Tecnik workshop stoves = anyone tried them?

[AJB Temple]

I saw these advertised in a woodworking magazine and they appear safer and a great deal cheaper than a typical log burner. http://tecnikstoves.co.uk/8-kilowatt-stoves

The web sit is quite hopeless as it does not appear to explain what the flue and venting requirements are. I wondered if anyone here has tried this as a solution?

I don't generate enough shop waste to keep a stove like this going, but I do have a very ample supply of logs to supplement a fair amount of sawdust and offcuts.

Adrian

 

[Monkey Mark]

Can you weld? Or know someone that can?

Make one from a decent size gas bottle. Very cheap and, if done correctly, can burn clean and long whilst reaching good temperatures.
Loads of info on the net about them and various different ways to build them. Just make sure it has a secondary burner for the gas otherwise it will smoke a lot.

 

[AJB Temple]

I cannot weld but my brother is quite an expert. However, at the price these things are the hassle of getting family involved to make it (300 mile round trip) it is probably not worth it, but I will discuss it with him over Christmas and do some research in the meantime. Thanks for the idea.

 

[Beau]

Yes just bought one but not used it much yet. It's not really comparable with today's sophisticated wood burning stoves but it's not aimed at that. Top loading to make puting dust and chips in much easier plus a big firebox so not to much refueling with these less dense sources of wood.

 

[SlowSteve]

Hi,

Check out "rocket mass heaters" - there are 100's of variations, but at their heart they are a very efficient way of burning small amounts of wood and generating large amounts of heat - much higher heat output per input unit than a typical stove AND also typically only need about 1/10th of the wood of a regular heater- the other benefit is that a lot of the varients are specifically designed to produce very little smoke, so you don't need a complex ventilation system - they were designed to be used inside huts in poor african villages.

You can make really elaborate rocket stoves and mass heaters out of metal - there's a whole group of people who compete for the absolute best designs - but some of the very best are made from concrete and gravel and a couple of buckets - so you don't need any welding experience - they are easy to put together in an afternoon. The added benefit of the concrete designs is that they end up acting like a storage heater - I can burn a literal handful of wood when I go in the workshop and I get heat out for hours afterwards.

Be warned though - they are kind of addictive - what ever design you use, when you understand the basic principle you can *always* think of another tweak or improvement - and because they're so simple you build another to improve it... and then another... and then another....

 

[Peter Sefton]

I have a dust and shaving burning stove in my hand tool workshop, I bought it second hand a few years ago. It is about 12 KW and does through out a lot of heat.

It looks very similar to these

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/wood_burn ... stove.html

It's great for burning our machine workshop waste but difficult to control it's output, once lit it just keeps going until it runs out of dust. Not very safe to reload with chipping's and dust but fine to top up with solid timber. The biggest problem with the ones I have seen is if they over heat (very easy to do) they distort and look like the leaning tower of Pisa.

Adrian the Tecnic stoves you show do look more robust and may be on my shopping list when mine finally melts!

Cheers for posting the link, Peter

 

[Beau]

Sounds like you have the Relax stove Peter. I have been using them for some years but having them last around 5 years before the back corroded away (not helped by a poor cowl) thought it time to try something else. First impressions are that it is made of far more sturdy steel and the top does not blow off when the gases ignite!

 

[Peter Sefton]

Sounds like you have the Relax stove Peter. I have been using them for some years but having them last around 5 years before the back corroded away (not helped by a poor cowl) thought it time to try something else. First impressions are that it is made of far more sturdy steel and the top does not blow off when the gases ignite!

Sounds much better build quality Beau, ours only explodes if we refill it with Chipping's, I used to have one that would be a flame thrower across the workshop floor! Thanks for the feedback.

Cheers Peter

 

[Beau]

Sounds like you have the Relax stove Peter. I have been using them for some years but having them last around 5 years before the back corroded away (not helped by a poor cowl) thought it time to try something else. First impressions are that it is made of far more sturdy steel and the top does not blow off when the gases ignite!

Sounds much better build quality Beau, ours only explodes if we refill it with Chipping's, I used to have one that would be a flame thrower across the workshop floor! Thanks for the feedback.

Cheers Peter

I still keep a brick on the top to play safe

 

[kostello]

I've had one for 2 or 3 years....

Works a treat...

Can be a bit tricky to control...

And not very air tight...

Get a carbon monoxide alarm....



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[Peter Sefton]

I've had one for 2 or 3 years....

Works a treat...

Can be a bit tricky to control...

And not very air tight...

Get a carbon monoxide alarm....



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Sounds like a good idea, two local woodworkers died a couple of years ago after carbon monoxide poisoning in their workshop. I have a 225mm square air vent into the workshop.

Cheers Peter

 

[AJB Temple]

Thanks for all the tips, I will do re-search.

My workshop is a former French designed racing pigeon shed. It is better built than the house! (Not by me). It has the virtue of excellent but draught free ventilation. I presume this would help with carbon monoxide risk but if I get or make one of these fires I have taken the alarm comment on board. My main concern is fire risk. The workshop is timber framed, insulated and timber lined, with a heavy duty clay tiled roof. Suspended timber floor. It is long and family narrow so keep the heater out of the way I need it in one corner ideally. I am a bit worried about having enough protection to avoid setting fire to the place.

 

[kostello]

Mine is an old lorry body... Made from plywood and fibreglass..I have stood the stove on some paving slabs laid directly on the ply floor and clad the walls around it in cement board (because that is what I had lying around) .

I have regularly filled the stove up with waste and gone back in the house without worrying about the workshop catching fire....



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[Graham Orm]

This is the third year I've had a home made rocket stove heating my shop. Lights quickly, starts the rocket process instantly, produces zero smoke and lots of heat. Look on You Tube for rocket stove.

 

[Bm101]

Years back I used to live in a caravan in North Wales, I still have my wood burner although its retired now. I can't bear to sell it. It's an old traveller one for the bowtops by all accounts.

Here's the model for all you would be arsonists. Saw one online recently for over £400. Completely impractical but lovely thing.

Anyway, reason I post, there was a trick taught to me, maybe common knowledge, that in an extremely combustible place like a caravan (or a wooden shed), you could baffle the heat by placing a steel sheet perhaps a 0.5 mm thick (if memory serves), behind it on battens. The trick is you need to cut a feed at the bottom of the sheet. This mouth/ feed allows the heat to be safely circulated and dispersed. It draws cool air up obviously and disperses excess heat between the steel and the wall.

Same fella who taught me that one also used to use lorry exhausts for stove pipes. All good till he used a brand new one and lit it. Heard a roar like a rocket taking off, ran outside and saw a 4 foot blue flame coming out he top. Turns out it was oiled up to protect it from rust. :shock:

All good in the end.

We all survived. Just a tip, might help though.
Regards,
Chris

 

[Jacob]

Tecnik stoves seem to be welded steel and this is much more durable than cast iron. But it's thin at 1/8". I've got two Dowling stoves - much thicker, and maintenance free ( so far)

 

[kostello]

There are some people on eBay who sell stainless steel exhaust pipe for use as a flue.....

I am a cheap skate and used spiral ducting.... So far so good



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[Graham Orm]

My rocket stove today. You can see from the vent picture how close the neighbours are and how important it is that I don't pump plumes of wood smoke out. I get a tiny bit at first then after 30 seconds, maybe a minute it burns clean. You can just see the heat haze if you look at my neighbours window sill.

 

[Bm101]

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/videos/13 ... cket-stove
This might help anyone thinking of making one. It's for a variation where you can use it to cook, but the video is exceptionally detailed and informative and includes measurements and formula and adaptable I'd have thought. Might even have a pop at this at some point. Probably sometime in 2030 then!

 

[Graham Orm]

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/videos/1309111095/how-build-rocket-stove
This might help anyone thinking of making one. It's for a variation where you can use it to cook, but the video is exceptionally detailed and informative and includes measurements and formula and adaptable I'd have thought. Might even have a pop at this at some point. Probably sometime in 2030 then!

A few years ago when I was starting on the rocket stove trail the permaculture crowd were less than helpful. They were extremely secretive and when I asked questions on their forum I was told quite bluntly to go and find out on the internet. However, there are many stove builders on You Tube now who are dedicated to making heat sources for domestic uses. They are all helpful. Here's a couple of links to the guys I spoke to and exchanged info with:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChwpSB ... FTtYTQPLyw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvqnmw ... nZ4R-qlUdg