Barrel Stove

[edmartin]

I want to put wood burning heat source in my 30'x50' shop. I also want to do it as cheaply as possible. After talking with some friends who have them I've pretty much settled on a barrel stove. I've seen the kits in Northern Tool and elsewhere. Anyone had any experience with the kits and/or the stoves? Heat output, burn time, actaully making the stove using the kit? Thanks!

 

[Sutol]

Depends on how warm you need the shop to be,

Mine is the size below and our shop is 20 x 30 and it keeps the temp at 50 degrees when it is well below freezing outside

 

[yasureyoubetcha]

My dad built one many years ago and it worked great! But I would check with your'e insurance company first as these type of heaters are no longer allowed in Minnesota. My dad's shop was 30x30 and even at -30 outside we had no trouble getting up to a comfortable 70+ inside, this was with the double barrel kit, this realy saves a lot of heat from being wasted up the chimney. If you do build one, light it OUTSIDE the first time as all the old original paint will burn off, smokes like everything, then paint it with high heat paint and add about 3" of sand or gravel to the bottom barrel to keep if from burning through. Good luck and enjoy, I sure miss mine, replaced it with a Voglezang boxwood heater, good,but not near as fast a heat.

 

[nue2farm]

I have not done this yet. Backwoods Home Magazine had step by step directions for a barrel stove some time back... you can try them on line also. Have fun and stay safe....

 

[Thomas]

Double barrel kit works well,consider box fan of some sort move heat.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

An alternative to consider is a used stove in the classifieds. Kijiji Ontario carries quite a few used stove listings. For my son's garage we invested $125 in a properly listed box stove which had had little use. It required 28.5" clearance from a wall rather than the 18.5" required for a similar stove in my shop, but we installed it with the proper clearances and it passed inspection. When we fired it up I was surprised to find that it produces a lot more heat than the other stove. That's why it requires more space from the wall.

Anyway, for $125 we bought a very good stove which the inspectors liked. A non-listed stove would have to be installed at least 48" from a wall to meet the code.

A double barrel stove makes good use of secondary combustion, though, and is likely more efficient than a cheapie airtight.

 

[brokenknee]

quote=yasureyoubetcha;2666775]My dad built one many years ago and it worked great! But I would check with your'e insurance company first as these type of heaters are no longer allowed in Minnesota. My dad's shop was 30x30 and even at -30 outside we had no trouble getting up to a comfortable 70+ inside, this was with the double barrel kit, this realy saves a lot of heat from being wasted up the chimney. If you do build one, light it OUTSIDE the first time as all the old original paint will burn off, smokes like everything, then paint it with high heat paint and add about 3" of sand or gravel to the bottom barrel to keep if from burning through. Good luck and enjoy, I sure miss mine, replaced it with a Voglezang boxwood heater, good,but not near as fast a heat.[/quote]

Are you saying there is a law banning them? I don't think most insurance companies would cover you if they knew you had one. I am not aware of any law. You can still purchase the kits at the local home improvement store.

 

[yasureyoubetcha]

I'm sorry, no there is no law banning them as far as I know, but check with your insurance company first. My company told me if ANYTHING starts a fire, the barrel stove gets the blame, witch is unfair they are good heaters when maintained properly.

 

[Pilot]

We had a barrel stove in Montana and it went thru a lot of wood. Not very efficient, but get a good fire going in there and the upper surfaces would glow red. Did not have the double barrel kit.

Used stoves, properly engineered and likely more efficient can be had cheaply--there are about 15+ advertised on our local Craigslist, starting at $125.