Wood Stoves for garages/shops

[hal53]

I've got a 24' X28' garage (new) that the previous owner never heated or ran a gas line in (?). Thinking I would like to put a wood burner in there as it's mainly used for storage and some woodworking etc. Any suggestions on good or bad???
Thanks

[Lonnie]

I know this is going to sound stupid but have you ever used a wood heater and done the maintenance on them like clean the chimney.

[So Nova *!%]

with the exception of maintaining a wood pile, I think a good airtight is great for a garage heat when and as you need.
One or two ceiling fans and your warm and cozy as you whittle.(route, sand, scroll)
I grew up with wood heat and find you just can't beat it for warmth. I do know almost everyone I talk to has a complaint against some neighbor who has one. you know the smoke is bad for you :angry3: ( don't inhale !!)
the sparks could start my roof on fire
I don't want to discourage you these are the arguments I hear about CSA approved home fireplaces. something in the back of my head screaming fire insurance too, maybe worth looking into?( liability ??)

[hal53]

I know this is going to sound stupid but have you ever used a wood heater and done the maintenance on them like clean the chimney.
Yup.......just asking before I do a search to see if anyone here has any experience with them, and what may be new, that's all....

[wrathchild]

I heat my 28x30 with wood. Last year added a gas heater as backup, just in case I wasn't able to 'throw another log in', as I want it maintained warm.

Wood heater works great, but is extra work to keep running 24-7. Chimney is negligible work, I give mine a quick brush once a year and it doesn't even need that.

If you're just going to heat it occasionally to work in wood would be great.
If you're heating it 24-7, wood is also great, but consider having to stock it before you go to bed and before you go to work.

If you're gonna get a stove get a good one, the benefits will pay off, burns more efficiently and longer(less wood, less often) ie Regency or Osburne

Whether wood heating is more cost efficient is debatable..

[Lonnie]

do not go with the cheap tin air tights get a good brick lined heater and if you go with a stainless steal chimney make sure that you run a good hot fire (draft opened) for ten to 15 min. every once in awhile to keep any creosote build up burnt off, if you get a chimney fire in them you melt the insides of the chimney.

[hal53]

I heat my 28x30 with wood. Last year added a gas heater as backup, just in case I wasn't able to 'throw another log in', as I want it maintained warm.

Wood heater works great, but is extra work to keep running 24-7. Chimney is negligible work, I give mine a quick brush once a year and it doesn't even need that.

If you're just going to heat it occasionally to work in wood would be great.
If you're heating it 24-7, wood is also great, but consider having to stock it before you go to bed and before you go to work.

If you're gonna get a stove get a good one, the benefits will pay off, burns more efficiently and longer(less wood, less often) ie Regency or Osburne

Whether wood heating is more cost efficient is debatable..
Understand the efficiency thing, but in my case...I don't really want to dig up 3/4 of the yard to get a gas line in....and it would not be used constantly thru' the colder months....just thinking....oh...and the creosote build up in the chimney is nothing....if you know the "trick"...as well out here in Hooterville most of the neighbors have one already...not an issue with that...

[elkhunter11]

Check with your insurance company, your insurance premiums will likely increase.

[Lonnie]

seems you no about burning wood I've ran in to people that claim to no about wood burners and they didn't have a clue as thier parents had gas as long as they cuold remember I guess the smarter question wuold have been just to ask how old you are.

[Lonnie]

the other big expence is a good chian saw but soulds like you know that

[hal53]

the other big expence is a good chian saw but soulds like you know that
guess I should have made it clear on my post.....was just wondering how much has changed in the last few years as to what I should be looking at...sigh...I'm old...guess I'll search the net ( actually , that's a lie...my wife will...LOL) Thanks Everyone....

[So Nova *!%]

guess I should have made it clear on my post.....was just wondering how much has changed in the last few years as to what I should be looking at...sigh...I'm old...guess I'll search the net ( actually , that's a lie...my wife will...LOL) Thanks Everyone....

LOL

Hal I am in residential construction and in the past eight years that I've been with this company I've seen one new wood stove go in and did one renovation where the old one was to stay( they actually took it out because of the insurance )
That said I loved chopping wood, great stress relief and good exercise to boot! figure I quartered or smaller 1/2 to 3/4 a cord a day just having fun (didn't like kindling as you can do that as you start your fire)

[hal53]

LOL

Hal I am in residential construction and in the past eight years that I've been with this company I've seen one new wood stove go in and did one renovation where the old one was to stay( they actually took it out because of the insurance )
That said I loved chopping wood, great stress relief and good exercise to boot! figure I quartered or smaller 1/2 to 3/4 a cord a day just having fun (didn't like kindling as you can do that as you start your fire)
hear yah....but like an oldtimer told me once. The great thing about a wood stove is it warms you up twice!!!...once when you split the wood and again when you burn it....LOL!

[209x50]

I heat over 3000' of garage 24/7 with wood. The Harman wood/coal stove works great.

[simmered]

My garage had a little tin wood stove when I moved in. I used it once or twice in the winter while I was butchering my deer and man did it put out some heat. It had the double wall stove pipe through the roof and I was never worried about burning while I was working in the garage. I never let it burn when I was not in there mind you.
And like everone has said, if you are going to put one in do ask your insurance company. It will depend on your insurance company, just like everything else, but most will not cover you if you use your garage to park your car even one time durring the year. They can be used to heat a shop but not a garage.

[Cattle Dog]

Natural-gas radiant heater is the best: You turn it on, and the radiant heat just soaks in to you warming things up real good.

No sparks, no smoke leaking into the garage, no chimney to clean, no waiting until the stove has finally heated your garage. No extra insurance issues. No neighbors complaining about stinky smoke.

The thermostat can keep it at whatever temp you want; even minus 1 degree, if you arn't around that day or week.

I sure like natural gas-fired furnaces and radiant heaters.

[harrydude]

what about a used oil furnace????

[deanmc]

It is a huge expense initially but have your wife look at outdoor boilers. there are a few of those around here and they really interest me.

[deanmc]

Oops just reread. I see you said you dont want to dig in your yard.

[Kim473]

Heard that you can not use them in houses or garages any more. Check building codes and your insurance. If you dont your insurance may not cover you if there is a problem latter on. (fire) Go propane if gas line is a problem.

[vinny]

If you already have gas to your house it may not be that big a job to run a secondary, after the meter, to your garage, depending how close the two buildings are. Not sure what your setup is like in your yard. Just a thought.

[big zeke]

If you are against the digging idea, you might want to see if anyone nearby can push in a line directionally (we use it all the time to run pipelines under creeks). When I had a new line run into my house there was almost no digging (just one hole in the alley that they dug and a smaller one by the house that I dug) and they steered the thing beautifully. I suspect a small ditchwitch could cut a slot trench fairly quickly in your yard if you wanted to run the line yourself (make sure you Firstcall pls). You might want to check with your local gas coop, in idle time I have gotten great pricing from them on bigger jobs.

One other idea is a propane heater, it would avoid running the line and gives pretty much instant heat. If you are not heating continually it might make sense for you.

I'd be careful running anything with open flame where you might do woodwork, I expect sawdust can light up fairly easily and then it's a race to the exits (and dreaming up a good explanation to the wife and insurance guy).

If spring ever shows up you should have a few months to sort this one out...

Zeke

[Redfrog]

The only wood heat I've used in a shop was supplied from the old two barrel burner. Fire box on the bottom and heat exchanger on top. Worked well but I'm not sure about insurance coverage. anyone using something like this?


Is there a way to have the burner outside and heat the inside other than in floor heating? I have a large quonset that I would like to heat with wood.

[densa44]

I put one in my garage for the same reason you want one, it was great. I installed it myself and it was easy.

I'd get one that takes a large amount of fuel, and big enough for your garage.

I'd buy a pallet of pellets and I was always good to go all winter.

They have ones with an electric start and a fan that would be nice too.

Set in on some concrete blocks so you don't have to bend over so much.

It sounds crazy but I liked the heat better than other options. I guess we are hard wired to feel good when we see that flame.

[Tundra Monkey]

We just put a Blaze King into our house and it is AMAZING. Full 24hr burn and it is throwing lots of heat. It will save me around 1/3 of the wood I used last year as well.

If you are going to be away for awhile a drip stove for $1000 is a good thing. They burn about 5 gallons a day and dirt cheap if you have access to outdated fuel.

tm

[chuck0039]

Insurance made me raise my wood stove up to about 30 inches to the fire box from the concrete floor. something to do with if you ever have flammable liquids spill on the floor or something like that. Your best bet would be talk to your insurance to see what there requirments are prior to putting a stove in.
Other then that they have no problems love the heat it puts off.

[101- CHASER]

Well Hal let me tell you what I do.I have 2 wood stoves both csa approved.The one in my house is a medium stove that fits 16-18 inch logs,my garage is a small stove that fits 12-14 inch logs.I burn about 6 cords in my house yearly and about 2 cords in my garage.To clean my stacks I puchased rods and a brush from Canadian Tires that I use yearly,all it takes is about 5 minutes each.My garage stove fire box is 24 inches off the floor as that was required from my insurance company and I also have heat shields behind it with half inch space between the drywall and the heat shield.I have a double garage and I wish I would have bought a bigger one like the one in my house that took longer logs.Watch Kijiji as you can find a good brand name used for about 200-400 bucks.Make sure you can read the back for the csa numbers for your ins company as they may decline your stove without them and my ins never went up.You can't beat a nice wood heat.Good Luck

[hal53]

Agree with the pellet stove thing, had 1 up and 1 down in our last place....for the application I am looking at I think a wood stove is preferable....thanks for all the replies....talked to Insurance Co. today..not a real issue, just some regs. will see how it goes....

[BallCoeff.435]

guess I should have made it clear on my post.....was just wondering how much has changed in the last few years as to what I should be looking at...sigh...I'm old...guess I'll search the net ( actually , that's a lie...my wife will...LOL) Thanks Everyone....

What you should do is look back to the REALLY old days before they started making cheap wood stoves by the trainload.

The whole idea with wood is to burn it fast and hot - no smoldering or 'banking' the stove with wood before bedtime. Then capture the heat to release it gradually over the next 8 hours.

Use that principle in my hunting trailer. The weight is manageable because the whole system and space is small. Tie concrete plates around the stove with a chain, put a pot of water on top, and use an insulated chimney. In a garage, use a Finnish/German/Swedish 'Kachenofen' or 'Grundofen' of substantial weight.
http://mha-net.org/

Typically they'd be located centrally to radiate heat symmetrically, but putting one near a wall with an exterior feed door, ash door, and air door would keep all the mess outside. Better yet, putting a porch or covered walkway on the heater wall would give you both a clean workspace inside and a dry wood storage/feed area.

And put a lot of effort into new insulation. You can go through an awful lot of wood trying to heat an old single-pane garage with cardboard wall insulation and no ceiling.

[deanmc]

Is there a way to have the burner outside and heat the inside other than in floor heating? I have a large quonset that I would like to heat with wood.

Yes they can install heat exchangers with forced air or even more simple is heat exchangers mounted with regular ceiling fans.

[RLG]

I run a residential renovation company. We put in wood stoves and fireplaces all the time, they are common in rural areas.
My advice
get a permit - doing it right never hurt anyone
buy a used approved fireplace - save ton of cash look on kijiji, get the manual for it and get the clearances or buy a new one now there all on sale this time of year
buy new chimney and pipe fittings - used chimney is almost always bad news
oversize the stove for the sq ft area - you can never have enough heat
good luck, you need advice or someone to do it send me a pm.