What wood stove to buy?

[redman2006]

Dode, those rocket heaters are neat. I had never seen them, but they would sure take up a lot of real estate in a 600 foot home.

[Dode]

I agree with you on that. In a small space, the only way a rocket mass heater would work and be efficient, is if the flue snaked back and forth inside a brick wall, going upward and emanating heat. All that brick weight needs to be considered as to whether or not the floor can support it. So, back to the boxwood stove.

Here's an interesting video on a rocket type masonry heater cook stove, where the flue is the straight up and through the roof type. Note that the flue temp is in the 300's and a lot of that is exhausted to the outside air. Being able to keep the flue work in the house until the flue heat is down to 85 degrees, is one way the mass heaters are more efficient and you burn less wood. Check out this video; maybe you could build this with brick and mortar and forego the metal box burner:

http://www.handprintpress.com/featured/cabin-stove-2-0/

[Dode]

What about a spiral flue to keep the flue heat in the house until it expends itself?

Yeah, I need to take a pill. Maybe a pumpkin beer will slow me down a bit.... lol.

[Kessler]

This little 640 square foot home is cement block with a concrete floor. No worries about fire (I think) if I duct it through the block wall and then up on the outside to above roof level and roof is metal covered.

[W.Lynn]

Is it local code, and fire safety (angles trapping embers that might fly out, etc,) to go out first and then up? I've never installed one, and seriously considering a big, covered, outdoor kitchen if we ever buy land, so installing a heater to eventually replace my electric option might be in my future.

[Dode]

It's FL, so you've got a few months to get it done..... right?

[Dode]

If it gets chilly before you have your wood stove installed, you can use a 250 watt infrared heat lamp in a clay pot, lying on its side. Directed at your easy chair, it makes a person nice and cozy in the evenings. 8 hours of daily usage costs about $6-$7 per month. I used one by my chair and one in the bathroom all last winter, which means I didn't have to have the household temp very high.

[Dode]

Kessler... did you get a box wood stove set up, yet? If so, how's it working, or is it cold enough there to use? I wonder if something like that could be used in a travel trailer, if the right precautions are taken.

[Kessler]

Haven't gotten a wood stove yet but have plenty of firewood for when I finally do get one. I have seen several on Craigslist, but being here in central Florida there isn't a big call for wood stoves I reckon. I have a heat strip in my AC and a couple of small electric heaters and of course my gas range whenever I get it hooked up at my "new" place. It was low 80's here today and no need for any heat! But, the time will come in a few weeks when I will need heat.

Still working on my little block house, have the roof done and all of the electric replaced and 90% of sheetrock hung. Still have taping & muddin' and kitchen plumbing to do and a thousand other things too.

Not too sure what wood stove I want as I have seen some nice kitchen cook stoves that caught my attention as well as some parlor type stoves. As far as putting a small wood burning stove in a travel trailer, I am sure it is not recommended at all, but I have never been one to follow the rules. IF you decide to do it, be very cautious as we want to see you around next spring!!!!

[Dode]

I had no idea you were building a structure. Great! What I remember of living in New Orleans, LA and Corpus Christi, TX is that it only got down to freezing for a couple of days, (or was it a couple of weeks?) in JAN or FEB. Here, in MO it is 1* from freezing at night and in the high 50's in the day. I'm using my clay pot heaters to warm the bathroom and my chair side. Btw, this month I'm experimenting with low watt heat source to see if the clay pot heater will work for a small trailer. I think for 30*- 60* weather, it will be fine. Next month, I'm going for a different approach. By Jan, I'll be using the gas furnace.

The idea for a wood stove for a travel trailer came from the custom wood stoves that are used on shrimp boats, sail boats, etc. A special platform and surround are built to deflect the heat from the walls and floor. Plus, double chamber flue, fittings and ceiling deflector. I think I can do it without burning the place down. I'll have to remove the couch for the winter months, if I use a box wood stove. Or, something like this in place of the usual gas cooking stove.

Woodstove.jpg

[Tex]

Sheepherder Stove

Herding sheep out on the range, often times many miles from a town, necessitated the need for what was to become the first 'mobile home' or RV.
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A sheepherder was able to carry everything that was needed in order to survive and tend his band of sheep while living out of a sheepwagon.
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Although they were small, there was plenty of room for one man, or even a couple. I know people who are still alive today, that started out as a young married couple in a sheepwagon. Living on the high desert plains of Wyoming through rough winters in a sheepwagon took alot of mental toughness.
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The old sheepwagons had a small wood stove that was basically a two-burner size. In the summer time, they would get the inside of the wagon pretty hot, but they were more than sufficient in the winter to keep things nice and warm.
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Nowawdays the sheepwagons have been upgraded and have alot more comfort than the older ones and even the stoves have been modernized. I have a project coming up at some point in the fairly near future that is going to be getting a new stove and I am planning on putting one of these in once the build gets to that point.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Sheepherder-Heat-Cook-and-Bake-Stove_264196323.html

Sheepherder_Heat_Cook_and_Bake_Stove.jpg

Dode, I would try and find one of the old sheepherder stoves for your camper. I see them at auctions around here occasionally. If you are wanting a wood stove for a camper, I can't think of a better style than one that was designed for the original RV.

Kess, I don't know what your budget is, but you might look into one of the modern versions for your new house.



Tex

[tk]

I just bought a small log works stove at an auction Saturday for 60 bucks and sold it Monday . Their about 250 new . This one never had a fire built in it. A lot of people buy these stoves for decoration and you can get them at auction or of craigs list pretty cheap . Keep you eyes open and you will find one somewhere down there .

[Dode]

TEX... thanks for the info on the sheep herder stoves. Great that they have an oven! In addition, I'm going to make a couple of solar heat panels for a trailer.... yeah, more stuff to cart around, but it will be worth it, as fuel of any type is good to save for night time temps.

Kessler... have you thought about adding solar heat panels to your construction? Also, I watched a video last night where a person added caulk to her box wood stove seams and some extra insulated cord at the door area, plus put bricks on top of the cooking surface to block air flow when not cooking, and she was able to slow down the air flow enough to get a nice slow burn all night long. I saved the video, but it wasn't in the folder this morning, so will have to look through my history and find it.

[Dode]

I found this btu calculator online and it tells me that I need 10M - 15M btu's to heat an 8'x 12'x 7' non insulated trailer space to raise the temp 30-50 degrees from the outside temp. Mostly, I want a firebox that will keep a closed down fire going as long as possible. So, do I get a bigger fire box in order to do that? I would like to awaken 7-8 hours later and still have embers.

http://www.calculator.net/btu-calculator.html?roomwidth=8&roomwidthunit=feet&roomlength=12&roomlengthunit=feet&ceilingheight=7&ceilingheightunit=feet&insulation=poor&temperature=30&temperatureunit=f&calctype=heat&x=55&y=11

[redman2006]

This brings up something I have wondered about. Sheet metal verses cast. I always thought cast was better, but I see more and more of the new stoves made of sheet metal.

Anyone have any thoughts on that?