Frozen Woodworker Seeking Advice

[WoodShrew]

Hello, this is my first post here and I am very thankful to have found this site full of folks who know what they are talking about, because I have discovered that I do not.

I'm a woodworker in Portland, Oregon and have very happily just moved into my own shop, just in time for the first cold snap of the changing season, I'm freezing my proverbial balls off.

I've been scrounging through CL for a used wood stove but I'm completely baffled in what qualities and quality of stove I should be seeking, there is just too much to chose from. My shop is roughly 1000sf with a concrete floor and a hearth and flue already in place. The flue ports out the wall (please pardon my terminology, I'm new here) at about 4' high. I work primarily with very dense hardwoods and would be burning lots of small offcuts. I work long days and it's getting pretty darn cold so I can't let myself end up with something janky that I will end up burning out in a few months of hard use.

I am currently bartering with two folks selling stoves, one is a Federal Airtight in fabulous condition and the other is an Earthstove Blaze Princess also in great condition (my dad had one just like it when I was little). Are either of these good candidates for my shop? In your individual opinions what should I be looking for and would you have any brand/style/age choices for such a space?

Thank you very much for your time and advice.
Kate

 

[bholler]

Check with your insurance company many will not allow an open flame in a wood shop which is why mine has a pellet stove in it it qualifies a sealed unit plus it keeps thing at a relatively constant temp so i don't get condensation and rust on all my equipment

 

[blades]

Out there on the left coast some areas have fairly stringent emmissions requirements. so you might want to check that out as well. As far as stoves go - you didn't list a pricing factor, so can't make much comment. New stoves solid performers, Englander and Drolet. both companies stoves represent about the best bang for the buck.

 

[mass_burner]

What are the walls /ceiling made of, are they insulated at all?

 

[dafattkidd]

Hey Kate, welcome to the forum. Knowing your budget would be helpful. Also what is the height and diameter of the existing chimney? Different stoves have different chimney requirements. Scrap wood is great for burning, but you're also going to need some cord wood. What is your intended use of the stove? Will you only run it while in the shop (8-10 hour work days) or are you hoping to keep the place warm 24/7? The reason I ask is if you have a woodworking shop, you may need consistent heat to keep the projects from warping over night during the cold months (and hot months for that matter). Either way you've come to the right place. We will help you sort this out and keep your proverbial balls from freezing off.

 

[begreen]

In OR it is illegal to install a non-EPA stove, but fortunately there is a modestly priced new stove that should work out here, the Englander 13NC. It sells for about $650 at big box lumber stores or you can order it online.

 

[WoodShrew]

Thanks for all of the replies, I am getting quite a thorough education here.

I rent my property and my wood shop is an unattached outbuilding. My landlords have approved my request to install my own stove where the previous one was, I have no idea what their insurance dictates other than knowing the previous stove was an HCI box stove. The hearth area is quite large (at least 45"x45") with a brick surround. The wall behind is timber frame with no insulation (probably part of the reason it's so damn cold). The chimney port is basically a four inch round hole with a type b pipe protruding on either side.

This is not going to be a pretty installation guys. I get a sense of where you are all coming from, like a novice woodworker asking me to show them how to do pocket screws and my reaction being to tell them not to use pocket screws at all because it's crap and not how it "should" be done. You guys clearly are professionals, but please help me with the knowledge that a pocket screw solution is what i can afford and do in a timely manner. Even a pocket screwed chair will do when you have nowhere else to sit.

I don't want to be forced to build a rocket stove out of coffee cans and instructions from a YouTube video, but I'm that cold and every hour warming up in my house, or waiting longer for cold glue to dry or a mistake I make from cold fingers and brains is money I'm not making, if not losing.

I can afford around $300 for my heating solution altogether. Sourcing materials from the Portland Rebuilding Center will help a lot, they always have type b vents and such in stock, as well as brick, ceramic tile and more that I imagine could be useful.

I would like to stick with a wood burning stove both because they are cheaper and because I'm throwing away wood daily. I already have about a cord and a half of seasoned beech and fir to burn this winter. In the spring I will likely be helping my landlords with further updating if the building, including new insulation and interior walls, but for now I just need to make it through the winter.

Thanks guys, I've learned so much already. Hope you are all staying warm today!

 

[begreen]

Pictures of inside and outside flue would help. 99% of woodstoves do not connect to a 4" pipe. Are you sure it's not 5 or 6" ID? Type B pipe is not meant for wood stoves at all. Sounds like this was set up for a gas or propane stove instead?

Is there decent electric in this shop? If yes, an electric heater may be the safest, cheapest way to get heat going soon. Our power is relatively cheap here.

 

[WoodShrew]

Yes, I think you all are likely right. I'm so cold I'm not being very realistic. I'll look at getting a space heater to get me by long enough to do this larger project correctly. Though imagining the cost of electricity is making me cringe, more worrisome is a fire danger.

Please keep the advice coming.

 

[bholler]

Get a cheap direct vent gas or propane heater there and hook it up with the b vent you can hook it up to a thermostat. And i was a custom cabinet maker for years before i became a sweep and you cant let the sho go totally cold overnight you glue and finish will go bad you will have rust on everything and it just sucks i would go gas or pellet

 

[begreen]

The safest, as long as the outlets are protected (fused or circuit breaker) correctly will be electric. If you can bring the shop up to 55F it will be reasonably comfortable for working with a jacket or sweatshirt as long as you are active. A pair of $20 milk room heaters on separate circuits should do the job. Turn them on an hour before you enter the shop.

Post some pics of the current setup so that we can better see what is there.

 

[dafattkidd]

The safest, as long as the outlets are protected (fused or circuit breaker) correctly will be electric. If you can bring the shop up to 55F it will be reasonably comfortable for working with a jacket or sweatshirt as long as you are active. A pair of $20 milk room heaters on separate circuits should do the job. Turn them on an hour before you enter the shop.

Post some pics of the current setup so that we can better see what is there.

Do you think milk heaters would have enough btus to heat 1,000 sf of uninsulated space? That seems like a tall order. What kind of outside temps are you experiencing now and expecting this winter? 1,000 sf on a slab with no wall (and I'm sure no ceiling) insulation sounds like the heating requirements of a much larger space. As you said though, 55 is comfortable working temps, but you can't go too much colder if your building furniture or cabinets. Kate, what's your plan for the overnights?

 

[sportbikerider78]

For $300 bones, you gotta go used. If all you have is $300, then you have to go wood, because to stock pellets, you'll have to spend $250+ per ton. Even though, a pellet stove is def your best bet to keep the temperature relatively constant.

Why not trade someone with a decent stove for something you can make them in your shop? I just sold a woodstove, but would have happily traded for $1000 worth of custom furniture!

If it was me and I was freezing, I'd go get one of those $40 propane heaters that just screw onto the top of a propane tank....just to get things warmer for a short period of time.