Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Dec 03, 2007 08:04am | #1

   I bought my pellet stove from one of the Knots members who was heating a shop probably about that size with it.  He was a professional, did all kinds of work in there, but especially (if memory serves) cabinetry.

   Mine is an opinion only but I think you can use wood or pellet burning stoves (I prefer pellets, see below) if you use common sense and good installation technique.  Follow the codes as far as clearances around the unit and above and through the roof.  Keep any blowers clean of sawdust by periodically blowing them out with compressed air, or however instructed by the operating manual.  Don't load your atmosphere with spray mist, use good dust collection.  I keep all my flammables stores on the other side of the shop from the stove (originally had a wood stove), and on lower shelves.  If I was really on my toes, I'd build a fireproof/resistant cupboard.

   I prefer a pellet stove because:

   • You don't have to open and close it as much as a wood stove
   • The outer surface of the stove does not get terribly hot, and the clearances are less than with a wood stove
   • A good one can be controlled by a thermostat
   • Don't have to split, stack and store wood
   • It burns clean  I can't tell you how bad the air can get around our pristine little island from people burning their dad-blasted wood stoves cold and inefficiently!!!

   Unfortunately, the other thing you probably need to check is your homeowner's or commercial shop insurance policy.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
2. 
   JMartinsky | Dec 03, 2007 03:29pm | #2

   Dear Wood,
   I have the same square footage with 9' ceilings and I use a a woodburning stove with good results. FG's points about a pellet stove are good ones, however, and I think that a pellet stove is a bit safer in the shop, if for no other reason that apparently, the exteriors don't get as hot. OK: Wood Stoves:

   High Points:
   1) Quiet
   2) Quaint
   3) Requires no electricity
   4) Fuel is abundant and cheap
   5) Definitely nice to hang out around with a coffee and friends
   6) Great way to get rid of scraps & mistakes. (Like I make mistakes!)

   Low Points
   1) Fuel is heavy, if not inconvenient and bulky. Requires work to cut, split & stack.
   2) Temperature is tough to regulate.
   3) There is no set-it and forget-it. On winter glue ups, I have to re-feed the stove about every 4-6 hours, although my stove is a little small for my shop.
   4) NO FLAMMABLE spraying or fluids allowed in my shop, but I do have a couple of Fire extinguishers.
   5) The stoves aren't cheap and neither is the install.
   6) Neighbors may object to smoke.
   7) You will have an iron box at approximately 400 degrees, exposed in the shop. Watch the kids and where you stack the wood. Not to mention your rear end when moving around the shop.

   In closing, I do like my woodstove, but I can see some advantages to a pellet burner. I think that my biggest concern is that, although pellets are cheap now, there is no recourse, a pellet stove burns pellets. If the price ever spikes, then what? But, I suppose you could make that argument about anything. One last thought, depending on your dust collection system, make up air can be an issue. My DC vents directly outside, after the cyclone, and pumps warm air out of the shop. I have never had any issues with back drafting though the stove pipe, but I always leave a window cracked.

   Best,

   John

1. 
   woodenhead | Dec 03, 2007 03:51pm | #3

   Thanks, very professional advise.

1. 
   northhouguy | Dec 04, 2007 06:50am | #4

   My old dad used to say,"Wood makes you warm three times.  Once when you cut it, once when you burn it and once when you carry out the ashes..."

    

3. 
   frenchy | Dec 04, 2007 06:36pm | #5

   woodenhead,

     Like anything else a woodburner can be as safe or dangerous as you make it.. if you tend to be untidy and messy then sooner or later you will come to grief. if you take a moment to sweep sawdust away from the stove and take care where you stack wood to be burned it can be a pleasant way to heat someplace..

      I've heated my whole house with free pallets from a local manufacturing company, they were glad to get rid of them and would carefully set aside crates with interesting wood for me so I could decide if the wood became ashes or something else.

    There were times when I was lazy and propped my feet up and just stared at the flames for a while..  fires can be mesmerizing..

1. 
   woodenhead | Dec 04, 2007 07:05pm | #6

   Thanks for the info. I am pretty fussy about keeping the shop clean, do you have photos of your setup is there a web site on wood burning stoves? What is a pellet burning stove?

1. 
   woodman2263 | Dec 04, 2007 07:50pm | #7

   Hey all,

   Lots of good points here about heating with wood.  I also agree with FG about wood pellets.  They are definately convienient and clean.  I actually heat my house and woodshop with firewood.  I have a woodburning attachment that hooks onto my furnace in the house where I only have to turn on the furnace blower.  I also have a free standing woodburning stove in my woodshop.  It is very true its hard to control the temperature in the woodshop and you do have to replenish it every 8 hours (my shop is insulated very well)  It also takes ALOT of work to cut, split and stack firewood.

   BUT, the bottom line is when paying $2.85 for one gallon of propane, I just simply can't afford to fill my 500 gallon propane tank on a whim.  I went from spending over a thousand dollars a year on propane costs without the wood stoves to less than $250 with them!!!!

   And the cool thing about it.............my wife awards me every December 31st with a handplane of my choice because of the savings!!!

   Jeff

1. 
   woodenhead | Dec 04, 2007 08:40pm | #8

   How many planes do you have? I sure could use a few .What is the initial coast of a wood burning stove?

1. 
   woodman2263 | Dec 04, 2007 09:25pm | #9

   The upfront cost of the stove for the woodshop was about $300 and I can stack it full and keep my shop warm for about 10 hours.  The woodburning attachment for the house was about $850 on sale.  Oh, by the way, when my wife rewards me with a plane each december, she means a Lee Valley or LieNielsen.....Not a Marcou...........yet.

   Jeff