# anyone made a barrel stove?



## baconexplosion (Jan 7, 2012)

I stumbled across one of those kits to make a stove out of a 55 gal drum, and thought twice about it...

Has anybody made one? Anybody have any experience with using one?

Thanks!


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## jungatheart (Feb 2, 2010)

baconexplosion said:


> I stumbled across one of those kits to make a stove out of a 55 gal drum, and thought twice about it...
> 
> Has anybody made one? Anybody have any experience with using one?
> 
> Thanks!


I made one a long time ago and used in my woodworking shop. The kit was made by Sotz Worked Great!! They put out a lot of heat. 
Really nice thing about them is you don't have to buck up your wood so short. The 55 gal. drum will take pieces almost 3' long.

Now that I think about it, I still have the hardware after the barrel rusted out. Took a long time.


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## 1969cj-5 (Sep 14, 2011)

I just made one last week with the kit from Tractor Supply for my shop in the barn. I can not get it to draw air for nothing. I think I need to re-think the way the Stove Pipe runs. It does heat up pretty good when I have the front open wide though. I have 55 bucks total into the thing.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

1969cj-5 said:


> I just made one last week with the kit from Tractor Supply for my shop in the barn. I can not get it to draw air for nothing. I think I need to re-think the way the Stove Pipe runs. It does heat up pretty good when I have the front open wide though. I have 55 bucks total into the thing.


Did you miss cutting out the steel in one of the passages?? :dunno:


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Also if you add an air inlet to the top barrel it reduces the visible smoke, prolly due to secondary burn, but you need to be able to close the air off to get the stove to draw when you first light it.


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## jungatheart (Feb 2, 2010)

1969cj-5 said:


> I just made one last week with the kit from Tractor Supply for my shop in the barn. I can not get it to draw air for nothing. I think I need to re-think the way the Stove Pipe runs. It does heat up pretty good when I have the front open wide though. I have 55 bucks total into the thing.


Usually, adding a length of stove pipe will increase draw.

If you have lots of twists and turns in the pipe, that may be the problem. I had a straight run on mine and had to bolt the furniture down to keep the stove from sucking it in. Also, try starting the fire at the very back of the stove where the outlet is.


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

I built one a few years ago... sort of..
I made a smoke/grill out of the double barrel kit. Cut a door in the top barrel, put a flange on the opening and used fiberglass rope to seal it. It works really well.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

The Hutterites (similar to Amish and Mennonites) build barrel-stoves and I have seen them in action. The normal one is two barrels stacked with a chimney section at the back and then chimney section from the front heading out. It was explained to me that the lower barrel is for the pre-burn and that the upper barrel was for the re-burn of the gasses. The temperature gets real hot and stays that way. I asked about doing three barrels and I was told that it doesn't make any difference, so, go cheaper with only two.

I have considered building one, but, I have no where to put it ... 

For those wondering what a barrel-stove is, here is a picture of a fancy one ...


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## baconexplosion (Jan 7, 2012)

How bad was it to cut up the barrel? I have a good sawsall which would cut it fine I think... Surely this wouldn't need a cutting torch...

What type of paint, if any, did you use on the exterior? 

Now I just want to do this even more! This would be an awesome way to heat my garage...

Thanks for the info!


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Why paint it unless you want it to look pretty. Well, if you do want to paint it, use VHT paint (Very High Temperature) that is rated for temperatures well above what the wood-stove puts out. Some common names would be BBQ-paint, engine-enamel, caliper-paint, exhaust-paint.

If you want to build something that lasts longer than the 55-gallon units, visit a local metal shop and have them roll some 1/4" or 5/16" steel plate into a barrel-shape, give you a couple of cut-outs to fill in the gaps and weld it together yourself (that is if you have the skills). My cabins-n-the-woods have those kinds of plate-steel wood-stoves that do wonderfully.


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## jungatheart (Feb 2, 2010)

baconexplosion said:


> How bad was it to cut up the barrel? I have a good sawsall which would cut it fine I think... Surely this wouldn't need a cutting torch...
> 
> What type of paint, if any, did you use on the exterior?
> 
> ...


Sawzall with metal blade will work fine but wear ear plugs cause it's loud. I didn't paint mine and didn't regret not doing it. Also,, mine was the single barrel kit. Double barrel, to me, is just asking for creosote buildup. YMMV


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

I used BBQ paint since mine stays outside.
I would recomend putting firebrick in the bottom of it. It would make it last that much longer.


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## 1969cj-5 (Sep 14, 2011)

Tirediron said:


> Did you miss cutting out the steel in one of the passages?? :dunno:


I cut all the holes properly. I think I need to re-position my stove pipe to go out through the roof closer to the peak, rather than out the side of the barn.


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

Those stoves were popular when I was a teenager "70s", Iremember Sotz as being one of the companies. I have seen kits for them on Ebay and at Lehman Hardware. You can also use it on a 30 gal barrel.


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## baconexplosion (Jan 7, 2012)

JustCliff said:


> I used BBQ paint since mine stays outside.
> I would recomend putting firebrick in the bottom of it. It would make it last that much longer.


Fire bricks in bottom is definitely a smart move!

Thanks again for the good info everyone.


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## cranky1 (Oct 9, 2008)

dont waste time with the second barrel, it does not get hot enough to burn off the gasses. all it does is gunk up with cresote. and the if it gets hot enough it gets on fire.then usually burns down your cabin. the one barrel desgn works much better.when it is working properly you will probably have to open the windows and the door because it will be too hot. even at - 60c. i have seen this a few times. cheers jim


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## Tjaway6 (Mar 1, 2012)

I built one for a 14 by 26' cabin. There were times we had to prop the door open to dump excess heat! The flue had 2 90 degree bends in it. One night a gent who grew up in northern Michigan said "Let me take care of the stove." About every 20 minutes he put a piece of fire wood into the stove. Then he marked the time on his watch. Each piece was 18 inches long and about as big around as your arm. If it was bigger he waited longer, smaller he didn't wait that long. The output was even and the cabin comfy. This was one of those "Aha" moments. The barrel stove lasted until the owner died and the land was taken by the county for back taxes. No paint, no water, no problem.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

baconexplosion said:


> I stumbled across one of those kits to make a stove out of a 55 gal drum, and thought twice about it...
> 
> Has anybody made one? Anybody have any experience with using one?
> 
> Thanks!


They're great! and if you can find one of those stainless steel drums they use in the dye industry for acid they're eternal!


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## twiggie (Jan 3, 2009)

I was wondering about getting something like this. I had an idea for it and want to know if anyone see's a problem with my concept. Start with the 2 barrel system and open the top barrel to make a meat smoker. would that be feasible?


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Yes, but an old fridge works better.


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

twiggie said:


> I was wondering about getting something like this. I had an idea for it and want to know if anyone see's a problem with my concept. Start with the 2 barrel system and open the top barrel to make a meat smoker. would that be feasible?


I did that. It works well. I will try and get a pic around and post it.


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## twiggie (Jan 3, 2009)

Thanks for the info Cliff I had the idea that it would work. My family loves slow cooked smoked meat and this sounds like the perfect setup to me. We learned how to turn the propane grill into an impromptu smoker but we have trouble maintaining temperature and losing a bunch of smoke. Is it possible to keep the temp around 225 without having to constantly baby it?


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## baconexplosion (Jan 7, 2012)

One of these days I'll get everything needed to make one and document it on my blog along with some of the other projects...


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

I will try and get the pics tomorrow. Been feeling a bit weak because of some medicine.


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

Ok. Here are pics of mine.


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