Garage heat! A few questions (maybe a Riley?)

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Jaw818

Jaw818

New Member
Oct 22, 2014
41
Minnesota
hello, I just got a 24x24 garage and I live in MN... So heat is a big bonus. My house is heated with an auburn corn stove, so there is some motivation for me to stick to a pellet/corn stove of some type for my garage as well because I am already set up for that fuel.
However, I'm on a super tight budget and I don't see getting another auburn for the steal i got my last ($50, working).
So I am open to all heating options. My central furnace and a few appliances are propane, so that is an option as well, but prices are normally expensive. A wood stove is the other option, I have plenty of dead wood on my property to make it cost effective, but then I have to cut wood and it would be difficult to keep it heated 24/7.
On CL right now, for $200 obo there is a Riley City Slicker pellet stove. These are a gravity fed stove that doesn't require electric (nice as my electric prices are high), but it's designed to be an outdoor style stove. Anyone have any insight on these? I've never seen one before. How long do they burn on a hopper? Will they burn corn? Would they decently heat a 24x24 garage?

Any other cost effective suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you
 
Hello
I am not a fan of gravity feed stoves, but I do believe if you look hard enough you can get a great used stove for a reasonable price. I would look for a large stove like 45k - 55k BTUs for that space
 
Michael6268 said:
Most states if not all its against code to install in a "garage"
Dangerous...
Click to expand...
That is only if vehicles are stored in there or repaired in there or gasoline is stored in there.
 
Most code does not differentiate whether there is a car in there or not. They have no way of knowing what will change in the future. In general solid fuel appliances are not allowed in garages, but some local rules vary. Check with the local authority. Some areas will allow exceptions if the garage is not attached to the house. Other jurisdictions will allow it if the stove is raised 18" above the floor. If the garage is not used for vehicles at all, perhaps it could be reclassified as a shop?
 
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So you are saying that any stove (wood, pellet, etc) are not up to code for a garage in most places? Not that this really concerns me a ton, as I live out in the country, my garage is detached, and I can think of at least 10 people I know personally who have a wood stove in their garage.
I would prefer another regular corn stove for simplicity and long burn times without refueling, and I can find them from time-to-time used for less than $500. If they have good vent pipe that comes with them that is still a steal. But right now a little out of budget while i recoupe from the cost of the garage itself. Thankfully I have a few months before heat would be an issue.

I cant imagine why a pellet stove would be against code for a garage but not for a house? I am a lot less likely to burn to death or die of exhaust fumes in my garage than my home. So if its safe for 24/7 home use, why not garage use?
 
I have a pellet stove in my 700 square ft shop, it is direct vented and works great. I don't run it all the time, only when I there. It only takes an hour to heat up the garage on the stove's lowest setting.
 
Gasoline is usually in a garage in some form or another. Cars, gas cans, lawn mowers, snow blowers snow machines. Combine gas and its fumes along with a open or closed flame and the possibility is there for a kaboom to happen. It really doesn't matter whether you know 10 people that are burning wood in their garages or not. All it takes is one mishap.

Whether you want to adhere to code is up to you. It's there for a reason and that reason is to keep people safe.
 
Like you said there are stoves to be had in and around MN. The gravity stove you mention probably wont have enough output anyway and wont handle corn, only high grade pine pellets to work reliably. Just think of the savings you had with the Auburn and the savings burning corn last season and use that to invest in another stove. I seen a as new Bixby for $1200 and couple others very reasonable as who wants to think of winter in July. I got a Bixby from a dealer that was getting out of stoves for $600 including over 30 ft of venting etc.
Right now with propane being very cheap you might pickup a hanging unit and free up floor space. I have seen several for well under $500. Flip of a switch and 30 minutes you can be close to working temps.
Insulate well now as that will be the fastest payback so if one can, go with foam system.
 
Jaw818 said:
So you are saying that any stove (wood, pellet, etc) are not up to code for a garage in most places? Not that this really concerns me a ton, as I live out in the country, my garage is detached, and I can think of at least 10 people I know personally who have a wood stove in their garage.
I would prefer another regular corn stove for simplicity and long burn times without refueling, and I can find them from time-to-time used for less than $500. If they have good vent pipe that comes with them that is still a steal. But right now a little out of budget while i recoupe from the cost of the garage itself. Thankfully I have a few months before heat would be an issue.

I cant imagine why a pellet stove would be against code for a garage but not for a house? I am a lot less likely to burn to death or die of exhaust fumes in my garage than my home. So if its safe for 24/7 home use, why not garage use?
Click to expand...

You live out in the country so saftey doesnt matter?
You have 10 friends that dont care or know better so you want to follow them?
Blow your garage up and if you are still alive, tell your insurance co that "you live in the country, code/saftey doesnt apply to you"
 
My FL had a stove in his 2 car garage/shop in Maine for years with cars and mowers in there. One day the insurance company came by and out went the stove. He purchased a used oil burner and ran it to supply heat to the area after that - simple single duct thru the wall.
 
Michael6268 said:
You live out in the country so saftey doesnt matter?
You have 10 friends that dont care or know better so you want to follow them?
Blow your garage up and if you are still alive, tell your insurance co that "you live in the country, code/saftey doesnt apply to you"
Click to expand...
I think it is kind of insulting that you think everyone that has a stove in a garage/shop
"Doesn't care".
That's absolutely ridiculous.
 
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Pete Zahria said:
I think it is kind of insulting that you think everyone that has a stove in a garage/shop
"Doesn't care".
That's absolutely ridiculous.
Click to expand...

If you "read" his post he states- "code doesnt mean a ton" to him! I said his 10 friends "either" dont care "or" dont know better. Code is for safety. Aside from code, its common sense you dont have a stove in a closed environment that can/will house combustibles.
Your defense of such a thing is absolutely ridiculous! !
 
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I run a pellet stove in my detached rear garage/workshop too. I store no vehicles or flammables in it though. Of course know it`s not state code approved but it`s connected and vented properly and since I ran a wood stove in it for years with no problems I`m feeling even safer now.
 
No open flame in a pellet stove. The flame is inside of a metal box. Heck, a gas hot water heater has a more exposed flame than a pellet stove and those are allowed in a garage.
 
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If we can't get back to stoves I will shut the thread down. OP is aware of the dangers. Codes etc are set up to protect those that don't know, others possibly buying the property or don't have any common sense.
There was a case where the mobile home owner was washing his Harley parts in the bath tub with gas and had a gas water heater. Home and heater WERE to code. Owner not so.
 
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Bioburner said:
....Codes etc are set up to protect those that don't know, others possibly buying the property or don't have any common sense..
Click to expand...

Which really was the basis of my reply..
We have been, like so many others, heating an auto repair
and fab shop for almost 40 years, with either wood or coal.
The end on this from me, Thanks.

Dan
 
Bioburner said:
If we can't get back to stoves I will shut the thread down. OP is aware of the dangers.
Click to expand...

I am surprised to read that from a Mod. Are you saying that an install that is against code and probably not covered by insurance should something happen is ok as long as the owner knows better but decides to ignore those rules anyway? I always thought that safety and adherence to code were among the most important principles here when giving advice. Was there a change in forum policy I don't know about?
 
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Michael6268 said:
Im still tryin' to figure where it went "off topic"?
Click to expand...
stove suggestion
vs
stove codes


stove codes is beating a dead horse for a forum as aged as this one - too often the thread degenerates into the same old shop-worn flame wars and personal insults.


Despite this, your concerns are commendable.
 
Last edited:
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Grisu said:
I am surprised to read that from a Mod. Are you saying that an install that is against code and probably not covered by insurance should something happen is ok as long as the owner knows better but decides to ignore those rules anyway? I always thought that safety and adherence to code were among the most important principles here when giving advice. Was there a change in forum policy I don't know about?
Click to expand...
Codes have not always kept up with the technology. Pellet stoves are one of those examples. Probably because of the low number of installations. Pellet stoves are probably safer than most gas fired heaters. Until last season never heard of a pellet stove blowing glass into a room.
State has been cleaning up some old laws and there was one of having to escort a horseless carriage at night by someone with a lantern.:)
 
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Bioburner said:
Codes have not always kept up with the technology. Pellet stoves are one of those examples. Probably because of the low number of installations. Pellet stoves are probably safer than most gas fired heaters. Until last season never heard of a pellet stove blowing glass into a room.
State has been cleaning up some old laws and there was one of having to escort a horseless carriage at night by someone with a lantern.:)
Click to expand...
It seems that Quadrafire is doing a recall concerning their pellet version of the AE which had a habit of blowing the glass out due to improper software of the control board. But that is the first model I heard that actually did this. Every winter we hear of homes destroyed by a nat gas or LP explosion and seem to consider it a acceptable risk. Look at a lot of lp hanging furnaces that are in shops or garages and you will see open flames. I suppose because it is up towards the ceiling it is considered safer. On the other hand most of the people I know that have wood stoves or even pellet stoves in a garage type structure don't store gas in the same building. Guess we consider it common sense besides by the time a fire dept got here the building would be ashes anyway.
 
An estimated 6,600 residential building garage fires were reported to United States fire departments each year and caused an estimated 30 deaths, 400 injuries and $457 million in property loss. 16% are electrically caused, 15% by carelessness or unintentional action and 11% of them are caused by open flame. Confined fire = 2.7%.
https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v14i12.pdf

If a pellet stove is permitted it should be installed like a gas hot water heater, elevated above the floor. And of course, store flammables safely.
 
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Might well shoot for the use of the fresh air intake too. A lot of the newer pellet stoves are on pedestals and have the fire elevated already.
 
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