Tell me more about wood stoves.

[Timberwerks]

Reading the woodstove post has got me interested in getting one for my shop but I have a few questions.

Is it safe to leave these un attended? My shop is on the property and if I could leave it burning overnight that would be great.

Are they safe to use in a somewhat dusty area? This would be going in a furniture shop.

Does having a glass door or a metal door make a differance in heat transfer?

How big or what brand should I get to heat a 1,200 sf shop?

Dale

[Murf]

I don't know about all the other points you raised, I've had a wood-fired forced air furnace in my shop for years now, no problems at all.

One thing that did jump out at me though was the word "Furniture", you have to be really carefull with open flames around certain finishes and or strippers. It is especially dangerous in the cold weather when you are less likely to open windows or doors to 'work in a well ventilated area' like it usually says on the label.

Best of luck.

[Buzz-sawyer]

We had a thread a while back were we discussed the dangers of dust in confined areas and an ignition source.......long story short, it CAN blow up ike a bomb......maybe it wont but there is extreme potential for it , mean ing proper filtration, or outside air for combustion, or omething needs to be done....even a gas furnace could cause a MASSIVE explosion that would level your shop...........A dust saturated environment and an open flame...BOOM

[Murf]

A big explosion would definitely be a bad thing   ....

But for a brief period just before it left, your shop would be very warm ......

[Jeff]

Just a little suggestion here, but rather then starting a new topic in a case like this, its sure a lot easier to find information if you just continue in on in the first thread and a whole lot handier when someone else needs information and we want to find it later on..

[Timberwerks]

Thanks Jeff, good tip. I was thinking of doing that but I was unsure if I should.

Dale

[Jeff]

Yep, much rather see that. There is no such thing as thread hijacking on this forum. Some sites get a little anal about that. Not here. If you have a thought when reading a thread, feel free to ad. These threads take twists and turns all the time and some of those with several turns often have the best content.

[Rod]

These barrel stove kits work real good.

http://www.vogelzang.com/barrel_stoves.htm

[Paschale]

Hey Buzz,

What about putting in a woodstove into your shop if you've got top-notch dust collection?  Wouldn't it sort of have to be similar to a grain silo explosion, where there's dust everywhere, such that as one particle ignites, it sets off a chain reaction with all the particles nearby, and then boom!  My thinking (or rather hope) is that by doing adequate dust collection, perhaps one could get away with safely using a woodstove.  I know so many people who have woodstoves in their shops--maybe they've just been lucky so far....

                                                                   

[Buzz-sawyer]

Well, I wouldnt want to be accussed of pickin on wood stoves, a conventional gas furnace, or candle , or a lighter for a smoke can do it........
It has to be the right air, fuel ratio....
I dont know how many guys have been lucky using open flames in high dust   I just dont think we hear from the ones who WERE NOT
I cant say how much drum sander dust combined with airborn fines it takes, or how much varnish in the air.......It would seem a home built bag system would help a bunch...with dust....I would try to keep the particle count on the down LOW if possible

[jgoodhart]

It would take alot of dust to make a explosion, I would think the person in the room would be choken on dust before they went boom. If you are worried about it just pipe in outside air for the stove and have it already full of wood when you plan on maken dust or painting, what I'm getin at is don't go openin the stove door while Booom.

[etat]

Nope, sorry, it don't take much dust at all, under the right circumstances..  I know from experience.  Went to empty a dust bag for a small edger type floor sander one time when I was young and dumb.  Went to pour that bag on a little fire that was burning out back and it went boom!  Blew me backwards and burned all the hair off my arms and lots of it off my head.  Pretty much like pouring a gallon of gas on that fire, all at once as I remember.

My uncle, who I was working for, got mad cause I burned up his bag and told me I oughta known better.  This would have been fine sawdust mixed with old floor varnish.

[Buzz-sawyer]

I dont know if it is a lot BUT a 5# sack of flour will utterly destroy a 2000 cubic foot shop , when dispersed.......just to give a relative idea of the ratio ,
So be careful when bakin cheese cake

[Timberwerks]

It sounds like a wood stove is just the ticket for me. I do have good dust collection and filtration so I don't think that will be an issue. Sure, I'll have some dust but not enough to cause a hazard. The finish I use does not give off flamable vapor and the rags I use to apply it will be removed from the shop as soon as I an done. My major concern is if you could actually run a wood stove 24 / 7?

Dale

[Minnesota_boy]

I don't know if I could do it in a shop in your area, but I heated my house with only wood here in northern Minnesota for more than 20 years.  

I heated with a barrel stove in my basement for a year or two until I could afford and finish hooking up the baseboard radiators and then used a wood fired boiler, first in my basement and then as the insurance people started frowing on that, put in an outside boiler.

[SwampDonkey]

I've used an old cast iron heater stove, 30" long and 24 " tall. My shop has 8 foot ceilings and that little stove can heat'r up fast. I always have to open the door to the shop to cool off . I no longer use it as I don't trust the old flu any longer. But, I know how dangerous that real fine dust off the table saw can be. If you trickle it onto the flames its like pouring in gas, poof. That's why I only used it to light the fire and talk about flames suckin up that old flu. I'de never leave a fire in my stove without being attended unless its a low fire with mainly coals left. As I said above I don't make fires in it any more because of  the flu.

Be careful with wood fires in the shop.

cheers

[Haytrader]

If you don't need a lot of heat you could consider just havin Bro. Noble stand in the corner. He would keep the frost off. Not to mention what he might scare off.
   

[Brian_Bailey]

I've been burning wood and coal in air tight stoves for many years. I heat both my house and shop this way.

I think there is more danger of a fire from chimney neglect ( creasote build-up when burning wood ) than one would get from dust from an average woodworking operation.

If your generating the amounts of dust required for an explosion you need to seriously consider a better dust collection system or use more hand tools  .

Finishing with a volatile should be done in a seperate room with its own ventilation system.

Like anything else, "common sense" when burning wood for heat goes a long ways.

[Oldtimer]

We had a thread a while back were we discussed the dangers of dust in confined areas and an ignition source.......long story short, it CAN blow up ike a bomb......maybe it wont but there is extreme potential for it , mean ing proper filtration, or outside air for combustion, or omething needs to be done....even a gas furnace could cause a MASSIVE explosion that would level your shop...........A dust saturated environment and an open flame...BOOM

I worked in a SAPPI hardwood chipper for a while. In winter, the hardwood dust would gather in the building (doors closed up for max wind stoppage!) and it looked like the whole mill was filled with woodsmoke. With all the electric motors and metal to metal contact from the chipper feed loader being banged on the infeed chute.....I was scared .  We could start chipping with empty bins, having trucks loading when there was enough, and the bins would be solid full in 20 minutes. Birch would never debark fully in winter.

[SwampDonkey]

Brian, all quite true. But, my shop flu has seen more neglect than I gave it. And they didn't bring the flu all the way down to a cement base. Its sittin on a wood platform, which isn't that sound.   The shop is accually part of an old barn I converted. The rest of the barn stores my lumber and gardening machinery. I think the old folks used the flu to cook feed for hogs, way before my time. Its part of great grand dad's old homestead. I always used the clean the flu and pipes when being used. Anyway great grand dad's 'farmer son' wasn't much of a hand for keepin things fixed up. That, every other generation thing you know, when every second generation tends to let things go.

cheers

[Stan]

Have you thought about a wood fired boiler outside using hot water for space heating? Insurance companies tend to prefer them to other methods, of heating.

[Timberwerks]

The main heat source for the new shop will be a propane forced air furnace. My budget may not permit this until next year though. I really like the fact of having a wood burner because besides building furniture I am now selling firewood so I would have a ample supply of wood. Because of cost I will not run water out to the shop, at least not this year. I'm just 60' from the house so any cleanup work will be done in the house.

Dale

[wiam]

My insurance  co said there was no difference when I put in my outdoor boiler.

William

[Furby]

Is that so they can charge ya BIG $$$ either way???

[babylogger]

 :Dwell gentlemen not to make light of what is definately a dangerous situation i know ive grew up my whole life with woodstoves and trust me i dusted my roomie didnt she still hadnt when i moved back in 6 years later... by rights we should be looking down at you from one of those new planets nasa just discovered oh heck i might just be there and not know it im just kidding you having a woodstove if you know what your doing your quite safe if you dont your asking questions thats safer yet sorry im a smart as and a kiddy ( and sometimes adult caretake) just please dont ever be gullible enough to fall for the ok take that thing out of the bottom of the chimmeny that looks like a paint can lid and look up there to make sure its not caked w/creosote and ashes!!!! trust me dont do ... just my bro being his normal jokester,, i will admit it was hysterical.. but then i thought later since there was no cap on the top and im scared to death of heights but i can force myself to get on a ladder WHY DIDNT I JUST DO THAT!!!!!? and there are no answers required for this post i already heard them all lmao! but thanks in advance