Stay Warm With the Heiny Heater!

Here's another use for your empty mini-keg. Recycle it into a patio heater you can use for camping, tailgating, etc. I've seen lamps and wastebaskets made from mini-kegs. I used this little stove at a tailgate party to stay warm and cook hot dogs. It worked great!

Materials List:

Heineken Keg 5 cent deposit
48 oz juice can recycle
Large soup can recycle
Pizza Pan $1.00 at the Dollar store
Ducting $1.00 at the Habitat for Humanity Re-use store
Rivets, screws on hand

The juice can needs to have the top on it, can opener holes ok.

First, empty all the beer from the keg. This is the best part of the process.
Make sure to bleed off any remaining pressure before proceeding.
Next, pry off the green plastic retaining ring on the top of the keg.
Pry off the plastic tap fitting in the middle of the top of the keg.
Use a screwdriver to pry up the lip around the metal tap insert. Use pliers to squeeze the pried-up lip together until it is narrow enough to push into the keg. Leave it inside until the next step.

Now you're ready to cut an opening in the side of the keg. Size and shape is up to you. Caution! Cut edges are sharp! Use gloves while working with these edges. I used an electric saber saw with a metal blade but you could punch a hole in the side to get started and use tin snips as well. There are some parts inside that you can now remove and toss.
Sanding or filing the edges to remove jagged burrs after cutting helps.
Next, cut about 8 slits in the top radially outward to first ring in the top of the keg - about 1 inch. Bend these tabs up vertically for the chimney collar (soup can) to fit over.

Don't cut out the entire bottom of the soup can. Instead, cut a hole in center of the soup can's bottom leaving about 3/8 inch (1 cm) band of metal around the perimeter. I used tin snips. Slide the soup can over keg top tabs then bend the tabs back over soup can bottom perimeter band. I used a piece of dowel to bend the tabs back. You could use a hammer handle. For a more secure mount, drill through the tabs and soup can and install 2-3 sheet metal screws connecting together the tabs, can and keg.

Rivet the pizza pan to the bottom of the juice can. You could use sheet metal screws here too. I found out too late that the rim of the pizza pan should be up or else the stove is a bit bouncy. Paint the assembly if desired. Fill juice can with sand through the can opener holes to give it weight for stability.

Drill or punch 3-4 holes in the bottom of the keg in a radius slightly smaller than the diameter of the juice can. Make matching holes in the juice can. I duct taped the can to the keg and hammered a small nail through the keg holes into the juice can. Use sheet metal screws to attach the keg to the pedestal.
Insert the stovepipe into the soup can chimney collar. You may need to make sheet metal shims to ensure a snug chimney fit. Use the part cut from the side of the keg or old can lids.

Obviously, the Heiney Heater is purely an outside appliance. Make sure your first test firing is in a wide-open area, preferably with a breeze as paint and other can coatings will burn off.
Now kick back, tap another mini-keg and keep warm.