Wood stoves in a pole barn

[Conrad Henry]

I like wood for heating my house. I use a efficient wood stove, a "reburner", which reduces the amount of creosote going up the chimney. Cleaning the soot is relatively easy. the stack goes straight up, no elbows. I start the fire in December and let it go out in March. Heat with propane for a few months. when outside temps start to stay in the 40's wood heat becomes a little too warm. I only use between 5 and 6 cord of 16" wood. I don't use a log splitter because they are too slow. A common wood maul will split the 16" block easily. I always use my chain saw to cut out the knotty sections and only save the straight grains for splitting. I deal with those knots a little later with special chainsaw cuts with grain. But I am building a garage and would like to use wood heat there also. That "insurance" issue is what I would like to hear more about.

 

[GPintheMitten]

My insurance agent is an independent. He said he can't get coverage for a wood burner in a garage.

At the time I didn't have a separate workshop so I don't know if that is insurable or not.

For garages the problem relates to all the fuels and other combustibles associated with automobiles, lawnmowers and other internal combustion engines as well as typical gas cans etc.

This is true for attached or detached garages.

Perhaps a shop with no gas engines and no flammable storage, you may be able to get insurance coverage.

I would be completely open with your agent because if you have a loss, you don't want to be denied coverage.

For my current workshop, my agent and the underwriters are aware of propane furnace. I have no gas or other fuel containers in the shop.

 

[westcliffe01]

For fuel and solvent storage, one can build a small garden shed so that stuff is not kept in the barn. Or just keep it in the garage. I don't get how the type of fuel used in the heating system changes risks associated with the presence of fuels and the like ? A propane or fuel oil fired heater is still going to draw combustion air and that air can pull in fuel vapors just like a wood stove. It is very unusual that a propane heater would draw 100% of the combustion air from outside the building. It is possible with some direct vent models, but certainly not generally the case at all.

I can see how wood heating might not be attractive to insurance companies. Its a heating device that requires an operator that can think. Apparently thinking can no longer be taken for granted in our society anymore...

 

[coobie]

I have built a new 30x52 pole building and am considering a wood stove for heat. I have a good friend that tells me a double barrel stove puts off great heat for a pole building and would be cheap to build.. I'm concerned about safety and how high the the pipe has to be run outside. I am looking at three options, wood, pellet and coal. I have the ability to get all the wood I need for free from state wildlife land. I was told that if it's down I can have it all. I just need to cut it and remove it. Hardwood pellets in my area of Delaware are running 225 a ton. I have been told that coal puts out the highest BTU's of all three and I'm not far from the area in P.A. where I can get anthracite cheap bagged buy the ton. I know that folks here must use these three types of fuel so how about some feedback. My building has insulation on the walls and I'm in the process of putting 2inch poly iso aluminum backed both side in the ceiling. 28' section is 15"11' to the peak and 24" is 12" to the bottom of the truses. Any thoughts you can give wil be helpful. Thank's Scaper

First question how old are you?If you are young go for the wood stove.If not wood pellets.I am in my middle 50,s and burn wood pellets.Easier on my body.LOL

 

[coobie]

Pellet stoves don't have a high BTU output. If you plan on keeping it heated all the time then they are great as you can set the thermostat and it will maintain that temp. If you plan on only warming it up once in a while from 'frozen' to 'comfortable' than a pellet stove is not as good because it takes a while to 'catch up'. Since you have a 'free' source of firewood I would probably look at a good size wood stove. Fans also help push the warm air around and make it more evenly heated as you bring it up to 'comfortable'.

H,MM check here Hearth.com - Information on Fireplaces, Wood Stoves, Pellet Stoves, etc. about wood pellet BTU,s

 

[Notforhire]

H,MM check here Hearth.com - Information on Fireplaces, Wood Stoves, Pellet Stoves, etc. about wood pellet BTU,s

Please excuse me if I am misunderstanding you.
It's not about wood pellet BTU per ton. It's about most pellet stoves being in the 45-50,000 BTU range. Wood or coal stoves are common in 130,000 BTU's. I think that's what charlz was saying.

Bill

 

[coobie]

Please excuse me if I am misunderstanding you.
It's not about wood pellet BTU per ton. It's about most pellet stoves being in the 45-50,000 BTU range. Wood or coal stoves are common in 130,000 BTU's. I think that's what charlz was saying.

Bill

Yes sir I was speaking of wood pellet BTU,s.

 

[charlz]

Yes sir I was speaking of wood pellet BTU,s.

Yes, I was mentioning that pellet stoves have low BTU/hour output. That is fine if you run it all the time or start it the night or several hours before but it won't bring an area to comfortable temps as fast as other heating methods. Obviously there are other factors such as the size of the area and how well insulated.

I heat the house with wood pellets and the shop with wood stove. One thing I like about having a woodstove around is that in a long-term power outage etc. I can still have a warm place that is only dependent on my wood pile and ability to bring wood inside.