Double barrel wood stove DIY plans?

[jaded13640]

Hi, I'm Wayne.

New to the forum.

I do auto repair in my barn and need way more heat than my little old wood stove puts out. I've done a little reading about the double barrel wood stoves and am very interested.

I don't want to buy a kit. I want to build it entirely of pieces and parts I have laying around. I'll need to find one more barrel but I have one that's in really good shape, a gob of steel and angle iron and pipe. The only thing I don't have is a door. I may be able to pilfer the one off my wood stove to use on the barrel stove.

I know the basic premise from watching vids online. Two barrels stack on top of one another with a pipe connecting the two. I want to make it so that it's as high off the floor as I can get it while keeping it stable.

I'll be needing specific info like, for example, what is best dimension between the two barrels? And I read that the barrels typically don't last very long but that certain types of barrels are thicker than others. One guy was saying that resin barrels are easily twice as thick as oil barrels. I'm guessing if you had one thicker one and one thinner one the best place to put the thinner one would be on top. It seems like I saw one clip where the guy had a flue between the two barrels as well as in the stack going up and out. I'm not sure what the benefit would be other than maybe keeping some coals going overnight so you don't have to start a fresh fire from scratch every single morning. I usually work till late in the evening and then start early the next morning. My business is like many others, feast or famine. When I have work I work 12 to 15 hours a day for as long as I have work and then may go a couple or even a few days with little or nothing. Keeping a few coals going till morning is a plus for me.

So I would like to talk to some people that have built them and learn what has worked well and what hasn't. I'm a welder/fabricator/machinist so making anything I need for the project isn't an issue.

Thanks in advance,

Wayne

 

[SteveKG]

I realize you want to build it all; if you decide to compromise, the door kits for these stoves are available. I believe I saw them last year in a Lehman's catalogue, but it might've been somewhere else. You could at least look at the photos of them to get an idea. I believe the door kit is cast iron. And, of course, re-usable.

 

[Owen1508]

I used a kit to build one but I fileted the top barrel and fabbed a grill in it to use it as a smoker. The kit was so much easier and cheaper (~$120). It does have a flue connection between the barrels with a hand damper in the collar to help control the temp and smoke as you referred to. I will try to up load some pics later for you..

EDIT: I used it all summer and some surface rust on the barrel that I have touched up (I leave it uncovered outside) The insides are still very good. I lined the bottom barrel with sand then laid firerbrick on top of the sand. Worked well so far.

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/NTESearch?storeId=6970&ipp=24&Ntt=barrell+stove+kit

These work good too!

 

[Owen1508]

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/NTESearch?storeId=6970&ipp=24&Ntt=barrell+stove+kit

These work good too!

That's pretty much the one I used.

 

[Jags]

No doubt that these setups can produce gobs of heat. Make sure you are as safety minded as possible when it comes to the location of this stove. Clearance to combustibles needs to be at least 3 ft for an unlabeled stove. With this beast I would even suggest exceeding that.

 

[jaded13640]

Other than one barrel I've got almost everything I need.

owen1508, what is the distance between the upper and lower barrels and what is the diameter of the pips connecting the two?

Wayne

 

[Owen1508]

Other than one barrel I've got almost everything I need.

owen1508, what is the distance between the upper and lower barrels and what is the diameter of the pips connecting the two?

Wayne

I'll have to measure the distance between the two when I get home. The ID of the connector is 6"

 

[Owen1508]

Ok got a few that happened to be on the phone. They are taken during the build process

 

[Owen1508]

This is when the top is just laying on the bottom half. No hinges yet

 

[Simonkenton]

This is a double barrel stove from one of the great old time companies, Sozt. I had one of these 30 years ago, what a great stove. One barrel was rated at 150,000 btu, and with the second barrel on top rated at 250,000 btu. I believe these numbers were accurate because the Sotz double drum stove really cranked out the heat!

Too bad Sotz went out of business several decades ago, or I would just urge you to buy the Sotz kit.
What a huge fire box! The door is 11 inches by 11 inches, and the fire box it 32 inches long. This bad boy doesn't care if the wood is dry, or green. Get a good bed of coals in there, load it up with 2 armloads of firewood, and you will get an all night burn, and then some.

It is pretty simple to make this stove so I'd imagine you can do it yourself.

It is a fallacy that the barrels burn out after a short while. I had my Sotz for five years and the barrels were as good as new. The point is to make an airtight stove and to control the air intake so that the metal never glows cherry red. I have spoken to Sotz owners who had their stoves for 18 years and the barrels were still good.

If you decide to go retro, if you will dig around on ebay and craigslist nationwide, in a few months you will find somebody selling a brand new Sotz kit, 30 years old new in box. Good luck!

I am building an addition to the log cabin next year and I would like to put a single barrel Sotz in there. Couldn't put in a double barrel, it would blow me out of the room.

But, the fiancee hates the Sotz stoves! Go figure. So, it will be a Jotul Oslo for me.


And here it is! Here's a guy in Illinois with new in box Sotz double drum kit, from 1982.

(broken link removed to http://stlouis.craigslist.org/wan/4639588444.html)

I know, you said you want to build it yourself, but if you want to have a double drum stove, rigged up and ready to burn in about one hour, this is the deal for you.

One advantage of buying this Sotz kit is you get instructions on how to use the stove. As I said above, number one control that air intake and never let the stove get cherry red.
Also, you need to not burn the fire directly on the metal. One trick is to put 3 inches of sand in the stove to keep the fire off of the steel.
Also, you need to clean the stove out every spring. If you leave the ashes and sand in there all summer, moisture will accumulate and rust out the drum.
In April, take the stove apart, take it outside and get all the sand and ashes out, Not a bad idea to oil it down, I am talking about the lower drum only, that is where the fire is.
It is easy to take apart the double drum stove because the assembled lower drum only weighs about 25 pounds.

Whatever you do, good luck! Post pics of your completed stove.

 

[jaded13640]

Ok, most of the pics and plans I've seen have the pipe connecting the lower barrel to the upper one in the front and the smoke stack coming out of the back of the upper. Wouldn't the system flow/ draft better if the connector pipe was in the back and the smoke stack was to the front of the upper?

I found some good barrels and am about to start building today. I've been tied up with my repair business and part of that was re-roofing my workshop.

Thanks,

Wayne

 

[Owen1508]

Ok, most of the pics and plans I've seen have the pipe connecting the lower barrel to the upper one in the front and the smoke stack coming out of the back of the upper. Wouldn't the system flow/ draft better if the connector pipe was in the back and the smoke stack was to the front of the upper?

I found some good barrels and am about to start building today. I've been tied up with my repair business and part of that was re-roofing my workshop.

Thanks,

Wayne

I think that is correct.. I put the connector collar to the rear, I didn't install a smoke stack on the upper barrel, If I were I would put it in the front

 

[jaded13640]

I think that is correct.. I put the connector collar to the rear, I didn't install a smoke stack on the upper barrel, If I were I would put it in the front

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure if I understand what you said about not installing the stack on the upper barrel. Do you mean you just didn't or just didn't YET?

Thanks,

Wayne

 

[Owen1508]

Just didn't, thought about it, but I have cooked on it all summer and it works great without it. I did though put a hand damper in between the barrels

 

[Simonkenton]

Yes, the little pipe connecting the two barrels needs to be in the back, and the stack going out of the top barrel needs to be in front.

 

[jaded13640]

I started building yesterday. I'm sacrificing my old wood stove for the parts. I've got the door off and mounted to the removable lid for the lower barrel.

I'm using the base by adding little angle iron brackets. Should I build something to support the lower barrel along the bottom? The brackets will make contact with the barrel at about 8 and 4 o'clock. Or possibly better put, maybe a little less than 30 degrees up each side of the diameter.

I've got a bunch of heat bricks to line the inside of the lower barrel. If I can find some sand I'll use it, if not I'll just use the bricks. It'll be a pain to clean out but not the end of the world.

So I've got a base, a door, a connector/collar for the vent stack, vent stack and pipe for the connector between the lower and upper barrels.

I scavenged a piece of pipe from the neighbor's scrap pile for the connector pipe between the upper and lower barrels. It's about 7" OD but really thick wall. It looks to be about 1/8" thick wall. He's got another piece out there that I could use instead that I think was about 5 1/2" OD, same wall thickness. Which would be better?

Anxiously awaiting a reply regarding the connector pipe as that has to be the next step because I'm welding it solid. I would prefer to make the connection and supports prior to welding the lower barrel to the base mainly so that I can adjust to get it straight up and down.

One last question, would there be any benefit in putting a damper flue between the two barrels? I haven't seen any kits that include one nor have I seen any like that but it's just something I wondered about. It probably wouldn't be very beneficial for heating purposes but it might be useful for keeping a little bed of coals going overnight. It's nice to be able to come into the shop in the morning, throw some kindling in, quirt a little drain oil an it and have a roaring fire in a few minutes. My only other source of heat in the shop is a salamander and I HATE using a salamander unless I have no other choice.

I just finished getting the roofing panels replaced on the shop last weekend so at least now there's no water running in every time it rains. All that's left to do to the roof is the corner trim on the gables. Next will be insulation. THEN maybe I'll install a propane furnace just for thse times when I have a quick job and it's not worth the effort of lighting the stove. Again, I REALLY hate salamanders. Even when using good grade kerosene, they stink and are noisy as hell. HATE HATE HATE it! But, I have to admit it's better than freezing my cahonies off! But not my much. LOL

Thanks for all your help guys, past and current.

Wayne

 

[Owen1508]

One last question, would there be any benefit in putting a damper flue between the two barrels? I haven't seen any kits that include one nor have I seen any like that but it's just something I wondered about. It probably wouldn't be very beneficial for heating purposes but it might be useful for keeping a little bed of coals going overnight. It's nice to be able to come into the shop in the morning, throw some kindling in, quirt a little drain oil an it and have a roaring fire in a few minutes. My only other source of heat in the shop is a salamander and I HATE using a salamander unless I have no other choice.



Thanks for all your help guys, past and current.

Wayne

I did and it helped a lot

 

[jaded13640]

I did and it helped a lot

How did it help?

You're using yours as a barbeque grill right? I need to know if it will help me using it as a heater.

 

[Owen1508]

As a smoker yeah.....It allowed me to slow the burn on it by limiting the air flow to the top barrel. Mine was a 100% solid damper don't know if they are still readily avail. as the EPA like MFG to only sell the 80% ones now. Now I wanted it to smoke a lot too. I'd imagine it would do the same as a heater. I would also add one on the smoke stack too. for even more control. you'll want the top barrel to reach secondary burn temps to produce more BTU's

 

[Simonkenton]

You are going to weld the connector pipe to both barrels? That would be a mistake, because you need to take the barrels apart.

 

[Owen1508]

You are going to weld the connector pipe to both barrels? That would be a mistake, because you need to take the barrels apart.

Agreed Yeah I bolted and RTV'd it

 

[jaded13640]

You are going to weld the connector pipe to both barrels? That would be a mistake, because you need to take the barrels apart.

Take them apart for what? Cleaning? My barrels have removable lids. Cleaning and service will be easy because of that. Again, I'm building this out of scraps and existing pieces scavanged from the my old stove. The barrels are abundant and only 10 bucks a piece. Replacing them if necessary isn't a big deal. Very little cost. Other than my time and welding wire I'm just using scraps I have laying around that probably would have eventually ended up in the scrap yard anyway.

I've already welded them in. I needed an answer to the questions about what distance between barrels and which diameter pipe would work best. But when I didn't get them I had little choice but to procede. It's getting cold and I have to have heat if I'm going to stay in business.

I'm getting ready to attach the piece that connects the vent stack to the upper barrel. Since it was attached to a flat surface and the barrels are rounded I'll have to make a decision. Either build something to attach the connector to the rounded surface or attach the piece to the end of the barrel where it's flat. I would think that if it's attached to the end high up it would still flow well and be a much easier job than building something to stick out of the top.

So, would it work ok if attached it to the end of the barrel? I could then just connect an elbo to it going up.

Also, I was thinking about the possible benefit of building baffles in the upper barrel. Not enough to restrict flow too much but enough to keep more heat in the upper barrel and waste less heat by it just going up and out the vent.

Have any of you done this? If so, tell me what you did and if you think it helped generate more heat. I'm trying to heat a massive building so even though these things make a gob of heat, I'm fighting a bit of a loosing battle given the size of the building and the amount of air that can get in via cracks and gaps here and there around the building. The more heat I can make this thing make the better.

Owen, question. Even high temp RTV would melt wouldn't it? What type of RTV did you use that sealed it but didn't melt or burn off? I guess high temp RTV would probably hold up a while, I've used it in place of header gaskets on the race car. But in that situation it's just a paper thin layer sanwiched between two flat surfaces. It would burn off and blow out in an instant if used to just plug a leak. JB weld would work good in that sort of situation. I've heard of some stuff that is like a putty that can tolerate intense heat but can't recall what it is. It was recommended to use around where the stack goes though the building. No matter how careful you are you're never going to get a perfect fit there and those round trim pieces don't really seal well, they just mostly keep rain out. Can anyone think of what that stuff is?

I'm headed out there now to work on it. I need the answers right away to be useful. Otherwise it'll be too late and already done one way or the other.

I'll have my laptop out in the shop so I can check for replies so I'll check back in about an hour. It's 11:11 am EST right now.

Thanks,

Wayne

 

[jaded13640]

Well, I'm at the point where I have to connect the stack coller. Be it to the top of the upper barrel or the end. I really NEED the answer now. Like I said it's getting cold and I've got the shop pretty much completely tied up with this project. So if someone knows if attaching the coller to the end of the barrel will work...or if it just wont, now is the time.

Wayne

 

[jaded13640]

Nothing huh? Damn....

Whatever...

I thought I post my progress.

I made a flange that the stack coller attaches to. All I have left to do is weld that on and hook up the stack.

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I'm not sure what the problem is with the pics. I've always used photobucket and it's not working here. Oh well.