Tech Week: Building a barrel stove

[R35J1S]

At this time I don't have anything car related that I can wite a tech article about, so I thought......everyone wants or needs a warm garage to work in, right?

How about an aticle on building a double barrel wood stove? I hope you enjoy it.

How to get the kit: There are several places where you can order your kit online or it can be purchases at Tractor Supply, where they have them in stock at this time of year. I ordered the Vogelzang airtight kit and the kit for adding a 2nd barrel as well.

Tools required: Safety glasses, drill, 1/4" bit, 1/2" bit, phillips screwdriver, 10mm socket and ratchet, jig saw with metal cutting blade, level, magnet, sharpie marker and a helping hand.

Step 1: First lay out all of the parts and make sure that you have everything you will need

Step 2: Position the door from the kit on top of the barrel you have choosen for your firebox. I recommend you position it as high as possible, so that you can leave the larger bung (larger of the two screw in caps on the end of the drum) in the barrel for added outside air source. The outside air source instructions are not covered in this article.

Step 3: once you are happy with the location of the door frame, use the sharpie to trace all of the mounting holes. Next, open both doors and trace the inside of each door opening.

Step 4: Each opeing of the door frame has an inner lip that protrudes into the barrel. You will need to add an aditional 3/8" or so to the outside of your door trace markings to accommodate the lip.

Step 5: Once you increase the size of your trace markings for each door, use your drill to make a 1/2" hole inside each of the traced door opening areas. This will give you a place to start your cuts with the jig saw.

Step 6: Use the jig saw to cut out the openings for each door and test fit the door frame on top of the barrel. if it doesn not fit, you will need to make the opeings a little larger until the door frame lays flot on the barrel.

Step 7: Once you get the door frame to fit to your satisfaction, remove it and set it aside. You will not need it until you are finished with the rest of the project.

Step 8: Next use masking tape too tape all of the edges of your opening, so that you do not get cut when reaching inside of the barrel to attach additional parts.

Step 9: Working on a flat area, lay the barrel on its side. Lift one end of the barrel and place a set of legs under it, positioning them where ever you would like. Repeat the step for the other set of legs. Measure from each barrel end to the outside edge of each leg to ensure both sides of the legs are equal distance from the barrel ends. Position the barrel on the legs so that the bottom edge of the top door is level when viewed from the front.

Step 10: Use the sharpie and mark the 8 bolt holes in each set of legs.

Step 11: Stand the barrel back up on its end and use the 1/4" bit to drill the previously marked holes for your legs.

Step 12: Next...and it pays to have a helping hand here, position the legs in place and slide the bolts thru the legs and the barrel. With someone holding the bolts in place, reach into the barrel and start the nuts by hand. Once you have all the nuts started and you are happy with the placement of the legs, tighten up all of the nuts being careful not to over tighten and break the cast iron legs.

Step 13: Return the barrel back on its side and stand it on the legs.

Step 14: Now place the chimney flue collar with the damper on top of the back side of the barrel and level it. Once you have it level, use the sharpie to mark the bolt holes. Remove this collar and replace it with one that does not have a damper, so that you can now mark the center hole to cut for the flue pipe. Note, the flue collar used to mark the hole is smaller than the hole size needed for the flue collar with the damper. Now, increase the center hole mark by 1/4" to get the appropriate size trace marking.

Step 15: Drill all of the 1/4" holes previously marked and using the jig saw cut out the center hole that you previously marked. Now bolt the flue collar with the damper on to the barrel.

Step 16: You are now ready to position the upper barrel supports onto the lower barrel. Position the supports much as you did the lower legs. Be careful to place the back support far enough back on the barrel so the support brace does not block the flue pipe that will run between the two barrels.

Step 17: Use the sharpie to mark the mounting holes in the upper barrel supports. Remove the supports and drill the eight 1/4" holes. Bolt the supports into place.

More steps to come as soon as I can type it up and post.

[R35J1S]

Steps 18: Place the top barrel upside down on the top supports, and position the female flue collar at the rear of the barrel to align with the male flue collar on the lower barrel. Once you have it positioned correctly, use the sharpie and mark all of the small mounting holes and the inner hole to cut for the flue pipe.

Step 19: Remove the female flue collar and cut out the inner hole on the top barrel, using the magnet to keep the metal from falling into the barrel. Drill the 1/4" holes.

Step 20: Push the female flue collar onto the black flue pipe as far as it will go and use the sharpie to mark how far in it will go. Once it is marked, remove the black pipe.

Step 21: Attach the female flue collar to the barrel

Step 22: If you look at the outside of the male flue collar you will see a lip that the black pipe will seat against. Turn the top barrel over and measure from the bottom of the female flu collar to the lip that the black pipe will stop against on the male flue collar.

Step 23: Use the previous measurement and your mark made earlier to determine how long of a piece of black pipe you will need.

Step 24: Cut the black pipe to the appropriate length and attach it to the female flue collar. Press the pipe over the male flue collar and attach it with small screws.

Step 25: Now you are ready to attach the barrel supports to the upper barrel. I recommend self tapping screws for this, if your barrel does not have a removable lid, or you will not be able to access the inside of the upper barrel to install the nuts required to hold the bolts in place. Attach the supports using these screws.

Step 26: Place the last male flue collar on the top barrel towards the front end and level it.

Step 27: Using the sharpie to mark the small mounting holes and the large inner hole in the upper collar.

Step 28: Again you will want to drill a 1/2" hole inside the trace markings for the large inner hole to use as a starting point with the jig saw.

Step 29: Use the jig saw to cut the inner hole out, using the magnet to keep the metal from falling into the barrel.

Step 30: Bolt the last male flue collar onto the top barrel and attach the remainder of your black pipe to the collar.

Step 31: Now you are ready to bolt the door frame and doors onto the front of your barrel stove.

Step 32 Stand back and admire your hard work.

Steps I have not completed yet.

Step 33: Line the bottom barrel with a layer of sand the you can level

Step 34: Lay fire bricks over the sand, front to back and side to side.

Step 35: Place a rack ontop of the fire brick.

Step 36: Move the barrel stove outside with pleanty of fresh air and build a small fire to burn the chemicals out of the barrels.

Step 37: Optional: You could also paint the barrels with high heat paint to give it a more finished and professional look.

[CurbFeeler]

Step 38: read your shop/homeowners insurance policy and make sure they don't cancel you for having a barrel stove.

If your hot-rod (and entire house) burns, it may not be insured if a barrel stove is even attached to the garage.
{The fricken' insurance company made us pull one out of an attached garage when they updated the policy} Hope you have better luck, or a better insurance policy.

[mike in tucson]

I used a barrel stove to heat the shop....worked great. I had a lot of used oil so I rigged up a oil bucket with a copper line and petcock going into the fire box that allowed the oil to drip into the fire....made a contribution and got rid of oil. I lived where the oil smoke didnt cause any alarm. Burning trash causes your stove pipe to clog frequently.

My best addition was a fan blowing across the barrel so the heat was blown across the room. Stove worked even when it was -26F.

[Koz]

Cool stove, but around here they are against the law. Pennsylvania has some issue with heating devices without a UL label. The Amish guys are building and selling a bunch of coal/wood stoves and the state inspectors are making everybody tear them out.

[jkski]

excellent!! i'am sick of having to turn on the electric heater a hour before i start,to get the cement floor warm enough to get around on.

[cavman]

If you want that sucker to stay hot all night, without adding more fuel, put another door on the top barrel, and place a few large hardhead field stones, or good fire bricks in the top one.

ps....don't stand too close to one with nylon jackets on, and don't EVER try to spray anything flamable while they are in use. Don't ask how I know these things.

[6-71]

Originally Posted by Koz

Cool stove, but around here they are against the law. Pennsylvania has some issue with heating devices without a UL label. The Amish guys are building and selling a bunch of coal/wood stoves and the state inspectors are making everybody tear them out.

Yes, I can verify that the insurance company will be very interested in your home made stove. I used to have a barrel stove in my garage,and it worked great,but I didn't like not being to"turn it off" when I went in for the night. I put in a Montgomery wards(remember them) pot type oil stove,with a 55 gallon drum out behind the garage for fuel supply. I came home from work one day and found tracks in the snow behind my garage,and I hadn't been out there for days. I received a letter from my insurer a couple of days later stating I was being cancelled for using a barrel stove in my garage!! aparently whomever was snooping around behind my garage thought the oil drum was a barrel stove.I scanned the tag off the stove and sent a copy to them,I never heard any more from them.

[510madmav]

thats so awesome!

[samurai mike]

i think i would put the damper in the upper barrel. i will hold more heat in the stove.

[R35J1S]

Never really thought about putting the damper in the upper barrel but it does make good sense. my garage is detatched from the house if that makes a difference to the insurance company. I will check it out but I will be using it for this season either way. I have to get some use out of it. Propane is getting to high to heat with any more and I live out in the country so Propane, wood or electric are my only options.

Thanks for all of the comments though.

[BJR]

Wood heat is good in a garage as long as you are not going to paint, run a ventilation fan, or are in a hurry to get into the shop and work on the spur of the moment. It takes time to heat up a shop with wood heat. Been there, tried that, and it didn't work for me and my lifestyle.

[matthew mcglothin]

I'm all over It! We don't have those stupid laws in Texas .

[fordor41]

Now here's a real "traditional hot rod" story. Must be OK because it's not a 4 door!

[eugene vik]

my stove is bigger got a outer jacket 500 gal barrel and fire chamber is 35o gal and have that offset with a furnace squirlcage blower and forced air draft, toped offf witha oil drip

start shutting that down a hour or 2 before leaving
sealing up leaks with new door and repairs to old doors

happy heating season guys
and lets all be carefull and check those pipes for leaks so they burn decent

[redroaddog]

Originally Posted by fordor41

Now here's a real "traditional hot rod" story. Must be OK because it's not a 4 door!

thats funny shit right there!!!

[NINE INCH]

At least NO R/R parts. Come on...just add some spider webs or barb wire.

[55 dude]

Originally Posted by nine inch

at least no r/r parts. Come on...just add some spider webs or barb wire.

hahaha!

[57JoeFoMoPar]

Nice job man, looks awesome. The wood burning stove is a great way to heat the garage. Insurance aside, I am leery of open flames like that where there are combustibles around.

[1952henry]

You forgot the idiots' warning for today's world, "Don't use plastic barrels!"