wood stove ?

[gunther]

Like they said "Insulate". Start saving. Spend some on insulation; ceiling first, calk windows, look at how well the doors seal, and improve on that if it's possible, then the walls. Hit every junky looking yard sale. Summer is a good time to find used wood stoves. There might also be a partial roll of insulation left over from someone else's project. And don't forget double wall or triple wall pipe to go througt the roof.

[georgerkahn]

How feasible would using a wood-burning stove in my garage burning charcoal briquets instead of wood? I am wanting a good source of heat without the smoke filling up the garage. Ventilation will not be much of an issue. Asking now to plan ahead. TIA.

HAPPY you addressed ventilation! Maybe "urban legend" -- just what folks have said, which I believe, is the critical element in any fossil fuel heating implement is "draught" ("draft") -- the upward sucking of any/all fumes -- 'sepcially the odorless, clear, tasteless CARBON MONOXIDE which is quite deadly. About 15 years back four youngsters -- 13 & 14 year olds -- planned on spending the night in a wood camp. They used charcoal in a small pot-belly stove with a fashioned 3" diameter chimney pipe through a window. Giving new meaning to "soooo sad!", all four killed! ('Specially sad, for me, is that two of the four were students in a Hunter Safety class I was teaching -- with our class having met the very night before!)
The many discussions following indicated a crackling wood fire sends fumes up the chimney and OUT -- with SMOKE to clearly let you know (most of the time) all is OK. Charcoal is basically pre-burned wood -- and one does not get the benefit of the smoke; hey -- using lighter fluid to start a bar-b-que, note that the only smell one gets is from the lighter fluid.
I'd be durned careful at the thought of charcoal as a heat source!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
geo

[MrWolf]

You have to ask yourself how many hours will you be using the area? Couple hours a day, few days a week, etc. I currently have an electric heater mounted on my ceiling that I bought 5 years ago (currently $655 on Amazon). 40 amp double pole that I wired myself. I would go out a few hours before I was going to work and flip the breaker on. Does what I wanted it to do. I just saw a Home Depot deal of the day and ordered a Pioneer 18,000 btu 1.5 ton mini split. I will do the wiring and just because of my back, I am having my HVAC guy install it ( I have installed four mini splits over the years). Got this more for climate control as I am really hoping I can at least do some woodworking as I recover from another back surgery. Having to put off the metal lathe for another year but at least the garage will be ready. Make sure everything is insulated, it Jake a huge difference. Good luck.
Ron

[ascast]

OP I am confused. You don't want smoke but you say well ventilated. Are you planning some kind of open pit fire on the floor? If your woodstove is smoking up the place then charcoal, pellets, corn, used oil or old tires will do the same. You need ( must have) a proper chimney from fire box to the out side. mODERN STAINLESS DOUCLE WALL IS THE WAY TO GO. opps again. Lots of other good suff here re: time of use, insulation etc. Woodstove alone can be used in a power outage. Maybe thats important.

[MaryB]

I second insulation... My garage never drops below 30 even on days it is -20f outside. Quick bump of the heater has it up to 60ish so a sweatshirt is plenty to keep warm and my fingers stay warm.... When done heater goes off again until needed.

[Handloader109]

Everyone here has missed his second post. A 30x40 foot metal building with NO insulation ain't gonna be heated to any good degree i.e. 65 to 70f with much of anything easily unless it is burning 24x7 in Missouri winter when outdoor temp is below freezing. Forget charcoal and electrical heat.(Mini split would work, but not without insulation. Propane and natural gas would be better, but both will fill your building with moisture if not well vented.
Free wood in a Large woodburning stove would be best. Note free wood. If you don't insulate good, you're just going to heat 6 feet around any heater.
Spend a couple of thousand on insulation and then think about heating system.

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[Bloodman14]

Looks like I'm buying insulation first! Garage is 2X4 walls at ten feet high, with trusses 4 on 12 pitch that are 5 1/2 feet high at center every 2 feet. Roof is metal, uninsulated. Have an electric heater, portable, 240 volt, double pole breaker at 50 amps, I believe. Built and wired the whole thing myself, including siding. Combo machine/hobby shop, and I am building (slowly) a street rod. Most of the parts and pieces are ready, doing bodywork at this time, money permitting. Gotta get insulation! Thanks, gang!

[country gent]

with a metal building the insulation needs to allow the metal to "breathe" or it will sweat and rust. there are some spray ons that work very well here.

[Bloodman14]

gent, only the roof is metal, sorry for the confusion.

[Adam Helmer]

In 1988 I bought my rural PA 60-acre farm. In 1996, I retired and took up residence on my land. I have 30 acres of hardwoods and an endless supply of firewood. The windy days provide me all the blowdown wood I will ever need in my shop as well for my home woodstove.

My shop is a wooden two-car garage size building away from my house and barn. I have electric there as well as a refrigerator designated as a "thirst-aid kit." My woodstove is near the workbench, has double walled pipe through the roof, and I have a carbon monoxide monitor plugged in 24/7. I keep a window near the stove open a few inches for incoming air when the stove is in use. My friends come by often to hang out or work on projects. Careful feeding the stove keeps the shop at 70+ degrees on the coldest days. Two years ago we worked all day when outside it was -5 degrees.

My building is not insulated. I do have two temperature gauges on the top of the stove and we run her about 450-550 degrees. All scrap wood goes up the stovepipe. We have little creosote.

I hope this helps.

Adam

[elmacgyver0]

Everyone here has missed his second post. A 30x40 foot metal building with NO insulation ain't gonna be heated to any good degree i.e. 65 to 70f with much of anything easily unless it is burning 24x7 in Missouri winter when outdoor temp is below freezing. Forget charcoal and electrical heat.(Mini split would work, but not without insulation. Propane and natural gas would be better, but both will fill your building with moisture if not well vented.
Free wood in a Large woodburning stove would be best. Note free wood. If you don't insulate good, you're just going to heat 6 feet around any heater.
Spend a couple of thousand on insulation and then think about heating system.

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You evidently haven't been following too closely, some of us have mentioned insulation.
Hey, we all do it, but not "everyone" has missed his second post, I didn't.

[Shawlerbrook]

What Adam said but the caveat is having a woodlot or free wood available. I am here at 1700’ in Central NYS and have 120 acres of which 75% is wooded. An endless supply to heat my home and 36’x48’ uninsulated garage. If you don’t count chainsaws, woodsplitter, accessories,fuel and labor the heat is free.

[Lifeshort]

Bloodman I have a 3 car detached garage. It gets fairly cold here in Utah. I tried portable heaters and when casting or doing taxidermy it was comfortable but burned up a lot of propane. I got a used natural gas heater form an HVAC guy that was still good from an install on a new central air natural gas heater he did. I had to do a natural gas to propane conversion which was not hard but cost $40. A propane house heater would be better if available. Ran B vent out the garage roof, put the heater on some cinder blocks to get it up off the floor. Check code on your area any heating device including wood stoves needs to be so many inches above the floor in a garage, this is so gas fumes, solvent fumes etc. which sink to the floor do not ignite. Set up a hose to a 25 gallon propane tank. Ran a thermostat to my work bench. Now I just go out the mornings I am working in the shop and turn the heat on just like in my house. I will warm things up to comfy and shut it off until it cools down. I was very concerned about how much propane it would use each winter. I work around 2-4 hours a day 2-3 days per week out there. The last 2 years have not burned a full 25 gallons of propane up. I do wear a jacket in the winter when working and only heat it up to 55 but that seems comfortable in January. The house heaters blow straight up so i made an adjustable vent from sheet metal to direct out and down onto the floor. Another option to think about if you can scrounge a propane house heater up.

[MaryB]

Looks like I'm buying insulation first! Garage is 2X4 walls at ten feet high, with trusses 4 on 12 pitch that are 5 1/2 feet high at center every 2 feet. Roof is metal, uninsulated. Have an electric heater, portable, 240 volt, double pole breaker at 50 amps, I believe. Built and wired the whole thing myself, including siding. Combo machine/hobby shop, and I am building (slowly) a street rod. Most of the parts and pieces are ready, doing bodywork at this time, money permitting. Gotta get insulation! Thanks, gang!

My garage is a pole barn style construction, thicker walls(8") and I put steel liner panel up on the inside. 8" fiberglass in the walls with a vapor barrier over it, and R50 blown in for the attic area... the slabs heat keeps it warmer in winter and cool most of the summer. Lowest temp last winter was 30 inside... last summer the warmest it got was 78...

24'x30'

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Ed, I had a wood burner that got so hot, it scorched the 2x6 support (between trusses) it was fastened to, even using double-walled pipe! It also burned the paint off the metal roofing at a height of 17 feet. Just too hot!

While I did read this whole thread, I gotta wonder what kinda wood burner your using without air control. If you have enough draft and the stove doesn't have air control, then ya gotta put a damper in the chimney pipe above the stove.

I doubt you need insulation for your shed in MO. I assume the ground doesn't freeze where you are?

[trebor44]

As said, insulation is a good start. Burning kerosine (the real stuff) is ok, depending on the space, electric space heater is 'safer'. SPACE is a consideration, Mister Buddy has killed in confined spaces. Me, I would never do "charcoal briquettes" inside anything, CO gives you a nice 'pink' coloration!

[firefly1957]

If wood is giving you smoke Charcoal will give you Carbon monoxide .

[ascast]

this may have been mentioned but- if not too late -ground floor radiant heat would do nicely here. You heat the floor to 60 and the whole place is at 60. could be zoned. heat can be any source, even asolar assist.

[Adam Helmer]

What Adam said but the caveat is having a woodlot or free wood available. I am here at 1700’ in Central NYS and have 120 acres of which 75% is wooded. An endless supply to heat my home and 36’x48’ uninsulated garage. If you don’t count chainsaws, woodsplitter, accessories,fuel and labor the heat is free.

Shawlerbrook,

Thanks for the reply. When I say "blowdowns", I am not talking twigs or good-sized branches. I mean trees. Anyone heating with wood needs a woodstove, chainsaw, splitter, fuel, tools, etc. Even suburban folks who have a log load of tree trunks delivered for the homeowner to cut up need all that equipment.

I began heating with wood in 1975 during our first "energy crisis." My home woodstove is in my living room and makes winters tolerable. I often carry a chain saw in my truck when high wind is predicted because blowdown trees often block the rural dirt roads hereabouts.

Free firewood, or inexpensive wood, is available if one talks with landscapers and tree trimmers in their neighborhood. I often had fellow church folks call me after they had trees trimmed in their yards and they had no use for the firewood. I hope this helps.

Be well.

Adam

[gwpercle]

After reading your post and concerns - the need for long term heat is not necessarily your concern? Using an efficient electric heater would likely be your best solution. No chimney, no concern of CO, no smoke, easily storeable, can be directed toward your area of choice in moments.

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This is a good idea ,
We bought a 110 V. heater / fan from the Wally Mart for our green house , can be used as fan or as heater... worked so well my Son "borrowed" it for his apartment bedroom which got cold on "frosty" nights .
2-in-1 Heater plus Fan ... I believe it is made by Midea .
But the beauty is ... Plug it in and it heats a room ... lots of heat , powerful fan...
No duct work , no smoke no burning anything , clean and you can use it as a fan if you don't need the heat part . Also it shuts off if the unit is tipped ...It's Safe !
Gary