Wood stove for garage heat??

[honda_fox3]

Hi all,

First post so forgive my lack of knowledge.

How does a wood stove work out for heating a garage? I plan on having one in my basement when we finish it so I thought why not in the garage also. Mostly I like the wood idea for disaster preparedness and self sustainability (I'm a firefighter and emergency manager so I think about these things). Wood can be used even in the event of all utilities being out, but is it worth trying to use it on a regular basis for a garage?

Thanks in advance

 

[930dreamer]

How big is your garage, do you have room for wall clearance and a chimney? I'm wanting one for my shop because the cabinet shop next door throws away a lot of wood, I could heat my shop for free.

 

[rkevins]

a wood stove in a shop great if you do woodwork, great place to hide / destroy mistakes and good source of heat. The basement of a house works good if the basement is finished add some vents from downstairs to upstairs and just let the heat rise naturally.

 

[p_mori7]

Wood heat is great ! Check with your municipality...some do not allow it any more in a garage...insurance might also be an issue.

Personally, I would consider it as a supplemental heat source...use electric or oil or propane for main heat to keep the interior around 50*...then fire up the stove before working to bring the temp up.

 

[honda_fox3]

How big is your garage, do you have room for wall clearance and a chimney? I'm wanting one for my shop because the cabinet shop next door throws away a lot of wood, I could heat my shop for free.

828 sq ft. Should have plenty of room for everything.

a wood stove in a shop great if you do woodwork, great place to hide / destroy mistakes and good source of heat. The basement of a house works good if the basement is finished add some vents from downstairs to upstairs and just let the heat rise naturally.

Good idea about hving vents going between the levels I never really thought of that.

Wood heat is great ! Check with your municipality...some do not allow it any more in a garage...insurance might also be an issue.

Personally, I would consider it as a supplemental heat source...use electric or oil or propane for main heat to keep the interior around 50*...then fire up the stove before working to bring the temp up.

Municipality is no problem, rural area. Insurance I'n not sure. Yes I would use it as supplemental, wood around here is too expensive to run it constantly.

 

[PRH44]

I use wood in my wood shop as well as in my basement. I have plenty of wood so I basically heat for free. There are some factors you need to address.

If you have a wood shop dust collection and airborne particles need to be controlled.
Make sure you have plenty of air space about the stove. Make sure no one accidentally places flammable items in that zone.
I keep my stack short and easy to clean.
As with anything there are risks just be **** about your safety. Large Fire extinguishers, Chem sticks, etc
The feel of wood heat is very nice. When I come in from the cold the floor in my house is warm from the stove below. If you lay on the floor your out like a light

 

[Gary S]

My Brother heats his 50x50 shop with a wood stove. He uses mostly coal in the stove as wood is an expensive commodity here on the plains, but coal is very cheap. It works very well for him. Wood doesn't seem to burn as long on a stoveload as coal, but you just load it up a bit more often.

 

[honda_fox3]

As with anything there are risks just be **** about your safety. Large Fire extinguishers, Chem sticks, etc
The feel of wood heat is very nice. When I come in from the cold the floor in my house is warm from the stove below. If you lay on the floor your out like a light

As a firefighter, thats a big check. I have fire extinguishers for decorative purposes let alone actual safety Plus I'm looking for an excuse to install a sprinkler system anyways

That floor sounds fantastic!

 

[ratdoggy]

I had one. It was a PITA takes too long to warm it up when you want to work and it's messy (ashes) Plus don't use any aerosols in there that are flammable. I went to a torpedo heater.

 

[James-W]

Wood heat works quite well, if you have a source for free, or very cheap, firewood. You really want to burn hardwood rather than pine or other soft woods. Bottom line, if you end up buying firewood, then I would question whether you really save much money, if you save any money at all, by burning wood.

Around where I live we have very strict codes for installing a wood stove, especially with a chimney going thru the roof, or up the side of the building. Also, you need to have a place to put the ashes. You can't just dump them into a garbage can to be picked up by the local garbage collection company. I realize you said you were in a rural area, but still, you need a safe place in which to get rid of the ashes that won't violate any local laws.

 

[kbs2244]

Can I assume you mean two different wood stoves?
One in the basement and one in the garage?
As a firefighter I would guess you know about codes against vents between living and garage spaces.
That is why you have the step of curb between garage and house floor levels.
You do not want fumes and such getting into the basement or any part of the living area.

For the same reason you want your garage stove elevated so the flame is at least 18 inches above the floor.

And finally check with your insurance agent.
A lot of companies just do not like wood stoves.

Done right they are safe, but they have had a lot of bad experiences with them.

 

[NUTTSGT]

My wood burner is the sole heat source for my garage. I have a fire going everyday that I'm off work, 24 on, 48 off. It generally gets no colder than 48-50° in my garage while I'm at work or gone for a few days. The key is to keep the heat in the concrete floor and it will help maintain the temp of the garage.

I also can cut at my parents property and take all the standing dead or some of the recently fallen wood. If I add up my costs,gas for the truck, gas/oil for the saw, maybe a chain and lunch for the days I'm cutting, I usually figure about a $100/yr to heat it. Some years a little more, a little less.

The key is being able to cut your own and not buy it. As a FF, you should know the ins & outs of a proper install, home owners insurance and common sense of burning.

 

[honda_fox3]

Can I assume you mean two different wood stoves?

Very much yes!

Thanks for the comments all, some good advice. I'm definatly going to explore this more, pretty set on the basement one but still not sure about the garage.

 

[930dreamer]

My main reason for a wood stove is the gas furnace is loud, here's my start at collecting wood from the cabinet shop.

 

[James-W]

Most of that wood looks like pine or plywood. That wood will burn and make heat, but it isn't really what you want to use for best results. Large pieces of Oak or Maple will burn much better, will last longer and will provide a lot better heating than will the wood you have collected in those two piles.

 

[930dreamer]

Most of that wood looks like pine or plywood. That wood will burn and make heat, but it isn't really what you want to use for best results. Large pieces of Oak or Maple will burn much better, will last longer and will provide a lot better heating than will the wood you have collected in those two piles.

Actually 90% is oak.

 

[trbomax]

My main reason for a wood stove is the gas furnace is loud, here's my start at collecting wood from the cabinet shop.

Thats probably enough starter wood for a season,but it wont work for makeing heat. My wood/coal furnace would burn all that in one day if it was all I had.You need some 8-10" splits for good heat.

 

[930dreamer]

Since I can't bear to see this go to the land fill, I'll collect all I can this year and see what happens.

 

[Klod]

Many friends use wood stoves to heat the garage. Make them yourself. There are air-or water pipes. But in Russia to the stoves in the garage free attitude. There is a self-made design long-running stove on one tab firewood. You can achieve up to a week of not enclosing the wood.