barrel stove advice?

[ford1386]

i was just wondering if a stainless steel barrel will last longer as a barrel stove than a regular steel barrel? 304 or 316 stainless?

will the stainless steel barrel warp faster or anything?

 

[rkevins]

I don't know about stainless but if you take care of steel and not over heat they will last a long time, as long as you use good barrels

 

[RECox286]

Stay away from wooden barrels. They do work OK, but only for a little while.

Uncle Bob

 

[rlitman]

Stay away from wooden barrels. They do work OK, but only for a little while.

LOL.

Stainless has a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than mild steel, so it can warp faster.
Stainless is only truly stainless when passive. Once activated, it will still rust (heat will activate it).
If you're considering stainless, you'll want a low carbon alloy, like 304L, or 316L. Either would work better than 304 or 316.
316Ti would be great, but that's hard to come by, and very expensive.

Will it eventually rust. Yes. Will it outlast mild steel (of the same thickness). Yes. Just think about how much longer a stainless muffler lasts.

 

[rkevins]

see if you can find some heavy pipe the same size a a barrel, make you own ends or use what you find and make it the size you want it, but you do want an double barrek you will get a lot of heat from that second barrel

 

[bfarroo]

Look for an older hot water heater. They were made with much thicker steel. That's what my dad had in his shop for years. The hard part is his was probably 30-40 years old. Just replaced it with a propane unit for the ease as he's getting older and chopping wood and starting fires every time you want to work was getting to be a pain.

 

[CarterKraft]

a 30 gallon air compressor makes a good start, it has round ends obviously and the barrel stove kits don't work but the thickness is great for a stove.

 

[Highbeam]

The only good thing about a barrel stove is the cost. As soon as you start making it more expensive by using fancy materials or special iron you may as well go buy a used woodstove. Often easily found on craigslist and at least as effective. Nice flat top for setting things to heat them, long life, etc.

 

[trbomax]

The best would be a scrapped out propane pig. Cut it about 42" long and weld a flat piece of 3/8" plate on the end for the door assy. If you cant find one of those a plastic barrel would work once.