wood stove ?

[Bloodman14]

How feasible would using a wood-burning stove in my garage burning charcoal briquets instead of wood? I am wanting a good source of heat without the smoke filling up the garage. Ventilation will not be much of an issue. Asking now to plan ahead. TIA.

[Winger Ed.]

I'd think it'd work, but be kind of expensive to feed compared to scrounging wood.

I used to know a guy who was close to a company that made and rebuilt shipping pallets.
They gave him all the chips & chunks they couldn't use that he wanted.

[Bloodman14]

Ed, I had a wood burner that got so hot, it scorched the 2x6 support (between trusses) it was fastened to, even using double-walled pipe! It also burned the paint off the metal roofing at a height of 17 feet. Just too hot!

[perotter]

Maybe a wood pellet stove would be the answer if you can get pellets in your area. There should be no smoke. Around here about the only thing cheaper would be getting free wood or burning shell corn.

[rancher1913]

the pellet stove idea is best, thermostat controlled and fuel is easy to store and readily available

[gc45]

Yes, pellets are very good in the shop.I have both really, and old wood stove and a newer pellet stove that gets used often. Pellets are easy and safe plus temp controlled. When it gets really cold I fire up the wood heater burning all the trash wood around here like old pallets that are easy to get and cut up too.

[Bloodman14]

Is a pellet stove piped out the same way? I would like to be able to put casters on it for storage in the summer. Could I burn pellets without a chimney? New at this scenario.

[Winger Ed.]

Something else ya might want to check into is a waste oil burning stove.

It's a little more complicated, and some places have restrictions on them,
but you can't beat the price of the fuel for one.

[Mk42gunner]

Charcoal briquettes are pretty much designed to burn slow and give off a lot of smoke, not a good option if you want a relatively smoke free experience in my opinion.

Pellets have to be kept dry. I think even the normal humidity of a Missouri summer will do them in, I never had any last til the next year when I had a pellet/corn stove.

What I have now is a modern version of the old two burner kitchen stove. Forget about cooking on it, but it does burn smoke free(ish). Not cheap, I gave ~$300 for the stove, and the flue (triple wall) ended up costing ~$7-800 a few years ago.

I am fairly satisfied with it.

Robert

[ulav8r]

Never burn anything but natural gas or propane without a chimney. Better to not burn those either. All combustion has by-products that are not good for your health, especially carbon monoxide if there is a shortage of oxygen to feed the fire.

[Bloodman14]

My desire is for a mostly smoke-free heating source for the colder months here in Missouri. One that is as simple as possible that would burn readily available fuels. I was thinking of a camp stove type setup with just a small chimney for the updraft. I have a 30 X 40 2-bay garage/workshop that is not insulated. Funds at this time are in SHORT supply due to the economy.

[dverna]

Get a mini-split.

[.429&H110]

If
If you don't get the chimney hot it won't draft
Without makeup air it won't draft

Would you light a pile of briquets on the floor?

Monoxide is insidious, get a detector.

With a 240V 40 amp outlet an electric heater will heat a house, short term.
but short term, its easy. What you are trying to build is expensive.

[BrassMagnet]

Propane tank and heater?

[elmacgyver0]

A bit of insulation might well be in order also, especially if funds are in short supply.
It takes a lot less fuel to heat an insulated space.

[cwtebay]

After reading your post and concerns - the need for long term heat is not necessarily your concern? Using an efficient electric heater would likely be your best solution. No chimney, no concern of CO, no smoke, easily storeable, can be directed toward your area of choice in moments.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[country gent]

Watch the advertisements in your area a small "morning " type wood stove might come available.A pellet stove or used oil stove would work. Another trick is to keep aluminum or your lead pot on it as this will hold the heat and release it slower. A longer chimney pipe will do the same more surface area = more heat exchange.

One other thing to think about is a drum stove normally made from 55 gal drums . A smaller version could be made from 30 gallon drums. 2 30 gal drums one above the other the first is the fire box the upper a heat exchanger. Ideally this one would have some tubes ran thru it. If your handy this could be made by yourself. It could burn most materials old scrap wood, actual fire wood, charcoal, or even trash. Ideally the bottom barrel should have a grate and lined with fire bricks. It should also set on a fire brick pad.

The draw backs of the wood burners is warm up times it may be awhile from lighting till a change is felt. Another is dealing with the ashes. Last is having to stop what your doing to keep it fed.

The pellet stove with a feeder could be set low at night then turned up with a timer to start before you go out. Same with an oil stove.

There are you tube videos on making the barrel stoves and or oil stoves. Also there are videos on making pellets and bricks from sawdust old paper and other things.

[Bloodman14]

Brass, I have a propane heater set-up, top of the tank burner kind of things. Not too efficient, if you know what I mean. Have the idea of a boiler type system where a simple flame-type jet is directed into a pipe matrix; heats up the entire pipe system creating its' own updraft. Something of a Venturi effect.

[MaryB]

Check your homeowners insurance before adding a wood or pellet burning device to the garage, and local fire codes(has to be off the floor X inches). If allowed a pellet stove will be the least amount of work. Most vent out the wall via a double wall pipe, the outer part draws in outside air for combustion, inner pipe is exhaust going out. Pipe feeds thru a wall thimble to keep it away form flammables.

Get one with a thermostat option and it can cycle form level 1(minimum) to whatever it is set at for when it calls for heat.

[Shopdog]

Propane and $$ machine tools is bad juju. Dosen't mean "can't".... means,understand the nature of the moisture issue.

Insulation is cheaper longterm,than heat... the added benefit is in summer. Major drawback is $$$.

Listen to suggestion about insurance. Good luck with your project.

[gunther]

Like they said "Insulate". Start saving. Spend some on insulation; ceiling first, calk windows, look at how well the doors seal, and improve on that if it's possible, then the walls. Hit every junky looking yard sale. Summer is a good time to find used wood stoves. There might also be a partial roll of insulation left over from someone else's project. And don't forget double wall or triple wall pipe to go througt the roof.

[georgerkahn]

How feasible would using a wood-burning stove in my garage burning charcoal briquets instead of wood? I am wanting a good source of heat without the smoke filling up the garage. Ventilation will not be much of an issue. Asking now to plan ahead. TIA.

HAPPY you addressed ventilation! Maybe "urban legend" -- just what folks have said, which I believe, is the critical element in any fossil fuel heating implement is "draught" ("draft") -- the upward sucking of any/all fumes -- 'sepcially the odorless, clear, tasteless CARBON MONOXIDE which is quite deadly. About 15 years back four youngsters -- 13 & 14 year olds -- planned on spending the night in a wood camp. They used charcoal in a small pot-belly stove with a fashioned 3" diameter chimney pipe through a window. Giving new meaning to "soooo sad!", all four killed! ('Specially sad, for me, is that two of the four were students in a Hunter Safety class I was teaching -- with our class having met the very night before!)
The many discussions following indicated a crackling wood fire sends fumes up the chimney and OUT -- with SMOKE to clearly let you know (most of the time) all is OK. Charcoal is basically pre-burned wood -- and one does not get the benefit of the smoke; hey -- using lighter fluid to start a bar-b-que, note that the only smell one gets is from the lighter fluid.
I'd be durned careful at the thought of charcoal as a heat source!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
geo

[MrWolf]

You have to ask yourself how many hours will you be using the area? Couple hours a day, few days a week, etc. I currently have an electric heater mounted on my ceiling that I bought 5 years ago (currently $655 on Amazon). 40 amp double pole that I wired myself. I would go out a few hours before I was going to work and flip the breaker on. Does what I wanted it to do. I just saw a Home Depot deal of the day and ordered a Pioneer 18,000 btu 1.5 ton mini split. I will do the wiring and just because of my back, I am having my HVAC guy install it ( I have installed four mini splits over the years). Got this more for climate control as I am really hoping I can at least do some woodworking as I recover from another back surgery. Having to put off the metal lathe for another year but at least the garage will be ready. Make sure everything is insulated, it Jake a huge difference. Good luck.
Ron

[ascast]

OP I am confused. You don't want smoke but you say well ventilated. Are you planning some kind of open pit fire on the floor? If your woodstove is smoking up the place then charcoal, pellets, corn, used oil or old tires will do the same. You need ( must have) a proper chimney from fire box to the out side. mODERN STAINLESS DOUCLE WALL IS THE WAY TO GO. opps again. Lots of other good suff here re: time of use, insulation etc. Woodstove alone can be used in a power outage. Maybe thats important.

[MaryB]

I second insulation... My garage never drops below 30 even on days it is -20f outside. Quick bump of the heater has it up to 60ish so a sweatshirt is plenty to keep warm and my fingers stay warm.... When done heater goes off again until needed.

[Handloader109]

Everyone here has missed his second post. A 30x40 foot metal building with NO insulation ain't gonna be heated to any good degree i.e. 65 to 70f with much of anything easily unless it is burning 24x7 in Missouri winter when outdoor temp is below freezing. Forget charcoal and electrical heat.(Mini split would work, but not without insulation. Propane and natural gas would be better, but both will fill your building with moisture if not well vented.
Free wood in a Large woodburning stove would be best. Note free wood. If you don't insulate good, you're just going to heat 6 feet around any heater.
Spend a couple of thousand on insulation and then think about heating system.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[Bloodman14]

Looks like I'm buying insulation first! Garage is 2X4 walls at ten feet high, with trusses 4 on 12 pitch that are 5 1/2 feet high at center every 2 feet. Roof is metal, uninsulated. Have an electric heater, portable, 240 volt, double pole breaker at 50 amps, I believe. Built and wired the whole thing myself, including siding. Combo machine/hobby shop, and I am building (slowly) a street rod. Most of the parts and pieces are ready, doing bodywork at this time, money permitting. Gotta get insulation! Thanks, gang!

[country gent]

with a metal building the insulation needs to allow the metal to "breathe" or it will sweat and rust. there are some spray ons that work very well here.

[Bloodman14]

gent, only the roof is metal, sorry for the confusion.

[Adam Helmer]

In 1988 I bought my rural PA 60-acre farm. In 1996, I retired and took up residence on my land. I have 30 acres of hardwoods and an endless supply of firewood. The windy days provide me all the blowdown wood I will ever need in my shop as well for my home woodstove.

My shop is a wooden two-car garage size building away from my house and barn. I have electric there as well as a refrigerator designated as a "thirst-aid kit." My woodstove is near the workbench, has double walled pipe through the roof, and I have a carbon monoxide monitor plugged in 24/7. I keep a window near the stove open a few inches for incoming air when the stove is in use. My friends come by often to hang out or work on projects. Careful feeding the stove keeps the shop at 70+ degrees on the coldest days. Two years ago we worked all day when outside it was -5 degrees.

My building is not insulated. I do have two temperature gauges on the top of the stove and we run her about 450-550 degrees. All scrap wood goes up the stovepipe. We have little creosote.

I hope this helps.

Adam

[elmacgyver0]

Everyone here has missed his second post. A 30x40 foot metal building with NO insulation ain't gonna be heated to any good degree i.e. 65 to 70f with much of anything easily unless it is burning 24x7 in Missouri winter when outdoor temp is below freezing. Forget charcoal and electrical heat.(Mini split would work, but not without insulation. Propane and natural gas would be better, but both will fill your building with moisture if not well vented.
Free wood in a Large woodburning stove would be best. Note free wood. If you don't insulate good, you're just going to heat 6 feet around any heater.
Spend a couple of thousand on insulation and then think about heating system.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

You evidently haven't been following too closely, some of us have mentioned insulation.
Hey, we all do it, but not "everyone" has missed his second post, I didn't.

[Shawlerbrook]

What Adam said but the caveat is having a woodlot or free wood available. I am here at 1700’ in Central NYS and have 120 acres of which 75% is wooded. An endless supply to heat my home and 36’x48’ uninsulated garage. If you don’t count chainsaws, woodsplitter, accessories,fuel and labor the heat is free.

[Lifeshort]

Bloodman I have a 3 car detached garage. It gets fairly cold here in Utah. I tried portable heaters and when casting or doing taxidermy it was comfortable but burned up a lot of propane. I got a used natural gas heater form an HVAC guy that was still good from an install on a new central air natural gas heater he did. I had to do a natural gas to propane conversion which was not hard but cost $40. A propane house heater would be better if available. Ran B vent out the garage roof, put the heater on some cinder blocks to get it up off the floor. Check code on your area any heating device including wood stoves needs to be so many inches above the floor in a garage, this is so gas fumes, solvent fumes etc. which sink to the floor do not ignite. Set up a hose to a 25 gallon propane tank. Ran a thermostat to my work bench. Now I just go out the mornings I am working in the shop and turn the heat on just like in my house. I will warm things up to comfy and shut it off until it cools down. I was very concerned about how much propane it would use each winter. I work around 2-4 hours a day 2-3 days per week out there. The last 2 years have not burned a full 25 gallons of propane up. I do wear a jacket in the winter when working and only heat it up to 55 but that seems comfortable in January. The house heaters blow straight up so i made an adjustable vent from sheet metal to direct out and down onto the floor. Another option to think about if you can scrounge a propane house heater up.

[MaryB]

Looks like I'm buying insulation first! Garage is 2X4 walls at ten feet high, with trusses 4 on 12 pitch that are 5 1/2 feet high at center every 2 feet. Roof is metal, uninsulated. Have an electric heater, portable, 240 volt, double pole breaker at 50 amps, I believe. Built and wired the whole thing myself, including siding. Combo machine/hobby shop, and I am building (slowly) a street rod. Most of the parts and pieces are ready, doing bodywork at this time, money permitting. Gotta get insulation! Thanks, gang!

My garage is a pole barn style construction, thicker walls(8") and I put steel liner panel up on the inside. 8" fiberglass in the walls with a vapor barrier over it, and R50 blown in for the attic area... the slabs heat keeps it warmer in winter and cool most of the summer. Lowest temp last winter was 30 inside... last summer the warmest it got was 78...

24'x30'

https://i.imgur.com/1UwfrFQ.jpg

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Ed, I had a wood burner that got so hot, it scorched the 2x6 support (between trusses) it was fastened to, even using double-walled pipe! It also burned the paint off the metal roofing at a height of 17 feet. Just too hot!

While I did read this whole thread, I gotta wonder what kinda wood burner your using without air control. If you have enough draft and the stove doesn't have air control, then ya gotta put a damper in the chimney pipe above the stove.

I doubt you need insulation for your shed in MO. I assume the ground doesn't freeze where you are?

[trebor44]

As said, insulation is a good start. Burning kerosine (the real stuff) is ok, depending on the space, electric space heater is 'safer'. SPACE is a consideration, Mister Buddy has killed in confined spaces. Me, I would never do "charcoal briquettes" inside anything, CO gives you a nice 'pink' coloration!

[firefly1957]

If wood is giving you smoke Charcoal will give you Carbon monoxide .

[ascast]

this may have been mentioned but- if not too late -ground floor radiant heat would do nicely here. You heat the floor to 60 and the whole place is at 60. could be zoned. heat can be any source, even asolar assist.

[Adam Helmer]

What Adam said but the caveat is having a woodlot or free wood available. I am here at 1700’ in Central NYS and have 120 acres of which 75% is wooded. An endless supply to heat my home and 36’x48’ uninsulated garage. If you don’t count chainsaws, woodsplitter, accessories,fuel and labor the heat is free.

Shawlerbrook,

Thanks for the reply. When I say "blowdowns", I am not talking twigs or good-sized branches. I mean trees. Anyone heating with wood needs a woodstove, chainsaw, splitter, fuel, tools, etc. Even suburban folks who have a log load of tree trunks delivered for the homeowner to cut up need all that equipment.

I began heating with wood in 1975 during our first "energy crisis." My home woodstove is in my living room and makes winters tolerable. I often carry a chain saw in my truck when high wind is predicted because blowdown trees often block the rural dirt roads hereabouts.

Free firewood, or inexpensive wood, is available if one talks with landscapers and tree trimmers in their neighborhood. I often had fellow church folks call me after they had trees trimmed in their yards and they had no use for the firewood. I hope this helps.

Be well.

Adam

[gwpercle]

After reading your post and concerns - the need for long term heat is not necessarily your concern? Using an efficient electric heater would likely be your best solution. No chimney, no concern of CO, no smoke, easily storeable, can be directed toward your area of choice in moments.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

:goodpost:
This is a good idea ,
We bought a 110 V. heater / fan from the Wally Mart for our green house , can be used as fan or as heater... worked so well my Son "borrowed" it for his apartment bedroom which got cold on "frosty" nights .
2-in-1 Heater plus Fan ... I believe it is made by Midea .
But the beauty is ... Plug it in and it heats a room ... lots of heat , powerful fan...
No duct work , no smoke no burning anything , clean and you can use it as a fan if you don't need the heat part . Also it shuts off if the unit is tipped ...It's Safe !
Gary

[SSGOldfart]

Humm maybe look at a small tent stove, I heat a 14x12 cabin tent with a small tent stove and burn wood good to below -10* for a weekend hunting mule deer up Northern states. Davis tent company in Denver CO. about as good as they get. Only has a 5 or 6" pipe that goes out a rubber stove jack throug the tent canvas:roll:

[ascast]

I been thinking this over as I am in a similar situation, 30x70. Are you really going to use that whole 30x40 all at the same time? You should look into reducing the heated space as much as you can, including bringing the ceiling down to no more than what you really need. plastic curtains and ceilings will do wonders to make a space heatable. 30x40x17 is a huge space to get warmed up. You will want to make it as air tight as you can and pipe in your combustion air. I think you need to make a smaller work room.

[AlaskaMike]

I'm really amazed at some of the replies here. Clearly some folks replying have little to no experience with wood stoves, or heating in cold environments.

First and foremost, any wood stove that fills up an interior space with smoke isn't drafting right. This can be for a couple of reasons, even as simple as the chimney isn't tall enough.

Insulation is great, and the better insulated a space is, the less heating capacity you need from your stove. Every dollar you spend insulating is a lot of dollars (or effort cutting/splitting wood) you don't need to spend heating.

However, you can insulate like crazy--but if you have a ton of air leakage then your insulation isn't going to be very effective. Think in terms of having 12" thick exterior walls with full-cavity insulation, but leaving your doors and windows cracked open when it's -20 F outside. In high efficiency homes you have things like foam gaskets for your electrical outlets and light switches. Windows and doors are caulked with good quality silicone caulking, and expanding foam is used to fill up spaces. All of that is intended to minimize air leakage.

One of the most effective things you can do with a wood stove is to supply it with outside combustion air. This means piping in outside air to the combustion intake of the stove. If you don't do this, then the stove acts like a vacuum with respect to the interior space. After all, it needs air to burn the wood, right? If the space is sealed well, and you don't have outside combustion air piped to the stove, then the stove can't get the air it needs to burn properly and you get things like smoke in the living space, and/or carbon monoxide. This is why you frequently see recommendations to crack open the nearest window before lighting a wood stove or fireplace.

Recommendations to instead use a waste oil stove, or pellet stove, or burning charcoal briquettes--please, please ignore them. The idea that alternative fuels can somehow get around improper combustion airflow is extremely dangerous and could easily get you killed. I can't emphasize this enough.

[brokeasajoke]

Outside air kit is the way to go. As the stove draws the warm air inside for combustion the cold air from the outside must come in to replace it. I know they can be expensive, but purchase a good quality wood stove and be done with it. It will last a very long time. If you have a glass door stove in a work area I recommend making a shield for the glass at least some type of screen for flying parts or tools lol. Poor draft is usually from chimney being too short or stopped up. If you don't have it already, install a class A with an HT rating. Don't be bashful and give it more than the 2" clearance if you can. They right wood burning setup CAN burn smoke free or almost. Will it all the time? No at startup and reload, but once up to temps with low moisture wood and burned correctly they will.

[ascast]

AlaskaMike has given a dead on description of the situation re: outside air. Most people don't gt this/ I live with peeps that don't get it and I heat with wood only. In my shop I use 4inch flexible clothes dryer ducting to feed the air. I have a box like attached to the stove so it can be rigidly fixed without any danger of catching fire. 6 inch stove pipe going out. You can feed it with 2 inch or bigger, or 2 2inch if that what you have. Anything will work. Just termination as close to the air intake on the stove as you can. Aluminum foil and pie tins can be used if need be.
Don't buy some cute little glass faced stove. It wont heat your shop. You need something big like the barrel stove kits. The drums need to be replaced every 10 years or so, but they will throw a lot of heat.

[Alex_4x4]

The topic is called “wood stove?”, i.e. a stove that is heated with wood. Two questions:
1. Which type of wood is best not to use in a wood-burning stove?
2. How long does it take to dry firewood before it is advisable to use it in a wood stove?

[compass will]

My concern with wood stoves in a shop is what if you spill any flamable liquids? I put an oil burner in my shop and mounted it on a shelf i built that was around 3 feet off the floor. Plus, an emergency heater power switch right next to the exit door.

[MaryB]

I'm really amazed at some of the replies here. Clearly some folks replying have little to no experience with wood stoves, or heating in cold environments.

First and foremost, any wood stove that fills up an interior space with smoke isn't drafting right. This can be for a couple of reasons, even as simple as the chimney isn't tall enough.

Insulation is great, and the better insulated a space is, the less heating capacity you need from your stove. Every dollar you spend insulating is a lot of dollars (or effort cutting/splitting wood) you don't need to spend heating.

However, you can insulate like crazy--but if you have a ton of air leakage then your insulation isn't going to be very effective. Think in terms of having 12" thick exterior walls with full-cavity insulation, but leaving your doors and windows cracked open when it's -20 F outside. In high efficiency homes you have things like foam gaskets for your electrical outlets and light switches. Windows and doors are caulked with good quality silicone caulking, and expanding foam is used to fill up spaces. All of that is intended to minimize air leakage.

One of the most effective things you can do with a wood stove is to supply it with outside combustion air. This means piping in outside air to the combustion intake of the stove. If you don't do this, then the stove acts like a vacuum with respect to the interior space. After all, it needs air to burn the wood, right? If the space is sealed well, and you don't have outside combustion air piped to the stove, then the stove can't get the air it needs to burn properly and you get things like smoke in the living space, and/or carbon monoxide. This is why you frequently see recommendations to crack open the nearest window before lighting a wood stove or fireplace.

Recommendations to instead use a waste oil stove, or pellet stove, or burning charcoal briquettes--please, please ignore them. The idea that alternative fuels can somehow get around improper combustion airflow is extremely dangerous and could easily get you killed. I can't emphasize this enough.

Pellet stoves have outside combustion air intakes and cheap dryer flex pipe will crush down to fit the pipe(why they use a weird size...). ONLY way to hook one up. My house is old, if I was drawing inside air I would have all kinds of problems burning pellets or corn because they need a steady flow of air for a proper burn. Turn on an exhaust fan and all of a sudden the pellet stove is starving for air/smoking into the house... They are NOT start it and ignore it unless you spend a lot of money on one with a fancy self dumping firebox. You have to empty the ashes once every 12 hours or so with mine, or when burning corn remove the clinker puck that forms(I have a trick for that if anyone wants to see it). Pellets do not form a hard clinker, get some harder stuff but it falls apart. Corn clinker is a rock...

https://www.ontario.ca/files/2021-09/omafra-burning-shelled-corn-as-a-heating-fuel-figure-6-en-975x666-2007-03-06-v1.jpg

[brokeasajoke]

The topic is called “wood stove?”, i.e. a stove that is heated with wood. Two questions:
1. Which type of wood is best not to use in a wood-burning stove?
2. How long does it take to dry firewood before it is advisable to use it in a wood stove?

1. Wet wood. Wood under 20% moisture is best.
2. Depends on weather, storage, species. 6mon-2yr

[Alex_4x4]

1. Wet wood. Wood under 20% moisture is best.
2. Depends on weather, storage, species. 6mon-2yr

1. I didn't ask the question quite correctly. I was interested in wood species that are not advisable to use as firewood.

2. In my area: if firewood is collected in winter, it dries for about six months; If firewood is harvested in the summer, it takes from 10 months to a year to dry.
---
And for residential premises (premises where people stay for a long time, the most budget firewood (in my area) in terms of price/quality ratio is birch.

[Bmi48219]

And for residential premises (premises where people stay for a long time, the most budget firewood (in my area) in terms of price/quality ratio is birch.

Aside from moisture content the choice of which variety of wood to heat with came to hard or soft wood. Soft wood like pine, cedar or poplar, throws a lot of heat but burns quickly, not ideal because you wind up stoking the furnace every few hours. Oak and ash burn a lot longer and that makes a big difference at 3 am.
Heating with a wood stove is a balancing act. Allowing too much combustion air into the firebox will result in a lot of heat but the fuel will burn up faster. Not enough combustion air will extend the burn time but result in Creosote buildup in the exhaust flue / chimney. A creosote fire is bad news.
Coal and coke burn hotter than wood and generate more heat but most stoves aren’t built to handle those temperatures.
Then there’s the issues of local ordinances and insurance coverage.

[brokeasajoke]

1. I didn't ask the question quite correctly. I was interested in wood species that are not advisable to use as firewood.

2. In my area: if firewood is collected in winter, it dries for about six months; If firewood is harvested in the summer, it takes from 10 months to a year to dry.
---
And for residential premises (premises where people stay for a long time, the most budget firewood (in my area) in terms of price/quality ratio is birch.
For my area here in WNC, cucumber, white pine, and buckeye are the least desirable. I've seen some oaks take up to two years to dry completely. The faster you get it split staked and covered and have it facing the sun the quicker it will dry.

[ascast]

1. I didn't ask the question quite correctly. I was interested in wood species that are not advisable to use as firewood.

2. In my area: if firewood is collected in winter, it dries for about six months; If firewood is harvested in the summer, it takes from 10 months to a year to dry.
---
And for residential premises (premises where people stay for a long time, the most budget firewood (in my area) in terms of price/quality ratio is birch.

Are you truly in Russia? West or Siberia? Your tree species will be a lot different from here, upstate New York. Greater new England, the venison belt has deciduous hardwoods, like Beech, Oak,Maple, and mny others. These all put out 20 to 25 million Btus per cord. Evergreens about half to 3/4 that. Do a web search and you'll find good university numbers on several sites.
20% moisture is good, less is better to minimize creosote but it will burn faster. Trick is to toss on a couple old knotty, wetter pieces on your way to bed. They will hold the fire overnight. Then a coupls smaller dry in the morning.
I have heard that White Pine will produce a toxic smoke that can kill you. I;ve only seen that in one source, however.....
I like to get my wood on the hill behind my house as it is in the sun from sun up to sun down and always a slight breeze. I can cut green wood now and by October it is checked out and I burn it. It produces very little creosote. It is and extra operation of load and unload.
Otherwise. I like to cut a year ahead.
The Amish have gone to sawmilling. They produce train loads of waste at about 5$ a truck load. All cut to fit in the stove. It is lower quality being bark and live edge, but at 5$ a load, it's about 100$ plus gas to heat my house. So maybe 200-250$. No tractors, no chainsaws, no mud.
I also have a manufactured house plant nearby. every couple weeks they bringout a trailor of waste. 70ft by 12ft of broken pallets and timber butts -2 by whatever cuts offs, ends etc. Usually picked clean in 12 hours. In the wood stoves it goes. Great for the morning kick upin the fire box.
Birch is a good wood. We don't have a lot here, yellow being more common than white.
Most of the world heats and cooks with lower grade woods like pines,aspens etc

more coffee

[farmbif]

I guess every situation is different. but some of the suggestions here remind me of a jimmy buffet song that says something like dont tell others something g if you have not done it yourself and know for sure. I think the line is dont try to describe a kiss concert if you've never seen it. I learned about heating with wood by doing it. combustable things near the stove. my propane tank torch that I use to get fire started is about 3 feet from stove. its never even got hot to the touch. this past winter a cardboard box with at least a dozen pounds of smokeless powder is 6 feet away.
the nights firewood is just a few inches away. never a problem for me anyway. its just a regular wood stove with steel exterior, 1 1/2" fire bricks lining the inside and a clear ceramic front door. no fancy stainless triple lined super duper chimney pipe just the cheap thin black stuff. and there is no insulation in this old civil war era house but maybe a few sheets of 150 year old wanted posters or newspaper between the 3 layers of 1" thick boards that make up the walls.
the only time I ever had smoke filled space or threat of fire is when I didnt have dry firewood and had to dry it out on top of the hot burning stove.
I dont know anything about heating with birch. but oak, hickory, poplar, gum tree, sycamore and most others have to be cut split and stored in dry place at least a year to burn well. pine, spruce, boxelder, takes maybe 6 months and ash can be burnt almost green, maybe thats why they called it ash. buts its very moist here and most dead trees left on the ground a year are too rotten to turn into good firewood.
might want to be careful burning poison infused pallets, you know, the ones treated for bugs that are good to ship stuff around the world.
if your really going to heat with wood be prepared to set aside a whole bunch of time and labor into cutting, spitting and stacking wood.
the amish sure dont miss an opportunity, the local sawmills around here give away the scraps to anyone willing to haul it off.

[Alex_4x4]

Are you truly in Russia? West or Siberia? ...

Yes I am from Russia. I am a city resident and live in an apartment building in an apartment with central heating. Today is May 13th and the temperature outside day and night is above zero (Celsius), but the central heating has not yet been turned off and the utility bill for May will also include payment for central heating. This is not critical for me, but it would be desirable for the management company to turn off the central heating in the apartment building in which I live until the end of autumn.

I live in the city of Tver (this is between Moscow and St. Petersburg). Moscow is about 150 kilometers away, St. Petersburg is about 600 kilometers away. As a child, I lived with my great-grandmother (she was born in 1888) and grandmother in the village of Palekh (this is where artists paint lacquer miniatures). The great-grandmother and grandmother had their own house with a yard (they had a cow, chickens and a cat, Murka, who lived her own life and periodically brought home a litter of kittens). In my great-grandmother and grandmother’s house there were two stoves: one was in a room called a “gornitsa”, and the second room had a large “Russian stove” in which food was cooked and on top of this stove there was a “bed” with tiled slabs, on which Several people could sleep, and next to the stove (under the ceiling of the hut) there were also “polati” (the program translates “polati” as a bed, but this is not a bed, but something like a wide shelf) on which two more adults could be accommodated. I have a good idea of how it was all maintained and functioned. Great-grandmother and grandmother got up very early in the morning and went to bed late. Perhaps the life of the Amish in the USA is closest to the lifestyle that my great-grandparents had. The great-grandmother died in the early 70s, and the grandmother in the second half of the 70s. Both great-grandmother and grandmother lived without husbands (the great-grandmother’s husband died in 1923, and the grandmother’s before the Great Patriotic War). It was difficult for two women to manage the household and keep the house in order without men. Their children dispersed across the country and none of them returned to their home. My mother was my grandmother's daughter and she also did not return to her mother's house. After the death of my grandmother, local authorities did not give the opportunity to leave the house to the heirs. It will be difficult for me to explain to an American what “propiska” is; you have not had this and do not have it and you most likely will not understand what it is. So, since no one was “propiska” in the rural house, the local authorities bought it from the heirs. Land in the USSR had no price and could not be the subject of purchase and sale. The house was bought from the heirs as if “hanging in the air” without a land plot. My great-grandfather bought land during the Russian Empire, but under the USSR this did not mean anything, and after 1991, a law on restitution was not adopted in Russia. The local authorities turned my great-grandparents' former house into a hostel. They stopped caring for the house, the stoves were not repaired, and one day the house burned down.

Here is a story that started for me with a question about “firewood”.

:-)

[country gent]

Wet the soft woods ( pine willow elms) produce a lot of creosote dried they burn fast and are hard to control. When we cut wood it was for the next year in advance. This years oak maple and others had been cut the year or 2 before. Knotty pieces were split larger as they would burn slower and last the night usually. small pieces and small limbs were used for "quick" heat in the morning. We would occasionally split pine small for kindling to get a fire going quick, but this was a small amount used to get the hardwoods going good. As I said pines burn hot and are harder to control they can burn to hot for some stoves becoming dangerous. Hard slab wood ( wood ends cut from lumber) can sometimes be had from sawmills and pallet factories and are good with little work involved.

A overlooked source is old broken pallets they are usually oak and well seasoned. Coil pallets are heavy timbers and again seasoned well.

Boat yards machine movers heavy equipment operations are also a source of heavy blocking timbers. Some trucking companies may have blocking and or timbers on hand also.

[Bmi48219]

…..Here is a story that started for me with a question about “firewood”….:-)

A good story. I’ve heard about ‘Russia Stoves’ and ‘Russian Fireplaces’ but only seen them in pictures. They are one of the most efficient designs for getting the most heat out of wood.

[cwtebay]

A good story. I’ve heard about ‘Russia Stoves’ and ‘Russian Fireplaces’ but only seen them in pictures. They are one of the most efficient designs for getting the most heat out of wood.Are you talking about the ones that look like a pizza oven?

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[ulav8r]

Green Ash, even when well cured, leaves a lot of ash. I cut up one that was blown down, let it cure before burning, and it produced at least twice as much ash as oak or hickory. In this area red oaks and hickory are the preferred stove wood.

[cwtebay]

Green Ash, even when well cured, leaves a lot of ash. I cut up one that was blown down, let it cure before burning, and it produced at least twice as much ash as oak or hickory. In this area red oaks and hickory are the preferred stove wood.Like burning cottonwood, I would have to get pretty cold to get on board with that!

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[brokeasajoke]

With older stoves you can get away with less seasoned wood. Newer air tight (EPA) stoves really need dry wood to work properly. I have both. I heat my house with an Englander 30NC and my shop with an old Sierra from the 1970s or 80s. My preferred wood is Locust. Poplar is good for short burns and shoulder season. My wife also likes it because it's light and she feeds the stove during the day.

[MOshooter]

I'd pass on the briquettes, in your area around Lebanon you have a large supply of oak and other hardwoods.

As others have said insulation always is a big improvement with comfort and heat supply costs. When burning wood outside make up air should always be installed to safely and properly heat with wood

[Bmi48219]

Are you talking about the ones that look like a pizza oven?

Like a pizza oven-entertainment center-cathedral altar, all rolled together. Even the plain ones take up a lot of space. The idea is to use a massive masonry structure to absorb and store the heat and slowly radiate it through the building.
Seen pictures of some that are really ornate, with all the fancy Czarist Russian style detail work.
Only thing I can’t figure is; with all the exhaust gas flue work and chambers running through thick, heat absorbing masonry, they must be a bugger to clean.
There are actually new plans out there based on old ‘Russian Stove’ designs. With modern materials (and no need to use them for sleeping or bathing) they could be built more compact and efficient.

[MaryB]

I can't remember where I saw the article but in one country they run the flu under the floor so it heats it, then up the wall and out the roof. The vertical section has a door to place something fast burning to get a draft started in the main stove. And acts as a clean out access for the horizontal run.

[MUSTANG]

I can't remember where I saw the article but in one country they run the flu under the floor so it heats it, then up the wall and out the roof. The vertical section has a door to place something fast burning to get a draft started in the main stove. And acts as a clean out access for the horizontal run.

Common in Korea (North and South), as well as portions of China to the North of Korean Peninsula. Called Ondol Heating. Great feeling in the dead of winter with the toes nice and toasty. Traditionally they sleep on the floor; so the heat keeps the bottom warm and heavy blanket/quilts traps the heat while sleeping.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondol

[MaryB]

Common in Korea (North and South), as well as portions of China to the North of Korean Peninsula. Called Ondol Heating. Great feeling in the dead of winter with the toes nice and toasty. Traditionally they sleep on the floor; so the heat keeps the bottom warm and heavy blanket/quilts traps the heat while sleeping.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondol

It was one of the Scandinavian countries in the TV show it had a 10 minute bit showing it.

[Bmi48219]

We’ve been blessed (so far) with an abundance of wood, not to mention coal and natural gas, for heating and cooking. In many European, Asian and Eurasian countries the forests have long ago been harvested or reserved for the wealthy and governments. In England cutting firewood, or even just picking up dead wood, in the King’s forest was a capital crime. Alternative fuels and wringing the last btu out of what you had, made a lot of sense.
The American way is to build a super efficient furnace that relies on chips and mother boards to run at all. The result is using less fuel but massive repair bills.
My mother was raised dirt poor in Southern Pa. She once talked about how her brothers would climb up on top coal cars on the train tracks to kick coal off the piles. The railroad detectives would run them off but in the evening the kids would come back and pick the coal up off the tracks to heat their shack.

[atr]

if you have the correct type stove, i.e. one made to burn coal you idea should work but it would be expensive. Cheaper to just buy coal which is still available. Just make sure your stove is able to burn coal, not wood burning stoves re made to burn coal.

[Alex_4x4]

...
Only thing I can’t figure is; with all the exhaust gas flue work and chambers running through thick, heat absorbing masonry, they must be a bugger to clean.
...

A lot depends on the quality of the firewood and the proper operation of the wood-burning stove. There is a complete analogy with the internal combustion engine of a car - fill the car’s gas tank with good fuel, do not skimp on high-quality motor oil, observe the timing and types of car maintenance, and the car will serve you for a long time and without unpleasant surprises. A wood stove is not a fire in a landfill for burning garbage - if you accept this and operate the wood stove correctly, then there will be no problems.

[JFoster48386]

Interesting thread. One of our daughters just bought a large Victorian homestead. The main house uses in floor radiant heating on three floors, a large wood burner on the first floor, vent-less gas fireplaces on two more floors and electric baseboard heat as a supplement. The fourth floor is plumbed for gas heating but isn't heated. The second building uses electric baseboard and another large wood burner for heat. The barn is getting a new wood burner soon too. A mini split will probably get worked into the mix at some point as well. They are going to see how the first year goes before making any major changes.

Jon.

[.429&H110]

+1 What Alex said!

I found out I could get wood (beech) too dry
"Destructive distillation" with excess air, I was never airtight, had a draft fan on startup
made enough tar to sell. Never did have a chimney fire, but I was primed for one.
(Burned Aspen for a week, the alkaline ash powdered the slime, flaked it off..)
(Mom liked to have Tremuloides for her fireplace, we made lots)

I got a handheld probe, jab the wood it magically reports 18% and that wood burned clean.
I set up in the cellar two wood bins and ducted hot air under them from the wood furnace
Last winters beech made the house smell like beech not good not bad, it went away.

But but but after kiln drying a month the beech got down to10% and slimed the chimney.

I burned 7 cords a year, figured $0.20 a stick, 28"x8"x8" 300+ to a cord about 2800 lbs a cord, green.
Was fun for a decade, free trees, free recovered coal furnace, free labor? Nothing's free.
(Splitter- chainsaws- gasoline- tractor- truck the sticks home...)(everything breaks)
Nothing is free except sunshine and God's Smile.
No, it's 91F today, physical therapy floating in the pool, no more ice storms for me, thank you Lord.

[ulav8r]

Dad and a bunch of other soldiers tried to spend the night in a Korean farmhouse during the winter. The owners had left the area and no one had paid close attention to how the fireplace worked. It was very cold so they built a big fire and sacked out inside. 2 or 3 hours later they had to move outside because the floor was too hot.

[.429&H110]

NH was fun for a couple decades long ago...
Once, only once, I had a sweet drop dead gorgeous redheaded babysitter. Oh, my.
My bachelor boss forever wanted to go to my house for lunch.
Like a dog chasing a schoolbus...

Pits of winter, at 10AM Judy would toss two sticks into the wood furnace and open all the windows.
From the street we could see the heat shimmering over the house as all the ice dams fell off.
Furnace was a 1926 American Standard coal furnace with a main blower added later
I pulled the thing out of a church cellar in pieces, a ton of riveted steel
(Installed a neat little oil furnace in the church, fast air exchange, efficient)

I guess I coulda fired that old furnace to at least 200kBTU with oil
Wood would be half that in a 2400 sq' insulated ranch style house so was plenty of furnace
using the uninsulated full cellar for a dump zone, I moved down there where it was quiet
I put a dishwasher dryer fan on the bottom door powered by a one shot relay to the plenum switch
Add wood push a button, the little fan would fire up and shut off at 120F.
Main blower had a plenum switch, would flap the toilet paper in the bathroom.
I don't think I had $20 in the project, 'cause I never had $20, I had 4 kids.
I was pulling out and replacing old furnaces, scrounging firebrick, wire, ductwork.
Boss was a Tarm dealer, Passat dealer, drat those are heavy...

Being a thrifty yankee, I cut a boot into the back of my drier ran 10" duct to the furnace
I had twins in cloth diapers, set the drier to air fluff, open the damper
presto hot dry diapers in half an hour! Sheets towels work clothes free heat! Hat's off!
But no... hat's back on... would melt nylon into a hot sticky ball at max Q, oops
what could go wrong? Gotta close the damper sometimes.

Furnace came with a giant 1960's Arco oil burner that I donated to the museum at the Voc-Tech
I later found the burned out coal grates buried behind the church
(I was married in that church, did chores, renovated the basement)

I didn't think the furnace was heavy enough so I put a quarter ton of sand in the bottom
the sand holding a vee of firebrick 30" long so I cut 24-28" sticks
The sand stayed hot all winter...kept the chimney drafting.
The house was built with electric heat, power is not cheap in NH

Spring and fall I could heat with junk mail, remember junk mail?
I cut up and burned a particle board pool table, felt, bumpers and all
even some broken furniture, if you aren't airtight anything is fair.
Even tried some anthracite when I found the grates,
but that was silly, burning $20 coal in a coal stove.

Never even made a dent in that woodlot, just a road.
Got some complaints because I was next to a wetland without a permit.
Don't need a permit, not selling it. Get one anyway? Bah humbug on greenies anyway.
Parts of my dad's deed to that lot were 1790AD
And the townies considered me a flatlander. Ayuh. Yam wut a yam.

The beech came back up thickets of root suckers, flowered made beechnuts, made deer, made ticks.
It's quite the suburban deer yard now, three houses on it. Dad sold, went to FL.

I cut in February with snow on the ground because of ticks
Started out the project summer vacations, but every year the ticks were bad to worse.
Work slowed down in mud season a swell time for a vacation.
So as soon as the snow started to melt, it's logging time in the mud.
Free wood, anybody?

[AlaskaMike]

I can't remember where I saw the article but in one country they run the flu under the floor so it heats it, then up the wall and out the roof. The vertical section has a door to place something fast burning to get a draft started in the main stove. And acts as a clean out access for the horizontal run.

Yeow! I would hope that's engineered right, otherwise it sounds like a recipe for a house fire!

In my younger days I actually planned out running soft copper tubing for the cold water intake for my hot water heater to first make 8 - 10 coils around our wood stove chimney before it transitioned to insulated pipe. The idea being that the cold water would be pre-heated by the wood stove before entering the hot water heater, reducing our gas load.

I never made it very far with the idea, but I always thought it might be interesting.

[cwtebay]

Yeow! I would hope that's engineered right, otherwise it sounds like a recipe for a house fire!

In my younger days I actually planned out running soft copper tubing for the cold water intake for my hot water heater to first make 8 - 10 coils around our wood stove chimney before it transitioned to insulated pipe. The idea being that the cold water would be pre-heated by the wood stove before entering the hot water heater, reducing our gas load.

I never made it very far with the idea, but I always thought it might be interesting.My first house had a water back in it. It would fill from the well pump pressure and would circulate when I got the wood / coal fired kitchen range going. The copper tubing formed a grill on the back side of the stove, there were lines into the two bedrooms that would give off heat, the balance could be used to draw a bath. The water would vary between nice to OH MY GOSH hot. Got used to it, burned a lot of old cedar posts and hedge. Hedge was terrible!!! It would burn hot enough to be able to push a nail through the glue pipe!

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[pmer]

https://www.nitterhousemasonry.com/our-products/chimney-block-flue-liners/

I grew up in a 2 story farmhouse with a wood stove in the basement. We had a cement chimney like in the link above. It went up the middle of the house, 3 stories worth plus a few feet above the peak. We didn't have hardly any issues with draft or smoke or fresh air but I suppose newer homes are more air tight. It was burning wood all the time in the winter and the chimney outlasted wood stoves. We'd pull a scraper through it occasionally for cleaning and would it survive a smaller chimney fire BUT that's not the way to clean them! When it was burning in the chimney it sounded different and it was pulling more air through the stove. You could shut the air off by closing up the wood stove. This wasn't a common event for us but it's something to keep in mind if you are new to wood heat.

My dad had a fire in the chimney one time when I was away in the Army and it got so hot the chimney cracked. Fire department put it out and he was burning wood again with a new cement chimney. Wet wood was avoided and no wood from pine trees.

Insulated that shed and match the size of the stove to the square footage.