Anyone eles have a woodburning stove in their shed

[chico922]

I bought myself a wood burning stove form a friend. I am putting it in my 36'X40' pole shed. The legs were cut off it because it was used as a fireplace insert. I have it on cement blocks now. Another friend of mine said I should have it off the floor 36" because of fumes. It is 24" now. Just wanted to know if anyone eles has the same thing.


JD 755
Rockfrod, IL

 

[Slamfire]

There are very few stoves with legs that sit up that high.

 

[txdon]

I installed my wood burning stove in the cabin as the main heating source. I really do not see why it has to be 36” off the ground. The legs on most stoves are only about 6-8 inches. If you do not like to stoop to load and clean the stove the 36” might be convenient. 36” and “Fumes” are not an issue. Just make sure you have the stove pipe installed with enough clearance because it will also get very hot.
(We really know a lot about cold in Texas, /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif yea right)
TXdon

 

[hfd376]

"Fumes" could be an issue if you accidentally spill a flammable liquid in the vicinity of the stove. Mostly whose vapors are heavier than air and collect near the floor. I think building codes require gas water heaters to be a certain height off the floor for this reason. Check with local building inspectors to be sure. Could keep an accident from becoming tragic.
Doug

 

[bebster]

The issue may be the flammability of the floor under the stove. If the floor is wood or other combustible material, it could get too hot (hence the need for a lot of clearance like 3').

But the typical solution is to simply make sure the floor is properly built. I've put a piece of cement board on the floor and then tiled over it. That is usually sufficient to allow the stove to sit on its usual legs, which are typically about 8" or so in height.

3' clearance is also something that makes sense as a spacing of the stove from a combustible wall. Again, you can solve this problem with a different wall treatment.

 

[txdon]

BOOM! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Ok, that explosion of the low flammable liquid vapors “Fumes” just woke me up. Agree with HFD376! The gas hot water heaters here in garages must be 24” above the floor.
TXdon

 

[Junkman]

In MA, your air compressor must be 12' or /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif 18" off the floor to meet code..... don't know why, but it is an old state code regulation.

 

[Boondox]

The fumes your friend is talking about are probably not from the stove, but from solvents etc in the area. The concern is probably setting those vapors (esp gas) off. You'll be fine if you implement reasonable precautions. I have an old woodstove on 4" legs that gets heavy use every winter...but I absolutely prohibit flammables in that shop! And the walls nearby are made of stone, not wood.

Stay warm. Pete

 

[MadReferee]

When I built my house back in the early 80's I had a soapstone wood stove in my great room. The room was unfinished with plywood floors and plywood on the back wall (it had yet to be bricked). The stove vented thru the fireplace chimney.

I placed the stove on 12in x 12in cement patio blocks stacked 2 high and had a couple of rows of blocks around the perimeter of the stove to protect the floor.

I had a friend make a 5ft x 5ft sheet metal backer for the wall behind the stove that was bent so that there was 2 inches of air space between the metal and the plywood wall. This insured that the wall did not get hot.

I heated like this with no problems for 2 years until I got around to finishing the house.

 

[5030]

Hi Boondox:

My wife and I heat our entire house, much to the dogs delight with an Englander Pellet Stove. We have had the stove for over 5 years and it's paid for itself many times over.

We have the stove located in the living room and to heat the upstairs, we keep the door on the staircase open. My wife like to keep it about 72 degrees inside.

We use about 4 tons of hardwood pellets a season. At $150.00 per ton, that's a lot less than the price of propane or even natural gas, both of which have seen pretty hefty price increases lately. I tend to add a mixture of shelled corn to the pellet fuel in the colder months. The corn burns hotter than the hardwood and gives more heat.

I heat my shop with propane so I do use about 400 gallons each year, plus now, our standby generator is hooked to the propane supply also.

At one time, we heated with a woodstove, but I find wood to be pretty messy in the house. The wood has bugs in it and it's really messy cleaning out ashes.

The pellet stove on the other hand is an easy cleanout. You just shut it down for about 4 hours and vacuum it out with a shop vacuum.

The Englander looks like a regular woodstove. It even has a glass door on the front so you can watch the flames.