Homemade wood heater
- Thread starter Jacob Jarvis
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Nothing wrong with building out of stainless at all. It just isnt worth the extra cost in a woodstove usually. As far as whether that stove is safe i have no clue. There are to many variables to know that from a pic.
I looked it over. My wonder is the warp factor. What can you tell me to look for that could make it unsafe?
They had a 6 inch cast outlet bolted to the top. Bad idea!! I figure if i tig a starter piece on then put it in my shop, I may be good to go.
Why would that be a bad idea? If it was bolted and gasketed it should be fine many plate steel stoves do it that way.
What type of shop is it?
![[Hearth.com] Homemade wood heater](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/233/233407-436e275bfa4af50a0b1a05677262496d.jpg?hash=4U2BQimvHM "[Hearth.com] Homemade wood heater")
Stainless flexed cast starter piece did not. My shop is a man cave / hang out for my youngin.
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If the top is flexing it is unsafe. How thick is the top?
Are vehicles stored or worked on in the shop? Is gasoline present in the shop?
The top dont have to flex much with thin cast bolted to it. In not sure if that heater even cracked and knocked 1/4 of the flange off. I wish I had a shop big enough to work on my cars. No, I store my fuel in a old fridge outside.
Im guessing thickness. I'll micit. It has a piece welded inside about 3 or 4 inches, maybe more down from the top. It goes the width across. About 6 inches from center both ways length. Can u tell me what for?
jetsam
Minister of Fire
When I was in the Air Force, we ran our tent stoves (which ran on jet fuel or diesel) just like that. They seemed to hold up pretty well.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
They were pretty flimsy but whatever kind of steel they used didn't mind being heated up until it glowed every night.
Yes, the Russian camp stove in the picture is meant to be light enough that it can be packed in. It wouldn't surprise me if it was 20 ga stainless.
You're trusting the integrity of welds and construction. Is this something you would fire up and walk away from with full confidence a weld is not going to pop? Have you fired it up with a temporary chimney outdoors and gotten it hot to see how it behaves?
I got some heavy duty grate material today. I would fire it outside before inside. The way it is put together I can trust. I can trust the weld by looking at it. I trust the material. If it is homemade they knew what they was doing. I would want to attach the starter piece and make it safe. I think I could fire it up inside and go off to sleep.
They may have known how to weld but that doesnt mean they had a clue about how to design a stove. It may be fine. Or it may smoke leak smoke like crazy or overheat or any number of other problems. We really dont know. Honestly i would rather see a cast collar bolted and gasketed on where it allows some movement.
Where is the air intake and what type is it? You do know this will need 36" clearances or 12 with proper ventilated heat sheild. You will also need 18" from the pipe and a proper chimney.
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