good basic stove for small barn

[fishboat]

Hi..haven't been here in a while..but still enjoying the stove I put in a few years ago..toasty in here right now.

This forum was a GREAT help in figuring out my last install, but I have a different application in mind this time.

I have a friend with a small barn, 1000 sq ft with a dormer-style roof. It's new stick-built, walls are insulated, but the building isn't insulated or air tight to a new home standard. Sits on a concrete foundation/floor. The building is in the UP Mich.

Can anyone offer any suggestions (make/model) on a good reasonably efficient free-standing wood stove to install in the barn? Inexpensive, used, good quality, no frills or high end finishes really needed(though if they go along for the ride..it's fine), not a smoking dragon.

There are no animals, but there may be a shop, working area, and there is a greenhouse in one section. I'm guessing a bit oversized(?) at ~70kbtu wouldn't be much of an issue as the building has more leaks than a home. This will be a fire the stove while you're in there & no heat while you're not application.

thx..

 

[begreen]

Englander 30NC or Drolet Myriad (Legend or Austral). If the barn has a wood floor be sure to set the stove up on a proper hearth.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Problem with an EPA stove like the 30 is by the time it heats the place your likely to be leaving.I have one in a small shop 18 x 24 and it takes a long time to warm up the place. In an occasional use situation like this i would use one of my 2 different Shop made stoves for quick heat, or my "longwood" commercially made stove. None of these are EPA but all give a lot of very quick heat and since i dont smolder them they burn pretty clean.
My shop made stoves are a double barrel heater from a kit and one i built from an old 275 Gal oil tank.
Quick heat and EPA do not always coincide.

 

[fishboat]

Thanks for the ideas..options to look into.

What kind of safe/inexpensive(if that's possible) piping would be used in a barn/shop application? Emphasis on safe...

thx..

 

[begreen]

Start with the DuraTech or Selkirk installation manual and pick out the best chimney support for your installation.

http://www.duravent.com/Product.aspx?hProduct=1

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I wouldn't skimp on the chimney. It makes or breaks the stove installation.

How long is the owner planning to be in the barn? 1000 square feet is going to need lots of convection and time to be heated with wood from the -XXF that the UP sees. I think I'd go with something like this:

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I use a propane torpedo style heater for quick heat in a cold shop sometime. Used to use kerosene type but too smelly. A good compromise may be propane for quick heat and an wood stove for longer stays in the shop,of course its a lot easier to keep the shop warm after its already heated.

 

[fishboat]

S.O. I use the quick heat(propane)/maintenance heat(two oil radiators) routine in my current shop..works well.

Are there any issues firing a cold steel or cast iron stove in an unheated space(remember UP Mich in winter)? Besides the pipe being full of ice cold air, I assume one should start the stove fairly slowly to let the steel warm up a bit before it gets hot. Yes?..how slow?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

S.O. I use the quick heat(propane)/maintenance heat(two oil radiators) routine in my current shop..works well.

Are there any issues firing a cold steel or cast iron stove in an unheated space(remember UP Mich in winter)? Besides the pipe being full of ice cold air, I assume one should start the stove fairly slowly to let the steel warm up a bit before it gets hot. Yes?..how slow?

I dont have anything cast iron,just plate steel. Haven't had any problems in 5+ years doing so. Im talking from about 30-40 degrees, rarely colder than that here in the shop. I do like the wood stove as it provides several functions,i generate a fair amount of scrap wood that needs disposal beside the need for heat. If im in the shop more than an hour i light the wood stove,less than an hour the propane is a better option. If its really cold, i do both

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I don't think I'd worry about a steel stove unless you were looking at -40, which is possible in the UP. I've heard metal cracks really easily at those temps and I'd hate to see a fire get loose. Luckily a welder could put the stove back together if need be.

Matt