Huge Homemade stove retrofitted with a Secondary Air System (pictures)

[Hiram Maxim]

This is one big clean burning, heat outputting monster.

My good friend Bruce built this stove 30 years ago from 1/4" thick high nickle alloy armor plating taken from a shot blasting booth.

It sits in the 1200 sq ft machine shop of his 2800 sq ft Gun Shop.

A few months ago he decided to retrofit a secondary air system and here are the following sizes, material and interesting result.

The Stove is 36" deep x 24" wide x 36" high.

The fire box is approximately 36" deep x 24" wide x 24" high.

The 1/8" thick bronze baffle plate is 30" deep x 24" wide x 24" high.

Above the baffle are 4, 2" tubes that a 300 ss thermostatically controlled blower pushes air through. Above those tubes is a 1/4 steel baffle. (steel baffle can be seen by the weld line on the outside, near the top of the stove of picture #5)

The 5 secondary air tubes are spaced 5 inches apart, are .750" in diameter and 17" long made from black pipe with .125" holes drilled in them pointing towards the exhaust opening and steel baffle.

Triple walled 8", 316 ss stove pipe is 35' approximately long.

There are 3 intake holes .850" in diameter on the side of the stove to feed the secondary air.

The stove contains no firebrick. (pushing him to line the bottom of the firebox)

So on to the Fire!!

The stoves secondary kicks in between 450* and 500*.

No visible smoke can be seen from outside.

Before the secondary air was installed this stove produced a significant amount of smoke and creosote.

After 25 days the stove was shut down and the stove pipe was visibly inspected and zero creosote could be found.

In this time Bruce stated that he burned just under 2 face cords of White Ash and White Oak. (about half of what he would normally burned before)

So here is the kicker...........the heat output and burn time.


Before if he could get the shop 75* he was running the stove real hard 'n' hot with a short burn time of 6 hrs.

Now he has a hard time keeping the shop under 80* with burn times reaching 12 to 14 hrs. with just 2 to 3 splits, No Joke!

He has had to plug of 2 of the 3 air intake holes.

He is lucky enough that his brother in law is a heating and cooling professional. He is now looking at options to pump the heat into the remaining 800 sq ft Show room and his 800 sq ft living quarters. (He is running 3 stoves at present)

The black pipe has no signs of warping.

Thought everyone would like to see this mammoth and hear about the improvement the secondary air has made?












(Note pics were taken shortly after a small test fire)

 

[mtarbert]

I sure hope you and your buddy took some of the junk off of and out from around the magic stove before firing it up. A stove that can keep the areas stated warm on 4-6 splits of wood a day should be studied.
Mike

 

[BrotherBart]

The man knows the correct side to put the door handle on! :coolsmirk:

 

[LLigetfa]

The man knows the correct side to put the door handle on! :coolsmirk:

Are you serious?

I would have put it much further to the right so that there isn't a hot door threatening my forearm as it swings open.

 

[cmonSTART]

Wow. That thing is a monster.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

I sure hope you and your buddy took some of the junk off of and out from around the magic stove before firing it up. A stove that can keep the areas stated warm on 4-6 splits of wood a day should be studied.
Mike

I was wondering how long it would take for someone to make that comment........

Should also have said his splits are of pretty good size!!

And I agree the thing is is an absolute rock star!

 

[fossil]

It's not at all clear to me from the pictures if your friend's goal is combustion internal to the stove, or external to the stove. Rick

 

[begreen]

It takes a man to heat a village and that stove looks up to it. Clearance to combustible should be measured in yards, as in my yard, your yard and Harold's yard down the block.

 

[cannonballcobb]

Why is it, that all the rooms these homemade stoves are in, look like the back yard at Sanford & Son's?

 

[Bryan53]

Why is it, that all the rooms these homemade stoves are in, look like the back yard at Sanford & Son's?

ROFL.



That stove is a beast. I was thinking I could install it in my backyard and heat the neighborhood with it.

 

[lazeedan]

9-1-1

 

[Prada]

*faint* :bug:

 

[mtarbert]

I wish I could get my hands on 1/4inch high nickel plate. The only hi nickel plate I have ever seen was (is) in the 2-6 inch range.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I agree with all the naysayers and critics. This stove will cause the end of western civilization.

 

[kenny chaos]

I thought they dropped that thing on Nagasaki.
I won't even ask about the bullet casing on the floor.
12cu.ft. firebox? That might even heat my old stone house.
Glad it works so well for you guys.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

I won't even ask about the bullet casing on the floor.

Are you kidding,Its a gun shop :bug:

When you get guns that need repair many times you must function test them. That means shooting live ammo into a bullet trap......that's next to the stove.

 

[kenny chaos]

I won't even ask about the bullet casing on the floor.

Are you kidding,Its a gun shop :bug:

When you get guns that need repair many times you must function test them. That means shooting live ammo into a bullet trap......that's next to the stove.

I can see good but I don't read to well. :red:

 

[NitroDave]

Looks like he needs some new door gaskets ... ;-P

 

[tsquini]

I like the foot rest under the door. It's a nice touch. I don't see a flu. This must be one of the new fluless stoves. The builder of this beast is surely a master craftsman and well ahead of this time..

 

[bren582]

"12 to 14 hrs. with just 2 to 3 splits"

Wow,, I'd like to know what your using to realize that burn time. I can't imagine getting that with anything short of depleted uranium coated Bituminous Lo-Volat!!

 

[Frostbit]

Ah, thanks for sharing the pics, I guess. If it works for him, to each his own. My opinion is its an choice! No creosote? Whats all that black stuff clinging to the inside of the stove? A "master craftsman" takes pride not only in how his handiwork functions, but also how it looks, so that moniker does not fit. The photo of the silver-painted door, obviously done with a spray can whilst the door was ON the stove, complete with overspray, is, well, atrocious.

I'm sorry, nothing there I would be proud to share with anyone.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Ah, thanks for sharing the pics, I guess. If it works for him, to each his own. My opinion is its an choice! No creosote? Whats all that black stuff clinging to the inside of the stove? A "master craftsman" takes pride not only in how his handiwork functions, but also how it looks, so that moniker does not fit. The photo of the silver-painted door, obviously done with a spray can whilst the door was ON the stove, complete with overspray, is, well, atrocious.

I'm sorry, nothing there I would be proud to share with anyone.

Yawn

 

[kenny chaos]

Ah, thanks for sharing the pics, I guess. If it works for him, to each his own. My opinion is its an choice! No creosote? Whats all that black stuff clinging to the inside of the stove? A "master craftsman" takes pride not only in how his handiwork functions, but also how it looks, so that moniker does not fit. The photo of the silver-painted door, obviously done with a spray can whilst the door was ON the stove, complete with overspray, is, well, atrocious.

I'm sorry, nothing there I would be proud to share with anyone.

Do ya think a critique like that will make others hurry to post their pictures or do ya just not think?

 

[Frostbit]

Ah, thanks for sharing the pics, I guess. If it works for him, to each his own. My opinion is its an choice! No creosote? Whats all that black stuff clinging to the inside of the stove? A "master craftsman" takes pride not only in how his handiwork functions, but also how it looks, so that moniker does not fit. The photo of the silver-painted door, obviously done with a spray can whilst the door was ON the stove, complete with overspray, is, well, atrocious.

I'm sorry, nothing there I would be proud to share with anyone.

Do ya think a critique like that will make others hurry to post their pictures or do ya just not think?

Its my opinion, grasshopper. So sue me.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Aw, give the feller a break. I think it's real purty. I have to admit to a bit of scepticism regarding the stated heating performance vs. the very low claimed fuel consumption. But what of that? This is one monster I wouldn't mind having in my basement. ;-)