# Barrel stove kit and gaps



## tjcole50 (Oct 18, 2013)

Hello again, recently assembled one of those double barrel stove kits. Got an initial fire outside of one of my buildings and it was roaring! Was wondering if anyone has used these and can tell me how to seal gaps. During assembly the legs didn't really match up well with the barrels so there are gaps present at almost all of the connections! Are there any products to seal these or is it really not that big of a deal on these setups? I understand they aren't high efficient airtight systems, but cheap and effective at heating a garage! Thanks!


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## BrotherBart (Oct 18, 2013)

If it is just space between the bow between the legs and the barrel it isn't a thing. But be careful with that thing. I had one in the basement back in the eighties. I was nuts. They are an out of control blast furnace in thin tin.

And even well built wood stoves in a garage are against fire and insurance codes pretty much anywhere in the country. Mine got hauled outside, the top barrel cut in half and hinged and it made one hell of a BBQ/smoker. I did all of the meat for a neighbors large wedding for his daughter with it.

I wouldn't have one of the things back under my roofs on a bet.


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## tjcole50 (Oct 18, 2013)

I'm starting to feel that way. I had the kit laying around and decided to build it. This may sound stupid but can an insert be used as a free standing stove? Found some cheap inserts on c list for the garage I do not care to much on looks


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## BrotherBart (Oct 18, 2013)

Several people here have used them for shop stoves.


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## Todd 2 (Oct 18, 2013)

BrotherBart said:


> I wouldn't have one of the things back under my roofs on a bet.


+1
Even when you cement the seams they spread with heat with the thin metal, best thing I ever scraped back in the day.
Dont leave it unattended Guy !


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## BrotherBart (Oct 18, 2013)

We had a guy at work that moved into a house that had a single barrel one in his basement. He was trying to wrestle some big logs in the thing and got his arms stuck in the door frame and ended up in the ER with major burns. Me, I had long tongs. Don't have the stove anymore, but still have the tongs.


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## tjcole50 (Oct 18, 2013)

Anyone have any insight on a forester york? Got him at 200$ debating on pulling the trigger


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## BrotherBart (Oct 18, 2013)

Gonna eat a lot of wood and make a mess of the pipe, but if it ain't cracked it will heat the joint.

Burn bone dry wood and it should work OK. But you are going to find a rectangular hole in the top of it probably that will cost you a hundred or more to get a boot to let you connect a stove pipe to it. It was made to just dump into a masonry chimney.


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## tjcole50 (Oct 18, 2013)

BrotherBart said:


> Gonna eat a lot of wood and make a mess of the pipe, but if it ain't cracked it will heat the joint.
> 
> Burn bone dry wood and it should work OK. But you are going to find a rectangular hole in the top of it probably that will cost you a hundred or more to get a boot to let you connect a stove pipe to it. It was made to just dump into a masonry chimney.


Not a fan of that lol. Any input on this one? It's unknown but they are asking 75$


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## BrotherBart (Oct 18, 2013)

All of the old ones are gonna be the same story. The Forester would be easier to feed. One of the little Century EPA stoves would be a better answer. And when you tell the people on craigslist that that $700 they want doesn't add up since they sold for $500 on sale brand new the price comes down pretty fast.


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## tjcole50 (Oct 18, 2013)

Referring to the vertical one in pic? I have never seen anything like that? Not a fan of forester I didn't know it had a rectangular exit? Are those easily available fittings?
Been talking to the guy selling the forester he says it's a circle 6" opening on top of the stove? Confused about rectangle comment?


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## martyv (Feb 14, 2014)

Sorry, just joined this forum and can see that people hate the old barrel stove.  They are not efficient but many people here in Alaska use them  You have to at least have a little sense when using them but they work fine...just burn a lot of wood.  I have one in the cabin and have a friend who has used one for more than 30 years in his house.  He has gone through about 3 barrels in that time but just takes off the old door and chimney collar to put it on a new barrel.  He has a drafty log house in a very cold part of Alaska.  -30 to -50 for quite a while every winter.  So they work, you just need to use at least a lick of good sense.


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## firefighterjake (Feb 15, 2014)

martyv said:


> Sorry, just joined this forum and can see that people hate the old barrel stove.  They are not efficient but many people here in Alaska use them  You have to at least have a little sense when using them but they work fine...just burn a lot of wood.  I have one in the cabin and have a friend who has used one for more than 30 years in his house.  He has gone through about 3 barrels in that time but just takes off the old door and chimney collar to put it on a new barrel.  He has a drafty log house in a very cold part of Alaska.  -30 to -50 for quite a while every winter.  So they work, you just need to use at least a lick of good sense.




Pros of a barrel stove ... they're cheap to replace and will burn about anything you throw into them.

Cons of a barrel stove ... you'll be replacing them a lot more frequently compared to just buying a decent steel woood stove and will go through a lot more wood. There is also the whole safety aspect ... When I have a raging fire in the corner of my living room I want a little more steel keeping the fire inside the stove vs. the thin metal of a barrel. I could also go on about the clearance requirements (inches vs. feet) and aesthetics ...

I do agree ... they do work and you really need to be careful and use commonsense ... just for me I would pony up a few more dollars for something like an Englander and have a more efficient, clean burning stove that doesn't chow down wood like a fat guy at an all you can eat buffet ... and a stove that doesn't take up so much real estate to meet the clearance requirements.


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## Seasoned Oak (Feb 15, 2014)

tjcole50 said:


> Hello again, recently assembled one of those double barrel stove kits. Got an initial fire outside of one of my buildings and it was roaring! Was wondering if anyone has used these and can tell me how to seal gaps.  Thanks!


You can use furnace cement. You will find it by the 1 quart tub at the local hardware store. Its black and gooey like tar but hardens like steel. I have one of these stoves for years. But i dont use it in a house. Even in a garage give it plenty of clearance to combustables and as far as flammable liquids ,like gasoline,paint ,thinner ect this heater is considered an open flame and can ignite fumes. Open flame heaters are also discouraged(and against code) around vehicles or other things with engines (and gas tanks) like mowers,tillers ect.


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## granpajohn (Feb 15, 2014)

I had a friend who heated his home from the basement using a stainless steel barrel stove. I believe he used the smaller (30 gal is it?) size barrel. Installed in the early 1970s; it still looked almost new when he died in 2001, and was his main heat source for all those years. But...I think the stainless barrels are fairly costly. 
This post would be too long if I explained the whole system. He was a brilliant man, (made his living as a dentist). We miss him a lot.


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## Seasoned Oak (Feb 15, 2014)

granpajohn said:


> I had a friend who heated his home from the basement using a stainless steel barrel stove. I believe he used the smaller (30 gal is it?) size barrel. Installed in the early 1970s; it still looked almost new when he died in 2001, and was his main heat source for all those years. But...I think the stainless barrels are fairly costly.
> This post would be too long if I explained the whole system. He was a brilliant man, (made his living as a dentist). We miss him a lot.


Perhaps it was a genuine wood stove like an elm .I dont even know were you would look for a SS barrel .I have a stove called a long wood.it has a SS tube shaped like a water heater for a firebox and its 5' deep.


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## valley ranch (Feb 16, 2014)

I made a barrel stove, a single, with an added primary heat tube[ and no gaps]. This was when I was building this house. It was Great! One it had a flat plate on top from the front to where the stove pipe was welded. At first I had no heat, for water, cooking, bathing, anything but from this stove. This steel stove  worked wonders. I would heat water to bathe on the surrounding deck, cook and all else by this stove. It was completely safe and gave heat that made those who shared a brandy in its presents, praise it.
Now, while I love the stove I have now, I remember fondly that round steel heat machine that, today sits out back, up on the hill.

I differ with anyone who would say they are not safe or burn too much wood, mine did not.

Richard

I'll tell you where to look for a stainless steel barrel, any cosmetic manufacture. I, before moving to the mountains, was lead mechanic for Max Factor. The compounder in the perfume room said, "$20 and they are yours." Twenty seemed a large amount then, I made mine of black steel, the same as the Hittites used for their swords. Some are heaver, barrels, the heavy ones could outlast it's maker. Keep warm.


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## granpajohn (Feb 16, 2014)

valley ranch said:


> I'll tell you where to look for a stainless steel barrel, any cosmetic manufacture. I, before moving to the mountains, was lead mechanic for Max Factor. The compounder in the perfume room said, "$20 and they are yours." Twenty seemed a large amount then, I made mine of black steel, the same as the Hittites used for their swords. Some are heaver, barrels, the heavy ones could outlast it's maker. Keep warm.




$20 is a great price:
(They're expensive):
http://shop.usedstainlesssteelbarrels.com/

(A big shot for Max Factor on Hearth.com...I'd never have guessed it.)


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## valley ranch (Feb 17, 2014)

Granpa, I have to admit, that was in the early 70ies. Like everything it would be ten times higher today.

Richard


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