Wall Stove Keeps Heat In, Ash Out

Wall Stove Keeps Heat In, Ash Out ENERGY Miscellaneous 33-1-32 Wood heat is nice, but the mess that it makes inside the house can result in "domestic disturbance". Dan Yoder built a stove that takes care of the problem. His modified 275-gal. fuel tank loads from the outside but extends inside to heat the house and hot water. "I cut a hole in the wall to fit the stove and put it inside an entry room," explains Yoder. "It takes logs up to 4 1/2 ft. long." A 4 by 8-ft. steel plate is screwed to the wall of the house and bolted to the end of the stove, leaving a gap of about 10 in. between them. Holes cut in the plate match the holes in the tank end. Yoder fabricated steel necks between the stove and the plate so airtight doors could be hung on the steel plate for both loading wood into the stove and removing ash. Rock wool between the stove and the steel plate insulate the plate from the heat. Even with the insulation and the 10-in. necks, Yoder was concerned about the doors warping. He reinforced the doors with a strap of iron on edge on the inside of the door. A fiberglass gasket around the door keeps it airtight. "The fuel tank has warped a little from the heat, but it doesn't have to be fired that hot, given its size," explains Yoder. "I plan to line the bottom and 1/3 of the sides with refractory cement or bricks." To further moderate the heat from the stove and hold it through the night, Yoder has fabricated saddles of hog panels lined with 1/4-in. sq. hardware cloth. They hold fieldstones in place over the top of the stove. "With the stones, it doesn't get real hot by the stove anymore and the heat stays more even throughout the house," says Yoder. The primary source of hot water for the house is a propane-fired water heater. However, when the stove is going, the propane isn't needed. Yoder runs a water line through the stove and into a pressure tank mounted on the wall above the stove. Hot water from the tank cycles through the water heater. A separate water line runs from the pressure tank to a 30-gal. tank in the living room. A return line circulates water back to the tank. No pump is involved, simply convective heat moving through the pipes. "The tank in the living room brings in enough heat that it stays fairly cozy in the morning," says Yoder. "The stove works great. Between the rocks and the water line, it heats a 1,400 sq. ft. house with no fans. We just open and close doors and vents in the house for the air to circulate." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dan Yoder, 8099 18 Mile Rd., Marion, Mich. 49665 (ph 231 743-6093).

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