# Inherited an antique pot belly stove, thinking about using it in my garage/woodshop



## ADDvanced (Nov 20, 2018)

I recently inherited a King Oak wood stove, it was my grandfathers.  He restored it when I was a kid, but never used it.  Here's a photo of it, I have the chrome parts in a box:





I have a 30x40 detached garage that stores two cars, a lawn mower, and my lawn equipment (chainsaws, leaf blowers, etc).   This means I also have some gas cans.

Some people say you cannot have 'solid fuel' stoves in an outbuilding, others say you can't have wood burning stoves in a building that stores vehicles, other say insurance will drop you and your house, and others say it's fine as long as it's installed properly.

The other kicker is, this is also where my woodshop is.  I know dust and wood stoves don't get along, but if you keep it clean, I'm not sure what the issue is.  It would be EXTREMELY convenient to just shove all my scraps in the wood stove and get free heat.

Thoughts?  Am I being stupid here?   If I installed it without telling my insurance company, as long as I maintained it, how would they ever know?

Please leave your feedback....  curious to see what people say.


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## bholler (Nov 20, 2018)

ADDvanced said:


> I recently inherited a King Oak wood stove, it was my grandfathers.  He restored it when I was a kid, but never used it.  Here's a photo of it, I have the chrome parts in a box:
> 
> View attachment 233809
> 
> ...


They will never know unless there is a problem with and you have to file a claim.  At which point if you didnt tell them they will absolutely deny the claim.


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## bholler (Nov 20, 2018)

And it is without question against code


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## ADDvanced (Nov 20, 2018)

But why?   I don't respect rules that don't make any sense.  So installing this in my house, which is worth way more, would be fine, but installing this in my garage, which is worth way less, is not fine?


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## bholler (Nov 20, 2018)

ADDvanced said:


> But why?   I don't respect rules that don't make any sense.  So installing this in my house, which is worth way more, would be fine, but installing this in my garage, which is worth way less, is not fine?


Because of the flamable vapors.   I dont nessecarily agree with the american code but that doesn't really matter.  Code clearly says solid fuel burning appliances cannot be installed in spaces where gasoline is present.  It is in the code books because there were to many accidents involving installs like this.  I would say most of them were probably due to stupidity that doesnt change the code.

And btw many insurance companies wouldnt be fine with installing that stove in your house because it is not ul listed but that is a totally different issue.


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## ct01r (Nov 26, 2018)

I wasn't aware that code says "solid fuel:, I would have thought any flame style heater would be prohibited with gasoline.  And it's not just gas; paint thinner, most paint stripper, heck, even construction adhesive says not to use around flames.  Anything that is solvent base (the good stuff) shouldn't be used while the stove is burning.   Having said that, I've used wood stoves in my shop for almost 30 years without any problems.  I do not store gas or mowers there, they stay in the garage.  I don't work on mowers in the winter, either, they get worked on when the stove is off.

I've never had a problem with saw dust, but I'm pretty anal about collection because I'm allergic to the dust.

Even if you find a spot to store your gas powered equipment and gas elsewhere, you still can't use the stove while the cars are inside. 

As a side note, before you use the wood stove, exam it carefully.  I've looked at parlor stove and potbellies for a couple of years before I found one good enough to use.  Most of them had hidden cracks that could give off smoke and CO in my work area.

I agree with bholler that the codes are probably due to stupidity, but when I was a fire fighter we were usually told by the homeowner that he thought he was doing it (whatever he was doing) "right".

Sorry this is so long.  Curt


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## bholler (Nov 26, 2018)

ct01r said:


> I wasn't aware that code says "solid fuel:, I would have thought any flame style heater would be prohibited with gasoline.  And it's not just gas; paint thinner, most paint stripper, heck, even construction adhesive says not to use around flames.  Anything that is solvent base (the good stuff) shouldn't be used while the stove is burning.   Having said that, I've used wood stoves in my shop for almost 30 years without any problems.  I do not store gas or mowers there, they stay in the garage.  I don't work on mowers in the winter, either, they get worked on when the stove is off.
> 
> I've never had a problem with saw dust, but I'm pretty anal about collection because I'm allergic to the dust.
> 
> ...


Yes solid fuel burners are prohibited around and flammable vapors.  As far as other units are concerned you would have to check their ul listings


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