Home-Built Wood Stove Heats Shop Floor Cheap

Home-Built Wood Stove Heats Shop Floor Cheap ENERGY Wood Burners 65 Gary Gradek wanted to keep his shop warm without spending a lot of money so he built a wood stove and mounted a water tank above it to serve as a heat exchanger It circulates hot water through Pex tubing installed in the shop’s floor     He installed rows of 1/2-in dia Pex tubing in the concrete floor of the 1 200 sq ft shop as it was being built The tubing runs 3/4 the length of the building which has big storage racks at one end The tank can be filled by a garden hose that hooks up to a valve mounted on the shop wall An electric pump circulates water from the tank through insulated 3/4-in galvanized steel pipe that extends over a walk-through door and down to a series of valves that control 2 different zones     “It works great and was relatively inexpensive to build with the total cost less than $1 000 I used about 1 000 ft of Pex tubing ” says Gradek “I load wood into the stove a couple of times each day It increases the shop’s floor temperature by about 22 degrees from 55 to 77 degrees     “The shop floor is divided into 2 zones One zone covers an area where I stand and weld and the tubing is on 6-in centers We park vehicles over the other zone and because less heat is required the tubing is on 18-in centers ”     He used a pair of 24-in dia 1/4-in thick steel pipes to build both the stove and tank The stove mounts on 3 legs made from 3-in dia tubing and has a door at one end and vents at both ends A spring-loaded damper controls the temperature inside the stove Heat and smoke rise through a 6-in dia stainless steel pipe welded on between the stove and tank     To build the tank Gradek welded steel plates inside both ends of the tank to create water reservoirs Eight 1 1/4-in dia steel tubes run in a loop inside the the length of the tank and through the reservoirs to heat the water      “I installed a pressure relief valve off a water heater to keep the tank from exploding if it gets too hot ” says Gradek     He paid $200 for the end caps in the water tank and $125 for an electric pump The valves cost $15 apiece     As an added touch Gradek welded a horizontal steel plate onto one side of the stove to keep a coffee pot and cup warm “I plan to add another shelf to dry my boots ” he notes     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gary Gradek 497 Kennwood Dr Ukiah Calif 95482 ph 707 695-6040; gary gradek@ejgallo com

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