barrel stove pipe size

[Taylortractornut]

Im building a barrel stove for my seed starting green house.   I didnt want to buy a kit as Im elcheapo.    I had an old coal/wood circulator heater that was my grand parents and later mine in my old shop.   It rusted out and  we saved the  grate and front along with the cast door and frame.       I cut the front off the rusted out  heater and   then   welded it to the  removable lid of the barrel.          I have about 5 sheets of galvanized sheet to lay in the bottom to prevent burnout.       I have a few things to add one is a loop to heat up a water resevoir.        My biggest question is whats the ideal size of  stove pipe to come out of the barrel.   I cant remember what I used on the ones i built in school.

[Jim_Rogers]

I think my kit, for my barrel stove we hand back in the 70's was a 6" flue pipe.

But I'm not sure. I still have the stove out behind a shed out back, I could measure it tomorrow for you if you need it.

Also we put sand in the barrel, the barrel was horizontal, and this helped to keep the bottom side of the barrel from getting so hot it would melt from the coals and the fire.

Jim Rogers

[zopi]

six inches. I looked at a kit at tsc the other day.

gonna skip the barrel stove and make myself a rocket heater or rocker mass heater..depending on how motivated I am come time to build it.

[Reddog]

Ours have all been 6" flues.

[Taylortractornut]

Thanks guys,   I couldnt remember I think in school we made a  few with a smaller pipe but it was for a smoker I think.          I had to make a single barrel unit as the greenhouse is only 12 by 20  and only 8 feet high.   Im making an open ended heating coil in one end to heat the grow bed.   Ill round up some 6 inch pipe in the morning for it.  Take care TL.

[thecfarm]

I have seen 250 oil dumps used before. They had to weld some 1/4 inch metal on edge on the sides to help keep it from warping. But it still did.
Probably you know what you are doing,but we brought 3 cheapy box fans, and kept them running 24/7 for about 4 months steady,I think for 2-3 years. Told the wife they would not last,but they did. Need to keep the air moving.

[Taylortractornut]

I have a 48 inch shop fan for air circulation.          I have a 30 by 40 to put up later that will get this fan along with a roll up side. Im looking at builing a super furnace for it.     

[dlabrie]

I heated my house for years with a barrel stove. We lined the bottom of it with fire brick.

[zopi]

wish I had a green house..

when you put that 30by 40 up, take a look at rocket mass heaters, in addition to whatever else you do..dirt cheap to build, literally, as dirt is a key ingredient...extremely efficient using wood as fuel..and with a little ingenuity, can be self feeding for several hours...one burn, four hours or so, and the heat stays for the reat of the day..plus the mass part of it makes a dandy seed starting bench..it stays warm..

[Taylortractornut]

Zopi my small 13 by 20 green house is a 1 and a half trampolines welded together with  fence toprail run into throught  the  leg holes.      I have 150 dollars in the cover.        I started over 3500 plants last year with it.     On my big greenhouse Its on a hill that wa flattened and has  a sharp step drop off.      THe side of the house will be near  this  and I thought about making an under ground heater and using the ground as m mass. 

[FARMERw/o FARM]

I dabbled in wood stoves and sweeping chimneys a long time ago and a thought came to me that might be helpful. Increase the height of your flue pipe to get better draft. The colder it is outside the better draft and as it gets warmer you need less heat so...lower draft, who knows. Also, put a flue damper in the flue pipe before you fire it up. You can lessen the draft and burn rate that way also. Trial n error works too! I even put 2 dampers in a fellas wood stove flue because he had too much draft. What a concept!

[bugmeist]

I used a 'barrel' stove for about 15 years.  The barrel was still in excellent shape when I retired it.  I put about 2" of dry sand levelled in the bottom, then laid a bed of firebrick on the sand as well as up the sides (about to the center of the circumference of the barrel. 

Also saw a double barrel where the guy welded 6" pipe thru the top barrel (which was supported by a very substantial frame) and filled the top barrel with fist sized stone.  He'd leave work about 5, start at 8 am.  The fire was down to coals but you couldn't touch the top barrel.  Great heat sink!

used a 6" flue.

bugmeist

[thecfarm]

I've seen double barrels stove,but not with rocks in one.

[Al_Smith]

Tell ya what in a 13 by 20 space a barrel is over kill if you fire it hard .Those things can put out about 100,000 btu's on a single and about double on a double barrel .

Stotz used to make the best kits for them which had a 10 guage stamped sheet metal door that would seal air tight . They might still make them or someone else with a tight door .Usually the cheaper Asian made  cast iron  door models  would let so much draft leak in you couldn't throttle them down .

I suppose you could sand or brick the bottom if you wanted to .Usually though if you fire them light for a few days or so and get a few inchs of powdered ash in the bottom that's about as good of insulater as you can find .