Wood Stove in a Wooden woodworking shop?

[Eric C Stoltzfus]

So, I'm a little late for this winter, but I would like to put a wood stove in my shop. The shop is a wooden portable shed about 14x40. Is a wood stove safe to use in a wood shop with all the sawdust and shavings? One of the stoves I was looking at was the 55 gallon barrel stove kit. Does anyone else use a wood stove in their shops?

[Jim Laumann]

Eric

I have a wood burner in my shop, steel chimney. My shop floor is concrete. The Stove is located on a wooden stand, about 24-26" off the floor. I have a layer of cement board between the stove legs and the wafer board on top of the legs/stand. I also have cement board on the walls near the stove (2 - sits in a corner).

My shop is 30x40, and I've been able to get the temp up in to the 70's. There is just something about wood heat that no other fuel can match.

Hope this helps

PS: A fire extinguisher hangs on the wall by the stove, and a 2nd one on the wall by the exit door.

[Ray Newman]

If your shop is insured or you are also thinking about insuring it, discuss this with your insurance carrier. When I had my detached shop built, my insurance carrier wanted to know if it was heated and what was the heat source. From what I recall, either a wood burning stove in a wood structure had a much higher premium, or my carrier would not insure it.

[Bill Dufour]

In California many days and nights no wood burning is allowed here, due to the tule fog.. I mounted mine on a stack of cinder blocks with a piece of drywall on top then set ceramic tile on top. The wall covering is hardi panel to match the existing masonite paneling from the 70's. The hardi panel was actually the closet match I could find in any kind of paneling.
I use four computer case fans to blow warm air into the living room. They are run off a doorbell transformer with a thermostat. They are run at about 11.5 volts as a balance of noise and air flow. I have to use a capacitor to jump start them.
The tile on the sides is silicone caulked on as a trial. It has held fine for about ten years. The top tile is just held by gravity.
Bill D

[Kevin Jenness]

I have been heating my shop with wood for 30 years, a natural choice since we have a woodlot. I had to search a bit to find an insurer that was agreeable (Merchant's). More laborious than other heat sources and requires storage area but takes care of drops. Keep it clean, respect your neighbors and maintain your fire extinguishers. I have a wood floor over a slab with a concrete "island" under and around the wood stove. Depending on your location a heat pump may be a better investment and perhaps safer.

[David Helm]

I certainly would not go with a barrel stove conversion. At best they are a fire hazard. I have a steel plate modern air tight wood stove. Works well and is not a major fire hazard.

[Steve Demuth]

I heat my 20 X 24' shop with a small wood burner. It's certainly possible to do it safely, but you do have to pay attention to clearances and keep the stove area clear of debris and dust. I'd also keep a general purpose fire extinguisher close by (which you should have in a shop anyway) - a less driven home to me last weekend when I carelessly violated the "clear of debris and dust" rule I just articulated, and briefly had a small fire outside the woodstove as a result.

[Don Jarvie]

They require a lot of space so keep that in mind.

[julian abram]

They require a lot of space so keep that in mind.

Exactly, space sacrifice it you have a small shop. We burn our wood fire place every night in our home, would love to a small wood stove in the shop but not willing to sacrifice the space.

[Bill Dufour]

How about one of those outside fire units with a radiator and fan inside. Seems much safer to me.
Bill D

[Robin Dobbie]

When I was a kid, a double-barrel stove was the main source of heat for the living room and kitchen area. We had space heaters for the bedrooms, and we had several close calls with those. The wood stove was seemingly less dangerous.

I have the same barrel wood stove in my shop, now. For wall and floor protection, I went to a big box store and got some cement panels(I forget what they're called) that are mostly used for showers.

I do think electric would be better, but I'd have to run some new romex out there.

If you do get barrels, be sure to set the whole thing up outside, first. Get a big, hot, extended fire going so the burning paint fumes don't overwhelm you.

The thing with burning firewood is that more than once I've picked up a log and said to myself, "That's a nice, dense, dark piece with minimal cracks, I can't burn that." So I have a stack going of wood that I'll theoretically resaw and use for something when I get a suitable bandsaw.

[Lee Schierer]

My father heated his detached wood shop for years with a wood stove. He had a commercially built wood stove built for heating with a fire brick lining. He had a small fan to circulate the heat around the shop. I would not recommend a barrel type heater as the steel in barrels is pretty thin. Dad's shop was always toasty warm and if he filled it with wood and turned down the air inlet it would maintain heat in the shop all night.

It also is a good way to take care of mistakes. :rolleyes:

[Dave Haughs]

My father heated his detached wood shop for years with a wood stove. He had a commercially built wood stove built for heating with a fire brick lining. He had a small fan to circulate the heat around the shop. I would not recommend a barrel type heater as the steel in barrels is pretty thin. Dad's shop was always toasty warm and if he filled it with wood and turned down the air inlet it would maintain heat in the shop all night.

It also is a good way to take care of mistakes. :rolleyes:

Same here. Minus the fire brick lining. We always had plenty of kindling.... Many days in the winter we'd have the doors open because it would get too hot.

The downside to it compared to electric or gas though is consistency and the space requirement mentioned above. These days I like my shop better regulated to minimize wood movement during a build.

[Bruce Volden]

I've been using a Fisher Baby Bear wood stove for 20 years+. No problems! They take up space, I place a sheet of metal (roofing) so I could get it closer to the wall. Use a 1" piece of metal scrap
for a stand off to accomplish this. Biggest complaint from me is the cleaning of ash.
I pay NO higher insurance premiums for having said stove---I also heat the house with wood. I have been told that additional premiums were at one time added to wood stoves-not in my state
or Minnesota-I'm sure of this.

Bruce

[Jim Becker]

Aside from the safety and other considerations that folks have already expressed, a single "passive" heat source for a space that's almost like a small bowling ally :) (14' wide but 40' long) may not be very efficient from the standpoint of heat distribution. It would most certainly need to be located in the middle for best results which is going to impact how the space is used for woodworking. If your insurance and local jurisdiction permits wood stoves, then the decision comes down to the practicality for the given space and your comfort with heating with that method.

[Randy Henry]

In my old shop, I had an outdoor forced-air wood burning furnace. It was great. Keeps the mess outside and a fill up in the morning kept the shop warm all day, and very safe. It's a Bryan outdoor wood furnace. In my new shop, I have radiant floor heating with a propane fired boiler. I do not have it up and running yet though. I did re-install the Bryan furnace in my new shop with the plan being to keep the shop at a constant 45-50 deg. with the radiant system, and when I'm in the woodworking side of the shop, to build a fire in the Bryan, in the morning like I did in my old shop. That should easily bring the temp up to 60-65 while I work all day. When I cut my wood, I stack it on caged pallets. I keep my pallets covered until each one gets parked 3 ft from the furnace.

[James A. Brown]

I grew up out in the country where we heated with coal and wood. In the kitchen was a coal/wood cook stove and the other end of the house was the "Warm Morning" coal burner. I now live in a small town and still have that same coal furnace in my shop where it burns wood. I mounted a box fan to the ceiling so it circulates the air and heat. Love the heat. Jim.

[Jack Frederick]

I have been in so many places where I wanted to put a wood stove, but knew that if one was installed I would be doing a doe-see-doe with the stove every time I tried to walk through the space. 14x40, it would just take up to much space. Get some cardboard and lay it out for the unit and clearances and walk around for a bit before going ahead with it. Oh, and because it is a doe-see-doe, you have to fold your arms and do it backwards.

[Mike Cutler]

Eric

We've been heating our house with a wood stove for 30+ years, and I really like it.
I have thought many times about putting a wood stove in my garage shop, but just never could get it to work really well in my head. The clearances required for fire code and moving around it, along with the chimney and thimble specs to install it properly, just don't work for me. I know how dry our house can get on certain days in winter, so the variations in humidity are a negative also. The cost is not small, at least not here in Connecticut, to do it properly and not risk burning down your shop. There is also the mess that goes with burning wood.;)
I've been looking at putting in a propane heat system lately, because I really would like to work in the garage shop during the winter. With the advantage of zero clearance heat panels, outside air collection and venting, the shop environment would stay consistent. They're also not really that expensive. Propane is, but it wouldn't have to run all the time.
I've also tossed around the idea of a pellet stove for the shop. The clearances are less, and the thimble piece, and chimney, is much less expensive than putting a triple walled, insulated, stove pipe thimble through the wall, and the chimney sections. Pellet stoves gather air from outside, which is a benefit for shop environment.

I love my QuadraFire 5700 in the house, but a wood stove in the shop just doesn't work for me no matter how hard I've tried to make it. The Chimney and Thimble have been big stumbling blocks for me.

[Jack Frederick]

Mike, I would suggest if you go propane that your look at the Rinnai Energysaver Direct Vent wall furnaces. You don't say how large the shop is or its insulation value, so I can't recommend a size. Modulating gas valve and blower, quiet, cool to the touch, 2.5" hole for vent for sealed combustion. Programmable stat built in, low profile, and absolutely bullet-proof. As well, everything to install it is in the box for a straight out the back install. If it takes more than two hours to set and trim the unit you are sleep walking. They are not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

I'm new here, so I need to list a disclaimer. I was the Rinnai Manuf Rep in New England from '91-'11 when we sold the business and chased the kids west. I still work with Rinnai on a consulting basis...until 3/31/18 and then I am done. I have heated my homes, garages, shops and basements with them since '91. It is the best heating appliance I've seen in 55 yrs in the business.

[Mike Cutler]

Jack

Right now there is no insulation. I just threw a vapor barrier and sheetrock up on the walls years ago. The "shop" are currently an "L" two 19'x9' spaces that meet as an "L".
I never intended to want to do wood working through the winter, but it's happening. I plan to pull all the sheet rock down and insulate the walls and ceilings, as well as frame out the corner that used to have a green house built into it.
I think that Rinnai may have been the model(s) I was looking at. I know the folks at work that have their on demand water heaters have been very pleased with them.
I have propane at the house already for the indoor appliances, so it wouldn't be a big deal to pipe a line to the garage, or just set another bottle in back for the garage..

[Bill Dufour]

Here in California pellet stoves are pretty much all gone. Propane or NG is cheaper to run and nothing much to wear out, jam or clog. Also pellet stoves require 120 ac.
Bill D

[Steve Peterson]

Aside from the safety and other considerations that folks have already expressed, a single "passive" heat source for a space that's almost like a small bowling ally :) (14' wide but 40' long) may not be very efficient from the standpoint of heat distribution. It would most certainly need to be located in the middle for best results which is going to impact how the space is used for woodworking. If your insurance and local jurisdiction permits wood stoves, then the decision comes down to the practicality for the given space and your comfort with heating with that method.

A wood stove at the end of the "bowling alley" might work well with a ceiling mounted air cleaner to help circulate the air.

[Jon Snider]

I also have a Rinnai in my uninsulated garage in Colorado and will probably put one in my soon to be built detached shop plus a wood stove.

The Rinnai works very well, heats the garage quickly, and IIRC does not have the exposed burner elements that would have been a problem with various solvent fumes and wood dust in the garage. Plus maybe ok for spray finished but not sure about that.