Favorite Wood Stoves

[inspectorwoody]

 :D :D :D Wouldn't suprise me if someone out there has tried it.

[scsmith42]

I have one of the double barrel Vogelzang stoves in my barn (open air on one side).  It works well, all things considered.  I think that I have less than $150.00 in it; the most expensive thing was the flue pipe.  The stove kits themselves were pretty inexpensive.  I often run a box fan on one side of it to help push air across the barn.

It's not something that I would want to consider in a house, but it will generate a lot of heat in a metal shed.  I have bricks in the bottom of mine, with an old fireplace grate on top of them.  Thus farn the barrels have lasted 4 years w/o any problems.

The second barrel adds about 25 - 35% more heat than just a single barrel.

Scott

[Sprucegum]

If you put a door and a grate in the second barrel you can smoke meat in there  8)

Nothing like being warm and well-fed  ;D

Is this the first time food was mentioned on this thread?

[RSteiner]

Has anyone made a barrel stove?

I saw the kit at the farm store the other day and wondered how well they worked. Was thinking of making one to heat my shed.

Thought about placing the stove outside behind the shed and than piping it in.

Dont know much about stoves in general so any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I have a barrel stove to boil off sap for maple syrup.  They give out a lot of heat quick as some oen else mentioned you will want to line the inside of the stove with fire brick.  This will keep the stove from burning through and provide a mass that will radiate heat after the fire has died down.  The barrel on my evaporator is over 20 years old and is beginning to show signs of age.  Don't over heat the stove and you will get a long life out of it. 

Puting it outside may not give you much heat inside.  You could have a 6 or 8 inch diameter piece of pipe welded into the ends of the stove that runs the full length of it and put a fan in one end and blow the heat inside the shed, still not very efficient.

Randy

[sharp edge]

I took 4 barrels cut one end out, then put the open ends together to make a barrel twice as long. Sat them vertical beside each other. Then put a 8" pipe between them connecting  at top and bottom, put a door on the side of each one, put a chimny pipe out the top connected to each other then goes to the chimny. Had it about a year. I call it my top secret barrel stove, because what goes on in side is a big secret even from me. Here is what I do know.

1) can only start a fire on one side, other wise the bigest fire will put the small fire out.
2) both barrels get hot with fire in one side. What happens is the hot light gases from the fire go up 20% out the chimny 80% to other side, cool off, get heavy and concentrated then re enters the fire. When a fire burns it produses a lot of free carbon and oxygen that don't burn this gives it another time to burn.
3) no air intake, beside my bad fitting parts which would= about 1" dia.
4) likes to burn green wood with out making creosota or make a lot of smoke.
5) makes a great smoker on the side that not burning.
6)4-10 more efficient than a normal barrle stove

If someone wants to make one and add thier .02 to this .02 we could have 1/2 the energy  problem solved with .04 8) 8)
Let us know if you make one. No pic, yet will try this winter. You can google the German Dietz horned lamp . Its where the plan came from, the same princapal recirculaling gase.

SEs.

[beenthere]

.........................You can google the German Dietz horned lamp . Its where the plan came from, the same princapal recirculaling gase.

SEs.

SharpEdge
I didn't get very far with a Google of "German Dietz horned lamp".  What is missing?   

[sharp edge]

http://www.lanternnet.com/links.htm

Ben dose this help

then go to (lantern care and terminology) and look at the hot blast one the stove works a little like it.

[nsmike]

Inspectorwoody, to heat your shed, why don't you do what we do in Minnesota, to heat our icehouses. We use the small woodstoves designed for wall tents, the one brand I can think of is, the Cylinder Stove Company. I would Google up wood camping stove or wall tent stove and see what comes up. added the linlk http://cylinderstoves.com/
Mike

[inspectorwoody]

Thanks for the input guys. 

[bitternut]

I heated our home with a Vermont Castings Intrepid for about 15 years. It had a catalytic combuster that seemed to need replacing every three or four years. This fall I installed a new Lopi  Revere that doesn't require the combuster. So far we are more than pleased with this new stove. Much more heat and it has a very large glass door for viewing the fire. A real heating machine. Glass door stays very clean and very little smoke out the flue if any once heated up. One of the cleanest burning stoves on the market according to the ratings. I looked at a lot of stoves before purchasing this one and so far we are more than pleased.

I am sitting here now with a 35 mile an hour wind off Lake Ontario, 20F degrees outside and it is a toasty 72F inside. My main furnace if propane forced air and it never runs unless we are gone for more than a day.

[TexasTimbers]

I have one of the Vogelzang double barrels in my shop also. I have not set it up yet though because I have been spending more time in the house than the shop.

I set aside a nice supply of osage branches whenever I log it because the heat coming off those two drums when I burn osage is noticeably hotter than all the other mixed hardwoods I burned in it at first. I have bricks laid in the bottom of it.

Like Scott said I do not think it is a viable option for a home though. Shops, hunting cabin etc they are great for so low an initial cost.

[bugmeist]

I had an Ashley for about 10 years it worked fine but the thin sheet metal got a little scary when burning dry oak and ironwood.

Made a barrel stove with a 'kit' door and used it for 20 plus years.  I put about 11/2" of sand to level the bottom then laid firebrick over that and halfway up the sides.  It worked great and I would be using it today if the clay flue in my masonry chimney wouldn't have started to break down. Now I have an outdoor furnace (Heatmore) and love it.

Double barrels are really great as you get more heat.  I saw one in the 60's where the top barrel was (very well supported) and filled with fist sized rocks.  That top barrel would be warm after 48 hrs with no fire.  It was in N. Wisconsin.

Cheers and Happy Holidays to all!

[CALSAW]

I grew up with a Fisher Papa bear, great stove. When the power was out we would cook and heat washwater on it. More recently we lived with a Baby bear, that thing would glow a dull red when it was really going. There was a Fisher franchise nearby in the 70's. A couple years ago there were still piles of the cast iron doors laying in the weeds.
Our current stove is an unknown brand, glass doors and secondary airstreams (?), it works well in our small house and burns clean but is a bit touchy. I'd prefer the old Fisher.

Happy New Year

[bmill]

For what it's worth...

http://www.motherearthnews.com/DIY/1978-01-01/The-Amazing-500-Wood-Burning-Stove-That-You-Can-Build-for-35-Or-Less.aspx

[Lenny_M]

  I heat with wood only. The basement stove is forced hot water.All I know about it is whats marked on the door (HYDRO STOVE BY HYDROHEAT) Works very well, 20 years now.
The dining room stove is a Croford Cottage wood range .Love it
Out in the yard under tarps is another wood range. Quaker I think??? Peach colored enamal.
Gotta get it inside tomorow.
The previous dining room stove was a Crawford Charm Royal. Blown up and needs repair .
One can of cream of mushroom soup in the oven is all it took.
                                       Lenny

[WDH]

Here is a pic of my Earth Stove by Colony Hearth.  As you can see it is free-standing, and is located central to the house.  It is a real workhorse, smiting high utility bills.  I am not sure if they are made anymore, but you could not get a better stove.  This one has been heating my house for 25 years.

[tim1234]

WDH,

How much wood do you need to heat a house in GA for a season?  I wouldn't think very much, but you guys do get snow and frost once in a while.

Just Curious ;)

Tim

[WDH]

Tim,

I use about 3 cords.  With 2 stoves and women who like to stay warm, we probably use a little more than most folks around here. 

It was 18°'s here last night, requiring both stoves going full tilt. 

[tim1234]

WDH

18°   That's about what it was last night here in Michigan. 

Is that 3 full cords or 3 face cords?  I burn about 3 - 4 cords to heat my 2000 sq ft house all winter here in SE MI.  I only have 1 stove.  I guess feeding the 2 beasts burns a little more too.

I have 4 of the female persuasion in my house.  Their favorite place is about 4' from the stove.

Tim

[WDH]

Tim,

Face cords, although I don't measure it too precisley.

[stonebroke]

I burn more than three face cords in Sept.

Stonebroke

[dail_h]

   The one I put in the den yesterday!!! Our lp circulator quit,and with me outta work,we couldn't afford to replace it. Can't afford 'lectric baseboard ,sooooooo,my little no name heater from the dump, that I used outside at the mill for the last coupla years is quietly ideling along now.
   OH,by the way,we ate supper tonight with the back door open. WARM IS GOOOOOOOOD

[cantcutter]

We have an Encore and I think it is useless. It is far too small to heat with, logs have to be split small to fit in the top loader and the converter is a joke. I had the chimney built to the specs of the stove and the draft is poor until you get the stove up to temp, then it burns too quickly even when shut down.

Next time I would buy a larger sideloader, probably a Dutchman.

[LEES WOODCO]

I have a Wood Chuck forced air furnace about 3 or 4 winters on it now. Love the thermostatically controlled burn. Takes about 5-6 cord to heat 1600 sq. ft.  burning 24/7 from Nov. 1  to  sometime in April.

[shopteacher]

I've been heating with a Jensen add on furnace for over 20 yrs. now.  Boy that thing has really save on the oil bill.  We have a pretty tight house at about 2200 sq. ft and basement.  Had the window and doors open more than once to cool the place down.  When we first moved into this place people would come in the winter and keep their coats on while here. Now people make sure not to wear to much when visiting.