I think the sidewall of the pipe would be so thick most of your heat would go up the chimney. I would rather use a 30 gallon or 55 gallon steel drum.
 
A guy I know has one in his shop. 2.5 ft. Maybe 4' long. He welded 1.5" pipe from end to end in the top 1/4 of it, about six or eight tubes. Ducted a squirrel cage blower to the back that blows air through the pipe into the shop. Of course you have have to drill or cut holes in the ends and weld the pipe in the holes. Man does that thing put out the heat.
 
(quoted from post at 02:14:27 12/14/14) I think the sidewall of the pipe would be so thick most of your heat would go up the chimney. I would rather use a 30 gallon or 55 gallon steel drum.

That's why you have a damper in the stove pipe, to slow the draft so the heat can transfer to the metal. Once the metal warms you have a much more even heat than from a thin barrel type stove. Thermal mass don'tchaknow. We had a stove my dad welded up out of 1/4 mild steel plate. Worked okay. Worked a lot better once we put a mess of old worn out tire chains on top of it.
 
I am using a 55 gal barrel now and it heats great. Was thinking about something that would last longer. Didn't think about the heat transfer of thicker metal.
 
(quoted from post at 08:57:52 12/14/14) I am using a 55 gal barrel now and it heats great. Was thinking about something that would last longer. Didn't think about the heat transfer of thicker metal.
My shop heater is 3/8 thick. It gets hot in about 10 minutes or less. Holds the heat once hot. A tight door and vent on front is how you control heat.
My house heater has full size firebrick in it on the sides. Helps hold heat well if the fire dies down.
Richard
 
The reason I think the thicker metal will be a problem is I have three wood stoves and the one made out of 1/4" steel doesn't heat very good. One other one the same size made out of 18ga. sheetmetal heats so hot you have a hard time getting close to it. Sometimes the sides glow red from the heat. Another one I have made out of a 55 gal drum also heats very hot.
 
How thick is the wall of the pipe, if it's less than 3/8 it should be fine. I am not sure how thick you would have to go before you would loose efficiency. Does anyone else remember the airtight stoves from years ago, they were just blued sheet metal, a little thicker than the stovepipe! The lumberjacks would build a shack out of insulite and cover it with tarpaper, put an airtite in it, and in 2-3 years the surrounding timber was cut, the shack and the stove were junk, and they would just move on! As far as welding on it, it should be fine, I would do some test welds, starting with 6013.
 
I made a small stove from a 20 pound LP bottle couple months back, works good for cooker and heat with short pieces of wood, is intended to be a small shed/camper stove. I have a 2 inch vent pipe in lower rear opposite the 7.5x7.5 front door, the chimney pipe is to back side- piece of exhaust pipe with a bend so is inserted form side of stove instead of top. tope glows red just above the chimney piping and the flat cooking surface gets hot enough for bacon to fry fairly quick. Similar stoves heating large 1 car garages good enough to work on car in winter and keep coffee pot warm. Side vent the chimney or put a baffle just below it like the Jutol designs. RN
 
If metal thickness would keep the stove from heating up, then it's a wonder the folks with those old cast-iron pot-bellied stoves years back never froze to death.
 
(quoted from post at 14:33:10 12/14/14) The reason I think the thicker metal will be a problem is I have three wood stoves and the one made out of 1/4" steel doesn't heat very good. One other one the same size made out of 18ga. sheetmetal heats so hot you have a hard time getting close to it. Sometimes the sides glow red from the heat. Another one I have made out of a 55 gal drum also heats very hot.

I don't think the problem is metal thickness. I imagine it's stove design. Yes, sheet metal will heat quickly but it also cools fast. If you want a more even heat you need thermal mass. Takes longer to warm up, but the heat is steadier.

The stove that doesn't heat good probably has some flaws that keep it from doing so. Maybe it doesn't draw well and the fire never get hot or maybe it draws too well and all the heat goes up the chimney. There is an art and science to building a good stove.
 
Right. Or that the huge masonry stoves used in Russia, Finland, and the Scandinavian countries don't send all the heat right up the chimney rather than hold so much of it that they are some of the most efficient stoves in the world (though not cheap, or to everybody's taste).

Stan
 
The old ashley HFR 25 is an example of this, the top is cast iron, the fire box is 2 layers of sheet metal, legs cast and stove pipe elbow off the top is cast. Door is cast and you can load from the door or top, one of the reasons I like these.

They were known for throwing heat very quickly, mine certainly does. The damper can be set once warmed up, seems if I set mine too early, there is an odor, must be a draft thing. Seems to me a damper is a must have for 2 reasons, safety and to keep the heat in. I have seen several of these recently for sale, usually under $100 bucks, they throw tons of heat, they are an early air tight design, firebox is ideal size and shape, and that automatic combustion air control will open and close on its own, depending on the stove temp. I liked mine enough to get another one so I could repair one to work like it was new. I think the area I heat with it is 80'x30' roughly and at the other end, in 20 minutes I can easily feel the heat at the ceiling, near the stove its a lot sooner.
 

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