Wood stove placement

[jasond37]

I have a 4x8 shack I built last year, with no heater.  I've been using the tank/sunflower heater, which works fine.  For some time I have been wanting to add a small wood stove, I love the concept and have always wanted one.  I am trying to figure out the placement and if it will fit better or about the same as the sunflower.  How much distance is recommended from the stove to the exterior wall?  I will be putting in a piece of tin flashing over the luan plywood wall where the stove is being placed for obvious reasons, and it will be vented through the roof. 

[surflizard]

Hey Jason, In my old permanent shanty, I put it in the middle, opposite of the entry door. I put tin under and up behind it, they recommend 12". I put the ceramic 1" spacers between the tin and the wall to create a dead air space between the tin and the wall and got it to within 6"of the wall. I got the spacers at a stove shop for 6 bucks for 20 spacers. I did have to put a sliding vent because of the CO2, If you haven't already, I'd get an CO2 detector and make sure to keep the batteries fresh, 2 friends of mine suffocated in their house 4 years ago ! Co2 is a KILLER  !! Good luck and there is no such thing as a stupid question, when it comes to installing a wood burner !

[jasond37]

Thanks for that info, that really helps out.  The middle (in between the two angling positions) is where I usually set my tank/sunflower heater too, so that is where it would go.  I do have a window that slides open, and that usually is open a bit anyway with the propane heater.  I'm sorry about your friends, situations like that are common here too, especially in sleepers.  My shack is by no means a sleeper, but if we get any faint symptoms we will step out and air our selves out.  It's a 4x8, my first build.  Just built it last year and still adding things!

[surflizard]

The one thing that I miss about not having a Permy is being able to cook a big meal on the wood burner !    I had a 12" x 24" flat cast iron griddle, flat on one side and raised ribs on the other. I braised a lot of Bambi over the years in the old Hotel California !  Even if the fish didn't cooperate, we sure ate well !
One of the guys who fished with me had a stove shop, he helped me get all the stuff that I needed to set up the wood burner.  When I frst installed it, I just put a small piece of metal down over the pipe and nailed it down on the roof. Yup, I had to replace the roof that year ! My buddy gave me holy heck for not using a thimbal for the roof penatration too ! She was good to go after that, I had a lot of good times in the old girl ! Good luck with yours, stay safe and let the good times roll !

[Mainehazmt]

technically in a 4 x 8 there is practically no legal installation by the time you add all the clearences  unless it is a super small stove  and lots of dead air space according to nfpa (national firemens party association) lol  safer to use a big buddy!    This edition of NFPA 211 contains provisions for chimneys, fireplaces, venting systems, and solid fuel–burning appliances, including their installation. The standard applies to residential as well as commercial and industrial installations.  also    http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/fnr/FNR-100.html   granted overkill but people read this for their homes too   Ive already in the past pulled dead bodys out due to heating device failures  and rather not hear about it happening again

[jasond37]

There are two heaters I've been looking at.  First one is from Nu Way, and is made for small shacks such as mine.  It is model 965 and is 12"x7"x15".  The other is one I found on Ebay, and is more portable and for use in tents and such.  It is called a portable military camp stove, is 18"x10"x11" in size, and has racks on top that fold in or out depending if you want to cook or dry out gloves/socks.  Both would fit nicely in between the two angling positions.  Technically you are not supposed to be using sunflower heaters in shacks either, I get headaches from those things.  I do appreciate the concern, I will be reading the link you provided, thank you.  I probably don't spend more than an hour at a time in the shack anyway, I like to get up and walk around, check tip ups or mingle with other anglers out there.  Almost every one of my friends smoke (I don't), they must go out to smoke.  I'll usually step out too and get some fresh air or whatever. 

[surflizard]

Hey Jason, we used stoves like your describing, in the hunting camp tents we used out west. The one with the racks sounds pretty handy. Some of those
portable stoves also pack down flat so you can pack em in and out too.

[sled-in]

I think its hard to say if a wood burning stove is more dangerous then a propane heater, the wood stove you have a chimney to vent the stove, so it pulls air out of your shack. The propane heater needs oxygen to burn too, but you don't have an exhaust outlet. Of course you aren't as likely to burn the shack to the ground with a propane heater.........

One idea is to build an "annex" off your shack for the wood stove, kinda like a slide out on a travel trailer.

[drakerebel]

One idea is to build an "annex" off your shack for the wood stove, kinda like a slide out on a travel trailer.

I've seen that on a couple of houses before, does anyone have any experience with that concept?  i'm limited on floor space as well and this would be a decent option.

[jasond37]

I also thought about an annex, but with the way my shack is built it would be quite a project.  It would free up some nice floorspace, but I think my idea will work best.  The portable stove looks awesome, I can use it in the fall months while camping too.  Pretty easy to move it in and out of the shack should I not wish to keep it in there while not occupied.   

[mr.clean]

Jason I can not help you with the stove placement,but have a suggestion for you. Since you need a small stove take a look at Cabela's website. In the camping category look under the out fitter tents-stoves section. The Sheepherder Alaskan and Packer stoves may fit your purpose.
                      www.cabelas.com


 Steve

[jasond37]

The Nu Way stove I have been pondering does come with a 3" stove pipe kit.  The kit includes:
 (3) 24" Stove Pipe Lengths, (1) Flashing, (1) Damper, (1) Storm Collar, and (1) Rain Cap.

Is this all I would need to install the pipe out the roof?  Seems to me I would need a bit more around the actual pipe to go through the roof, like flashing on both sides of the roof.  Not too sure, but I don't want to replace the roof like you had to surflizard, doesn't sound like fun!  Can anyone offer a more clear way of doing so?

[surflizard]

Hey Jason, It should be, if you don't like the flashing kit that comes with it, you can always get a metal wall/roof thimble from a stove shop. The wood pellet stoves use 3" pipe also. When I installed mine, I just cut a hole big enough for the pipe, I didn't realize at the time that I needed to provide clearance from combustibles !  After I rebuilt the roof, I installed a metal wall thimble and never had an issue with the stove after that. If you google search wood stove installations, they will have diagrams showing wall and roof penetrations. Good luck, let me know how ya make out !

P.S. I also discovered after the fact, that a small fire extinguisher is pretty handy too !  

[$ignmoney]

I have and run 2 wood stoves( 1 in the house and 1 in the garage) you should be set with the kit except you need a wall/roof thimble like surflizard said. I would go through the wall and elbow up 1 section and that should have you in business. The small fold up wood stoves, do you really want to light a fire in one? Bad things happen often enough with out asking for trouble. Once you get a fire going the draft should pull air in through the cracks and holes so you will always have fresh air,If smoke comes in all the time (around stove door,vent etc. or when you open stove door) you need more air coming in hut-add vent hole. Walmart has small fire extinguishers that mount to the wall under 20. bucks,I would recommend one also.Good luck