Intrepid up in the Garage ;)

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bmwloco

Member
Jan 17, 2008
246
Asheville NC
With the help of a very good friend, I now have my '86 Vermont Casting Intrepid up and running at 450F. Slowly bringing it up, then I'll take it down, then up again.

Someone obviously took very, very good care of this stove over the years. The oil is curing, the box is chimney is pulling well too.

Winter should be a lot easier now in the Church of the Horizontally Opposed Twin and Quad, aka old Airhead BMW Motorcycles and my beloved '73 VW Thing.

More as it unfolds... love splitting those old wood atoms ;)
 
i want a picture of it in action!
 
I'll get a shot, but...

How do you post photos here? Never done it.

Going out to check the burn level now.
 
just hit 'post reply' and then down below where you type your response there is a spot that says attachments and just click browse to find the file you want to upload.
i think they need to be a pretty small size possibly so set your camera to the lowest resolution possible.
 
O.k., here goes!

It's working like a charm. High today was about 36, dropping to 27F tonight. Resolute has been burning all day in the house. It's a comfortable 71F and the heater hasn't kicked on other than first thing this morning.

The Intrepid served me very well today. I had to work on my Westfalia. So nice to use the creeper under the bus and be comfortable doing it.
 

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Here's another shot
 

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I was hoping you were going to include pic's of the bikes & the thing. I guess that could be considered a request, if no one has any objections to said request?
 
Batteries recharging for the camera now. I'll zap a few more shots and post them soon. Want to see the Thing and stove or Westfalia?

AC unit coming out soon. To be bagged on put in the basement. It's a good little unit, but the ceiling fans (cheap Chinese Hunters) do the job winter and summer.
 
Perhaps you can correct me if I'm wrong (which I frequently am), but it's my understanding that generally even in those jurisdictions which actually allow a solid fuel-burning appliance in a garage (or anyplace where there may be flammable/explosive vapors present), they at least require the appliance to be mounted 18" above the floor. Is this not the case where you live? Always looking to learn. About thirty years ago, when I lived in Albuquerque, there was an article in the paper that I've never forgotten, because I'm an inveterate car & bike guy. A guy there lost two pretty much priceless classic autos...one Rolls-Royce, one Mercedes-Benz (both ~1920's), because he was working on one of them in winter and it leaked gasoline, and the pilot light from his water heater in the garage ignited it, and everything...cars, garage, and most of his house, went up in flames. I remember that I got tears in my eyes when I read that article. Please be careful. Rick
 
Thanks for your concern.

It's not illegal in our area, not even addressed in local laws. Such is what you get living in Appalachia.

I've taken great care in making sure there's nothing combustible near, and all the bikes and cars are fuel tight. I "down" the stove after every use and make sure it's buttoned up tight.

If fact, I only bring in the wood I burn (happily, it doesn't take much to knock the chill off the garage), and empty the ash pan after each firing.

By and large, I would say it's much safer than the propane space I used the last two years. Pretty useless, I might add.
 
fossil said:
Perhaps you can correct me if I'm wrong (which I frequently am), but it's my understanding that generally even in those jurisdictions which actually allow a solid fuel-burning appliance in a garage (or anyplace where there may be flammable/explosive vapors present), they at least require the appliance to be mounted 18" above the floor. Is this not the case where you live? Always looking to learn. About thirty years ago, when I lived in Albuquerque, there was an article in the paper that I've never forgotten, because I'm an inveterate car & bike guy. A guy there lost two pretty much priceless classic autos...one Rolls-Royce, one Mercedes-Benz (both ~1920's), because he was working on one of them in winter and it leaked gasoline, and the pilot light from his water heater in the garage ignited it, and everything...cars, garage, and most of his house, went up in flames. I remember that I got tears in my eyes when I read that article. Please be careful. Rick
I was just going to inquire about code compliance myself Rick, not to be a spoil sport. It does look nice and seems reasonable on the surface but Fossil asks legitimate questions with the ultimate reson in mind, personal safety, not to mention the bikes, v-dub, etc.
 
Nice. I just inquired with my insurance agent about putting my old Garrison stove in the garage. She said that State Farm would cancel our policy if they found out! The reason is along the lines of fossil's story - apparently too many people burn their places down...

I'm jealous you can have a stove in your garage!
 
Yeah, I do feel fortunate.

In reality, this isn't going to do the service the Resolute does, i.e. only occasional use. Just to knock the chill out of the air for the most part.

If I were really going to heat the space, I would have gone with something more substantial that would have set me back $1000 or more.

I have to say, though, that was nice to work on my old Vanagon Westfalia and not be able to see my breath.
 
When I worked on my old 3.0 Bavaria, also many early E21 320i, E28, E12, also VW 1200 and such, I would NEVER burn my garage wood burner. Way too much risk!!!!

I saved the wood burner for projects with NO explosive vapors or easily spilled fluids! I would also never store a vehicle, tractor, etc. in a garage with a fired up wood burner!

Burn safely and wisely.
 
fossil said:
Perhaps you can correct me if I'm wrong (which I frequently am), but it's my understanding that generally even in those jurisdictions which actually allow a solid fuel-burning appliance in a garage (or anyplace where there may be flammable/explosive vapors present), they at least require the appliance to be mounted 18" above the floor. Is this not the case where you live? Always looking to learn. About thirty years ago, when I lived in Albuquerque, there was an article in the paper that I've never forgotten, because I'm an inveterate car & bike guy. A guy there lost two pretty much priceless classic autos...one Rolls-Royce, one Mercedes-Benz (both ~1920's), because he was working on one of them in winter and it leaked gasoline, and the pilot light from his water heater in the garage ignited it, and everything...cars, garage, and most of his house, went up in flames. I remember that I got tears in my eyes when I read that article. Please be careful. Rick



Sure glad you posted that! I don't store gas or anything with a even partially full gas tank in there, but I've been trying to figure out where to stick my parts washer so I don't wind up with that exactly scenario (of course my projects would value at small fractions of the cars in there - but it'd still make me quite sad to loose either a modern car or antique tractor, or tools, or garage.....oooohhhhhh), and reading this thread it looks like my concerns aren't unfounded.

Guess, I'll be leaving the parts washer in the unheated building, or perhaps I can find a containment pan a few inches larger in every dimension. Actually, I think I saw a "non-flamable" washer solution once too. On the positive, with it warm out there I can ponder solutions without getting cold and jumping to premature conclusions!

bmwloco, I sure envey your set-up; Happy winter projects!
 
So the issue reall is the vaporization of fuel - IE bring in a cold car to work on it, the gasoline expands in the tank and the vapor pressure increases and it vented out - especially in older cars with less emmisions controls and with a less "closed loop" fuel system. I have a friend with a race shop that had the shop go up in flames from a kerosene heater and a fuel cell that was had been brought in the day before just from vaporizing.

I though this was addressed in the NFPA code somewhere, not sure if it is in 211, but I know NFPA states no solid fuel appliances in a garage.

In the last year I can think of at least two fires caused by wood stoves and fuel vapors just in the small area around where I live.

Please be careful, I would highly advise never using it when a vehicle is in the garage... sorry to be a party pooper.
 
NFPA 211 - 12.2.3 & 12.2.4 This standard is not law. The local Authority Having Jurisdiction can choose to adopt the standard or not. Most do. Rick
 
Yes, safety first!

I know two rural auto dealers that lost their stores due to wood and/or kerosene burners in their shops.

Their businesses, all assets and customers cars burned to the ground.

Safety first!
 
Rick - I understand it is not law, that it is a standard.. Experiance in the Fire Department here suggests it is about as good as law in court though..
 
moshiersr said:
Rick - I understand it is not law, that it is a standard.. Experiance in the Fire Department here suggests it is about as good as law in court though..

As it should be, IMO. Rick
 
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