can you make a wood burning stove out of a 55 gallon drum?

Answer 1

yes you can they make a kit for it. I have one in my shop and in almost 7 years of using it, it still works fine. I got the kit at Tractor Supply Company who I believe is currently out of business. They make kits for a 1 barrel or 2 barrel stove.

Only thing you want to be careful of is what was inside the barrel previously. If it was something flammable you'll want to rinse it out before you start a fire in it.

Answer 2

Yes ,I have seen several types. The simplest design was a barrel laying on it's side mounted on four 14 " to 18" metal legs ,a hinged door cut into one of the round ends and a stove pipe connection on top at the opposite end. It was used in the shop of an auto wrecker in the 1950's . They used cut up tires for fuel. Yes it smoked!!!,but sure put out lots of heat. A better and more efficient design is as described above but had another barrel mounted slightly above, and parallel to , the first . The flue ran from the bottom barrel & discharged the smoke into the top one , heating it also before being being discharged, at opposite end, to the outside. This one was used for burning wood. Never saw this one fired up but it looked like a good design, suitable for a rustic cabin or shop.

Answer 3

Yes you can. I heated a large farm house with a drum stove. You can buy a kit that comes with the legs, door, and flue collar. All you need is a drum with solid ends. I suggest that you always leave some ashes in the bottom of the stove. This helps insulate the metal from the hot logs laying on the bottom of the stove. Warm Wishes!

Answer 4

as thin walled as that would be i wouldnt personally trust it to withstand the heat generally generated when using it for that purpose, mabyee and open aired fire pit outside but even at that it would last very, somthing thicker would work great and old propaine tank for example, (make sure is completely cleaned) you can buy them form the company or manufacturer or find it on the side of the road, but any how there is reasin why that most stoves of that sort are cast iron becuas ethey get real really hot.

when using that guys idea itlle work but thats more thhan a barrel and if the air is constanly moving its ok but i mena come on ive seen those to and 8 years is a laod of poop its imposible, i am a welder and whent to college dor this i mean, unless your heating a 6500+ square foot room its a bad idea fire hazzard and and waste of money.

Answer 5

Yes you can build a barrel stove. Don't listen to the idiots that say you can't.
Go to www.northerntools.com and they have the kits to build them with which includes the legs, door, and ring to attach the pipe to for $41.99. Item # 16160
They also have a kit to make it a double barrel stove which helps a lot. That is $29.99 and the item # is 16161.
Of course there is shipping and handling charges but the kits are all cast iron and they will last for a life time.
The life of the barrels themselves will be according to how hot you build your fires. If you have a really large or drafty house and keep it going full blast it will burn out in a couple or 3 years but mine lasted about 8 years I think.

Something else for you to think about if you go with the 2 barrel deal. You automaticly capture extra heat from the smoke that would have went up the chimney but I knew a guy that had a large shop he heated with one and it would run you out sometimes from the heat.
He took a 1" holesaw in a drill and drilled about 30 or so holes in each end of the top barrel and cut 3/4" black pipe to fit from the front to the back and welded them in. He then built a box using 16 gauge sheet meatal and put it on the back of the barrel with a squirel cage blower on it and that thing put out some heat.

I went back after I saw his and drilled holes for a grate in the bottom of mine but I used 2" OD shhedule 40 pipe. Best I can remember I put 7 pipes in the bottom and then did the same thing across the top.
I just cut the bottom from another barrel about 6" and welded it to the back of mine to mount a 150 cubic feet a minute blower on and boom, my shop got hot too.
I am using a tube grate blower in my fireplace "right now" and it got down to 10 degrees last night and it is keeping a 1400 sf house warn. I just chunk it up with what I call overnight logs before bedtime over top of a good bed of already hot coals.
I average spending about 15 minutes a day cutting and splitting wood for it. One chainsaw tank of gas will cut enough wood for about 3 days when it's really cold.
If you need any help with it, please feel free to e-mail me.
I have been a welder for better than 35 years, but didn't own my own machine. Our light bill was running well over $400 a month and I was burning wood in the fireplace to help out on it but the gas furnace was killing me.
I bought a welder from I believe Northern tools, or maybe another company. I can't remember right now but I bought it, a 12 ton pipe bender, all the pipe and iron I needed, A cheap sawsall and welding rods and paid for all of it on the money I saved in 2 months on the light bill. Oh yea, a new chainsaw also.
I hope all this typeing gets me a best answer, lol.
My bill hasn't been over 200 bucks sense than.
Good luck and God Bless
Dennis

Answer 6

sure in some magazines like popular mechanics, popular science, log home builder and other magazines like this even have plans to build a stove out of 55 gal drums and have the door and vent pipes to attach.

Answer 7

If you are planning to start on your woodworking project, this isn't something you should use, it's something that you would be insane not to. Go here https://tr.im/T0OSg
Truth is, I've been a carpenter for almost 36 years, and I haven't found anything like this for less than 10's of thousands of dollars.

Answer 8

There are 'kits' sold for that very purpose. Much easier than hunting down all the bits and pieces yourself. Be real careful how you install the flue. That has been the source of many fires, and 'in the woods' there's no fire company.

Answer 9

Yes. But it might be inefficient; deadly, and certainly, a DIY wood stove won't be EPA certified.

Answer 10

NO! You can use it outdoors for a burning barrel after you put some holes around the bottom so it can get air---the metal is not thick enough to become a 'stove'.