Garage stove recommendations?

[naturelover]

Well, the time has come to I guess retire the Warm Morning 520 that I am using in the garage. I can finish the year with it, but its beginning to worry me as the bricks and sides are starting to go.

I love the size of the 520 as it doesn't take up much floor space and is a top exhaust. I would like something about that size, but would prefer something that can throw out more heat than it does as on the colder days it really doesn't heat that well.

I've tried to do some BTU loss calcs, and get anywhere from 55000 to 550000. It is a 28x30x12 with 3 large doors and many cracks in it with no insulation and single pane windows, so there is a lot of heat loss. I don't heat it to 70 though, as a temp in the lower 60s is fine for working in there. Most days the 520 will keep it comfortable. I don't keep the fire overnight anyway, so that isn't a concern either.

I was thinking of one of the Wonderluxe coal stoves, but its rear exhaust and is gonna take up lots of floor space. Was also considering the large cast iron potbelly stove, but its gonna be a bit big too. Might be the way to go though.

Any free-standing pedestal stoves fit the bill? Maybe something like the Harman TLC 2000 (dealer nearby), but that seems overkill for a garage stove, though do like the size of it, and the fact that it is top venting.

Anyway, any and all thoughts welcome.. TIA..

 

[unclemoustache]

I've got a Charter Oak coal/wood stove. Love that thing. Would love to get it all fixed up and put it in the house and throw out my Lopi.

 

[FLHX Storm]

First,do you have a wood burning stove in the house?

The reason I'm asking is there may be something else to consider. If the wood stove in the house could use an upgrade, why not take that one and put it in the garage?

That is basically what I will be doing soon. I'll be getting a larger wood stove for the house, then take the one in the house and put it in the garage, and take the one in the garage and use it as part of a smokehouse.

Personally, I think the TLC2000 is a bit extravagant for something that would be used in a garage. How about something like a US Stove 2000 instead? THE TLC2000 is a really nice stove though.
United States Stove Medium Wood Stove with Blower, Medium, EPA certified - 1098917 | Tractor Supply Company

 

[nathon918]

First,do you have a wood burning stove in the house?

The reason I'm asking is there may be something else to consider. If the wood stove in the house could use an upgrade, why not take that one and put it in the garage?

That is basically what I will be doing soon. I'll be getting a larger wood stove for the house, then take the one in the house and put it in the garage, and take the one in the garage and use it as part of a smokehouse.

Personally, I think the TLC2000 is a bit extravagant for something that would be used in a garage. How about something like a US Stove 2000 instead? THE TLC2000 is a really nice stove though.
United States Stove Medium Wood Stove with Blower, Medium, EPA certified - 1098917 | Tractor Supply Company

i love the durability of a plate stove, but man they are :censored: ugly, i have an All Nighter and thats not too bad, but i cant stand the "pedestal" type stoves, (for the house anyway)
who cares what it looks like in the garage

 

[zogger]

I've tried to do some BTU loss calcs, and get anywhere from 55000 to 550000. It is a 28x30x12 with 3 large doors and many cracks in it with no insulation and single pane windows, so there is a lot of heat loss.
Anyway, any and all thoughts welcome.. TIA..

You said any and all! Ha!


Maybe you are glossing over in your mind the relative value of insulation, but dang, that is like trying to heat the outdoors. At least put something up, tack on some insulation boards or something, maybe run some gyp board across the ceiling, just anything, THEN see what size stove you might need. Id repair what you got for a stove and milk it out another year or three, start insulating now. Buy one roll every check, put it up, staple some plastic over it. Once all that is done, you could dry wall over that later on one sheet at a time, or paneliing or something.

 

[naturelover]

Well, the home is heated with gas, though it would be nice to install a wood stove sometime for ambiance.

But this would be a garage only stove.

I was out there today and it was in the upper 20's, and the WM520 kept it comfy in there, but gees, it goes through the wood. I burnt two wheelbarrow loads in about 10 hours, and get around two hours of burn time with the maple and poplar I'm burning now. Course I do have to keep the draft half open, but on the plus side the chimney stays clean.

And I do have that old blackboard insulation on the ceiling, but that's it other than the block walls. Have thought about insulating it, but just never have. There are work cabinets and shelving on the wall I would have to take down, along with a 12' long wall shelf filled with stuff. And of course being a garage, everything gets thrown up against the wall for the floor space. But may break down and do that one day.

I would really like to repair the 520, but I can't get firebrick for it, and would have to get someone to roll the side for it. It would need some other work, but even if I do get another stove, I will still keep it in hopes of being able to fix it someday.

FLHX, I was looking at that style of stove from them, but they have the large version of it available online for the TS near me. I looked at one at TS a while back, but it seemed way too small for the garage, but I might have been looking at the small one as I didn't know they made different sizes of that stove.

 

[Vibes]

look at a Shenendoah R65 wood coal burner. Its pretty small in size and is a top exhaust. You can run a 30 inch verticle pipe into the chimney. It pulls it that much further from the wall so the heat isn't heating a wall as much. Mine burns about a Wheel barrow full a day if hardwood. And about a 5 gallon bucket of coal. Not sure on price anymore but when I boght mine 10 years ago it was a little bit more than the cheap box store stoves and a good bit cheaper than the really nice units. Its a no frills stove.

 

[farmer steve]

have u looked on clist? my wood helper just bought one on cl$400bucks. it was a baker ws. it was an older (pre epa intervention )style but that brand is in high demand in our area. good luck in your search. FS

 

[Deleted member 83629]

have you looked into a potbelly stove? try northerntool.com

 

[WoodTick007]

wonderwood they are all over for $50 to $200. just make sure you don't buy the years that had 3 holes in the door and 3 in the ash door....EPA thing. There was no controlling them without mods.

 

[ZeroLife]

Get one of those kits to turn a 55 gallon drum into a wood stove. Get two and stack em!
:jester::jester:

 

[jthornton]

I've tried to do some BTU loss calcs, and get anywhere from 55000 to 550000. It is a 28x30x12 with 3 large doors and many cracks in it with no insulation and single pane windows, so there is a lot of heat loss. I don't heat it to 70 though, as a temp in the lower 60s is fine for working in there. Most days the 520 will keep it comfortable. I don't keep the fire overnight anyway, so that isn't a concern either.

Anyway, any and all thoughts welcome.. TIA..

With only 840 sq ft to heat burning 2 wheel barrow loads of wood in a day you have some serious heat loss. The first place I'd hit is the garage door seals. When I replaced mine with good quality seals from a local garage door installer the difference was so dramatic I was amazed. I'm not talking about the cheap crap seals you get at the big box stores those things are pathetic. My garage is a tad over 1000 sq ft with 3 garage doors and a man door and I would get my wonderwood red hot trying to heat one end of the garage.

BTUs Up to 105,000

I added a tad under 1000 sq ft shop with one garage door and one man door to the garage and in the far side I have a US Stove tiny wood burner.

BTUs Up to 54,000

It gets so hot in the shop that I have to run a fan in the door to the garage to move some cooler air into the shop. This is what insulation and tight door seals do for you. I've not fired up the wonderwood in the garage all winter and let the excess heat from the shop heat the garage and it stays around 60F most of the time. I burn a few pieces of limb wood and a few splits per day. I usually load the wood burner twice a day and not much fits in that little baby. Spend your money on sealing up the doors and cracks and then evaluate your needs.

John

 

[Whitespider]

Get one of those kits to turn a 55 gallon drum into a wood stove.

I gotta' agree with that.
Get one of those crankin' and it will throw enough heat to warm a screen-house... you'll be opening windows!
They will use a lot of wood though... but for just heating a shop/garage on occasion who cares?
Think I saw one of those kits for something like 30-40 bucks just the other day at the fleet store, look around and the barrel will be free... maybe 5 bucks.

 

[jasper89]

If you are going to use a 55 gallon drum just make sure it is a pretty thick gauge. You can go through the thin ones pretty fast.

 

[naturelover]

Well, had thought about the drums, but didn't know how well they would work. Might measure it out to see how much space it would take up.

Vibes, that is the type of stove I would like to have. That looks something like the 520, but wonder if it would throw out enough heat?

IDK, been thinking about it, which leads to more confusion. Even considered a furnace type unit that I could put in the metal building behind the garage, but would have to go through the trouble of running ductwork and everything....

 

[cattoon]

Barrel stove

I heat a 30x50 ft shop with a barrel stove, takes about an hour after building a fire to be comfortable, my son and i built it about 1 1/2 year ago, I have no complaints about it. I would recommend that if you build one that you use a barrel with a removable head and orient the larger bung to the bottom of the door when you lay out for the door, for a little additional air flow. If anyone has questions about my setup I'll be happy to try to help.

 

[naturelover]

Well, after much thought and considerations, I gots me a stove!

Read a bunch of reviews, here and on other sites. Was about to buy the US stove from a retail store, but didn't know if it would qualify for the tax credit as it said it was only 60 some percent efficient.

So, looked around some more and came across the englander 30 stove. Found it for the same price as the US stove, and it was more efficient and qualified for the tax credit.

So home it came, says its the cleanest burning big firebox available. Know it will be a big improvement over the WM 520 though.

It looks really well made, will also enjoy the deeper woodbox and large window. Course all the wood I have cut now is sized for the 520, so will probably have to stuff quite a few chunks in there.

Kinda out of place though for a garage stove, even moreso when I had to put the legs on (floor too unlevel). However, if I ever do decide to try wood heat inside, this should fit the bill nicely.

Unloading it by myself was interesting, fraught with deep concerns about how much an Electrical Engineer really understood structural engineering, but all turned out well in the end.

An engine hoist and some thick rope were used to lift it out of the truck bed. Twas quite nervous pulling the truck out from underneath it, looking back and seeing it hanging in the air.

But got it down and removed the pedestal and installed the legs. Hoist was helpful here too, though some blocks of wood were underneath for safety.

Still need to get some pipe for it, and get its first burn completed. With the weather we've been having, wont be long before its needed.

 

[Marine5068]

Insulate.
Bat insulation is cheap
Fill gaps and holes with caulk and foam.
Oh, and that plastic (vapour barrier) is not just for holding up the insulation by the way. It should be sealed together by tape or sealant to act as a continuous air barrier.
That's what it's for.
Once its done all the heat you were losing will be kept around longer. You'll burn less wood, save money over time and be more comfy.

 

[steved]

Personally, I'd watch Craigslist for a stove for the garage. Its a garage, you don't need anything real fancy to get the job done...

I see them all the time for under $100 that look in pretty decent shape...I paid $75 for the Timberline that heats my parents house.

 

[naturelover]

Well....

Still not burning.

I had to remove the triple wall pipe I had up in the attic to install a slip joint in it as I am no longer able to slide the stove underneath it like I could with the 520.

The three sections were given to me, along with the through the ceiling piece, the top flashing and an unscreened cap (need to put some screen on it)

Anyway, someone had removed the bottom of the pipe for some reason. It slipped out of my hand when I turned it over and the blanket insulation came out if it. I tried for an hour to get it back in there to no avail.

So, I was set on having to spend $500 on new chimney and such, but I think I have tracked down the maker of the pipe, and can get a new section and adapter.

Waiting on confirmation from them that it will work with my existing pipe, and will place an order.

So, I guess the 30 will just sit there and look pretty for a couple more weeks. Shame really, as I was looking forward to its first burn.

Least I didn't wait until it was really time to need it, though we've already been in the upper 30's here at night....


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