I live in a van & invented the best way to keep warm with zero heating – I can get toasty with just three tea candles
A WOMAN who lives in a van has revealed how she keeps it warm in the winter even without heating.
Katya, who lives full time in her van travelling took to social media to show off her savvy and cheap hack.
"How to stay warm in a van or tent," she said.
Taking a clip of herself in her van, Katya said that it was so cold not even fluffy sweater, two pairs of socks and slippers were keeping her warm.
It was so chilly that Katya decided it was time to make her emergency DIY heater.
She revealed all you needed to it yourself was three tea candles and two clay pots, one big and one smaller size, a clay plate and some rocks.
READ MORE HEATING HACKS
First she grabbed the plate and put the rocks on top, she then used three tea candles in the centre of the plate - making sure there was plenty of space between each.
After lighting the candles, Katya took the smaller clay pot and put it on top of the rocks and candles.
She then took an unlit tea candle and placed it on the hole of the pots base so no heat could get out.
Katya then took the larger clay pot and put this over the small one, covering the hole at the base with a shell.
She explained: "The small pot will heat up by candles and create convection currant in oxygen layer between two pots and you will have greater surface area of heat.
"In about 30 minutes, this will be so hot that I cannot touch."
The easy hack posted to her TikTok account @tropicalrussian has since gone viral with over 400k views and 61k likes.
While many people loved the DIY heater many warned it could be dangerous.
Of course, you should never leave candles, or any sort of fire unattended.
If you must use candles and tea lights for heat or light this winter, firefighters say follow these safety tips:
Never leave candles and tea lights unattended when burning, especially around children or pets.
Make sure they aren’t burning close to curtains, bedding, clothing or plants which might catch fire.
Extinguish all candles before going to sleep.
Place them in a well-ventilated room but away from vents and air currents which may cause rapid flame flare-ups or blow lightweight curtains or papers into the flame.
One person wrote: "Clay pot heaters literally don't work lmao its the same effect as just having the candle lot and out in the open."
Another commented: "PLEASE be careful regarding wax fires!"
"You can't heat an entire room with it, also the soot will build up inside and eventually start to burn. Just buy a heater for 30 bucks, safer + better," penned a third.
Meanwhile a fourth said: "This is how we kept our living room warm last winter."
"I would use this in my camper, worked like a charm,” claimed a fifth.
Someone else added: "Genius."
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