Garage Stoves

[SlyFerret]

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly why wood burners are not allowed to be installed in garages.
http://www2.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/stat...er_killed_in_flash_fire_at_ohio_garage/32054/

-SF

 

[firefighterjake]

Tragic . . . .

 

[ironpony]

just came back into the office and seen this was going to post but you already did
an accident that could of been avoided
prayers to the familys

 

[Fsappo]

Thats a very very sad story. I hope it gets a lot of press..maybe it will help people avoid this in the future

 

[cmonSTART]

Very sad indeed.

I once had a pool of gas light off due to a propane hot water heater installed where I was working. The heater was sitting on the floor and I guess the vapors just reached the pilot. Whoosh it went.

 

[SlyFerret]

It really is very sad. I know I've tried to explain to people in the past (coworkers, etc..) about not installing stoves in garages. I'm guessing all of you have too.

I reached out to the TV station that I linked to there, and told them they might want to mention that it was a code violation.

I'm concerned that this will turn into a "wood stoves are dangerous" type thing among the general public instead of a "always make sure you follow codes" message.

-SF

 

[JotulOwner]

I know someone who has been a knowledgeable wood burner for 30 plus years with a nice stove in his garage. I am not condoning this practice, but I have to believe that the mere fact that it is a garage is not the real issue. The contents of the garage are the real issue. If your garage has no stove related concerns while the stove is in use, and not a code violation, why shouldn't you be able to have one?

 

[Flatbedford]

If your garage has no stove related concerns while the stove is in use, and not a code violation, why shouldn't you be able to have one?

If you are not planning on being in an accident, there is no reason to wear your seatbelt either.

 

[JotulOwner]

If your garage has no stove related concerns while the stove is in use, and not a code violation, why shouldn't you be able to have one?

If you are not planning on being in an accident, there is no reason to wear your seatbelt either.

I guess you missed the part about "no stove related concerns" (FOR EXAMPLE, FLAMABLE MATERIALS LIKE GASOLINE ETC THAT MIGHT NOT BE PRESENT IN THE HOME).

Sorry for yelling, but I wanted to make sure you understood what I meant by NO STOVE RELATED CONCERNS AS IN AN EMPTY STRUCTURE WITHOUT ANY FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS OR GASSES

 

[Flatbedford]

I guess its hard for me to imagine a garage without flammable materials in it at some time or other. Vehicles tend to leave that sort of stuff around unexpectedly from time to time. I wouldn't want to be surprised by the unexpected. To each his own.

 

[quads]

If there was that much gasoline sloshing around the garage, sounds to me like it wasn't only the fault of the woodstove. If there were enough vapors that the stove could light it off, then any other spark could have done it too. I think it's more a case of spilling gasoline in a garage that wasn't well ventilated and being unfortunate enough to have an ignition source right there. The local Chevrolet garage burned down years ago under similar unfortunate circumstances. One of the mechanics was working on a gas tank, had gasoline all over the floor, then dropped the trouble light. When the bulb shattered, KABOOM! It happens. The mechanic was burned pretty bad, but survived. The building was severely damaged. A code regulating the use of trouble lights in garages probably would have prevented it. It's just one of those freak things that people have to be careful with and use their brains whenever possible.

 

[cre73]

I hope I don't rock the boat to much with these comments. It is unfortunate what happened and I pray for their families. I personally heat my shop with wood and there are flammable fluids located in the shop away from the stove. There is also a cutting torch, mig welder and an arc welder. I have used all these devices for years and never had an issue, and hope it never happens. But sometimes things happen that can't be explained, as said above it could easily of been a hot water heater or a trouble light that caused the problem. The wood stove isn't the culprit here unless it was located to close to a work area.

 

[djamwolfe]

I had a friend who wanted to install a small EPA stove in his garage and of course the building inspector told him it was against code due to the possibility of fumes of flammable liquids.
A bit dissapointed he started looking around for other sources of heat and found a good deal on one of those blue flame wall mounted heaters. He called the building dept. to check to see if that was ok and they told him it was just fine. Makes you wonder why one flame is safer than another.

Devon

 

[quads]

I hope I don't rock the boat to much with these comments. It is unfortunate what happened and I pray for their families. I personally heat my shop with wood and there are flammable fluids located in the shop away from the stove. There is also a cutting torch, mig welder and an arc welder. I have used all these devices for years and never had an issue, and hope it never happens. But sometimes things happen that can't be explained, as said above it could easily of been a hot water heater or a trouble light that caused the problem. The wood stove isn't the culprit here unless it was located to close to a work area.

+1

It's perfectly legal here to heat your garage with a woodstove. There are more garages around here being heated with wood than houses. Even people that don't heat their house with wood have a stove in the garage. I'd be willing to bet money that more cars burn garages down than woodstoves. It's all about knowing what you're getting yourself into. If you can smell gasoline coming from your car, park it outside until you can fix the leak. And don't try to fix the leak in the gas tank until the weather is warmer and you can let fire in the stove go out. Gasoline leaks don't just all of a sudden go WHOOSH and spill all over the floor. It's a gradual thing that, by the smell alone, gives plenty of warning.

I'd be more worried about the propane being piped all through my house in the aging lines, with aging pipe fittings, hooked up to the aging appliances. That type of leak, under pressure, could all of a sudden go WHOOSH.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

If there was that much gasoline sloshing around the garage, sounds to me like it wasn't only the fault of the woodstove. If there were enough vapors that the stove could light it off, then any other spark could have done it too. I think it's more a case of spilling gasoline in a garage that wasn't well ventilated and being unfortunate enough to have an ignition source right there. The local Chevrolet garage burned down years ago under similar unfortunate circumstances. One of the mechanics was working on a gas tank, had gasoline all over the floor, then dropped the trouble light. When the bulb shattered, KABOOM! It happens. The mechanic was burned pretty bad, but survived. The building was severely damaged. A code regulating the use of trouble lights in garages probably would have prevented it. It's just one of those freak things that people have to be careful with and use their brains whenever possible.

I had a friend mechanic die in much the same way in his detached garage where he worked (no wood stove involved). Nearest they can tell (he was alone in the garage at the time) the trouble light fell and broke and ignited solvent in a parts cleaning tray. Unfortunately he did what most of us guys would have done, he stuck around trying to put it out, they found him in the back room lying on the ground. He died from suffocation from fumes, not the fire itself.
Quads is right, a lot more dangerous to have flammable liquids sloshing around in a garage than a wood stove, as ANY spark can ignite stuff like that, even dropping a metal tool on a cement floor can spark and ignite spilled gas.
I say if you want to ban something, ban flammable, vapourous liquids in garages, that makes more sense.

 

[RonB]

I tend to believe any type of ignition device would have lit up the gas fumes. The gas fumes created by their gas tank repair was the dangerous element in the tragedy. Apparently, the job didn't go well. The victim was washing gas out of his eyes. That leads me to believe that gas was spilled on the floor. I recently had a car that needed to have the gas tank dropped in order to replace the fuel pump. I had considered doing the job myself, but only outside. The repair book even suggested using a brass driver/chisel to prevent sparks when removing the fuel pump. I procrastinated long enough (tough job and the flammability factor) and finally just traded the car in.

 

[slindo]

So just how do you heat a garage? It seems to me any source of heat except maybe an electric heater with low density elements could be a potential source of ignition. I remember one old timer who had been heating his garage/body shop with a wood stove telling me the secret was to keep the heater well off the floor level, since fumes tended to pool in the lowest spot, and raising the heater a few feet off the floor could gain time to get the door open and air out the place, or just to get out. Those ceiling mounted unit heaters, be they electric, oil, or gas might be particularly good in this regard. But I haven's seen one yet that burns wood!

 

[rustynut]

it's not the stove............
Had a great uncle who was a gas tanker driver, got a bit too comfortable being around gasoline.
Cleaning up with it one day, he flipped the lite switch on.
That little spark was all it took.
Carelessness, not the wood stove.
rn

 

[Boom]

Thank you for posting this thread. My grandfather, a carpenter in the day before electricians or plumbers, admonished me for cleaning with gasoline. He once started a fire by dropping his screwdriver next to a small puddle of it. It probably took me at 14, well over 50 tries before I could light gas with a screwdriver.

I am planning to install a Harman Advance pellet stove in my walk out basement. I also want to display my Morgan (automobile) and a fancy motorcycle during the winter down there. I now plan on doing a thorough under-hood cleaning and inspection before doing so. This will include draining fuel tanks and float bowls just in case.

Jay

 

[lexybird]

I had a friend who wanted to install a small EPA stove in his garage and of course the building inspector told him it was against code due to the possibility of fumes of flammable liquids.
A bit dissapointed he started looking around for other sources of heat and found a good deal on one of those blue flame wall mounted heaters. He called the building dept. to check to see if that was ok and they told him it was just fine. Makes you wonder why one flame is safer than another.

Devon

exactly ............

 

[TreePapa]

Maybe YOU don't ever store fuel or flammables in your garage and you think you should be fine installing a woodstove in the garage. But YOUR behavior is not what the building dept. gives a flying monkey about. They are concerned with the INTENDED use of the building, and the intended use of a garage is for storage of flammable liquids (i.e., gas in your tank, if not also solvents, cleaners, gas for your saw, etc. etc.). Therefore, solid fuel burning applicance are prohibited in garages in any juristiction that has adopted uniform building codes, etc. (that's most of the juristictions in the U.S. and Canada).

If you DON'T store flammables in your garage (ever) and wish to install a woodstove so the garage can be your mancave, you should get a permit to convert the garage to a rec room or something (in most areas, you will also need to build covered parking, typically for 2 vehicles). Part of that conversion can include installing a woodstove.

Nobody heats garages here in so. calif. ('cept mechanics heating a year-round service garage ... for a few weeks out of the year) but the high-wall or ceiling-mounted nat. gas or propane heaters (1) are above the low-lying vapour danger zone, and (2) don't take up any floor space.

Peace,
- Sequoia

 

[RonB]

....I am planning to install a Harman Advance pellet stove in my walk out basement. I also want to display my Morgan (automobile) and a fancy motorcycle during the winter down there. I now plan on doing a thorough under-hood cleaning and inspection before doing so. This will include draining fuel tanks and float bowls just in case.

Jay

Hey Boom , Maybe you should talk to someone on how to prepare your cars for storage in your house. Seems like you would also want to drain the fuel filter, blow out the lines and let the gas tank air out. Still not sure it's safe. Maybe a museum has pointers on how to do it?

 

[billb3]

Based on the number of houses (and even neighborhoods) that blow up from leaks every year, how come we still have natural gas in the streets ?

 

[trailrated]

Well I have a woodstove in my finished garage. In fact thats the only stove I have right now. My insurance approved it with no increase in rates. I am aware of the dangers, but I have propane lines in house as well. Even those can go BOOM.

 

[summit]

for every argument we have ever had on the forums about why you will lose insurance coverage if you install a woodstove in a garage/workshop: this is why. Next will be a horrible story about why you can't install a woodstove in a bedroom (and the consequential discussion of why you can't)