This is a record making storm that has chilled us all and taken several lives. I share with you and old camping tip of how to make your own terracotta pot personal heaters. First off, the terracotta pots can take and disperse the heat being generated by a simple votive candle. Make sure that the pots you use are not glazed and or painted (use the standard inexpensive untreated terracotta pot.)

Most of the things needed to make your terracotta pot personal heater can be found laying around your house and or at your neighborhood hardware store and won't cost you over ten bucks. First locate the size terracotta pot you want to use. It must have the hole at the very bottom.

Then you'll need to get a bolt, two washers and a nut to secure it all together on the pot. Take note that if your terracotta pot is six inches tall you'll need a four-and-a-half to five inch bolt. If it's a ten inch pot an eight or nine inch bolt will suffice. You'll need two washers and one nut.

The reason for the steel bolt is that the bolt carries all the heat and disperses it through out the terracotta pot. You'll need at least two if not three bricks or flat rocks that are close to around the same height as the candle or chaffing dish burner that you're using for the heat. A word of warning, these terracotta pot heaters get very hot and you will need pot holders to remove the pot to blowout you candle.

I prefer to use 'unscented' candles or better yet, chaffing dish burners when available. Once you affix the the bolt, washers and nut to the pot, light your candle and place it in between the bricks and or rocks, then set the pot over the two or three bricks and the flame will heat the steel bolt that will in turn transfer the heat to the clay terracotta pot.

Warning, these pots get extremely hot and while in the video above, it only took it 30 seconds for the pot to go from 60 degrees to 95 degrees and I've had some of my pots get as hot as 360 degrees. So be careful and never, ever leave a flame unattended and keep pets and children a safe distance away. Stay warm and enjoy.

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