DIY Barrel Stoves...

[Dilly]

I think it'll be a good fit for us. I'm not real found of buying a new stove just to go in a shop. Plus with these if it's not enough heat for us always add another. Notes about water being new to this what type of stove pipe should I run the shop won't be insulated will have a roof though shingles not a metal roof.

 

[firebrick43]

They kick ass!

Be careful water can't get down the chimney because with the thin steel involved rust is a real quick killer.

The good news is the fittings can be reused on a new barrel.

That brought back a memory. My dad's stove, while never having issues with the stove itself it seamed like the stove pipe failed ever second year and the panic that ensued, we started replacing the pipe every fall

 

[Chris-PA]

There was one in the scout camp cabin my son and I stayed at a few times. We didn't even load it that much and the thing cranked out the whole building. I'd just be concerned about how well the barrels would hold up.

 

[zogger]

There was one in the scout camp cabin my son and I stayed at a few times. We didn't even load it that much and the thing cranked out the whole building. I'd just be concerned about how well the barrels would hold up.

You might could use an old fuel tank instead of a barrel. Like the oil tanks guys make BBQ smokers from.

 

[Whitespider]

You might could use an old fuel tank instead of a barrel.

Heck yeah ya' can... and they save a ton of work.
If'n ya' put a big enough door on 'em there ain't any need to cut the old tires up‼
*

 

[Fred Wright]

Years ago my uncle had a dual barrel version in his auto shop building. It cranked out the heat all right and it had an appetite to match. It set in the middle of the building with the flue going straight up through the roof. A layer of sand in the bottom kept it from burning through.

Before he retired he was in there working all week and burning the barrel stove all winter. His only complaint was the barrels burned out every couple years. And he didn't much like shoveling out the ash. Got the whole shop dusty.

 

[ChipMonger]

Ok, so barrel stove is going to be a go. Buddy has a line on Stainless barrel's...Anyone have any reason to NOT use a stainless barrel? I cant forsee a problem, but want to ask.

 

[palmrose2]

I imagine that stainless barrels, like stainless exhausts, will last a long long time.

 

[redfin]

If you are burning directly on top of the sand how do you sort the sand and ashes?

 

[Whitespider]

...burning directly on top of the sand how do you sort the sand and ashes?

LOL
You're over-thinkin' it. A 55 gallon drum is pretty big, holds a ton of ashes... it ain't like ya' gotta' clean it out spick 'n' span.
Heck, after two or three months ya' just scoop some of them out... if ya' do scoop a bit too deep and hook a little sand, so what??
*

 

[redfin]

Gotcha, I'm used to emptying my ash drawer every day.

 

[Homelite410]

Insurance lady said no flame in my garage so here is what I did and they underwrote it!

Its an add on furnace shielded by the oil barrel and pipe is 6" 12ga wall.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I don't think I'd want wood pallets under it like that! One spark just wrong and end of garage... Don't you have some cement blocks??

SR

 

[Whitespider]

Insurance lady said no... so here is what I did...

L-O-L ‼
Ya' just gotta' love American ingenuity.
That looks just like somethin' I'd do... and be proud of it, ain't we??
*

 

[Homelite410]

I don't think I'd want wood pallets under it like that! One spark just wrong and end of garage... Don't you have some cement blocks??

SR

Prolly should... Been that way for 4 years!

L-O-L ‼
Ya' just gotta' love American ingenuity.
That looks just like somethin' I'd do... and be proud of it, ain't we??
*

Its temporary.......... 4 years ago....... I love it! And I burn the heck out of cottonwood cookies!!

 

[Whitespider]

Its temporary.......... 4 years ago.......

Four years?? That's nothin'... LOL... I've got 20-year-old temporary stuff‼
*

 

[tla100]

I would just buy some firebrick. I see it every time I go into Bomgaars where I bought my stove. It is a small hardware store chain for those that don't live in NW Iowa. I think a box runs $10-15 if that. I should check. I had a couple bricks on my stove start to deteriorate after a year but just flipped em upside down.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I always just left some ashes in the bottom of mine, that insulates the bottom just fine...

SR

 

[Whitespider]

I always just left some ashes in the bottom of mine, that insulates the bottom just fine...

Yeah, that will work, but there's a problem if it isn't being used regular... especially in a shop, shed or whatnot. Ash is hygroscopic, it draws moisture from the atmosphere, and damp ashes are highly corrosive (the potassium carbonate becomes potassium hydroxide... or lye). The sand in the bottom does more than insulate from fire, it also insulates from caustic corrosion.
*

 

[AIM]

I installed one in my shop in town and really like it. I did the 2 barrel design. For what it's worth. You don't just slap one of these together in an hour. I think it took me like 6 hours to build the stupid thing.