wood burning stove questions.

[mpr455]

i have decided on using a wood burning stove to heat garage. my question is has anyone built one of the heat recycle boxes i've seen in the big box stores. they seem a little pricey. also how does it work? i have to go look at a stove a guy has for sale a couple towns over. if that does'nt work out. I'am going to build one.

 

[Rockerbox1]

I've never built one of the reclaimers, but have had one, they are actually quite simple, pretty buch a small heat exchanger and a small blower

 

[burleymike]

One thing about the heat reaclaimers is they pull heat out of your chimney. The problem with that is you will have cooler exhaust gases which will be more likely to condense into creosote on the chimney walls. For a shop stove that will probably be run hot it may not such a problem. Be sure to check your chimney frequently until you know how well it works out.

I have been also thinking about building one myself. I was thinking of something fairly big that will mount on the top of the stove. Once side of it will have an access panel to clean out ash/soot as it clogs up.

 

[Zengineer]

I spent a number of years working in Fireplace R&D.

Heat recovery units are not recommended for the same reasons as listed above. (lowering stack temps, increasing creosote and condensation) You're better off mounting a fan to blow over the stove to get some convection and air circulation going in the room you are in, but leave the stove pipe alone...

If your wood stove isn't heating your shop, look to the woodstove as the problem, don't band-aid a fix. Burn better wood (seasoned hardwood), get a larger stove, or get a more efficient stove. Everything built after 1986 should have a listed efficiency available...

 

[brianh]

I have had a magic heat exchanger on our woodstove for years, it does reduce stack temps I clean our triple wall pipe chimney once a month.

The **** will build up in the pipe in just a month so plan on cleaning a lot if you get one.

What I do like about it is getting heat when I just get the fire started right away.

 

[tool whore]

I dont have a reclaimer, but I have a blower built in. My blower blows out the sides and bottom (under a metal ledge). Mine is an insert, therefore it uses the house chimney. If yours just goes through the wall and up a pipe I wouldnt be as worried about it clogging, but it is still something to keep an eye on. I clean mine at the end of the season. I'd prefer to do it at the beginning in case of animals and what not, but I have found its hard to find someone to do it, so I do it early. I just replaced my blower for $100. If you can find an insert where the blower dont work, its an easy fix. I'm heating 3200 square feet. It's been a cold winter in NC and my furnace never comes on.

Sometimes I open the door to the garage and blow it out there if I plan on being in it for the evening. Otherwise I use a torpedo. Also, I have a magnetic thermometer (Chimgard) that tells me when to turn fan on and close the damper and vents. Very nice. It came with the house but doesnt look expensive.

 

[Mattlt]

First thing to do is check with your insurance company. If you don't tell them you have a wood burning stove in your garage, they won't pay if the stove causes a fire. There are special considerations that need to be taken in a garage due to fuel vapors, etc.

Likewise I'm guessing they wouldn't be too excited about the use of a non-UL listed piece of equipment on the stove. Talk to your agent before you go this route.

 

[5lima30]

I never had one on my woodstoves but I had always heard from others that they were prone to creosote/ chimney fire issues. Quite frankly I think that with any of the modern airtight woodstoves those devices are not neccessary. YMMV.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I had thought about gettin gone of those at one time. I ran it by my neighbor, he's a plumbing and HVAC guy, he recommended not to use one for the reasons listed above.

My wood burner has no blower but I merely use a 20" box fan to circulate the warmed air through out the garage, well, actually two of them.

 

[6768rogues]

In addition to the reasons mentioned, cooled chimney gasses are denser and heavier. The chimney will not draw as well if the gasses are heavier.

 

[trbomax]

I've had 2 of them in use for over 20 yrs,one in the house and one in the shop. As long as you moniter them with a manometer and stack temp ga. there is no real problem. Keep the draw at .04 to .05 and the temp above 450 deg. F. I burned wood exclusevly in both for several years before switchingto soft coal. The chimineys would never build more than a 1/4 to 1/2 inch maximum creosote in a season. After switching to coal there was never any build up of any kind.An old hand fired boilermans trick is to get her cranked up real hot and the stack pulling hard,then give it a scoop or two (I always used two) of rock salt right into the hottest part of the fire.Slam the doors shut asap. That chit goes off like popcorn and ratteles up the stack like a thousand ball bearings takeing any loose and some not so loose junk with it.Move your car either away or in the garage first and bring in the pets.

 

[george2c]

Hey Trbomax, I have heard of the rock salt idea before. I Have a wood burning furnace hooked into my ductwork at home and use it alot. What does the rock salt actually do. I was thinking it would dry out the creosote and make it harmless. Can you elaborate a bit for me. And how big of a scoop do you use. Thanks

 

[NUTTSGT]

An old hand fired boilermans trick is to get her cranked up real hot and the stack pulling hard,then give it a scoop or two (I always used two) of rock salt right into the hottest part of the fire.Slam the doors shut asap. That chit goes off like popcorn and ratteles up the stack like a thousand ball bearings takeing any loose and some not so loose junk with it.Move your car either away or in the garage first and bring in the pets.

That's interesting, never heard that before. I've tapped on the chimney before and heard stuff falling down (nothing big though). I'm not sure that would work on mine, it has a big heat exchanger on the back before the chimney.