Replacing Smoke Dragon In Work Shop?

[embers aplenty]

Hello fellow burners. Got a question or two that I'd like to throw at you. I have in the last couple of years converted from a smoke dragon to a Quadrafire Yosemite woodstove in my small house with and insulated liner which I thouroughly enjoy and have learned much from this forum.

I still have a big Grandma Fisher in my shop which is hooked up to an 8" triple wall chimney which is only about 3 years old. "Replaced it with a roof install previously." The granny fish does the job well as far as heat goes but burns a lot of wood and is a dirty burner. I would like to convert to a better clean burning stove in the near future so I won't smoke the whole neighborhood up. I don't really want to spend such a big wad of loot on a shop stove but I want to get something that is user friendly, with long burns, with a 3 cu ft. or bigger fire box.

I would kind of like to get something with an 8" flue instead of a 6 so I won't have to use an adapter. An Englander 30NC would be great I'm sure and the price is right at a grand or less but they only have a 6" flue right? A Blaze King "King" would be great but unless I could find a used one, that would be pretty pricey.

Do you all know of any unexpensive stoves that have an 8" flue that would fit my bill. My shop is 25' x 30'. Would the Englander 30NC work ok with a 6" to 8" adapter? I've got time so if anything rings a bell on this, a good used stove would be ok with me. Much Abliged. Going to saw up a hickory that fell on the power lines a few weeks ago. Should be a good scrounge.

 

[mellow]

Just a thought but if you are handy how about visiting the Everything Fisher forum and make that Grandma burn cleaner. Would be alot cheaper than buying a new stove.

 

[Jags]

For the most part an EPA stove that is big and uses an 8" exhaust = pricey.

The 30 with an adapter is probably gonna be your lowest dollar bang for buck on a new stove. Or as you stated, the used market or even the mods that Mellow is talking about. Be aware - insurance companies can be picky about modding stoves. Just say'in if there was ever a problem it might be a tough battle.

 

[begreen]

How tall is the flue on this chimney? If it's tall enough, say 15' or higher it should work ok with an adapted 30NC. That should make a big difference in fuel consumption. So would adding insulation to the shop, if the wall's and ceiling are not already insulated.

 

[pen]

Like BG said, if the chimney is tall enough I think you'll be alright. Especially if it goes straight up from the stove and through the roof. If it goes out through the wall, and then up, it will be reduced a bit but may still work. I operated my 30 on a larger than normal chimney for a year and it didn't do badly. However, I do like it better on the appropriate flue now.

Also, how often is this shop heated? If it's heated every day, or full time, or during the work week, etc, then I'd definately do the upgrade to a new unit. If this is an occasional weekend heater, and you are trying to heat a stone cold shop (especially if it is good sized) up to temp in short order, then I'd stick w/ the fisher and consider making a baffle for it.

My 30 will heat the house every bit as well as my old grandma could, but the grandma could get the place hotter faster. That difference may be important depending on how you use your shop.

pen

 

[BrowningBAR]

As others have mentioned, the 30 is the cheapest way to go, and should be okay with a 8" liner with a good setup. I'd give it a shot.

 

[JeffRey30747]

I'm burning my 30 on a 7" square masonry flue about 35' high (basement install on 2 story home w/ 9-12 pitch roof). I've only done a few warm weather break in fires so far but it doesn't look like I'm going to have any major issues with insufficient or excessive draft.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

3 cu ft stove sounds good but how much heat do you need for 750 sq ft?

 

[embers aplenty]

Thanks for the advice and info. My shop is just a block building with insulation over head only. The Fisher is good for getting qwick heat which is good for starting out cold turkey most of the time. A baffle might not be a bad idea since I already have the Fish.

I take spells on keeping a fire burning. I would probably keep it going more if it didn't burn so much wood and burned cleaner. But you know how it goes. When you choke it down for a slower burn even with good dry wood, then here comes the smoke.

If anyone runs across a good link for fabbing a baffle for a Grandma, then do post it for me if you would. Thanks!
Knowing what I know now, I would probably have stayed with a 6" flue but it's already in and near new, so I guess I'll stay with it.

 

[mellow]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...d-fisher-more-heat-less-smoke-under-25.74710/

 

[pen]

Here's what I did

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...er-stove-updated-with-2ndary-burn-idea.28006/

I played around w/ leaving it a full baffle, removing bricks from the side, etc. It didn't effect draft any but did heat up parts of the stove a bit more than I liked. You can read though that thread for more details if you like. I think if I were to try and do it again, I'd make it a bit shorter so that it didn't come as far forward into the stove and I think it would have not overheated things as much when loaded right up.

pen