Workshop heater

Looking to build a small timber/oil burning heater for my workshop. Approximately 25feet long x 15feet wide x 12 feet high. I just want to get some inexpensive heat in it for during the winter months, I have some fresh logs and some old engine oil. Anyone got any ideas or plans for building one. I have welding facilities and basic fabrication skills.
Thanks
Bill

Northern Tool & Equipment lists a Vogelzang kit that makes a fine woodburning stove out of a 55 gallon barrel (you supply the barrel). $44.95 US + shipping. Another $29.99 gets you the kit to mount another barrel on top. You can add an oil dripper if you like. Get rid of your waste oil and get some heat at the same time. It sounds like "Vogelzang" probably comes from across the pond so they may be avaiable locally in your area. They really do work well but the US insurance companies don't like the oil dripper.

First of all, I have lots of experience with a wood heater in a home and some with a kerosent heater, but not with a combination. Now, motor oil does not burn without some outside source of heat. For example, if you have a brush pile that is burning good with a bed of red coals in there and a small(hopefully) amount of oil is added the oil will burn furiously. Oil by itself may be encouraged to burn with a propane torch, but it goes out when the heat source is removed. Remember I said motor oil, not kerosene or diesel.

As I understand it, a waste oil heater, that I have no experience with, uses compressed air to keep a forced air draft going. I've never studied plans for one. Now I have seen old mechanics with a SMALL pipe into the side of the wood burning stove to let oil drip on the fire. All that should be approached with extreme care and only a small supply of oil close to the heater. Maybe a little Googling is your best bet.

A good wood burning stove will heat that shop just fine.

KEH

(reply to post at 15:09:23 10/15/11)

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I will suggest that you get a good handle on the consumption rate of the fuel that a heater will use vs. your quantity of supply. I have a small catalytic propane unit heating my shop. I can't imagine a cheaper source of heat.

If it doesn't have a CSA, EPA or some sort or recognized standards approval. Forget about having insurance on your shed and contents.

"Vogelzang stoves meet EPA requirements for "exempt" wood/coal burning appliances (stoves). May NOT be installed in mobile homes, manufactured homes, trailers or tents. (NO Exceptions)".

I heat my shop with a barrel stove, single barrel. If you drip oil, just do it when you are there, because the oil tends to thin down and drip/run faster when it warms up. She will really get to roaring with no attention, and the barrel will get so hot you think you can see through it. LOL Vic

The dangerous part is when stove operator walks (stumbles) off and forgets to turn the dripper (hic) off. (hic)

Take it from the voice of experience, unless you built your firebox out of a minimum of 3/8 plate DO NOT design it for a drip oil setup. Do a search for my name and read a couple of my posts from last winter about my modification of my wood stove to version of the drip oil setup copied from the Mother Earth News website. Long story short....My stove is about 30 inches square and built of 3/8 plate, and the bottom is lined with fire brick. The burner chamber is a piece of 6" ID stainless pipe welded a piece of 3/8 stainless plate. Inside of it I've got another piece of stainless plate standing on legs about 1 inch long as a 'burner plate' for the oil to drip on. The oil enters the burner chamber through a copper tube run inside a piece of 2" OD stainles pipe that also provides a forced draft siphoned off the blower chamber that supplies air to the 'heat tubes' I put through the stove.

If I maintain a 'normal' drip rate the burner chamber will get in excess of 850 degrees (the max my infrared thermometer will read), and maintain a skin temp on the stove of nearly 650 degrees. Remember this is approx a 30x30x30 stove, out of 3/8 plate, with just a 6 inch chamber setting in the middle of it. I've only got a 1 gallon tank supplying the oil to the stove so the burner chamber has the capability to fill completely up and not overflow burning oil into the shop...THANKFULLY.....The first time it happened the oil 'turned to water' and it got a bit scary. The second time it happened it got so hot it warped the door of the stove.

Like I said you can read a bit more of the story by looking back at my post from last winter but again, a warning, DO NOT build an oil drip stove unless it's literally build like a tank and even then DO NOT leave it burning when your not physically present.

Beyond that one like mine will EASILY heat a 30x40 uninsulated shop with a 10 foot ceiling to 70 degrees plus on a 35 degree day...............but I'm looking at trying something a bit safer this winter because the 'reward' just isn't worth the risk.........

The price of new steel runs a dollar a pound here.Unless you have the steel on hand building a good stove would cost too much.Most good stoves have a cast iron door here.