Wood stove in shop

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arborworks1

arborworks1

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Thinking of putting a small stove in my shop. I'm a little worried about leaving it lit unattended though. But it would be nice to have a nice fire rocking on a rain day.

Any tips or words of wisdom?
 
A fire burning in an unattended shop is cause for concern. Just keep the area clean and make sure of no quick flammables in the immediate vicinity, and have the stove up on some surface that won't ignite from some ash that might fall out. A stove that has good controls where you can shut it down when you leave, or just have a slight fire left burning, I think is good. No problems myself after many years. I'm more concerned about sparks after grinding on something, maybe going into some wood dust and causing something after I leave. I'm real careful about that, and generally keep a well swept up shop. I monitor the flame so it still isn't blasting away when I leave for the night, that is pretty much stop chucking in wood awhile before I know I'll be going home. Sometimes i might be heading home and think to myself, did I close the air intake? I'll go back, but I always have. Just ALWAYS be careful and you are ok. A wood stove in a shop is great. My stove has a damper in the pipe, you don't see those so much anymore. I like it for even more refined monitoring, and the pipe above quickly cools after closing it.
 
We leave our wood stove burning all the time in our house. I think most people do.

Observe minimum distances from the stove for flammables, use proper pipe, and a good base (we used slate tiles). Keep the area clean, and just watch out for coals falling out.
 
Check with your insurance and make sure it doesn't void it. Other wise if some thing does happen you could be flipping the whole bill.
 
After my dad retired in 1980 he got on this kick of restoring old Jeeps .Since he was home all day he decided rather than waste the money on natural gas for heat in his garage he'd use a barrel stove .He'd just light the fire and go back in the house and drink coffee for an hour .The shop would be nice and cozy when he returned .

That stove is still out there and in pretty good shape .He had a layer of fire brick in the bottom .

Ha looking back the old man also tweaked those damned saws when he wasn't fiddling with a Jeep .I never could out run him .
 
Depending on your situation with the pipe going through a ceiling or not, but as long as you have it covered where it goes through the wall or roof, I don't see the need for double walled pipe myself. I never have used it. The pipe puts out some good heat as well. If you are concerned about some possible escape of a hot cinder from a pipe joint (very unlikely), you can wrap the joint with a non flammable material and hold it in place with bailing wire.
 
Totally agree with building codes and insurance. I had to get a permit o install mine, he'll have to come to and inspect it. IF he didn't OK it and the house burns down its my dime.
 
It would depend most of all on the type of stove you have, I'd think. Most modern stoves are designed to be left unattended. Now I have an old kit stove in the barn (not in use, mind you) that utilizes an old drum. I wouldn't recommend leaving one of those unattended unless it had burned down. Those old drum heaters are notorious for burning out and being dangerously thin.

I'm toying with the idea of building a micro stove to put in my shooting house. Something like 12"x16"x16" with a 3" flue. Won't be getting around to it for a while.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
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I have seen mini stoves for backcountry camping. Not the kind you put in a wall tent either. That would be cool to have on a long day of hunting.
 
Just my 2C here.... I agree with the permitting ......
I also hired a contractor to install it...
my way of thinking...
If my roof leaks.... it's covered and will be paid for
If my house burns down..... it's covered and will be paid for....
Peace of mind .....
 
I leave a fire burning unattended in a airtight stove in my house and my shop all the time. Make certain the door is closed. Most fires I've heard about where the real story comes out are from people leaving the door ajar to get the fire ripping and then they forget about it. I have more faith in the safety of my wood burning set-ups than I do a gas burning furnace.

Cleanliness is key too, clean-up all the little bits that accumulate around a stove, sweep under it around it.

Jay I've heard too that a stovepipe damper is a big cause of chimney fires and that's why they're not used anymore? I've never looked into it though.
 
squisher said:
I am fundamentally against permits and insurance for that matter, but that's a whole other thread.
Click to expand...

I didn't get a permit when I built my house. Didn't need one and wouldn't have gotten one if I had. I see no sense it them if one is building their own home (and knows what they're doing). For example, I had my bricklayer build my chimney like I wanted it, which was above most codes. What good would a permit/inspection have done if I'm above it to start with? Other than (as they are intended) make money for the county...

I do suppose that if one is hiring the work done, and knows little/nothing about it, they might be "guaranteed" a better job if the work were inspected, assuming the inspector knew what to look for and was on top of their job.

As to insurance, I had several people tell me I'd have to put a rail around my porch before an insurance company would insure the house. I wasn't having it, and told my agent so. He took pictures, wrote up the policy and insured the house, no problem.
 
Permits and building codes may take away some of your precious freedom, but they also keep this from happening:

slum.jpg
 
I didn't need anything for the one in my house, put tile behind and under it for a "firewall" that suited the ins company and used double wall pipe in the attic, I swear by double wall around combustibles!
In the garage I may have to get it inspected, I know it has to be at least 18" off the floor if you store any type of fuels in there etc.
 
I can see if people want to live like cows in a barn that someone might need to look out for them. I simply see no need for someone to stand over me and tell me how to build my own house, precious freedom or not.

Since I was not required to have a permit, should I seek out someone to make a donation to so as to prevent some catastrophe? That's all I'm getting at....having a "permit" does not always guarantee anything. A friend of mine has a brother who is an electrician. They were wiring a house once when the "inspector" came around. He was even measuring the distance between staples on the Romex running up the studs. After hearing enough about what all "wasn't just right", his brother asked the guy, "How much?" Price was quoted, cash paid, inspection passed. That may not be common, but it does happen. And such as that is why I have a problem with building codes/permits.
 
stig said:
Permits and building codes may take away some of your precious freedom, but they also keep this from happening:

View attachment 38834
Click to expand...

That's funny Stig, so if there was a permit system in place in that country it would have prevented that? As if, some corrupt official just woulda lined their pockets a little more.
 
Around here we don't have corrupt officials ( we are, far as I know the least corrupt country in the world today) so I wasn't thinking of that.
I don't normally think of the US as a 3rd world country, where you can just buy off officials.
 
Alas, our country is full of corruption, from top to bottom. And I would hardly consider a building inspector an official, but just another someone who didn't want to work for a living, but rather make a "living" telling others how to live.

And though I get the gist of "permits", in today's world, I don't consider them a "preventative" of such as you depicted. As I said before, if someone, said a widow needed some construction work performed, she might need something/someone to guide her in her decisions. But I also see where they have opened doors for corruption. I don't see where a permit would have improved my house at all.
 
In a residential neighborhood, the permits might be the only thing keeping my neighbors from building crap that I would have to look at.

If everyone built things to the same standard, then I agree - no permit required.
 
Gotcha. My folks are the only people who live in sight of me. The only other house on our road is vacant. I suppose living in a neighborhood might warrant some sort of regs.
 
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