wood stove ?

[SSGOldfart]

Humm maybe look at a small tent stove, I heat a 14x12 cabin tent with a small tent stove and burn wood good to below -10* for a weekend hunting mule deer up Northern states. Davis tent company in Denver CO. about as good as they get. Only has a 5 or 6" pipe that goes out a rubber stove jack throug the tent canvas

[ascast]

I been thinking this over as I am in a similar situation, 30x70. Are you really going to use that whole 30x40 all at the same time? You should look into reducing the heated space as much as you can, including bringing the ceiling down to no more than what you really need. plastic curtains and ceilings will do wonders to make a space heatable. 30x40x17 is a huge space to get warmed up. You will want to make it as air tight as you can and pipe in your combustion air. I think you need to make a smaller work room.

[AlaskaMike]

I'm really amazed at some of the replies here. Clearly some folks replying have little to no experience with wood stoves, or heating in cold environments.

First and foremost, any wood stove that fills up an interior space with smoke isn't drafting right. This can be for a couple of reasons, even as simple as the chimney isn't tall enough.

Insulation is great, and the better insulated a space is, the less heating capacity you need from your stove. Every dollar you spend insulating is a lot of dollars (or effort cutting/splitting wood) you don't need to spend heating.

However, you can insulate like crazy--but if you have a ton of air leakage then your insulation isn't going to be very effective. Think in terms of having 12" thick exterior walls with full-cavity insulation, but leaving your doors and windows cracked open when it's -20 F outside. In high efficiency homes you have things like foam gaskets for your electrical outlets and light switches. Windows and doors are caulked with good quality silicone caulking, and expanding foam is used to fill up spaces. All of that is intended to minimize air leakage.

One of the most effective things you can do with a wood stove is to supply it with outside combustion air. This means piping in outside air to the combustion intake of the stove. If you don't do this, then the stove acts like a vacuum with respect to the interior space. After all, it needs air to burn the wood, right? If the space is sealed well, and you don't have outside combustion air piped to the stove, then the stove can't get the air it needs to burn properly and you get things like smoke in the living space, and/or carbon monoxide. This is why you frequently see recommendations to crack open the nearest window before lighting a wood stove or fireplace.

Recommendations to instead use a waste oil stove, or pellet stove, or burning charcoal briquettes--please, please ignore them. The idea that alternative fuels can somehow get around improper combustion airflow is extremely dangerous and could easily get you killed. I can't emphasize this enough.

[brokeasajoke]

Outside air kit is the way to go. As the stove draws the warm air inside for combustion the cold air from the outside must come in to replace it. I know they can be expensive, but purchase a good quality wood stove and be done with it. It will last a very long time. If you have a glass door stove in a work area I recommend making a shield for the glass at least some type of screen for flying parts or tools lol. Poor draft is usually from chimney being too short or stopped up. If you don't have it already, install a class A with an HT rating. Don't be bashful and give it more than the 2" clearance if you can. They right wood burning setup CAN burn smoke free or almost. Will it all the time? No at startup and reload, but once up to temps with low moisture wood and burned correctly they will.

[ascast]

AlaskaMike has given a dead on description of the situation re: outside air. Most people don't gt this/ I live with peeps that don't get it and I heat with wood only. In my shop I use 4inch flexible clothes dryer ducting to feed the air. I have a box like attached to the stove so it can be rigidly fixed without any danger of catching fire. 6 inch stove pipe going out. You can feed it with 2 inch or bigger, or 2 2inch if that what you have. Anything will work. Just termination as close to the air intake on the stove as you can. Aluminum foil and pie tins can be used if need be.
Don't buy some cute little glass faced stove. It wont heat your shop. You need something big like the barrel stove kits. The drums need to be replaced every 10 years or so, but they will throw a lot of heat.

[Alex_4x4]

The topic is called “wood stove?”, i.e. a stove that is heated with wood. Two questions:
1. Which type of wood is best not to use in a wood-burning stove?
2. How long does it take to dry firewood before it is advisable to use it in a wood stove?

[compass will]

My concern with wood stoves in a shop is what if you spill any flamable liquids? I put an oil burner in my shop and mounted it on a shelf i built that was around 3 feet off the floor. Plus, an emergency heater power switch right next to the exit door.

[MaryB]

I'm really amazed at some of the replies here. Clearly some folks replying have little to no experience with wood stoves, or heating in cold environments.

First and foremost, any wood stove that fills up an interior space with smoke isn't drafting right. This can be for a couple of reasons, even as simple as the chimney isn't tall enough.

Insulation is great, and the better insulated a space is, the less heating capacity you need from your stove. Every dollar you spend insulating is a lot of dollars (or effort cutting/splitting wood) you don't need to spend heating.

However, you can insulate like crazy--but if you have a ton of air leakage then your insulation isn't going to be very effective. Think in terms of having 12" thick exterior walls with full-cavity insulation, but leaving your doors and windows cracked open when it's -20 F outside. In high efficiency homes you have things like foam gaskets for your electrical outlets and light switches. Windows and doors are caulked with good quality silicone caulking, and expanding foam is used to fill up spaces. All of that is intended to minimize air leakage.

One of the most effective things you can do with a wood stove is to supply it with outside combustion air. This means piping in outside air to the combustion intake of the stove. If you don't do this, then the stove acts like a vacuum with respect to the interior space. After all, it needs air to burn the wood, right? If the space is sealed well, and you don't have outside combustion air piped to the stove, then the stove can't get the air it needs to burn properly and you get things like smoke in the living space, and/or carbon monoxide. This is why you frequently see recommendations to crack open the nearest window before lighting a wood stove or fireplace.

Recommendations to instead use a waste oil stove, or pellet stove, or burning charcoal briquettes--please, please ignore them. The idea that alternative fuels can somehow get around improper combustion airflow is extremely dangerous and could easily get you killed. I can't emphasize this enough.

Pellet stoves have outside combustion air intakes and cheap dryer flex pipe will crush down to fit the pipe(why they use a weird size...). ONLY way to hook one up. My house is old, if I was drawing inside air I would have all kinds of problems burning pellets or corn because they need a steady flow of air for a proper burn. Turn on an exhaust fan and all of a sudden the pellet stove is starving for air/smoking into the house... They are NOT start it and ignore it unless you spend a lot of money on one with a fancy self dumping firebox. You have to empty the ashes once every 12 hours or so with mine, or when burning corn remove the clinker puck that forms(I have a trick for that if anyone wants to see it). Pellets do not form a hard clinker, get some harder stuff but it falls apart. Corn clinker is a rock...

[brokeasajoke]

The topic is called “wood stove?”, i.e. a stove that is heated with wood. Two questions:
1. Which type of wood is best not to use in a wood-burning stove?
2. How long does it take to dry firewood before it is advisable to use it in a wood stove?

1. Wet wood. Wood under 20% moisture is best.
2. Depends on weather, storage, species. 6mon-2yr

[Alex_4x4]

1. Wet wood. Wood under 20% moisture is best.
2. Depends on weather, storage, species. 6mon-2yr

1. I didn't ask the question quite correctly. I was interested in wood species that are not advisable to use as firewood.

2. In my area: if firewood is collected in winter, it dries for about six months; If firewood is harvested in the summer, it takes from 10 months to a year to dry.
---
And for residential premises (premises where people stay for a long time, the most budget firewood (in my area) in terms of price/quality ratio is birch.

[Bmi48219]

And for residential premises (premises where people stay for a long time, the most budget firewood (in my area) in terms of price/quality ratio is birch.

Aside from moisture content the choice of which variety of wood to heat with came to hard or soft wood. Soft wood like pine, cedar or poplar, throws a lot of heat but burns quickly, not ideal because you wind up stoking the furnace every few hours. Oak and ash burn a lot longer and that makes a big difference at 3 am.
Heating with a wood stove is a balancing act. Allowing too much combustion air into the firebox will result in a lot of heat but the fuel will burn up faster. Not enough combustion air will extend the burn time but result in Creosote buildup in the exhaust flue / chimney. A creosote fire is bad news.
Coal and coke burn hotter than wood and generate more heat but most stoves aren’t built to handle those temperatures.
Then there’s the issues of local ordinances and insurance coverage.

[brokeasajoke]

1. I didn't ask the question quite correctly. I was interested in wood species that are not advisable to use as firewood.

2. In my area: if firewood is collected in winter, it dries for about six months; If firewood is harvested in the summer, it takes from 10 months to a year to dry.
---
And for residential premises (premises where people stay for a long time, the most budget firewood (in my area) in terms of price/quality ratio is birch.

For my area here in WNC, cucumber, white pine, and buckeye are the least desirable. I've seen some oaks take up to two years to dry completely. The faster you get it split staked and covered and have it facing the sun the quicker it will dry.

[ascast]

1. I didn't ask the question quite correctly. I was interested in wood species that are not advisable to use as firewood.

2. In my area: if firewood is collected in winter, it dries for about six months; If firewood is harvested in the summer, it takes from 10 months to a year to dry.
---
And for residential premises (premises where people stay for a long time, the most budget firewood (in my area) in terms of price/quality ratio is birch.

Are you truly in Russia? West or Siberia? Your tree species will be a lot different from here, upstate New York. Greater new England, the venison belt has deciduous hardwoods, like Beech, Oak,Maple, and mny others. These all put out 20 to 25 million Btus per cord. Evergreens about half to 3/4 that. Do a web search and you'll find good university numbers on several sites.
20% moisture is good, less is better to minimize creosote but it will burn faster. Trick is to toss on a couple old knotty, wetter pieces on your way to bed. They will hold the fire overnight. Then a coupls smaller dry in the morning.
I have heard that White Pine will produce a toxic smoke that can kill you. I;ve only seen that in one source, however.....
I like to get my wood on the hill behind my house as it is in the sun from sun up to sun down and always a slight breeze. I can cut green wood now and by October it is checked out and I burn it. It produces very little creosote. It is and extra operation of load and unload.
Otherwise. I like to cut a year ahead.
The Amish have gone to sawmilling. They produce train loads of waste at about 5$ a truck load. All cut to fit in the stove. It is lower quality being bark and live edge, but at 5$ a load, it's about 100$ plus gas to heat my house. So maybe 200-250$. No tractors, no chainsaws, no mud.
I also have a manufactured house plant nearby. every couple weeks they bringout a trailor of waste. 70ft by 12ft of broken pallets and timber butts -2 by whatever cuts offs, ends etc. Usually picked clean in 12 hours. In the wood stoves it goes. Great for the morning kick upin the fire box.
Birch is a good wood. We don't have a lot here, yellow being more common than white.
Most of the world heats and cooks with lower grade woods like pines,aspens etc

more coffee

[farmbif]

I guess every situation is different. but some of the suggestions here remind me of a jimmy buffet song that says something like dont tell others something g if you have not done it yourself and know for sure. I think the line is dont try to describe a kiss concert if you've never seen it. I learned about heating with wood by doing it. combustable things near the stove. my propane tank torch that I use to get fire started is about 3 feet from stove. its never even got hot to the touch. this past winter a cardboard box with at least a dozen pounds of smokeless powder is 6 feet away.
the nights firewood is just a few inches away. never a problem for me anyway. its just a regular wood stove with steel exterior, 1 1/2" fire bricks lining the inside and a clear ceramic front door. no fancy stainless triple lined super duper chimney pipe just the cheap thin black stuff. and there is no insulation in this old civil war era house but maybe a few sheets of 150 year old wanted posters or newspaper between the 3 layers of 1" thick boards that make up the walls.
the only time I ever had smoke filled space or threat of fire is when I didnt have dry firewood and had to dry it out on top of the hot burning stove.
I dont know anything about heating with birch. but oak, hickory, poplar, gum tree, sycamore and most others have to be cut split and stored in dry place at least a year to burn well. pine, spruce, boxelder, takes maybe 6 months and ash can be burnt almost green, maybe thats why they called it ash. buts its very moist here and most dead trees left on the ground a year are too rotten to turn into good firewood.
might want to be careful burning poison infused pallets, you know, the ones treated for bugs that are good to ship stuff around the world.
if your really going to heat with wood be prepared to set aside a whole bunch of time and labor into cutting, spitting and stacking wood.
the amish sure dont miss an opportunity, the local sawmills around here give away the scraps to anyone willing to haul it off.

[Alex_4x4]

Are you truly in Russia? West or Siberia? ...

Yes I am from Russia. I am a city resident and live in an apartment building in an apartment with central heating. Today is May 13th and the temperature outside day and night is above zero (Celsius), but the central heating has not yet been turned off and the utility bill for May will also include payment for central heating. This is not critical for me, but it would be desirable for the management company to turn off the central heating in the apartment building in which I live until the end of autumn.

I live in the city of Tver (this is between Moscow and St. Petersburg). Moscow is about 150 kilometers away, St. Petersburg is about 600 kilometers away. As a child, I lived with my great-grandmother (she was born in 1888) and grandmother in the village of Palekh (this is where artists paint lacquer miniatures). The great-grandmother and grandmother had their own house with a yard (they had a cow, chickens and a cat, Murka, who lived her own life and periodically brought home a litter of kittens). In my great-grandmother and grandmother’s house there were two stoves: one was in a room called a “gornitsa”, and the second room had a large “Russian stove” in which food was cooked and on top of this stove there was a “bed” with tiled slabs, on which Several people could sleep, and next to the stove (under the ceiling of the hut) there were also “polati” (the program translates “polati” as a bed, but this is not a bed, but something like a wide shelf) on which two more adults could be accommodated. I have a good idea of how it was all maintained and functioned. Great-grandmother and grandmother got up very early in the morning and went to bed late. Perhaps the life of the Amish in the USA is closest to the lifestyle that my great-grandparents had. The great-grandmother died in the early 70s, and the grandmother in the second half of the 70s. Both great-grandmother and grandmother lived without husbands (the great-grandmother’s husband died in 1923, and the grandmother’s before the Great Patriotic War). It was difficult for two women to manage the household and keep the house in order without men. Their children dispersed across the country and none of them returned to their home. My mother was my grandmother's daughter and she also did not return to her mother's house. After the death of my grandmother, local authorities did not give the opportunity to leave the house to the heirs. It will be difficult for me to explain to an American what “propiska” is; you have not had this and do not have it and you most likely will not understand what it is. So, since no one was “propiska” in the rural house, the local authorities bought it from the heirs. Land in the USSR had no price and could not be the subject of purchase and sale. The house was bought from the heirs as if “hanging in the air” without a land plot. My great-grandfather bought land during the Russian Empire, but under the USSR this did not mean anything, and after 1991, a law on restitution was not adopted in Russia. The local authorities turned my great-grandparents' former house into a hostel. They stopped caring for the house, the stoves were not repaired, and one day the house burned down.

Here is a story that started for me with a question about “firewood”.

[country gent]

Wet the soft woods ( pine willow elms) produce a lot of creosote dried they burn fast and are hard to control. When we cut wood it was for the next year in advance. This years oak maple and others had been cut the year or 2 before. Knotty pieces were split larger as they would burn slower and last the night usually. small pieces and small limbs were used for "quick" heat in the morning. We would occasionally split pine small for kindling to get a fire going quick, but this was a small amount used to get the hardwoods going good. As I said pines burn hot and are harder to control they can burn to hot for some stoves becoming dangerous. Hard slab wood ( wood ends cut from lumber) can sometimes be had from sawmills and pallet factories and are good with little work involved.

A overlooked source is old broken pallets they are usually oak and well seasoned. Coil pallets are heavy timbers and again seasoned well.

Boat yards machine movers heavy equipment operations are also a source of heavy blocking timbers. Some trucking companies may have blocking and or timbers on hand also.

[Bmi48219]

…..Here is a story that started for me with a question about “firewood”….

A good story. I’ve heard about ‘Russia Stoves’ and ‘Russian Fireplaces’ but only seen them in pictures. They are one of the most efficient designs for getting the most heat out of wood.

[cwtebay]

A good story. I’ve heard about ‘Russia Stoves’ and ‘Russian Fireplaces’ but only seen them in pictures. They are one of the most efficient designs for getting the most heat out of wood.

Are you talking about the ones that look like a pizza oven?

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[ulav8r]

Green Ash, even when well cured, leaves a lot of ash. I cut up one that was blown down, let it cure before burning, and it produced at least twice as much ash as oak or hickory. In this area red oaks and hickory are the preferred stove wood.

[cwtebay]

Green Ash, even when well cured, leaves a lot of ash. I cut up one that was blown down, let it cure before burning, and it produced at least twice as much ash as oak or hickory. In this area red oaks and hickory are the preferred stove wood.

Like burning cottonwood, I would have to get pretty cold to get on board with that!

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk