Author Topic: Wood stove in a Portable Shack  (Read 2380 times)

Offline kfcandtanq

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Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« on: Jan 25, 2019, 09:03 AM »
Hey guys,

Here's the backstory:
I bought an old portable 4X7 shack a couple of years ago.
It has a wood base with 3 flip-up hole covers, & the end walls are arch-shaped (about 6 feet high total).
The side walls/roof are actually just black tarp that's screwed to the end walls.
Once it's set up, some braces help hold the end walls out & keep the tarp tight.

Cons: It's heavy for 1 guy to pull it.
Pros: It's dry, keeps your feet off the ice, sets up in about 5 minutes, the sun warms up the black tarp nicely, & it only cost $25!

I've used a portable propane Buddy heater for the last 2 winters, which keeps it warm, no problem.
But, there's always a ton of condensation inside on the walls & roof by the end of the day.
With all the holes in the floor & around the door, etc. I'm not worried about CO.
But my eyes are always burning after 2 or 3 hours.

So... I did a lot of research & built a little wood stove for it out of an old refrigerant (Freon) tank.

I tried out the new stove in the shack out on the driveway yesterday.
Everything worked pretty good. Nice & toasty.
In fact, I may be out fishing in my t-shirt & shorts this weekend!

I made the chimney, heat shields, etc all in pieces, so it comes apart & all fits along with the stove into an old plastic milk crate.
Once it's set up, the milk crate then acts as a base for the stove to sit on.
I included a sliding air intake on the door & a damper in the chimney.

The only issue is that it gets really smoky when the fire dies down & I open the door to refill.

Currently I have about 3 feet of 3 inch chimney off the top of the stove, then an elbow, & about 12 inches of pipe straight out the back wall (with a wind screen on it).

Question:

How do I increase the draft of the chimney?
Should I add another elbow outside, & add another 16" of vertical pipe to get me above the roof line?
Or should I change it all out to 4" chimney?

Thoughts?

Offline Fishermen

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #1 on: Jan 25, 2019, 09:16 AM »
You need to go higher

Offline Jkoht

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #2 on: Jan 25, 2019, 09:41 AM »
As far as I know in my experience with wood stoves is that the more vertical you go the more wind it'll catch and draft.

Offline Quantoson

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #3 on: Jan 25, 2019, 10:55 AM »
The combustion air needs to be sufficient enough to allow the stove to draft.  If the shelter is sealed from incoming air, the stove won't draft properly and may suffocate you.  Be careful and make sure you have the correct size opening for combustion air.
wish you many hook-ups

Offline kfcandtanq

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #4 on: Jan 25, 2019, 10:58 AM »
The combustion air needs to be sufficient enough to allow the stove to draft.  If the shelter is sealed from incoming air, the stove won't draft properly and may suffocate you.  Be careful and make sure you have the correct size opening for combustion air.

True... I should've also mentioned I cut a 3" hole in the floor underneath where the stove sits to draw air in.

Offline Quantoson

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #5 on: Jan 25, 2019, 01:00 PM »

But my eyes are always burning after 2 or 3 hours.

The condensation inside the shanty turns acidic.  Even tho these are catalytic heaters, they still produce CO or bad gases which condenses and just like a high efficiency furnace produces acidic condensate, which at the bottom of the flue there is a plastic or PVC pipe going to the floor drain, the Mr. Heater emits the condensate into the air in the shack which is acidic and causes the throat and eyes to burn.

This acidic humidity rises since it is lighter than the air below.  If it does not escape the area, then it condenses against cold spots in the area.  Droplets on walls or droplets on the ceiling not only come from normal human breathing but from the heat source gas.  So that gas was getting in your eyes causing them to burn.
wish you many hook-ups

Offline MichiganMan

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #6 on: Jan 26, 2019, 10:42 AM »
I have a shack built very much like yours but without a floor. I experienced very much the same thing as you using the portable buddy heater and also the Mr.heater /Cooker. Condensation dripping on my head and eye irritation. My remedy was to #1 bore a 1 1/2 hole near the top on both ends of the shack, that helped some. #2 I bought a cheap, light, plastic tarp and stapled it over the top of the existing cover ,covering the top and about 1/3 down the sides . It added maybe 2 or 3lbs but eliminated the condensation AND the eye sting. It also heats much easier. I always use the portable buddy heater now. Hope this helps, wood stoves can be a pain in da butt.
It's more important to be nice, than it is nice to be important.

Offline timr35

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #7 on: Jan 28, 2019, 05:45 AM »
 kfcandtanq, Is the elbow on the top of your stove pipe?
 if it is facing into the wind it could be causing a back draft which would explain the smoke coming out the door when opened.
You would be better off with nothing on the top of the pipe to allow the prevailing wind to cause a up draft, or fabricate a small rain cap with spark arresting mesh all the way around.
This is what i found for my stove.
Good luck.

Offline kfcandtanq

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #8 on: Jan 29, 2019, 08:46 AM »
So... I added a 2nd elbow to the horizontal section as soon as the chimney exits the wall.
I fabricated a little chimney cap & spark arrestor, & added another 2' of vertical stack.
We tried it out yesterday, & it was much better!
I also switched over to using some recycled compressed sawdust logs.
Each log weighs about 5lbs, but a full log is too big to fit in my little stove.
Once I broke it, I found that a 1/2 log fits perfect, burns HOT for 45 minutes, & there's hardly any smoke or ash.
The fishing was slow, but a slow Monday out ice fishing is still way better than a busy Monday at work any time!

Offline Uncle Al

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #9 on: Jan 29, 2019, 10:13 AM »
 kfcandtanq, any pics of your shack?

Offline kfcandtanq

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #10 on: Jan 29, 2019, 10:55 AM »

        0.7 MB    20181217_163839_resize d.jpg                  Check                                            Error                                                 

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Here you go.
The 1st pic was the stove setup right after I built it.
The 2nd pic is my buddy Wayne. We were out on the ice yesterday enjoying a couple of Coors Banquet's

Offline Uncle Al

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #11 on: Jan 29, 2019, 10:58 AM »
Outside pics of the shack? thx

Offline kfcandtanq

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #12 on: Jan 29, 2019, 11:00 AM »
Sorry... I don't have any.
I'll have to take a couple of pics next time we're out

Offline kfcandtanq

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Re: Wood stove in a Portable Shack
« Reply #13 on: Jan 29, 2019, 11:02 AM »
                                                     


Actually, I have this 1 pic of the outside. This was from 2 years ago when I 1st bought the shack

 



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