Stove for Small Workshop

http://www.amfmenergy.com/manufacturer-refurbished-stoves.html
Slightly cheaper option ... refurbished stoves.

I use a woodstove in my much larger shop but will agree to go bigger than you think. Heating a space intermittently with wood is not the same as keeping a house warm. You will want some serious output to boost the temperature quickly. It takes a lot of heat to warm up a shop from 50 to 70.

Also, you can always build smaller fires in a large stove but not larger fires in a small stove.

I will agree with going with bigger.

I had an Englander nc-30 in a 900sf uninsulated block garage with 12' high ceilings, and it worked okay, but had to wait a few hours before it would get the garage to a comfortable temp, and then would get a little chilly during the coaling stage.

Ended up going with a hotblast 1557 coal furnace (burning wood) placed in an outbuilding that was then ducted to the garage.

Much better results with that, but bigger stove too, even though I technically added 140sf of uninsulated metal outbuilding to the heating space. It'll heat it from the 20-30's to comfortable in a couple hours or less. If it's in the 30's, it will actually get a little too warm in there.

As highbeam stated, a considerable difference in heating up a space from outside winter temp to comfortable temps, than keeping a space at inside temp, especially if needed in just an hour or two.


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

morgantheship said:

After additional research and looking at what I could afford in a stove that will be used in my workshop I have narrowed it down to the Vogelzang Defender (1,200 sq-ft) or the Century S244 (1,000 sq-ft), and lastly the Pleasant Hearth WS2417 (1,200 sq-ft)

I agree with the comments on going bigger and am leaning towards on of the 1,200 sq-ft units.

Each seems to have features that I am looking for such as a draft control manually operated, firebrick, high efficiency, and small size. The Vogelzang Defender is the only one that comes with an ash pan and I like the idea of that but I don't know if that is something that is useful or not.

I realize that these are not top of the line stoves but meet my price point that I can afford.

Has anyone had any comments either positiveor negative on any of these? I am somewhat leaning towards the Vogelzang Defender as it provides up to 1,200 sq-ft of heating and has an ash tray. But again I am not sure if an ash pan is a plus or not.

Thanks for any input.

Click to expand...

They're all tiny, decorative, stoves. Sometimes it's better to wait until you can spend your money on what you want.

Maybe look for used?

Is the wood shop insulated? Ceiling height?

Not sure about a 1200 sqft stove heating an uninsulated, leaky space to warm from the cold, windy outside temps quickly. The Englander NC-30 is known as a heating machine and rated at 2400 sqft, so I figured it would be way oversized for the space, but really wasn't. Course my garage is a worst case scenario as far as heating goes, so results may vary.

Another consideration with the EPA stoves is that they usually go through a coaling stage before reloading, and if the stove is too small or the space is leaky and uninsulated, it cools down too much before you can reload the stove to get it back up to temps.

I'd be all over a manufacturer refurbished Englander form AMFM Energy or a few other places. USA made stove with excellent customer service should you ever need it. Should be right in line with budget wise with the other stoves that your looking at. A 13NC should do you nicely...

It mean he agrees with the post above his.

I burned the 17 for 3 winters and it's a great stove. You'd be better served in a shop with something a bit bigger. that holds a fire longer. You should be able to find the 13 which is a step up for about the same money with blower. Longer fires and bit more heat.... The madison would be about right too.

http://www.amfmenergy.com/50tnc13----epa-certified-noncatalytic-wood-stove--1850131801.html

Englander 13nc with blower Manufacturer refurbished shipped free to your local terminal... $599

Thought over the idea of giving my pig a mention.
The thing is advertised as "ideal for workshops, garages" however they worded it.

Changed my mind. It's not safe really for anyone, anywhere, out of the box.

Then again, putting in the disclaimers makes it sound ideal.
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=107173126&clickid=body_rv_img

Disclaimer (in bold, red for importance lol)
This unit as it's leaky, cannot be safely used without disassembly and a full resealing
of the entire stove. Metalworking experience very helpful as most sealing surfaces are still
bare casting and rough from the factory. This needs addressed by cleaning off casting defects.
The top plate with the stove burners especially needs decked level and tight for each of the
five pieces that make up the total area. These areas around the burner circles and center plate
must be filed at any high spots so that those three can drop in tight as if a single piece. The cast
plates that make up the main body should be gasketed and cemented both. Bottom needs
lined with brick, and sand filling the gaps.


You can quite plainly see that I'm not endorsing this product one bit. It's junk.

Also, I love mine to be fair. It needs to be viewed as a kit. Something like
buying all the pieces, then building a stove with them. When we were at Tractor, she
saw the stove and totally loved it's rustic style. I saw a project. We both liked our
ideas and impressions, and the black Friday price. Brought it home and took it apart.
If you don't mind, or enjoy a half day of rebuilding the stove, this piece will warm your shop nicely.
It's low price reflects the "efficiency issues" inherent with a generic boxstove. A few extra splits
here and there are necessary to keep a good amount of steady btu radiation to warm all the "stuff"
in the building. This becomes secondary heat once once the indoor mass is heated and very little wood
will be necessary second half of the day.

I have seen many a shop heated by a Jotul 602. They heat up quick and go out quick when not fed wood. I see them frequently for $250 to $500.

Highbeam got it : you need a quick, short lasting fire, used intermittently for a few hours only. You're not "heating" a living space.
Ideal for what we stove snoots call "smoke dragons" or older models of wood stoves that were not EPA engineered or approved, but damn well did the job for decades for millions of us.
CraigsList is a fine cheap source for these often non cast iron stoves. The cast Jotul 602 is only for very small spaces like saunas or kitchens. BeGreen believes it is the most used stove out there. The older cast VC Vigilant and Defiant pioneered higher engineered wood heat; there are 1000's of them in use and on the market. Too bad that VC developed a highly complex stove like the later cats in the 90's ( plenty of history online ). Scandinavian stoves such as Lange and Morso had simple older models on the used market now.
Look at a sheet steel top loader Tempwood from Mass. Heats fast, easy to control, and no moving parts other than simple top sliding primary air controls. It has been rumored that the company is now re manufacturing them with EPA specs. The small Tempwood has been used for decades in northern Maine sporting camps such the AMC Little Lyford Camps near Greenville to heat their 20x20 cabins.
Workshops don't need a high end wood stove IMHO.