Wood burning stove in work shop

Ken wrote:
> Any one have any thought on a wood burning stove in a shop 32' x 36'
> Brand of stove they use and safety concerns, Gas cost me $200.00 / mo
> during the cold months.
> Current furnace 65,000 BTU updraft. Does the job easily, but cost.
> I create alot of scrap wood, small pieces. Any ideas of using saw dust for
> fuel.
>
>
> Ken
>
>
I heat my shop exclusively with wood. A quality, UL listed stove, UL
approved pipe and installation and you'll be warm and happy. Be sure to
clean your stovepipe regularly.

I wouldn't use sawdust as a fuel source though. Seems both inefficient
and potentially dangerous.

Rick

"Ken" wrote
> Any one have any thought on a wood burning stove in a shop 32' x 36'
> Brand of stove they use and safety concerns, Gas cost me $200.00 / mo
> during the cold months.
> Current furnace 65,000 BTU updraft. Does the job easily, but cost.
> I create alot of scrap wood, small pieces. Any ideas of using saw dust
for
> fuel.

Damn, son ... it's 94 outside and here you are trying to make us look bad by
thinking ahead. What I need for the foreseeable future is a woodburning AC.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/14/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Ken" wrote:

> Any one have any thought on a wood burning stove in a shop 32' x 36'
> Brand of stove they use and safety concerns, Gas cost me $200.00 /
> mo
> during the cold months.
> Current furnace 65,000 BTU updraft. Does the job easily, but cost.
> I create alot of scrap wood, small pieces. Any ideas of using saw
> dust for fuel.

Insulate.

More work up front, but worth it.

Trying to burn sawdust is a PITA.

You need to aerate it and deliver it pneumatically.

Lew

DGDevin wrote:
> Tanus wrote:
>
>> I think it's been done. Isn't that what wood pellets are made out of?
>> I agree with Lew. Insulate first and whatever heat source you use
>> will be much more efficient.
>
> I mean practical for the consumer, especially a consumer who produces a few
> cubic yards of sawdust a month. I used to buy a brand of sawdust logs under
> the Hi-Energy name, great stuff, just compressed sawdust unlike those naplam
> bombs sold under the big brand names. If there was a practical way to make
> something like that in the garage, well, hello wood stove.

I used to fill the bottom of my dust collector, (a round drum) with
thick card board tubes my wife got from work. The tubes were from a
paper wrapper machine that rolls of paper were wrapped around for
wrapping ice cream bars and Popsicles. Very similar to the cardboard
tubes that carpet is wrapped around. Anyway, I would cut tapered wood
circles in scrap wood on the Band Saw and pound them into one end of the
tubes, then put the tubes in my dust collector drum with the plugged end
down so the sawdust fell into the opened end of the tubes. When they
were full I would compact them with the handle end of my wooden mallet,
let them fill more, and when filled and compressed with saw dust, I'd
cap the other end with a tapered wood circle. This got rid of my
sawdust and small scraps of wood. The cardboard/sawdust logs burned
perfect in my wood stove.

If you can get the cardboard tubes, perhaps from a carpet place, and
have a drum on your dust collector you could be in business:-)

--
Jack
http://jbstein.com

Frank Boettcher wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:32:26 -0500, "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> "Ken" wrote
>>> Any one have any thought on a wood burning stove in a shop 32' x 36'
>>> Brand of stove they use and safety concerns, Gas cost me $200.00 / mo
>>> during the cold months.
>>> Current furnace 65,000 BTU updraft. Does the job easily, but cost.
>>> I create alot of scrap wood, small pieces. Any ideas of using saw dust
>> for
>>> fuel.
>> Damn, son ... it's 94 outside and here you are trying to make us look bad by
>> thinking ahead. What I need for the foreseeable future is a woodburning AC.
>
>
> You got that right. For the three or four days I actually need heat I
> can gut it out.
>
> Think for my next shop, I'll build it dog trot style. Half on one
> side, half on the other, of a breezeway. See if I can get Bernoulli's
> law to help me out a bit.
>
> Frank

Considering that you can run a refrigerator using a gas flame there is
no reason except efficiency that you couldn't run a wood fired air
conditioner. It would take a lot of wood though maybe you could blow the
saw dust in a burner.

Dave

"Rick Stein" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Ken wrote:
>> Any one have any thought on a wood burning stove in a shop 32' x 36'
>> Brand of stove they use and safety concerns, Gas cost me $200.00 / mo
>> during the cold months.
>> Current furnace 65,000 BTU updraft. Does the job easily, but cost.
>> I create alot of scrap wood, small pieces. Any ideas of using saw dust
>> for fuel.
>>
>>
>> Ken
> I heat my shop exclusively with wood. A quality, UL listed stove, UL
> approved pipe and installation and you'll be warm and happy. Be sure to
> clean your stovepipe regularly.
>
> I wouldn't use sawdust as a fuel source though. Seems both inefficient and
> potentially dangerous.
>

Simply throwing sawdust into a wood stove isn't really dangerous. The
bigger problem with the stuff is a decent delivery system so that you don't
snuff the coals and still provide enough combustible to generate any
significant heat.

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:29:42 -0400, "Ken" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Any one have any thought on a wood burning stove in a shop 32' x 36'
>Brand of stove they use and safety concerns, Gas cost me $200.00 / mo
>during the cold months.
> Current furnace 65,000 BTU updraft. Does the job easily, but cost.
>I create alot of scrap wood, small pieces. Any ideas of using saw dust for
>fuel.
>
>
>Ken
>


There are wood-burning stoves. I would lean toward a smaller
cast-iron type, perhaps a double-decker. If you have a very limited
budget, consider buying a metal drum barrel and vent it to the
outside. The drum will eventually burn out and you'll need to replace
it. Personally I haven't seen sawdust for fuel, but I'm sure it can
be done. I use my sawdust for making compost or spreading over muddy
areas in the backyard.

"Ken" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Any one have any thought on a wood burning stove in a shop 32' x 36'
> Brand of stove they use and safety concerns, Gas cost me $200.00 / mo
> during the cold months.
> Current furnace 65,000 BTU updraft. Does the job easily, but cost.
> I create alot of scrap wood, small pieces. Any ideas of using saw dust
> for fuel.
>
>
> Ken

The stove itself is fairly safe. Most fires occur by things around the stove
or fumes that hit the hot coals. Installation can be very straightforward
or may require some shielding to comply with codes and chimney codes.

As for using sawdust fur fuel, it does not burn well if you just shovel some
in. I've seen "logs" made by spreading sawdust on newspaper and rolling it
tight. Burned well, but very labor intensive.

Ken wrote:

> Any one have any thought on a wood burning stove in a shop 32' x 36'
> Brand of stove they use and safety concerns, Gas cost me $200.00 / mo
> during the cold months.
> Current furnace 65,000 BTU updraft. Does the job easily, but cost.
> I create alot of scrap wood, small pieces. Any ideas of using saw
> dust for fuel.
>
>
> Ken

Check with your insurance company, you'll probably find your rates take a
significant jump with a wood burning stove. If you don't tell them you're
installing a wood stove and then you have a fire don't expect them to pay.

Still, if there was a practical way (meaning affordable and relatively
simple) to compress sawdust into logs or blocks (without using wax or
chemicals) it would be an attractive prospect for some folks.

DGDevin wrote:
> Ken wrote:
>
>> Any one have any thought on a wood burning stove in a shop 32' x 36'
>> Brand of stove they use and safety concerns, Gas cost me $200.00 / mo
>> during the cold months.
>> Current furnace 65,000 BTU updraft. Does the job easily, but cost.
>> I create alot of scrap wood, small pieces. Any ideas of using saw
>> dust for fuel.
>>
>>
>> Ken
>
> Check with your insurance company, you'll probably find your rates take a
> significant jump with a wood burning stove. If you don't tell them you're
> installing a wood stove and then you have a fire don't expect them to pay.
>
> Still, if there was a practical way (meaning affordable and relatively
> simple) to compress sawdust into logs or blocks (without using wax or
> chemicals) it would be an attractive prospect for some folks.
>
>

I think it's been done. Isn't that what wood pellets are made out of? I
agree with Lew. Insulate first and whatever heat source you use will be
much more efficient.

I'm in the process of doing that now with my shop. I've added an
exterior skin, insulated between the original and new walls, and a
pellet stove is waiting to fire up for the winter.

Something I see from time to time here is just what the OP has
suggested; using scrap to feed the stove. If I used scrap to keep warm,
I'd lose my testicles. It doesn't last long, doesn't give off a whole
lot of heat. The house takes about 12 - 16 facecords (a facecord is 16"
x 4' x 8') of wood per winter here. Granted I live in probably the
coldest climate of anyone who contributes to this NG, but even so,
stoves take a lot of wood to keep burning.

Check with your building code people, run the stove and stay warm but be
aware that you'll need to have a stock of it somewhere (hopefully under
cover) if you want it all winter long.

There's really nothing to compare though. The heat is fast, it's
soothing and it's a good way to keep warm.

Tanus

DGDevin wrote:
> Tanus wrote:
>
>> I think it's been done. Isn't that what wood pellets are made out of?
>> I agree with Lew. Insulate first and whatever heat source you use
>> will be much more efficient.
>
> I mean practical for the consumer, especially a consumer who produces a few
> cubic yards of sawdust a month. I used to buy a brand of sawdust logs under
> the Hi-Energy name, great stuff, just compressed sawdust unlike those naplam
> bombs sold under the big brand names. If there was a practical way to make
> something like that in the garage, well, hello wood stove.
>
>

Yeah, I think "practical" is the key there. I don't know what process
the pellet makers use, but I expect it involves a fair amount of
pressure, more than an average shop can generate.

Tanus

Tanus wrote:

> I think it's been done. Isn't that what wood pellets are made out of?
> I agree with Lew. Insulate first and whatever heat source you use
> will be much more efficient.

I mean practical for the consumer, especially a consumer who produces a few
cubic yards of sawdust a month. I used to buy a brand of sawdust logs under
the Hi-Energy name, great stuff, just compressed sawdust unlike those naplam
bombs sold under the big brand names. If there was a practical way to make
something like that in the garage, well, hello wood stove.

On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:32:26 -0500, "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:

>"Ken" wrote
>> Any one have any thought on a wood burning stove in a shop 32' x 36'
>> Brand of stove they use and safety concerns, Gas cost me $200.00 / mo
>> during the cold months.
>> Current furnace 65,000 BTU updraft. Does the job easily, but cost.
>> I create alot of scrap wood, small pieces. Any ideas of using saw dust
>for
>> fuel.
>
>Damn, son ... it's 94 outside and here you are trying to make us look bad by
>thinking ahead. What I need for the foreseeable future is a woodburning AC.


You got that right. For the three or four days I actually need heat I
can gut it out.

Think for my next shop, I'll build it dog trot style. Half on one
side, half on the other, of a breezeway. See if I can get Bernoulli's
law to help me out a bit.

Frank