Wood stove

[Blazin]

The shop I am now renting I had used on a job to job basis in the past, and did work for the previous tenant, a concrete guy. Concrete guys all seem to have one thing in common. If it doesn't fit force it. If it breaks it needed to be replaced anyway! Or keep using it broken.
No exception to the barrel stove that was in the shop. If the piece or pieces of wood were several inches longe than the 55 gallon drum they would take a step or two back and drive it in with their heel. Well eventually a hole got poked through the back of the barrel. they kept using it!
I built a new stove last year.




The lid I cut of the white barrel to put the extension on I made a jail cell window looking thing out of 5/8th rebar. Welded it into the lid, and droped the lid down inside the extension. Welded it in place. Reinforced double back wall.

In place. It can go out and 5 or 6 hours later the concrette around it is still nice and warm.



All the shop doors open, cooking the paint off it!



All broken in.





Nextyear I am going to build a new one with a bigger door 14"x16". This door is only 11"x11" once its half full its a pain to put wood in it. Also going to do a second barrel with exhaust tubing through it ,and a blower set up.

[werewolfx13]

Nice looking stove setup. I would caution against the double barrel setup, they tend to reduce flue temperatures a bit too much and cause a LOT of creosote buildup. I'd suggest adding a water coil consisting of 75-100 feet of 1/2" soft copper wrapped around the barrel, terminate both ends on top above the concrete wall, and bury your new stove with a bigger door in sand in the concrete pit. That will trap TONS of heat by itself. Further, make use of the water coil by recycling a functional radiator, preferably one with metal tanks rather than plastic, and set the radiator up on the opposite side of the shop, if your construction allows. You will also want to keep the system open so you won't need a POV, so set your pump up near the stove on the return side of the line, and place it in an unsealed barrel. Should your fire run amok and/or your pump quit, the water boiling in the line will generate steam, but it will be allowed to vent unpressurized to the atmosphere. A tall sump pump works for a pump if the water returning to the tank is only around 100* F, but close to 200* water will be hard on the pump seals.  A better pump to use would be a taco or grundfos pump made for hot water heat. The neat thing about this, is the sand will hold so much heat, the water circulation will be enough to keep the shop somewhat warmer til the next day.

[gildardo01]

this may be a dumb question but what´s it for? is it for heating the building or what?

[Blazin]

Yes heating the building.
The barrel is about 1/4 burried with 1/4 to 1/2 stone right now.
I have had double barrels stoves before, they have always worked very well.
I also had a stove years ago in a shed that we wrapped soft copper around the stove pipe, ran it through a large heater core out of a school bus, used the whole rear heat setup out of the bus. Ran the fan off a battery, with a solar battery tender. We used a high hat for a cast iron radiator to blow off if the water got over heated. We used a 12 volt pump hooked to the battery as well, from a pop up camper to circulate the water.

[bd]

It looks toasty for sure.  West Coast guys don't have to worry as much about heat in the winter... little bit a snow and it's all over for us.  I love the ingenuity from the East!

[Blazin]

40'x60' with 16' ceiling, it will keep it 65 / 70 on a below freezing day.

[gildardo01]

Yes heating the building.
The barrel is about 1/4 burried with 1/4 to 1/2 stone right now.
I have had double barrels stoves before, they have always worked very well.
I also had a stove years ago in a shed that we wrapped soft copper around the stove pipe, ran it through a large heater core out of a school bus, used the whole rear heat setup out of the bus. Ran the fan off a battery, with a solar battery tender. We used a high hat for a cast iron radiator to blow off if the water got over heated. We used a 12 volt pump hooked to the battery as well, from a pop up camper to circulate the water.

oh for heating the building, well i wouldn´t know much about that down here in FL we dont worry about having our fingers frozen in the winter.... one more questions how are you able to circulate the heat around the building? do you use blowers or fans? or it just does it by its self?

[werewolfx13]

A wood stove like that heats primarily by radiation, but to some degree it will create a natural air movement through convection. A fully exposed stove will heat faster, but at the expense of more wood and less long term heat from stored heat in the concrete and rock.

[thirsty]

I love my barrel stove too. I use it for the primary heat in the winter with oil backup. I also heat water with it for the sink. Sometimes I wish I had a more efficient stove but when that barrel stove is cranking it feels awesome when it is -20 or so outside. I have a lot smaller shop to heat than Blazin.

[Blazin]

There are three ceiling fans down the center of the building. When they are one it pushes the hot air down. On a real cold day a fan behind the stove on low helps it get to the far end of the shop.

[Blazin]

I like your door set up better than mine. Mine is to small. Once the wood is about half full you need to put small pieces in, and they have to be slid up over the wood and stacked on top of it.

Heres a pic with a nice red hot bed of coals from stuffing KD scrap in it all afternoon!

[DnStClr]

Another good stove can be made from a water heater, and used ones can be had for the taking. They're thicker than a barrel so welding legs and flue pipes on them is easier.

[Lt.Del]

dang, I should've kept my last water heater. 

[bake74]

     I love wood stoves, but as BD pointed out, in Ca there is not much use for them unless you are in the mountains.