wood stove vs add on furnace

[Dono]

I'm trying to decide which to use in my pole barn. My plan is to insulate with 3-4" of spray foam on the walls and blow in insulation in the ceiling. Barn is 42x54 with 12' eves. We enjoy hanging out in the barn and havin a few beers. We do some wrenching on the weekends but most of the time the barn wont be heated. I'm having a hard time finding a really big wood stove like you used to see. Could it be that the newer stoves are just that much more efficient? Do add on furnaces really kick out that much more heat than a traditional stove? Since most of our time will be spent standing around the stove with a beer in hand it seems the traditional stove would be best. I'm not concerned with wood consumption but need a stove to kick out enough BTU's to take the edge off these Michigan winters.

Also a friend has some really nice stove pipe. Its not your traditional black stuff. He scavenged it off one of those old metal fireplaces that were painted funky colors. The pipe seems much stouter than the stuff you get from home depot or lowes. Any recomendation on where to get good quality stove pipe.

thanks, Don

 

[Ronaldo]

I would think a stove is going to suit your situation just fine as long as you dont need to move the air around much. If you do need a blower of sorts - a regular fan can move air pretty well. How much area are you going to be heating?

Ron

 

[Whitespider]

My thoughts are that a stove is what you want in a barn setting (and I like the furnace type in my house).

...most of our time will be spent standing around the stove with a beer in hand it seems the traditional stove would be best. I'm not concerned with wood consumption but need a stove to kick out enough BTU's to take the edge off...

For what it's worth, I'm just gonna' throw this out to you. The "new" stoves (and furnaces) have a lot of thermal mass, thick heavy steel, fire brick, and whatnot. It takes some time to get them up to full temperature and throwing good heat (my stove converted to furnace takes a good hour from a cold start). That isn't what I personally would want in a barn, shop, garage, etc. ... When I go out to the shop on a cold winter day I want heat right away, and chances are the firebox will be stone cold. Take a look at one of the barrel stove kits... those barrel stoves (I've used 'em) pump out a ton of heat within just a few minutes, but they do use some wood. A single-barrel kit can be had for under 50-bucks (I think I saw one at the fleet store for $39), and the barrel is usually free.

I heated a two-story farm house with a barrel stove for three years, and I've heated two shops, and I've stood around dozens of 'em (while holding a beer can) in shops, garages, barns, shacks, and what not... if you crank-'em-up, they throw out enough heat you can't stand withing 15 feet of 'em. But as I said, they will use some wood. The barrel will normally last around 5 years, but replacing it ain't a big deal... just unbolt the parts from the old barrel and bolt 'em to the new barrel.

 

[rider93hawg]

Throw another barrel on top of the burner one for more heat.

 

[Golden Arrow II]

My neighbor has a double barrel stove in his pole barn, been drinking beer in there at 85+ degrees when it was 20 below outside to many nights to remember. They put out a lot of heat quick, thats where we use the less btu woods and small stuff. When I build my barn I'm putting one of those in it.

Also put up a big assed ceiling fan to get the heat back down and moving around.

 

[Dono]

Thanks for the replies...Renaldo i'm gonna heat the whole 42x 54 barn. I dont want to section it off as i mainly use it for vehicle/boat storage. The barrel stove is a good idea that i've considered just not sure of the longevity.

So basically a good wood stove with a blower should put out similar btu's than a furnace?
I will be adding a few ceiling fans to move the air around.

 

[Whitespider]

So basically a good wood stove with a blower should put out similar btu's than a furnace?

Not necessarily. The only real difference between a stove and a furnace is the air handler (or plenum) built around the fire box of the furnace... and, of course, many furnaces have forced air draft controlled by a thermostat. A large stove will be rated with higher BTU's than a small furnace, and vice versa. The question is, do you want the heat radiating off the stove (nice for standing around it) or blowing out of a tube (normally so it can be piped somewhere else)?

As far as just standing or sitting around it, nothing beats a little Pot-Belly because it radiates equally in all directions (ever notice the chairs in a circle around one in those old-time pictures?)... but for a large area you'll want more heat than a pot-belly can make. Really, if I was you, I'd try a barrel stove (single or double for more heat) first... you can always swap it out for a stove later if you don't like it, or it doesn't work like you want, and you're only out a few bucks. But if you start with a stove and it don't work like you want... now you're stuck with several hundred dollars worth of stove. 'Round here, the barrel stove is king in outbuilding "man-cave" spaces... cheap, low maintenance, quick heat and highly effective.

addendum: As far as longevity goes... Normally guys will put some (dry) sand in the bottom of them so you don't have a premature burn-through (but I've seen many without sand). If they sit full of ash in a damp environment during the "off" season (such as an old farmhouse basement) rust can be an issue (but that's true with any stove). The thin steel drums will start showing pin holes in about 5 years, but if you can find one of the "real" steel drums (about twice as thick, and they're out there) it will last near forever. But even the thin barrels can last past 5 years if you don't over-fire them and clean them out at the end of the season. Swappin' the barrel is no big deal... maybe a half hour of easy work.

 

[greendohn]

I'm with White Spider.

A barrel stove should work well for a pole barn. The longevity shouldn"t be an issue, as steel barrels are plentiful and swapping out the hardware to a new one in a few years is just an afternoon of tinkering.

My cousin built a MONSTER stove out of an old fuel oil tank several years ago for his pole barn. Welded blower tubes in it with a blower fan behind it and been a lot of comfortable, cold winter beer drinkin' around that out fit.

I think you might struggle with a woostove throwin' enough heat for an area the size of your barn thru the dawg daze of winter,,unless you can find one helluva big one.

My neighbor has an add on furnace in his pole barn. It heats the place up and holds a long burning fire, but, as has been mentioned, with the plenum built around the stove, you can't really stand around it like a stove. The two blower/heat outlets on top has two metal 90's he installed to direct the hot air in two different directions. A couple sheet metal screws and the shelf from an old refrigerator or gas grill makes for a nice drying rack for gloves and hats.

 

[Whitespider]

My cousin built a MONSTER stove out of an old fuel oil tank...

They also make excellent outdoor trash incinerators... I'm gonna' build one with my old fuel oil tank this year.
The nice thing about an incinerator over a trash burning barrel is that you can still use the (inclosed) incinerator during "open burning bans" during the dry season... and, if you chose, they hold a lot of trash before you need to light 'em.

 

[cantoo]

Dono, you said you use the shed for vehicle/ boat storage, have you thought about condensation? Repeated heating and cooling will make moisture on and in whatever you are storing, also the roof will sweat dripping moisture onto your storage items. I think I would hang a heavy tarp and only heat the portion you need heated. My bil has several buildings for vehicle storage and he maintains one just above freezing to keep moisture away. The others drip during temp changes.

 

[Fred Wright]

I agree with the suggestion of a barrel stove. Since you won't be heating the barn every day, all winter long, a barrel heater will serve. You can use air circulators or fans to keep the heat distributed through the room.

When I lived in VA, the ex's uncle had a barrel stove in his auto shop. The building was 40x40-something,with a 15' overhead. The stove heated that place well. His son played in a band, they'd practice and jam in the shop; there wasn't any other space they could use that was heated in winter.

The kits are available online and don't cost much. Most of the work involves cutting and drilling the drums to install the kit. You could lay fire brick and a grate in the bottom if you prefer.

As Spidey says, drums are available in various wall thickness. Thin drums will last a couple seasons if you don't fire it too hot. The heavier the drum wall, the longer it will last as a wood burner. I've seen stainless steel drums used in this scenario, they'll last a very long time if you can get 'em.

As for quality stove pipe I'd suggest Dura-Vent. They've got all the pipe and kits you'll need.

 

[CrappieKeith]

You could go the way of a do-it yourself project...your could also get a tried and true Big Jack and operate it like a stove with no blower or you could hook a small blower to it.
BIG JACK ADD-ON WOOD FURNACE

Your homeowners insurance may not look at a home made wood burner with delight?
The BJ90 is U.L. Listed as safe.

 

[lampmfg]

Take a look at the Kuuma VaporFire 200 and we are offering FREE shipping until the end of the month.

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[AIM]

The much bigger oval 275 gallon fuel oil tanks work great in a big shop setting. Rig up a oil drip system in it and you can get rid of your used motor oil and it helps start the fire and get it HOTT!

Ceiling fans help this system out a BUNCH.

 

[Granpajohn]

Since stainless steel came up...

I had a friend who used the stainless steel barrel to heat his house from the basement. I first saw his setup when it had been in place about 25 years. That thing still looked like new. He said "I paid extra to get the stainless steel kit". Smart money well spent.

ETA: His was the 30 gal size, not 55. Worked fine, but keep in mind that we have milder climate here.