# Anyone ever install a wood stove in the shop?



## Blackpearl

Last night the love of my life came home with a Franklin stove for the workshop. Here in Texas we only have about 6 weeks of winter but she evidently got tired of my bitching about being cold in the shop so she saw this stove and picked it up.

My question is this; how hard is running a chimney pipe for a Franklin stove?










I have a clear shot at the roof and aside from a couple of inches of space and insulation board between the chimney and any wood is there any other problems I should look out for?


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## canadianchips

The chimney should extend above the roof line for proper draft. 
That looks like a great little stove to take the chill out.


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## ScottN

might want to check with your insurance company first. I have a wood stove in my shop and there making me get the expensive triple wall stainless steel crap.$$$

Shes given me 3 years to get it done, my 3 years is up this summer. 

I exhaust mine out the wall. I plan on building a chimney out of the standard chimney block 15' high. So I only need about 6' of triple wall pipe.


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## greasemonkeyredneck

I live in Mississippi and run a wood stove in my shop every year. I have mine run out the window. I bought the expensive double wall pipe three years ago when I first got the stove. I put it up at the first sign of cold weather, usually around late November or early December here. I take it down right after Easter. We usually get a cold snap right before Easter. Doing it this way, the double wall pipe still looks fine. I do have to buy two elbows every year because they rust out. Those two usually run me about twenty bucks. 
My pipe goes up, elbows outwards, through a piece of tin I have cut that I put over the window for this purpose every year. Then it elbows up and runs up about three feet above my shop. I've never had any problems with draft or anything. It works great and keeps my work area cozy and warm.
I do not have insurance. I cannot afford it. So, i really can't tell you much about that besides, if you do, be sure to discuss it with your agent before doing anything.


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## chrisstef

also make sure that the fire brick inside is in good shape or you will rot out the stove


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## tenontim

I picked up a used stove to put in my shop. Got tired of burning all of the scraps in the back yard and wasting all of those btu's. Never did hook it up, though. I worry about the fumes from my finishes igniting. I have a gas heater and I can turn off the thermostat while I'm finishing and turn it back on when the fumes are cleared. Like the previous posters mentioned, you'll need the double wall pipe, because a lot of heat goes up that smoke stack. If you can, the best way to run the pipe, would be straight up.


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## KnotWright

Looks like you have a concrete floor so that's a plus. Next you need to figure out where you'll be placing the wood stove. You need good clearance around the stove to prevent accident fires from the radiant heat generated. Since its a used stove, you can check online and compare sizes and there should be an installation guide that will help you with the clearances.

As for your chimney, looks like you are going to first need the transition piece from the stove to the chimney pipe, looks like its on oval take off from the stove. Tractor supply stocks both 6" and 8" black single wall stove pipe. If you also check online you can find pricing for other piping too, double and triple wall, if you decide to go that way.

When the chimney pipe goes thru the roof, make sure to OVER SIZE the hole to prevent hidden fires. They make a Thimble for this that keeps the heat transmission from charring the wood.

Since you are in Dallas there should be any number of fireplace retailers that can help you get the parts you need to have a SAFE installation.

I'm lucky, I actually had brick chimneys in my buildings so I only had to install pipes to there and I was in business.

One last safety tip on this, buy a good quality fire extinguisher and keep it maintained and in a very accessible location. Keep the chimney clean every year, when you are burning shop scraps you can build up a good layer of creosote on the piping, so check every year before you start the heating season.


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## Resurrected

Get the triple wall chimmny and have at it with the directions. its simple. On another note and the main reason I got rid of mine. It is explosive with finish, stains, gas and many other things. Next it takes up a lot of floor space due to the extra room needed due to spontanous combustion.


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## redryder

Your wife brought home a cast iron woodstove?? That doesn't happen every day. I have had one in my shop for the past 15 years. In the corner with a ceiling fan above. I put cement backer board on the two walls closest to the stove. You only need single wall pipe inside the building (keep cost down) and at least double wall out through the roof. Buy a good rubber boot for the outside roof line and caulk the heck out of it. I run a stove pipe brush down it once a year and check the gasket around the door. I use mine five days a week. I use common sense and keep a buffer zone around it. Me and the wet dog love it. Good luck and stay warm…....


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## BobG

How about an electric heater. Very little problems and they have thermostats built in. Besides when you get ready to do some finishing just turn it off until you are done. wait long enough for the fumes to dissipate then turn it on. And no triple wall pipe to buy at about $100.00 a foot.


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## Corks

Thank you for sharing. I used that very stove for many years and just loved it. All the scraps that I was shoving into that little wood eater would crakle and pop much to my delight. I miss that little guy but gas is much better now I'm in my 40' X 40' new shop!


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## Bertha

It's an absolutely beautiful stove. I bought a Vermont only to find about 100 vintage wood stoves on Craigslist. I know nothing of installing them, other than to call a contractor. I've got a 40 foot run up to the roof of my log home. Now I'm worried that the installation will be very pricey. Good luck, she's a beaut.


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## BTKS

Use mine all the time. It really takes the edge off the shop. Check your local codes and any info your insurance co. has. Mine provided a general layout for minimum distances and materials for each area of the stove and chimney system. My house stove requires double insulated with starter collar to go through a wall. I use double wall insulated chimney pipe. My entire install was around a thousand bucks for the house. The shop stove was a lot cheaper. Used an all steel chimney, salvaged a double wall insulated section of pipe for the wall thimble. I used about 16 feet of stove pipe inside to save the heat and minimize the chimney materials. My stove pipe goes through a sheet metal wall so I don't worry about contact combustion.
Some above mentioned your stove or pipe rusting out. Disassemble the stove pipe and clean the stove and chimney every spring as soon as your done for the year. Ash and water form lye which is basic and eats metal fast. My stove pipe is three or four years old and has no indications of corrosion. 
Insulated pipe is better for keeping the exhaust gases hot. Rapidly cooling smoke condenses and leaves creosote behind. When creosote burns it is hot hot hot.
Good luck, wood is a great source of heat but you need to know the basics to use it safely.


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## auggy53

the proper height for a chimney is 2 foot over a 10 foot clearance . be carefull with that franklin stove they are not air tight and will not bank a fire for long . personally , i would not let it burn without being in the shop . you also need a damper in the flue pipe maybe 18 to 24 inches from the stove to regulate the fire and have a way to choke the fire to go out if need be , there might be a problem there with the franklin , it will suck air even with the damper closed.


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## fisherdoug09

As far as I am concerned there is nothing like wood heat. I have been using a wood stove in my shop for 5 years now. Living in Montana we have about 4-5 months that I need to heat my shop and could not afford electric or propane heat. I have used all the correct pipe going through the ceiling and feel very safe burning wood. I do not spray or use any flammable finishes in the winter though. Good luck I think you will enjoy standing next to Franklin to take the chill off. Doug


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## craftsman on the lake

Here in Maine we know about such things. Through the years the expectations for safety have gotten high and with it expensive. The up to code plumbing for this one will be expensive. The little stove you have doesn't look like an airtight one. The heat from it will be good but a bit limited.

I don't want to bust your bubble at all and it looks like you really want to burn some of that scrap wood we all produce but here's my suggestion. Instead of spending maybe $500 to get this little stove installed why not spend about 200 on a 35,000 btu non vented gas heater. It will heat just as well, start with a switch and your 6 weeks of winter is pittance compared to here. It would cost you $50 a year to heat that place for a few weeks. And I'm willing to bet your temps don't get that low. I mean -20 to +20 like here. Anything over 20 degrees F heats easily.

I had done a review about two years ago of one I have in my shop.At the time I payed $160 for it. It's three years old now and still running great. Heats well and no issues with it mechanically or operationally. There are other reviews of similar heaters on LJ's too.

My procom heater review


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## Gene01

I gave mine away 5 years ago and went with a wall mounted propane ventless heater. Less mess and more shop floor space.

Ooops. I see Craftsman beat me to it.


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## craftsman on the lake

Gene, I think we posted the same great idea simultaniously. Right after I posted your came up in my email. Great minds think like us.


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## toddc

The insurance company will not allow for a wood burning stove in my shop due to the increased liability. I had no problem complying due to the space it consumes and the risk it posed I personally was not comfortable with.

Burning wood in the house is one level of risk factor, but burning it in the shop with all the potentially combustible dust & fumes is a much higher level of risk.

The space required is not just the footprint, but the clear space around it so nothing has the potential to combust.

I know that some guys use a wood stove in the shop but with the way I operate it is best not to risk it. This is something you will need to determine for yourself.


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## BradSmithSC

I installed a wood burning stove in my workshop. It's an older Fisher stove from the 1970's.

I understand it burns less efficiently than current designs. I added 2 box-fans behind the stove. They blow over the stove 'sweeping' the heat into the workshop. Another fan mounted up in the rafters blows the heat down off the ceiling and back around the space.

I have pictures posted showing the install process: http://www.diybackyardworkshop.com/tag/wood-stove/

My workshop is a metal building so the transition part is a bit different than traditional wood construction.


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## cjwillie

I have an old woodburner that was given to me by friends. I use single wall stainless chimney pipe. It runs out a window that was replaced with 1/4" aluminum plate to help disipate heat. The insurance company had no problem with it because my shop is attached to my garage but on a different level. They were more concerned about gasoline fumes from vehicles getting to the woodburner. I only use it when I'm in the shop. It will not keep a fire overnight. It needs to be fed hourly. Provides good heat and helps get rid of scraps.


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## TopamaxSurvivor

I find it takes at least 24 hours for the last embers to burn out.


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## BentheViking

just don't ever leave your wife the job of stoking the fire. she might end up using those couple of pieces you were saving that you know you'll need for a project "next week"


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## cjwillie

You let your wife in the shop?


> ! ALONE


?


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## mikekeough

Well, I have recently moved into a new house in suffolk county. I have decided to install a fireplace, and also contacted some chimney installation company, but unable to decide whom to call for the installation. Anybody here have any idea about it. You can read more here about them. Please help, it will be appreciated.


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## GCWC

I put a 55 gal. drum wood burner in with no issues, but like someone said, check insurance first. and you should be able to find building codes on line or at a local fireplace store. I installed a ceiling fan and also put in concrete backer board. If you have an air filter that hangs from the ceiling you can use that to help circulate the heat as well.


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## Tennessee

I ran a double barrel stove in one of my shops, the one I was in for almost 18 years. That thing would put out the heat, let me tell you! This was in the Poconos.

We exhausted it straight up, through the ceiling using triple wall once we hit the ceiling right up through the roof. Since the whole building was my shop, we centered it so it popped out at the peak, so I didn't have to put a very long extension above the roof to meet code. I want to say 18" above the highest peak, and we came through that, so 18" it was. Thing drafted like a screaming banshee if you let it. The barrel on barrel design was great, and only had to line the bottom of the lower barrel with firebrick.

I could burn just about anything, from pallet wood to regular firewood, to sweepings off the floor. On the night we would put on varnish, I would stoke it up so the shop would stay warm for about 8 hours after coating furniture. Thing was a lifesaver in the Northeast during the winters.


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## BurlyBob

Cliff, That's an old flat top wood stove. A Franklin has an open front. As a great efficient heat source,it ain't. You'll need to fire it up and stoke it for at least half an hour before you get comfy. Don't get me wrong. Where you live it'll do just fine. Those of us who live a thousand miles north of you know the value of insulation in a shop during the winter. I mean what you might consider unbearably cold we think is shirt sleeve weather. You go for it and have fun doing it. Life's an adventure live it.


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## RogerM

I have had a wood stove in my shop here in South Carolina for over ten years and love it. Double wall pipe used to the ceiling then a transition piece followed by stainless steel insulated pipe through the ceiling and roof. Tile backer board or Durarock cement board can be used as an economical material to insulate the stove from the surrounding walls.


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## BigYin

Made one from a propane bottle with rebar for a grate. Chimney was mild steel pipe cut and welded up through the brick wall at 45 degrees & 3 foot clear over the roof.

Burnt everything i could get through the door


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## Crank50

> Cliff, That s an old flat top wood stove. A Franklin has an open front.
> 
> - BurlyBob


I think that style is called a "Boxwood" stove. And, as you said, a "Franklin" is open front, more of a fireplace insert than a self contained stove.

Also, someone mentioned firebrick. I never saw a boxwood stove with fire brick in it. They are just a cast iron container for fire.

Anyway, hope you enjoy. I plan to put a very small stove in my shop next year. Just like to have a place to back up to and get warm. I also plan to put solar panels on the roof so that will be a nice combination of technology, won't it.


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## kelvancra

I ran a wood burner in my Bremerton, Washington, shop for about then years. Mine was a barrel stove, so I could burn some good sized pieces.

I could not have afforded to heat the shop, had it not been for the wood burner. Too, it solved much of the cut-offs problem (of course).

I always started with a hot fire. It both heated the shop quickly and burned off the residue from the previous burn, minimizing creosote problems.

I never burned wet or green wood, which, again, helped minimize creosote dangers.

I poured clay in the bottom of the stove to shield against the embers burning out the bottom, then laid down bricks. I didn't care if the bricks died. They were just a buffer. Never did have to replace them though.

Like another here, I added cement board for a buffer between the stove and the wall. It was six inches off my drywall. Even with the stove cherry red, you could put your hand between the cement board and the wall with no discomfort.

Over and behind the drywall, was a layer of aluminum foil. Behind the drywall, the foil ran over both the glass insulation, which had no facing, and the 2x's. Over kill, but I'm a fan of that when it comes to fire, zombies and other critical matters.

For the heck of it, I ran my propane torch against 1/2" dry wall to see what it took to get it burning. Turns out it takes a lot. So, if you put foil over it too, you have a heck of a buffer.

I never let dust build up around the stove and kept a shop vac with a blower just to "clean up." When I ran the blower, I'd open a door and turn on an exhaust fan [from an old furnace], which exhausted outside. Of course, I had a mask on.

Since I didn't own dust collectors in those days, the blower and fan did a fair job of keeping my shop clean. Just a couple points: 1) You will need a shower when done  ; and, if your shop is really dusty, clean it after dark, when the neighbors can't see you've just unleashed a brown-gray fog on the neighborhood.


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## Mahdeew

That stove can put out a lot of heat, especially from the sides. It is made out of cast iron with no fire bricks inside. First thing to do is to purchase a can of stove cement. The stove is held together with 4 steel rods. You have two sides, top, back, front and bottom that are individual pieces held together with those 4 rods. As the stove expands and contracts, the space between the pieces do the same. You need to brush all the seams with wire brush and then apply some water to them and fill them with the stove cement. Failure to do that will make it very difficult to adjust the heat. I used concrete blocks around mine both to absorb the heat and create a barrier. Ace has a stove pipe go through for both cathedral ceilings and flat ones; they work great and you can use regular stove pipe on them. Don't forget the damper.


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## 280305

Be sure to have a fire extinguisher near by.


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