Wood stove for pole barn

[Amelia Farms]

I am finishing up building a 40x60x14 pole barn and have started looking for a wood stove to get a little heat in the building. The building has a metal roof and walls, and at least for this winter, will have no insulation, just not in the budget right now. Anyhow, I am looking for recommendations for a stove to knock the chill off while I am working in the barn. I have 25 acres of wooded land, so fuel for the stove is no problem. I will be looking for a used stove if I can find a suitable one.

So what should I be looking for? Cast iron? Welded? Size? Brand.

Thanks all.

 

[farm guy]

Hello,

Just my two cents, I just put up a 20 x 50 x 14 barn last year and I put in a small wood stove. I got it at Lowe's for about $200. It does a good job keeping the chill at bay. Near the stove I got it to 50 while it was low 20s with the wind blowing. I am able to work in there in a lite jacket. For your size building I would go up to a bigger one they have it is about $260. It has a lot bigger fire box. One suggestion I would get you is have a stove temp gauge to keep an eye on the burn in the stove.

Farm guy

 

[BIG DOOLEY]

I have a large Dutchwest (by Vermont Casting) inside our house that around 12 years old.
It is a double wall cast iron stove.
Cast iron radiates heat well and will continue to give off heat longer when the fire goes out.
In my garage I have a 1/4" steel plate stove my in-laws gave to me. It gives off nice heat also but it will cool down faster even though i lined it with fire brick.
Buy whatever you can find for a resonable price.
What is important is an air-tight stove. you will go thru alot less wood and that means alot less work.
A small box fan to circulate the air in the barn will help the air move past the stove more.
The longer the stack run the more heat into the barn also.
I have seen some people use a tee above the stove with 2 stacks and then convert back into one before exiting the building.

 

[RoyJackson]

I have a large Dutchwest (by Vermont Casting) inside our house that around 12 years old.

Can't beat those Vermont Castings' woodstoves!!

 

[dave1949]

It's very difficult to accumulate any heat in a building without an insulated ceiling. You need something that blows hot air toward your work area. There are wood-fired forced air furnaces. You don't need anything too fancy, just a basic fire chamber, plenum and blower with some minimal duct work to get the heat to where you want it.

You could also try a kerosene fueled salamander, or a propane fueled construction heater. For smaller areas, there are radiant heaters that attach to a 20 lb propane tank. These are designed and suited for un-insulated, unsealed buildings.

 

[Clint S]

I have a 32x 32 and a decent size, but older wood stove I got for free. With no insulation It does very little unless you are right next to it. I usually just run my 85k salamander and point it at the area I am working in and it is OK. On the coldest days I run both and If am lucky I can get it to 50 if it is in the 20's outside. The only time I really have to work in there is when I work on the tractor. Any other work I do is in the attached 24 x24 which is insulated. I run the salamander for 10 minutes and then I have an old gas grill and run that in there and I can keep it in the 60's even in the coldest weather.
First thing to insulate is the ceiling, you would be amazed at what just a reflective 1 inch foam insulation board does to keep in heat in a large pole building.

 

[tcreeley]

A summer fan about 4' from the stove and level with the top of the stove or a bit higher- oscilating will distribute the hot air coming off the stove and keep it from heading straight up. A bullet fan works well too. Both are inexpensive approaches until you figure out your insulation situation.

 

[BIG DOOLEY]

I have a 32x 32 and a decent size, but older wood stove I got for free. With no insulation It does very little unless you are right next to it. I usually just run my 85k salamander and point it at the area I am working in and it is OK. On the coldest days I run both and If am lucky I can get it to 50 if it is in the 20's outside. The only time I really have to work in there is when I work on the tractor. Any other work I do is in the attached 24 x24 which is insulated. I run the salamander for 10 minutes and then I have an old gas grill and run that in there and I can keep it in the 60's even in the coldest weather.
First thing to insulate is the ceiling, you would be amazed at what just a reflective 1 inch foam insulation board does to keep in heat in a large pole building.

I had a friend put thin plastic sheeting (Visgueen) on his ceiling for a couple of years till he got the money to insulate and drywall.
It sure helped for a temporary fix.

 

[Bob77064]

Vermont Castings, job security for Roy!

 

[RoyJackson]

Vermont Castings, job security for Roy!

You bet...it was a shameless plug!

 

[KennyG]

Without insulation and a ceiling, I think you will be spending a lot of effort feeding the stove with very little benefit. However, when you get the building insulated, it will work well. I have an insulated 40 x 48 building with a 12 foot ceiling. I'm using a US Stove 2000 (from Rural King) which is an airtight (mobile home approved) stove. It does a pretty good job of heating the building. I would go to the extra expense of an airtight stove. I pull combustion air from the attic and have a completely vertical chimney pipe. You will need to use double wall pipe from the ceiling surface to the chimney exit which will probably cost $300+. There is no "cheap" way to do this right which is why I spent the money for a new air tight stove. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but you don't want to go to the effort and not get a heated building and you don't want to burn your building down.

 

[handymansvs]

Hi,

A couple of Comments. I am surprised that no one has mentioned the problem of condensation and dripping inside the shop without insulation. It is standard practice here in the Pacific Northwest to insulate the ceiling.

The other comment concerns a wood stove. Have you considered a double 55 gal barrel stove? Harbor Freight has all the hardware need to construct one at a reasonable price. Before you put out the money for the hardware please check to see if they are approved in your state. In some states they are not allowed.

However before you do anything, please check with your insurance company to make sure you have coverage for a firewood burning space heater. Also check with your building dept to learn their requirements. No one wants to have their shop burn down because of a faulty installation. Then to really make your day have your insurance company denied coverage because of the wood burning space heater caused the fire.

Hope this helps,
Benjamin J. "Joe" Browning
handymansvs

 

[Clint S]

Here in the northeast I maybe have 1 or 2 days a year I get condensation on the inside. Get a bit more under the open lean too roof though.

 

[Pete Judd]

For the price and heat, the dual 55 gallon drum kits work great, Sorry, Roy, we have a Vermont castings stove at the cabin, and they work well, and love it for the app. But they take time to put out heat, and the drum heaters produce lots of heat right now and are cheap as well. Yes they will not last many winters, but the replacement parts are cheap.

Here is the link for the bottom part, cheap at TSC
http://www.tractorsupply.com/wood-heaters/united-states-stove-barrel-stove-kit-3192628

 

[NHmitch]

We actually heat our house 100% with the same stove and have been for three years now. My house is about 1400 ft, and all rooms are an average of 75-80 degrees fahrenheit on the coldest days here in ice cold New Hampshire. This stove is great, and I bought it on sale at Tractor Supply for $500 with a tax rebate for being EPA approved.

For the Barn, depending on the height of your ceilings, I would be concerned with the heat rising, and escaping. You may want to add a barn style fan somewhere above the stove, to help move the heat back towards where you are working. We have them in the barn to help disperse the heat in the summer for our animals. I do like the idea of the drum stoves as well, but what ever you do, make sure that you use fire-board if the stove is near a wall, and I 100% agree about looking into your local fire code, and insurance requirements. I know that when we installed our wood stove, our insurance company required us to take additional measures above our local fire code. This is the type of fans we use, however they are expensive. You can buy a box fan for about $10-15. CountyLineｮ Direct Drive Wall-Mounted Fan, 18 in. Blade Diameter - 1025507 | Tractor Supply Company

Without insulation and a ceiling, I think you will be spending a lot of effort feeding the stove with very little benefit. However, when you get the building insulated, it will work well. I have an insulated 40 x 48 building with a 12 foot ceiling. I'm using a US Stove 2000 (from Rural King) which is an airtight (mobile home approved) stove. It does a pretty good job of heating the building. I would go to the extra expense of an airtight stove. I pull combustion air from the attic and have a completely vertical chimney pipe. You will need to use double wall pipe from the ceiling surface to the chimney exit which will probably cost $300+. There is no "cheap" way to do this right which is why I spent the money for a new air tight stove. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but you don't want to go to the effort and not get a heated building and you don't want to burn your building down.

 

[byronlj]

I heat my garage with this. The garage is 37x37 w/13' ceiling and is insulated and rocked. I can keep it at a comfortable 65 throughout by running my ceiling fan.
Dave

 

[Amelia Farms]

Thanks for all the feedback. Sounds like I need to raid the piggyback and at least get some insulation in the ceiling ASAP.

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

For the price and heat, the dual 55 gallon drum kits work great, Sorry, Roy, we have a Vermont castings stove at the cabin, and they work well, and love it for the app. But they take time to put out heat, and the drum heaters produce lots of heat right now and are cheap as well. Yes they will not last many winters, but the replacement parts are cheap.

Here is the link for the bottom part, cheap at TSC
United States Stove Barrel Stove Kit - 3192628 | Tractor Supply Company

With a 40 x 60 pole barn this is the smartest set up you can use ,cheap easily replaceable , you can add another barrel to have them double stacked to increase surface area for more heat , no need to have double wall pipe until you go through ceiling or wall with outside pipe chimney , A wood stove would have a hard time to heat an uninsulated 40x60 building and you would be constantly loading it ! keep it simple !

 

[jdboy4410]

vermont castings make a good stove,can't deny it,but,if I wanted to heat a large building like that,I would look for an old Fisher Grandfather Bear stove.it has double doors on the front,or you can even side load it.they put off tremendous heat being an air tight stove.you can find them for $300-$500,can't buy them new,quit making them in the early 80's,but man are they a good stove ! I heated my 2200 sq ft house with a Fisher Mama Bear,and we were opening windows at times.the Mama Bear will take up to 24",and the Grandfather will take up to 26" I believe.you can't go wrong.with a floor standing oscillating fan by the stove,it will distribute the heat nicely,but don't get it too close,especially if you have the stove banked off with some good ole dry locust to burn.these stoves turn up every now and then,I see them on Craigslist,or you can try searchtempest.com to broaden your search.good old stoves.the other one would be a Timberline,same stove as the Fisher from what I have seen,only difference is the door casting,one says Fisher,the other Timberline,both are great stoves,good luck !

 

[Amelia Farms]

Update for those interested. I started looking on craigslist to see what I could come up with for some cheap insulation, and I lucked out! Found a guy about an hour away that was tearing down some old chicken houses and had salvaged the foam insulation out of the roof. I picked up 120 sheets of 1 1/2" tk Dow polyiso foam 4'x12' for a dollar a sheet. This enough to insulate the whole barn! Thanks to those that urged me to get some insulation before trying to heat it.

Also been searching CL for a used stove, there are a ton out there for not much money, going to look at one this afternoon. Looks like I will be able to work comfortably in the barn this winter after all.

Thanks for all the info and advice.