I made a barrel stove.

Questions?

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Sweet! [Beer]

whats it for?
how much did it cost?

Looks good. Awful lot of sparks in that 2nd pic. with the 2 gas cans in the back. But I see you had some wine to put any fires out with. [Flame] I was wondering about cost myself??

I'm going to put it into my covered patio for winter. I'm going to build a half wall of cinder blocks to reflect heat back in and plumb chimney pipe up and out.
Those gas cans were originally getting showered with sparks, so I moved them to where they are in the picture. All the sparks were shooting toward the camera for the most part. I had my wife standing by with a fire extinguisher and a second set up eyes.
The cost for the barrel kit was $61.80 from Home Depot with free shipping to my house. I got the barrel for free.

I'm burning the paint off now, and will take it apart and paint it with some high temp paint (gray) that I picked up at Depot.

Last night was embarrassing as I wasn't getting a hot, clean burn. There was so much smoke I thought for sure the fire department was going to come. Figured it out today though.

Very nice....

Did you put any fire brick or sand in the bottom? Inside or outside use?

You could fry eggs and bacon on top of it. [Dinner]

That second pic is cool

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Originally Posted by Ah Pook

Did you put any fire brick or sand in the bottom? Inside or outside use?

You could fry eggs and bacon on top of it. [Dinner]

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After I paint it, I'm going to put some play ground sand in the bottom, but not so high that it covers that inlet hole. The stove will be outside in a partially enclosed space. I have a bunch of pictures of the area now, and plan to show a before and after kind of deal.
I've seen where people add two tubes on either side, they lay a cast iron griddle of some sort across the top for a cooking surface. I've got no plans for that, but considered it.

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Originally Posted by spleify

That second pic is cool

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Thanks. My wife was taking pictures and took about 15 more of that same picture.

Looks good, paint it stove black, will look better longer.

Sent from my electronic ball and chain.

I saw this video and couldn't resist doing a gray. My gray probably will look more silver than the one in this video, but we'll see how it turns out.

Could you seal that up well enough for indoor use??

I worked in a drafty machine shop that had a 2-barrel stove in it, and that sumbitch would put out some heat! When the cheap bastard would actually buy some wood, that is. Couldn't keep up with the drafts though, it was a real shithole of a shop. You could see daylight through the walls and roof everywhere you looked. Basically a pole barn covered with scrap tin, really redneck and 3rd world.

But the stove was impressive! I wouldn't hesitate to put one in a good shop, it would heat like a maniac. The 2-barrel option is a good one, the 2nd barrel radiates a HUGE amount of heat.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1..._629119437.jpg

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Originally Posted by cofi

Could you seal that up well enough for indoor use??

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Yes, the door model in the video I linked, and shown in Ron's photo is the air tight model that comes with gasketed doors.
If you check out the Wranglerstar video, he's got a double barrel stove, and he plumbed a used oil line into it for even more heat. I have the imagine Wranglerstar's stove puts out some insane heat.

That is cool as hell (so to speak)! I have zero experience with them, so forgive the stupid question - do they have / need some sort of spark arrestor in the flue?

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Originally Posted by argonstrom

That is cool as hell (so to speak)! I have zero experience with them, so forgive the stupid question - do they have / need some sort of spark arrestor in the flue?

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So uh...... What are you going to engrave into yours when you make it?

Very cool project !

That's a good question I think. If you had a double barrel, or some kind of baffle, you wouldn't need one. I don't think I'll need on on this one. I can get flames to come out of the flue when it is as short as you see in the picture. If you are burning wood, I don't think it will be necessary, if you burn a lot of paper though, then you might want one. My grandpa made a bunch of logs out of rolled up news paper, and burning those will shoot red hot bits of paper out of the chimney. I think you'd really be okay with just normal wood burning. While I was burning card board and stuff today (basically all my trash wood) I didn't have any questionable sparks coming out.

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Originally Posted by JM Ver. 2.0

So uh...... What are you going to engrave into yours when you make it?

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Well, obviously he's going to lightly inscribe the thing from Lord of the Rings, so it glows when it heats up.

By the way guys, I am VERY amateur at projects like this. So if I can do it, any one of you can. I've got some specific advice about mounting the door and techniques and mistakes and stuff if anyone wants to know. The kit is actually pretty low quality, so nothing is really even(like the legs).

How long is it expected to last before rusting through? Is the plan to just replace the barrel when that happens and keep on going?

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Originally Posted by JM Ver. 2.0

So uh...... What are you going to engrave into yours when you make it?

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Originally Posted by Irving

Well, obviously he's going to lightly inscribe the thing from Lord of the Rings, so it glows when it heats up.

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Coolest idea ever! :)

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Originally Posted by Irving

That's a good question I think. If you had a double barrel, or some kind of baffle, you wouldn't need one. I don't think I'll need on on this one. I can get flames to come out of the flue when it is as short as you see in the picture. If you are burning wood, I don't think it will be necessary, if you burn a lot of paper though, then you might want one. My grandpa made a bunch of logs out of rolled up news paper, and burning those will shoot red hot bits of paper out of the chimney. I think you'd really be okay with just normal wood burning. While I was burning card board and stuff today (basically all my trash wood) I didn't have any questionable sparks coming out.

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Right on - thanks! Seems like a project cool enough to pass up!

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Originally Posted by merl

How long is it expected to last before rusting through? Is the plan to just replace the barrel when that happens and keep on going?

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Wranglerstar has been burning used motor oil in his to increase the heat and at the time of his video he had his for three years without burning the barrels out. The fire brick or sand is supposed to protect the bottom from burn out. So far, it seems as if the bottom is the coolest when the ash builds up. I've had over 500 degrees on the top and only in the 200's on the very bottom. I haven't planned for a new barrel, as I don't know hoe long we'll live here.

Nice build. I'm always jealous of people who can craft stuff like these or the ammo can stoves.

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Originally Posted by Dave

Nice build. I'm always jealous of people who can craft stuff like these or the ammo can stoves.

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I used an electric drill, a borrowed sawzall with a metal blade, and a hand held grinder with a metal grinding wheel. Barrel stoves have been on my radar for a few years, but I always thought you had to weld the stuff on. I've had the barrel for 6 months now, but only recently realized I wouldn't have to weld. Took me a couple of nights of work and watching a bunch of Youtube videos for ideas and tips.

I like it, Irving.

Cool.

I've got access to new barrels if anyone needs one.

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Originally Posted by Otterbatcat

I like it, Irving.

Cool.

I've got access to new barrels if anyone needs one.

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Hook me up! :)

So the plan is to make a waist high wall of cinder blocks around my patio, excluding an area in opposing corners where the doorways are. Currently the patio is covered with corrugated plastic roofing, like so, that is being held up by an aluminum frame.
http://www.exproofing.com/wp-content...-roofing1.jpeg

I'm planning to trade the plastic for metal.
http://www.wedostandingseam.com/imag...%20roofing.jpg

Now stay with me here. The patio is backed by two brick walls on my house, and two open sides. I'll be putting up the waist high cinder block wall on the two open sides, leaving a door way at each end where the wall would meet the house. The stove will go in the corner where the cinder block walls meet. I want the cinder block wall to go to the ceiling in the corner where the stove is. I'm thinking maybe 2-3' out from the corner on each side. The plan is to run stove pipe up that corner, and instead of cutting through the roof, dog leg the chimney through the cinder block wall through the second to top row of blocks. Then I'll run it slightly over the patio roof and put a rain cover on it. I was thinking that since all this will be outdoors, only partially enclosed, and not near any combustable material, I could get away with using cheaper single wall chimney pipe that I wouldn't use inside of a structure. However, looking at this picture, I wonder if single wall will be an issue. Thoughts? This patio I described is approximately 8' x 14'.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-r...929_201149.jpg

Here is what it looks like with most the paint burned off.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5...929_165630.jpg

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Originally Posted by Otterbatcat

I like it, Irving.

Cool.

I've got access to new barrels if anyone needs one.

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How much?

My Dad made something similar, back in the 60's when I was a kid. It heated our cabin for a while until he got an old cast iron stove. "Barrel stoves" seemed to be popular back then, at least in the rural part of NY where I grew up. Me likey!! [Alrigh]

If I remember correctly you have at least one daughter-are you putting up some kind of protection around it so no one gets burnt hands. I saw that in the video you linked.

No, she is big enough to know better.

I guess these stoves became popular in the 60's and 70's during the oil shortage.
Cofi, read the comments on the video I linked before putting one in your house. Probably not EPA approved and 1970's technology for sure. A lot less efficient burn and probably more creosote build up than in a newer wood stove. Creosote is what causes chimney fires.

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Originally Posted by Irving

No, she is big enough to know better.

I guess these stoves became popular in the 60's and 70's during the oil shortage.
Cofi, read the comments on the video I linked before putting one in your house. Probably not EPA approved and 1970's technology for sure. A lot less efficient burn and probably more creosote build up than in a newer wood stove. Creosote is what causes chimney fires.

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and the camp fire taste when smoking bacon.

I was looking a putting a double barrel stove in the garage but it took up too much room.

If you are trying to bypass the roof, use joints with 45˚ or less angles. It will make it easier to clean the pipes. You can add a topper on the pipe to keep critters out and catch some ashes.

Just reread post #28. If the pipe will exit out the CB wall, use 90˚ joints. I don't know what code would be for single wall pipe through an exterior wall. I don't see a problem but I'm not expert.

How close are you putting the stove to the brick (house) walls? I think the min is 16" but those stoves can put out some heat. You might look at adding an extra heat layer to the brick. Maybe something like aluminum sheet metal with 1" square tubing for mounting.

Closest the barrel would be to the brick on the house would be something like 5 feet. It will be in the opposite corner. Pook, what if you built a double barrel out of the 30 gallon drums?

So you guys with stove experience know, but for people who don't, let me tell you about the efficiency. I closed up the stove around 10pm last night. It was a little warm this morning to the touch when I left. I got home around 7pm tonight and the top of the barrel was completely cold. On the bottom though, it was too hot to touch for long. I measured 129*. So I opened the flue, opened then door and everything just looked like cold ashes. I stuck a shovel in and stirred everything up. In two minutes the top of the barrel was reading 150*. In five minutes ALL the coals were burning and the stove was back up to 330+ degrees. All you had to do was set a log in there and you'd be good to go. I'm trying to cool everything off so I can clean it out to paint it, so I didn't relight it. I really have to imagine that people who heat with wood probably only light approximately one match a season.

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Originally Posted by Irving

Closest the barrel would be to the brick on the house would be something like 5 feet. It will be in the opposite corner. Pook, what if you built a double barrel out of the 30 gallon drums?

So you guys with stove experience know, but for people who don't, let me tell you about the efficiency. I closed up the stove around 10pm last night. It was a little warm this morning to the touch when I left. I got home around 7pm tonight and the top of the barrel was completely cold. On the bottom though, it was too hot to touch for long. I measured 129*. So I opened the flue, opened then door and everything just looked like cold ashes. I stuck a shovel in and stirred everything up. In two minutes the top of the barrel was reading 150*. In five minutes ALL the coals were burning and the stove was back up to 330+ degrees. All you had to do was set a log in there and you'd be good to go. I'm trying to cool everything off so I can clean it out to paint it, so I didn't relight it. I really have to imagine that people who heat with wood probably only light approximately one match a season.

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Thats pretty impressive.

I asked Irving before I posted this about the barrels in his thread...

I said "new", meaning they're not beat to hell, and held either LV tranny fluid, or 5-20 motor oil one time. The barrels I have now are spoken for, and we generate about one barrel a month. Unfortunately, several of them have been shot up before Irving made them something folks were looking for.

We drain them the best we can, and if you're interested in a free barrel, pm me...and a short waiting list is already beginning to grow.


Irving, I think it's a cool project you're going through, and I'd like to see how you have it all turn out for ya, thanks for sharing your experience with it... :)

I ended up finding a double wall cast iron fireplace insert that accepted a blower.

What are you burning?

So far, I've burned very little good wood. I mostly burned the dead trimmings from my grape vine that I cut out at the end of last winter. I had some Sumac that we pulled out of my yard around this time last year, some scrap dead wood that had been laying around and some scraps from projects that have been building up in my garage. I also burned some card board I had around taking up space. I have some firewood that I brought from my last place, but haven't had a place to burn it yet. Now that I have this stove, I will probably start collecting wood again.

Update: I've fininshed painting it. I used the cheap high heat stuff I got from Home Depot for about $4 a can. Took me two cans. Says it is good up 1200* and has a picture of a stove on the front. I found some woodstove rope gasket on Amazon for $6 per 6 feet. This will replace the rubber gasket that was between the lid and barrel. I don't plan on sealing the lid, in case I want to take it off later for maintenance or something.

Before I put the lid back in, I need to decide what to do for the inside as far as using firebrick, sand, or making a grate. My neighbor offered to help me make a grate out of scrap angle iron if I go pick it up. I like that idea as lifting everything up will help get air under for a better burn.

I haven't decided if I'll fashion a cover for the large bung or not yet. I like what Wranglerstar did a lot. I also saw another video where a guy slides a pipe into the barrel, with air holes drilled into it. This would greatly help getting even air into the stove. I think I could actually do both. My debate is how much time to spend on something that will get occasional use, and already works well enough for what I want. On the other hand, it won't take much more money to implement these ideas, and I'm really learning that it pays to take the time to do stuff right.

I found a great deal on stove pipe on Amazon as well. A 5-pack of 6" x 48" single wall for under $55. I don't need 20', but the next best deal is 6" x 24" for $9.99 a pop. If I buy 8', that will run me $40ish. So might as well have 12' extra laying around for the ten dollar difference. I also decided to just go straight up through the corrugated roof. A lot more simple that way. I can just lay down another sheet when I move.

Finally, both the flue and the door have 8-12 holes for mounting. It was a major pain lining the holes up on the door and I didn't do all that great. By the time I got to the flue, I realized this isn't a hurricane stove, and I really only need 4 holes. I realize so many holes means more bolts to keep the thin metal sealed tight. The flue is small and will be fine. As for the door, I am going to just use the four corners and put more gasket along the edges to seal up the extra holes. Also, I am going to take the damper out of the flue, and relocate it up to the first joint in the stove pipe. The original location being so close to the barrel, I hear that it will fail almlst right away (see last picture).

Any thoughts?