Wood burning stove for the workshop?

[furnace]

About 50 hrs.in roughly 30min 'goes'.

I reckon that would be long enough to have wrecked the dosing pump if there was insufficient lubrication.
I'll switch to neat 28sec and keep my fingers crossed while I enjoy the savings

 

[Old Grizzly]

Hi Izzy
I am now fairly sold on buying a diesel heater for the reasons mentioned in my reply to Furnace's post. You also seem to have got a good deal on your heater. Any chance of a link to your supplier please? I see that you have sorted the fuel supply problem. Thanks for the initial steer towards this heating system.

Hi Bodger
Don't be tempted by adverts selling '8 kW heaters' - They are exactly the same as the 5kW heater and will have not have a bigger output than the 5kW......but carry a big price mark up.
Again I would suggest you watch the diesel heater playlist of videos by youtube user 'John McK 47' He is very helpful and knows his stuff.

 

[Tony Works Wood]

In this cold weather my thoughts have turned to workshop heating. It is hard for me to justify turning on electric heaters just for one person when we are being so careful in the house so I am thinking of fitting a woodburner. If you have done this can you any recommendations for a small (and cheap) stove and any advice on fitting the flue? The flue fitting looks as if it should be straightforward but in my experience things are rarely as simple as they look. The flue components also look horrendously expensive. My workshop is built of concrete blocks and has a flat roof so the flue can go straight up through the roof. Thanks

 

[Tony Works Wood]

Hi Bodger7. Something went wrong with my reply lol. Hope you see my reply. Tony

 

[Robbo3]

Must admit the diesel heater keeps you warm whilst lighting the wood burner & waiting for it to heat up.
Somewhere I've seen a video that purports to allow a change in the settings of the 5kw model to turn it into an 8kw model. Not tried it so don't know whether it works or if it applies to one brand of heater or....

 

[Bodger7]

Hi Bodger
Don't be tempted by adverts selling '8 kW heaters' - They are exactly the same as the 5kW heater and will have not have a bigger output than the 5kW......but carry a big price mark up.
Again I would suggest you watch the diesel heater playlist of videos by youtube user 'John McK 47' He is very helpful and knows his stuff.

Thanks Old Grizzly
Others have also mentioned John McK's very interesting and informative videos. I am working my way through them and I note that he makes the same point about the "8 kw" heaters. I have now bought a 5 kw heater and will try and get it up and running this weekend. I now need to trawl through the various posts and videos to work out the best way to provide electrical power as this seems to be critical to a good installation, especially as a dust extractor in my workshop has a habit of tripping the RCD(?).
Thank you to all contributors but, as can be seen above, I am now committed to the diesel option albeit with a sense of disappointment that I won't have a real fire in my workshop. C'est la vie.

 

[Old Grizzly]

Have a look at this video - 'david mcluckie' video 'Emergency automatic switch from power supply to battery 12V module' David really knows his stuff, but he takes a little getting used to... ;<) This simple cheap ebay module will automatically switch power from mains to battery. There is however a big enough delay inherent in in the unit switching speed, to prevent continuity of running and the fan will stop momentarily. Once the battery 'comes online', the fan will restart and will continue to run and cool down the unit before the heater finally shuts down. This will prevent the circuit board frying but should you you wish to continue heating using battery power, you do have to be there to restart the heater.
For continuity of heating in a power cut you can set the heater to run from a 12v car battery, kept continually topped up by being permanently connected to a trickle charger. If the power goes off, at least you will have a few hours more heating till the battery goes flat.
What ever system you use, be aware that it will need 10-12 amps on start up and 2-3 amps while running

 

[IZZY]

Have a look at this video - 'david mcluckie' video 'Emergency automatic switch from power supply to battery 12V module' David really knows his stuff, but he takes a little getting used to... ;<) This simple cheap ebay module will automatically switch power from mains to battery. There is however a big enough delay inherent in in the unit switching speed, to prevent continuity of running and the fan will stop momentarily. Once the battery 'comes online', the fan will restart and will continue to run and cool down the unit before the heater finally shuts down. This will prevent the circuit board frying but should you you wish to continue heating using battery power, you do have to be there to restart the heater.
For continuity of heating in a power cut you can set the heater to run from a 12v car battery, kept continually topped up by being permanently connected to a trickle charger. If the power goes off, at least you will have a few hours more heating till the battery goes flat.
What ever system you use, be aware that it will need 10-12 amps on start up and 2-3 amps while running

That's exactly my set up using an old battery . More than enough life in it to run the heater .

 

[Robbo3]

If you can't use a battery a decent 20a power supply is a must. A lesser one will either not start the heater or not allow it to fire up.
EG - DC 5V/12V/24V Universal Regulated Switching Power Supply Transformer LED Strip | eBay

 

[Phil Pascoe]

That link doesn't work.

 

[NickDReed]

Built this at the end of autumn. Couldn't bear another winter in the garage not being able to feel my fingers.

I "designed it" so I can burn wood and sawdust as I usually have more sawdust than scrap.

Used a 47kg propane tank and scrap metal for the burner, the flue was the most expensive bit.

Burning wood I can get the garage fro 2 - 17 degrees in about 30 minutes but that's a bit too hot. Sawdust will tick over for 3-4 hours and keep it about 10 degrees which is more comfortable. Still tinkering with it. I need to sort additional air inlets to the garage as I get some pull back when I have my extraction on.

Co alarm a must, but so far no issues.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Off tack, a plug. I bought a couple of extinguishers from
https://simplyextinguishers.co.uk/
Very quick delivery and a good price.

 

[Jacob]

Off tack, a plug. I bought a couple of extinguishers from
https://simplyextinguishers.co.uk/
Very quick delivery and a good price.

Thanks for that reminder- just ordered one!
Good price but not quite the amazing reductions they claim!

 

[Jameshow]

Built this at the end of autumn. Couldn't bear another winter in the garage not being able to feel my fingers.

I "designed it" so I can burn wood and sawdust as I usually have more sawdust than scrap.

Used a 47kg propane tank and scrap metal for the burner, the flue was the most expensive bit.

Burning wood I can get the garage fro 2 - 17 degrees in about 30 minutes but that's a bit too hot. Sawdust will tick over for 3-4 hours and keep it about 10 degrees which is more comfortable. Still tinkering with it. I need to sort additional air inlets to the garage as I get some pull back when I have my extraction on.

Co alarm a must, but so far no issues.

View attachment 152147View attachment 152148View attachment 152149

What the purpose of the inner bottle?

 

[NickDReed]

What the purpose of the inner bottle?

To allow air circulation. There are air holes in the middle of the bottom of the inner bottle. Sawdust is compacted around a piece of ducting which sits above the duct. The duct is removed and the inside of the compacted sawdust is lit.

Easiest solution I could find to the airflow issue

 

[kinsella]

i was about to buy a wood stove for the workshop and I suspect the ago-rythms worked it out and linked me to the chinese diesel heaters. Got one for the workshp 50m2 and its a game changer. Gone from workshop visits in the winter where when i come back to the house, a hot shower burns like lava i'm so cold. it just heats the air but does it enough to enable you to stay in the space in comfort. Give that a look. Very efficient.

 

[Jacob]

To allow air circulation. There are air holes in the middle of the bottom of the inner bottle. Sawdust is compacted around a piece of ducting which sits above the duct. The duct is removed and the inside of the compacted sawdust is lit.

Easiest solution I could find to the airflow issue

More difficult to make but the almost pyramid shape of out Dowling Sumo is perfect for sawdust. I can pack three coke hods full into it but the natural conical shape has enough air gap over the top to be able to to set it alight, with air from the top (or around the door that is) enough to get it going fast.
I guess there's an ideal angle of heap - too steep and it slumps to fill the container, just right and it slumps to open an air gap over most of its surface

 

[Tony Works Wood]

Built this at the end of autumn. Couldn't bear another winter in the garage not being able to feel my fingers.

I "designed it" so I can burn wood and sawdust as I usually have more sawdust than scrap.

Used a 47kg propane tank and scrap metal for the burner, the flue was the most expensive bit.

Burning wood I can get the garage fro 2 - 17 degrees in about 30 minutes but that's a bit too hot. Sawdust will tick over for 3-4 hours and keep it about 10 degrees which is more comfortable. Still tinkering with it. I need to sort additional air inlets to the garage as I get some pull back when I have my extraction on.

Co alarm a must, but so far no issues.

View attachment 152147View attachment 152148View attachment 152149

I'm impressed, Very good. Tony

 

[Tony Works Wood]

Big is better - as large as you can conveniently fit. A small hot fire burning fast in a big stove is much more efficient and heats up much faster than the opposite. Though you have to feed it more often - it's a trade off, but you can fill it more and burn slow if you need to.
Flue - best to have as much as possible exposed with no insulation so that it also gives out heat.
Ours is a Dowling Sumo, which also burns all sawdust and chippings very efficiently. The pyramid like shape means easy top filling and tight packed with saw dust it burns from the top. It takes 3 or 4 coal hods of chippings/dust. You have to let it burn down before you refill or you can get blow back, but no prob with larger pieces of wood. Not cheap though but worth it we think - fabricated steel is totally superior and maintenance free compared to cast iron and fire bricks.

FREE HEAT

 

[Jacob]

FREE HEAT

Brave man doing the near impossible with difficulty!
I've done the same in the past - trying to burn sawdust in a turtle stove. Basically not possible except in small quantities.
I can pack the Sumo tight with sawdust - 3 to 4 coke hods. The heap burns as fast or as slow as I want, by working the top damper. With slow burning the heap just smoulders away all over its surface.
I think there's scope here for a sawdust burner design based on the pyramid or cone, where the shape roughly matches the shape of a free standing pile of sawdust.