Ideas for wall protection in a shop

[Heartwood]

I’m building a shop out back, duplicating what I had at the house we recently moved from. I heated it--and will heat--with an little old cookstove--you’ve seen them, they look like half a potbellied stove. For my purposes, it worked great. The shop is a kitchen where I cut venison for family/friends and make sausage, so the little stove, oak wood, and no insulation let me hold 60 deg right through some of the coldest parts of our PA winters while I’m out there cutting, listening to polkas and Waylon, and enjoying an occasional toddy. The floor is concrete and, yes, I run single wall through a clay insert, though the pipe hangs well away from inside and outside walls. Now let me throw this in before I get to my question so Elk and everyone else doesn’t get their drawers all twisted--I only burn while I’m in there, and the shop is 150 ft from my house.

Mounted to the corner walls behind my stove I had two 52” square pieces of 3/8” slate I’d inherited with the last house. Worked great for my scenario, never even warmed up. Well, in the move, one broke, and no one in my time zone sells slate or any other stone for that matter less than 1 ½” thick (can’t move/mount that stuff), nor as big in length/width as I need it. Nor can I locate any old chalkboards thick enough. Any ideas on a material that might be my next best bet? I have no experience with any type of metal shield, so haven’t even gone down that road. Bear in mind this is a sausage kitchen, so standard wall protectors are not an option as my budget out there is limited to used and fabricated. Again, this is your typical shop fireplace, and I understand any ideas under those circumstances would not be considered kosher in a living quarters--you needn’t qualify.

Since I explained the specs here, I’ll add another question I was going to throw out there soon. I know that little cookstove is going to give out sooner than later. Given what I’m doing, I anticipate replacing it with a $200 Vogelzang Boxwood stove. I know that’s a swear word here, but I’d had my hopes on it as an affordable replacement until I started reading here. In my application, can anyone restore my hope and concede that the stove has a place? Given that application, could that stove be any worse than a great grandfather’s cookstove, or am I missing more than the understandable objections of putting thin steel etc in a house? I’ll burn it fewer than 30 days a year.

I’m getting nervous that venison’s going to start showing up and I’ll have no heat, so any ideas, especially on the slate replacement, would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

 

[babalu87]

A piece of concrete board spaced off the wall 1"
Spacers = free if you can dig up a piece of copper pipe
Concrete board = cheap enough

 

[elkimmeg]

If you are willing to drive up to Ma., I will give you a stove that will be safe and last many more years and be a hell of a lot better than Vogelzang crap

 

[JohnnyBravo]

great grand fathers stove? its been kicking this long what makes you think its going to die any time soon? cement board yes. but steel has better reflective properties. i would consider hiting the scrap metel shop (if there is one neer by) and grab some 1/6 or 3/32 plate. i pay 50 cents a pound. when you get it home polish it up a it with grinders and sanders, then give it a rattle can clear coat. i would also sugest increasing the air space behind the sheild get some good air flow.

 

[restorer]

Because of the need for clean, I'd say stainless steel off-set from the wall an inch would work great. You could find it as scrap from a standard junk/metal yard, or find a dealer in used kitchen equipment, they have hoods and wall panels available that may be damaged or usable if modified. In years past I made a radiant heat deflector from a single "L" scrap from a commercial range hood. Boy did it change the heating in the shop.

As for the Vogel-burning-dragon, nix that idea. You can watch the classifieds, craigslist, and used second hand stores and find a better stove for less money. May not be the state of the art, but will do the job fine. Here there are currently at least 10 Fisher/BlazeKing/Timberline stoves for sale in the $200 range.

 

[eernest4]

hey heartwood. what's cooking.

I got what you ordered ritchere, with me.

Go 2 your local scrap metal yard and get some
2 ft x 8 ft sheet metal roofing panels. They have a really shiny mirror side and a duller side. Dont buy rusty ones, you need the mirror finish to help reflect most of the radiant heat.

If you dont find shiny ones, go to lowes home improvement and buy a new one for $17.oo

see if you can find an old hollow metal broom so that you can cut up the broom handle into 3 inch long pipes, no need to use expensive copper,sheet metal broom handle work just fine.

mops and other kitchen stuff and even a busted up snow shovel or aliunimum folding chair, why pay money for stuff you already got laying around for free.

If you have a busted metal awning or canope leg or the leg of a busted up metal folding chair or tv dinner table, these all good,dude.

ok worst case, go to family dollar and buy a new $2.oo broom to cut up.

Mainly, it a lot easier to cut a thin gague narrow diameter sheet metal pipe with a hacker saw,
excuse the pun, than to try to cut a 1/2 inch black steel plumbing pipe, which you could use if you really had to.

make 3inch stand offs, use hack saw, drill hole through sheet metal panel where you want to install long 4 inch screw or 4.5 inch or 5 inch screw. use a flat washer to keep the philips head tapered screw head from going thru the sheet metal. Yes long drywall philips head screws are what u need 2 make this mounting.

You figure out where you want put screws and how far apart & how many.

remember less screws = less work= miller time sooner.

I hope you have #2 philips bits to chuck into a variable speed reversing drill that runs geared down to 550 rpm. awesome tool you will use the rest of your life and have 2 hide from your friends.

www.cummingstools.com sell new 46.oo, that drill.

I build two wood sheds already with mostly just that drill and a 1971 circular saw my uncle leave me when he die and used 30.oo a panel stockade fencing for the walls. You have to cut the pointed tips off the stockade fence panel in order to made it look like a wall and mount it on to four -4x4x8 set 18inch in ground with cement at each coner. this called a
pole barn, i download plans off university of ct website back 2002
whole shed 8x8x6,5 high cost wooping 200.oo for all material inc roll roofing.

dont charge yourself 4 labor ,but maybe you want 2 buy your buddy a 6 pak beer and pack of smokes for helping you with assembly.

use 2x3x8 for roof rafters,16 in on center on else you want 2 pay double for stronger 2x4x8. RUN RAFTERS FROM SIDE 2 SIDE ON THE LEVEL, not end to end with the pitched 1 ft in 8 roof because then 8 ft 2 short need 9 ft 2x4. hypotinious of triangle longer, remember second yr high school geometry.

enough bs about pole barn.
back to rocket scientist heat shield for flash gordon's stove.

no want 2 spend 46.oo for that tool, use a #2 philips head screwdriver with replaceable bits, but NOT FROM chineese dollar store... but rather, black & decker from wal mart and buy a jar of hand blister creeme and something 2 keep your arms from cramping, maybe ben gay, those screws go in hard , the longer the screw the harder you need twist.
chineese bits stripe out before second screw done, i know because i bought them , thinking to save $2.95 of 2/3 rds of a gallon of gas, that red 04 celi gts only run on 95 octaine, 11.5 to 1
compression ratio,variable valve timing & lift, tracks like it on rails at 180mph, 6800rpm , but i chicken out, red line at 8300rpm that car I ONLY GO 70% throttle. It plenty red hot, sure nuf.
(see pic left side of post) bought & paid 4.



HINT; rub screw with bar of soap and loose 8 ft/lbs friction.
skin on your plams will thank you.


use 1/8 th in drill to make piolet holes for long screws. heat sheilds are mounted 2 or 3 inch off the wall. 3 inch if stove is close to shield and at least 1 or better 2inch off floor to allow cold air to get behinh the shield.

The back of the metal shield acts like a chimney because as the shield warms up, it will suck cold air off the floor and up the space between the shield and the wall and help cool the shied and also help distribute warm air throughout the room.

THe shield can be made freestanding , without screwing it into the wall, by bolting it onto two or 3three- 2x4's depending upon the length of shield required. you could use bolts flat washer and lock washer 4 this setup but phipip head drywall screw work too.

What i forget to say, i cant remember what i forgot. too busy finding keys to push on keyboard.

this su-k , talking easier.

ok , now i do, the screws go through the mounting holes you drilled inthe heat shield, the centers of the 3 in cut offs that u made for a broom handle and then into either the wall or the free standing 2x4 that i forgot 2 tell u 2 build feet on, so they can stand up right .

shield should extend 18 inch over the top of stove and 18 inch to each side of stove 3 in off walls and 3 inch off floor.

if i leave anything out ,you figure out what i meant. you can do it, even if i cant.

I need a cup of coffee & a cigarette after this post.
run the characters meter around 3 times .

buy a home depot englander or lowes summerheat stove epa rated, secondary combustion chamber with preheated primary and secondary air 1400 sq ft heating 795.oo

no smoke out chiminey with these stoves & can use old fashioned single wall black 6 inch,

wait until end of season clearance and take extra 100.oo off price, but you gotta check store every 2 days and be ready to pounce because every other skin flint waiting for that sale too.
if you see it buy it because it be gone tommorow. no restock on end of season sales, not until next sept.

i been down that road to the dead end turn around ,5 times.

 

[begreen]

There are lots of options here, the V-gang stove would be my last choice. I would suggest picking up a nice used stove instead. You should be able to find something in good shape for about $300. If you shop carefully, it will be in good condition and sized right. My first choice would be a Jotul box stove, like the 602. But a VC Aspen would work as well as the Jotul 118 or a Morso equivalent.

Heck, even a used steel stove would work better than a badly cast box stove. Just inspect it well so that you don't get a stove on its last legs. Also see if you can get a good deal on an Englander.

If this is a cost issue, wait until spring. You will find lots of used stoves then and could probably even find a nice new Englander at Home Depot for under $300 at that time.