-hot and therefore there is a very high risk of injury.

Now this is truly an infrared heater, the heat of which is enough for a tent even in very cold weather.

And if with a conventional burner you have to bring your hands literally close, then the improved model gives good heat over 50 cm from the source.

Why does a gas cylinder freeze?

When going out on the ice, or even hiking in winter, many people encounter another problem - the gas in the cylinder freezes. And if the collet one stops working even at minus 10, then the threaded one, although it lights up at minus 15, is very siphonic. How to solve this problem? Make a passive cylinder heater that takes heat from the burner itself and transfers it to the cylinder. To do this, you will need a copper busbar, which you screw to the cylinder in this way

Literally 20-30 minutes is enough. After which the structure operates as usual.

Types of IR heaters

In the 21st century, interruptions in hot water supply remain relevant. Many people, when installing heating, focus on autonomous systems that will continue to work without being connected to the central heating network.

Among these are:

boilers of various types with a connected water circuit;
air heating via ventilation system;
IR heaters, controlled automatically by thermostats.

The last option is the safest both from the point of view of the operation of the equipment, which does not heat the air, but heats objects, and in terms of safety.

Quartz lamps themselves are recognized as safe to use, since they do not heat up themselves, but accumulate heat and transfer it through the radiation of thermal waves.

The latest developments in the field of infrared heaters concern the fact that transparent conductors will be applied to ordinary window surfaces, as a result of which, when an electric current passes, the entire glass will emit heat. This method has already been called the most economical. Development of mass production is currently underway.

Innovative windows that clean themselves and warm the house:

Finally, it should be noted that the heater that we designed for fishing is of the open type, where you can observe the open flame of the burner.

There are also closed-type heaters, where all combustion processes take place in a closed cylinder and are invisible to others. Such heaters are characterized by a higher temperature of the source itself and an increased radius of heat release, but they are not infrared heaters, like, for example, radiators.

It is also a mistake to classify a warm floor as a system of infrared emitters, since they warm the feet upon contact, and the heat spreads throughout the room by convection.

The constant rise in prices for gas, which is used to heat private homes, in the cold season forces us to look for an equivalent alternative in terms of heat quality, but cheaper in operating costs.

What has not been invented in recent years by Russian folk craftsmen - homemade ones.

Most often, in order to do everything to pay less, they find use in their designs of infrared rays.

Thus, a large amount of information has now accumulated on how to construct your own heater that would operate on infrared radiation.

How it works - operating principle and main elements

The power supply must be securely soldered - no twisting!

Absolutely any physical substance has the property of emitting thermal energy.

It is this postulate that is taken as the basis for heating a room with infrared rays. At a given frequency, electromagnetic oscillations at certain temperatures heat up the emitter, as a result of which it releases thermal energy into the space surrounding it.

But in order for the scheme to work in full mode, a number of conditions must be met.

One of them is the ability to connect directly to a 220 V network.

Firstly, there must be an emitter, which can be either a specifically designed incandescent lamp or a special multilayer panel, which is made of an alloy characterized by a special composition.

Between each layer of the panel a thin thread made of metal is laid. The thread, creating resistance to the electric current, heats up to the desired temperature and transfers heat to the panel. It is these heat rays in their infrared range that heat the room.

Such a panel emitter as a heat source can be fixed to the surface of walls and ceilings, while the spectrum of the emitted infrared flux is located in the range of 5-15 microns, which is considered comfortable for humans, while such heaters consume almost half as much electricity as heating devices , having a different operating principle.

The reflector is one of the main components of an IR heating device. Thanks to it, heat is reflected in a given direction and, acquiring a certain specific shape, thereby determining the most active radiation zone.

If desired, you can create a small area in the room that will have the most comfortable and preset parameters, but for this purpose it is necessary to select the right reflector, since not every material used is characterized by a high degree of reflection; most often it simply absorbs the generated heat.

Watch a video about what infrared heaters are:

If necessary, check how high the reflective properties of a particular material are, then you can use a small piece of ordinary food foil. The mirror surface should be brought to the surface of the skin and the thermal effect will not be long in coming.

Thermal resistance - it helps maintain the temperature created by the emitter under certain operating parameters.

The controller is used to check whether the specified parameters correspond to the real ones. If the data does not match, the device automatically equalizes the temperature to the required values.

Important: Useful heat is generated by converting electrical energy into heat in the form of infrared rays. At the same time, surrounding objects heat up, which then release all the accumulated heat to the surrounding space. The efficiency of such devices is high, and heat loss is minimal.

Do-it-yourself heater based on the “reflection” principle

One of the simplest devices will be a small sheet of food foil attached to a central heating radiator, which will be directed towards the living space.

Those heat rays that emanate from the radiator are reflected in the surface of the foil onto the heated room, while no heat loss occurs due to unnecessary heating of the walls.

This method is the cheapest, because... costs only for foil and its fastening to the wall.

Heat transfer increases by about 10-20%.

Heater based on IR port and spiral

This option involves the purchase of an incandescent coil and an infrared port.

The prepared spiral must be placed in a rectangular volumetric block, which must have an electrical connection.

The IR port is connected directly to the finished heater from a block with a spiral.

At this point, the device is basically ready.

The operation of the device is based on the use of the ability of the infrared port to transmit thermal information into space using the infrared range of thermal waves, which form the medium for their propagation.

Heater based on graphite glue and laminate

Undoubtedly, you cannot ignore the heater for construction, which you need to stock up on two sheets of multilayer plastic with dimensions 1 * 2, epoxy glue, graphite powder, a piece of wire that would have a working plug.

First you need to prepare a dense adhesive solution based on a small amount of epoxy glue with exactly the same amount of graphite.

Then the resulting mass is applied in zigzag strokes to that side of the plastic plate, which is characterized by a rougher surface.

All these strokes become nothing more than graphite conductors, which have high resistance.

Both plastic blanks are glued together, with those sides that have graphite processing, using the same epoxy glue.

Important: To make the structure static, it is placed in a special frame that will hold the sheets together. Terminals made of copper are attached to the graphite conductors-dabs on different sides of the frame.

After the device has completely dried, it can be connected to the standard electrical network. As a result, we should have a very effective, small-sized and inexpensive heater that can easily be mounted on both walls and floors.

The heating temperature will directly affect the ratio of glue and graphite in the adhesive solution, as well as the thickness and total length of the applied strokes. But as practice shows, the average temperature reaches 65 degrees.

Heater based on a shoe polish box

This option is especially compact and will always find a place for it in both domestic and utility rooms (garage, warehouse, etc.). To make it you need to prepare:

A flat plastic box, an old shoe polish box will do;
Two wires;
Graphite powder;
River sand;
Electrical plug.

Heater manufacturing method:

The prepared container is thoroughly washed.
Graphite is mixed in a one to one ratio with clean sand. The resulting graphite-sand mixture is poured into the prepared container, exactly halfway.
According to the diameter of the container, it is necessary to cut a circle from tin, to the edges of which the lead wire is attached, after which it is tightly laid on sand mixed with graphite.
After which this tin blank is covered with the remaining amount of graphite and sand.
The tin container is tightly closed with a lid, so as to create independent excess pressure inside the container
The second wire of the container body is connected to the car battery or standard network.

That's basically it, you made an infrared heater with your own hands. It is very easy to regulate the heating by tightening the lid more, and the heating will be greater; by tightening the lid less, the device will cool down.

During very strong heating, the box will emit an orange or red glow, as a result of which its contents sinter, resulting in a noticeable decrease in the efficiency of the device.

To restore functionality, simply shake the box and loosen its contents.