Help us build a wood stove

[Spotted Owl]

OK time for another project with the kiddos.

Please save all the insurance, emissions, EPA, wood eater, smoke dragons are evil, baby seal are gonna die, etc. type stuff.

This is just a plain ole fun project for the kids and me to tackle this winter as we have some time for it. May finish or it may finish next winter, we'll see how it goes.

Hodge podge away, mix match come up with something good. This may end up being the sit around the fire in the driveway stove for us. Or it may wind up busted down and reused in other projects later, who knows. It will not be put into service until and unless I deem it safe.


Here is what we have thought up so far:

Has to be a barrel, we found some 24" pipe, .375 walls. 5' long. Will have to be cut way down.
There has to be a cooking surface so, the kids would like to use heavy diamond plate for that.

That's it so far.

Leg, door, air intake, all the rest........ Any ideas? Creative is what we are after, re purposing is way cool, looks is a factor also.

We did find some how some place high temp pink paint, I was told this is a must have for this project.

What say the masses.



Owl

 

[slowp]

Tiles. But I don't know if they need to be special high temp tiles or not. If not, the sky's the limit. You can bust up tiles to fit around the barrel, maybe and make it very colorful or do a mosaic.

 

[TreeTangler]

As far as the basics like door and draft, they make barrel stove kits that are fairly cheap. It's not much in the creative department but it's safe.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

baby seals are gonna die in this process, i just know it

 

[Whitespider]

 

[Steve NW WI]

You'll want to make the cooktop kinda like spidey shows, as part of the firebox itself. I made a sheet metal tray to hold a "humidifier" - big old kettle filled with water - for my old round stove. It worked just OK to get water to simmering, but wouldn't do much cooking. It didn't transfer the heat well enough. If I'd added a bunch more supports to directly transfer the heat, it might have worked for cooking.

Pic to help explain what I'm talking about:

 

[Spotted Owl]

I like the hinged lid type thing. We talked about what Steve has and we not to sure how that would work. Sounds like it doesn't work all that well. Thanks to the both of ya. Ms. P I think the top flat surface will have your idea interwoven with the diamond plate. Remember the hat stickers you got for her? Well she had her hat out the other day while we were up getting some firewood. Hadn't seen her pull that out in a while.

Keep them coming, this is going to prove to be a good project I think. If nothing else it will be a good time with the kiddos.

Awwww......... Del_ was it the baby seals that got ya? Sorry I didn't know you was so sensitive, you sure showed me though didn't you. I mean you really got me, a dislike, how will I ever recover from that?



Owl

 

[slowp]

Well, you can always build in wok. I believe I have seen that on HGTV.

Haul the finished creation to the next GTG please.
Seals are stinky and they are sometimes scary when they brush against your kayak. Go ahead and kill a few, maybe you'll be saving a salmon.

 

[Whitespider]

Cooking for a family using a wood fired cook stove takes a very talented chef.

That's flat not true‼
Our "up north" lake home had a wood-fired cook stove for years be fore it was "modernized"; I cooked on it dozens and dozens of times and I can't tell how many times I got comments like, "Wow, ya' just ain't got no talent for this... huh?"

 

[slowp]

I think you will need some bling on it. Craft stores have these half marble things that could be glued on with fireproof glue. I do not know if such a thing exists but you have smart kids and they can do the research.

Who knows? Maybe your stove will turn into "art" and you can sell it as such at a snooty shoppe.

 

[Fred Wright]

I like Spidey's design suggestion, have seen homebrew stoves similar to this.

The legs, well you can make 'em from angle iron or pipe and weld 'em where you want 'em. Don't forget your firebrick to line the sides and bottom.

 

[Oliver1655]

To help the flat plate on the top of the barrel wood stove be effective for cooking, make it a "n" shape with the lower corners fastened to the ribs on the barrel. This allows air to flow up under the cook surface while reflecting the heat back towards the barrel & cook top.

"Vogel" is the name of a manufacturer of barrel wood stoves kits. You can also get a double barrel kit. Instead of having the upper barrel over top of the lower barrel, have it stair stepped to the rear of the lower barrel to allow room for the cook top. If you were not having a cook top, then align the barrels as intended & attach 1/8" steel plate to the ribs of the barrels covering the area from middle of the lower barrel to the middle of the upper barrel. This will focus heat to the upper barrel heat exchanger while the plate will still radiate heat. Weld a half dozen lengths of 1 1/4" muffler pipe passing thru the upper barrel from the back to the front for heat transfer. For mounting a fan/blower, cut the lower 1/3 of a 3rd barrel off at the top of the rib so it will cradle the end of the upper barrel. Then you can weld it in place or use a barrel top clamping ring to lock them together. Cut a hole in the end of the "fan" chamber to mount a small fan.

Sorry I don't have a photo. I have seen double barrel stoves in shops setup like this while I lived in Minnesota which worked very well.

 

[Spotted Owl]

I know about cook stoves being exempt. I understand the differences between heaters and cookers. I don't see any sort of "troll" going on here. I came to ask a question about a project. This is the wood heat board, would you have gone to another here? Should I have worded this differently as to not come across as a "troll"? Or is there something else?

If this was going to be anything other than a fun project, I would do massive amounts of research. It's not though. Have you ever done a winter project with your kids? I certainly hope so. You will know the fun of doing something with them while they are learning things. The last couple years we have gotten an old stove and totally tear down and refurbish. This year the decision was to build instead of rebuild. Did you miss the part about burning it in the driveway? It's not going in the house. It may wind up in an open barn corner. Also like said more than likely it will be torn down and reused for another project another winter.

Cooking on wood does not take a talented anything. Yes I have used wood cook stoves in the past. We have also cooked on and in heaters like Lopi, Fisher, Orley, among a few homemade others.


Oliver: I think I have an idea pictured in my head of what you are saying with the N thing on the sides. I'll have to do some drawing to be sure it make total sense to me before we go whole hog on that one. I like it though. I don't understand the heat reflecting part though, can you please explain more?

Ms. P: Have no fear this thing will be sufficiently blinged, at least until the first test burn when it will probably all melt off. But. I will look good in the beginning.

We do have lots of brick from past winters projects. Wasn't sure if it would be needed in a barrel with walls that thick. We can certainly toss it in though, a little thermal mass and steel protection. Good call. I know there are lots of builder on this board Thank You everyone for you thoughts and ideas.



Owl

 

[Oliver1655]

Heat reflecting: That may not of been the best terminology. Maybe heat concentrating? Instead of all the heat radiating directly away from the barrel, 1 - The side plated collects part of the heat & transfers it up to the cook top. 2 - By partially trapping the heat, it causes the heat to build up in the triangle air spaces on each side of the stove which again causes the cook top to be hotter.

I prefer this method as you will not be interfering with your ability to add wood while cooking & you will not be creating another area to have to seal off like you would if having a hinged section. Especially if you are using it inside.

 

[Spotted Owl]

Heat reflecting: That may not of been the best terminology. Maybe heat concentrating? Instead of all the heat radiating directly away from the barrel, 1 - The side plated collects part of the heat & transfers it up to the cook top. 2 - By partially trapping the heat, it causes the heat to build up in the triangle air spaces on each side of the stove which again causes the cook top to be hotter.

I prefer this method as you will not be interfering with your ability to add wood while cooking & you will not be creating another area to have to seal off like you would if having a hinged section. Especially if you are using it inside.

Got it. Now I have a clear picture of what you are saying. That sounds like an idea we could use when we make our tent stove, shouldn't add a lot of weight for the gains.

For all that may think, this will not ever be an inside unit. The closest to being inside would be burning it at the shop door with the stack pointing out, if the weather is bad when the time comes for the test run. I value my family and home way more than using a homemade unit of this nature inside. Our inside heater is a Lopi on the may level and a Fisher in the basement. Both tried, tested and proven and way better built than I could do, and installed/inspected by a pro before using them.



Owl

 

[Oliver1655]

When I was a kid in Northern Minnesota, double barrel wood stoves were real common in the houses. Most of them were not equipped with fire brick. They had a cast iron grating resting on angle irons bolted to the sides of the lower barrel and kept a layer of ash in the bottom to help keep the coals from burning through. Ash falling out where it shouldn't was the sign it was time for a new barrel.

Take a look at the 55 gal barrel kits. If you add pipes & a fan to the upper barrel as previously posted they really do work well. I was planning to build one for my shop but last spring Menards had the Daka 521FB add on wood furnace on clearance for $600 so I picked up both of the ones they had. Later on I will end up building one just because I have the parts on hand. (I also have a several different areas in my shop & will have room for another stove.)

 

[gulity1]

Owl very cool to build with your kids, I do realize that this is an out side thing but there is a guy in Rhode Island that runs the antuque stove hospital (sp?) he refurbs alkinds of stoves, heaters, etc. On his site they have a descripition of what and how most wood & coal stoves work with pics. Ive talked at length with him seemed like a real nice guy might be willing to sell some parts to you maybe idk might be worth looking in to, might not.

 

[Mastermind]

A worthy endeavor.......anytime you spend time with your children doing something beside staring at a TV, you should be commended.

 

[Spotted Owl]

Owl very cool to build with your kids, I do realize that this is an out side thing but there is a guy in Rhode Island that runs the antuque stove hospital (sp?) he refurbs alkinds of stoves, heaters, etc. On his site they have a descripition of what and how most wood & coal stoves work with pics. Ive talked at length with him seemed like a real nice guy might be willing to sell some parts to you maybe idk might be worth looking in to, might not.

That is a cool place. The choices of that type stove out here are meager at best in comparison. On of those cook stoves would be something else to have, I just don't want to know what shipping would be on a complete cross country trip.
The kiddos are sitting here with me right now and want to call and ask about old doors they may have for sale. We could spend some time in a shop like that one.

Thanks for this, I didn't even know there were people who do this.



Owl

 

[Naked Arborist]

I could PM you some pics of the last electric hot water heater stove I built. It works good and it's plenty thick and safe.