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Barrel Stove Kit
The barrel stove kits typically have some main parts included:
The barrel itself, stove pipe and stove pipe fittings and parts to ensure safe egress of the stovepipe through the roof would be bought or acquired locally.
Ease of Barrel Stove Kit AssemblyOne of the attractions of this homemade wood stove is that they can be assembled in as little as half an hour and require little in the way of skills, experience or equipment to produce a functioning (if inefficient and smokey) wood stove. The stove itself throws out a huge amount of heat - far more than you would ever want in the sitting room of your home - but suitable for heating a drafty workshop in the depths of winter. Once the fire is going large amounts of fuel can be loaded at once and the dampers turned down to restrict the burn. NB: this is NOT recommended - fires with restricted oxygen smoulder and produce exessive smoke, heavy creosote deposits, and burn really inefficiently. Small, hot fires are more environmentally friendly and won't bring the wrath of the neighbours down on you, although they do need more care and attention.
Safety precautionsThese barrel stoves get phenomenally hot - when going flat out the metal surfaces can glow cherry red and the heat radiates in all directions - behind and beneath the stove as well as into the room. They present as serious fire hazard as anything flamable within meters of it will be exposed to extreem heat.All wood stoves need to be installed on a fire proof (concrete/brick etc... ) pad, but these also need large clearances around them in all directions. A layer of sand, or fire bricks, in the base of the drum will support the fire and go some way towards reducing the heat directed towards the floor.
Barrel Stove Kit PricesThese kits provide an affordable way to purchase and build a simple yet effective wood stove. The kits themselves come it at under $100 but you would probably need to allow another $150 for the parts needed locally (stove pipe especially can be expensive).
Barrel Stove Kit SuppliersA few companies supply these kits in the US (they may ship over seas).Lehmans offer a two kits - a basic single barrel wood stove and an extension called a 'smoke chamber' that boosts efficiency and uses a second barrel.
Options and ImprovementsThe basic stove design can be improved upon with a bit of thought and some more parts:
Overall AssessmentA homemade wood stove produced with one of these kits may be an attractive proposition for anyone with a large space needing periodic heating. They can throw out a huge amount of heat in short order and can be assembled with the minimum amount of fuss.The off-the-shelf version is inefficient and smokey but it should be possible to improve upon it with a bit of thought. If anyone has experience of building and adapting these stoves I'd love to hear about what worked for you and what didn't. Return to Wood Stove Wizard Homepage from Barrel Stove Kit Used a barrel stove kit and have story to tell?If you have used one of these barrel stove kits and want to share your experience you can tell us all about it, even up load photos to go with it. What Other Visitors Have SaidTo see barrel kit stoves built by other readers; explore the links below.
Barrel Stoves in a war zone
How to buy a stove kit in the UK.
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