# Outdoor Wood Burner Inside Shed, Anybody Do This?



## GSPatton (Sep 28, 2015)

I am putting in a pool that is heated by an outdoor wood burner, inside this shed will be the pool pump and filters and such, and a huge outdoor wood burner.  The pumps and filters need to be protected from freezing obviously, and the warden doesn't think the wood burner is very pretty.  Internet searches are pretty sparse regarding this type of setup, does anybody here have an outdoor wood burner inside a shed?

I'm going to make it as fireproof as possible, metal studs, concrete fiberboard siding, steel roof, on a cement pad.


----------



## RJSakowski (Sep 28, 2015)

MY neighbor had his wood burner inside a shed (three sided) for twenty years without a problem.  As long as you properly isolate the smoke stack from the combustibles and keep a proper distances from the furnace, you shouldn't have a problem.  Considering that you have a water jacket surrounding the fire box, I would think it is much safer than the old barrel stoves.


----------



## f350ca (Sep 28, 2015)

I heat with a wood fired boiler, that is designed to be in a building. I know not the same but the boiler your planning on using is probably better insulated. I had to insulate the steel piping coming off the boiler with fibreglass insulating tape to control the temperature in the 12 x 16 building. Its still warm in there but was well over 100 f before. My unit had clearance to combustibles listed, so went with that and lined the room with chip board. Been going for 9 years now.

Greg


----------



## rgray (Sep 28, 2015)

I have the hillbilly version. 600 gallon fuel tank with a 60 gallon air compressor welded into it for a fire box. It's first shed was nothing but 2" foil backed foam board joined together with spray foam. Still doing fine after 3 years. Now has had an addition on three sides that is wood framed and encloses a waste oil burner that sits behind the original boiler. And a tin roof now.


----------



## GSPatton (Sep 28, 2015)

The unit is a http://www.heatmasterss.com/mf-eseries/   5000E, it says zero clearance to combustibles on side and three feet front to back, I'm not going to have three feet front to back, so I gotta make sure it isn't combustible.  All this is going on a 10x10 pad.


----------



## GSPatton (Sep 28, 2015)

I'm looking forward to trying burning coal as well.


----------



## RJSakowski (Sep 28, 2015)

GSPatton said:


> I'm looking forward to trying burning coal as well.


Years ago, I had considered putting in an outdoor wood burner to replace the basement wood furnace.  My primary reason for not doing so was the smoke.  Virtually every setup that I have seen has a pall of wood smoke hanging around the buildings.  I suspect this is primarily due to the relatively short uninsulated stack height and low temperatures during idling.

I have burned coal in the blacksmithing forge and I would have a difficult time introducing coal smoke into the swimming pool experience.

Bob


----------



## GSPatton (Sep 28, 2015)

Bob did you burn Anthracite or Bituminous coal?  The burner is downwind.
Anthracite is supposed to be almost smoke free.


----------



## RJSakowski (Sep 28, 2015)

GSPatton said:


> Bob did you burn Anthracite or Bituminous coal?  The burner is downwind.
> Anthracite is supposed to be almost smoke free.


Anthracite is decidedly better.  The coal was blacksmithing coal which is supposedly sulfur free but is not.  It is a bituminous coal. 

Aside from the smoke and odor, coal deposits a a fine black soot over everything.  The living proof of that is in the UK where coal was a primary source of heat for centuries.  The older buildings in the towns and cities have a black cast to the stonework from the soot.

As for downwind, I have sat around too many campfires to not know that there is no way to sit upwind.

However, there is no reason not to try it.  It may not be a problem for you.  I would just have a second option in the wings.  I have been heating with wood for more forty years and southwestern Wisconsin has ample supplies of good firewood at reasonable prices, so it wouldn't be an issue for me.  If that is the case for you, you should be good.

Bob


----------



## GSPatton (Sep 28, 2015)

Bob, I think I have enough wood put up to burn this thing for a couple years continuously.  I was thinking coal due to cleaner burning.  I burn a lot of wood in my stove in the basement now.
My firewood is mostly ash and cherry, I own a bit over 15 acres of woods and it is full of dead ash.  Thank you Chinese Emerald Ash Borer!


----------



## uncle harry (Sep 29, 2015)

GSPatton said:


> I'm looking forward to trying burning coal as well.



I have a neighbor (2 miles away) who used anthracite coal to a catastrophic result. The buried plastic pipe  burst from overheated water.  His marine construction business is next to a giant coal pile on Milwaukee's lake front and was free to him.


----------



## RJSakowski (Sep 29, 2015)

uncle harry said:


> I have a neighbor (2 miles away) who used anthracite coal to a catastrophic result.


I don't think that the coal had anything to do with it.  A good wood fire will do the same.  The outdoor wood burners necessarily have to have controls to prevent overheating and potential burst pipes or explosions.


----------



## GSPatton (Sep 29, 2015)

The model I am getting has automatic dampeners connected to a thermostat.


----------



## gotogojo (Oct 18, 2015)

did that  the draw back I had was  power outage could not move the hot water blow off steam on the relief valve then you are back to getting the air out of your hook up.. power stoppage in the u p of mi happens often and some time long  you could make out if you had a back up gen.  hand switch better than none  use a space heater now and soup and chily  none better gotogojo


----------



## Billh50 (Oct 19, 2015)

I had a hillbilly stove setup in a shed some years ago. Just used one of those insulating junctions for the exhaust. It would get so warm in the shed I would be down to my t-shirt in near zero weather. Neighbors thought I was nuts when they saw me standing in the door with only a t-shirt watching them shovel snow.


----------



## uncle harry (Oct 19, 2015)

Billh50 said:


> I had a hillbilly stove setup in a shed some years ago. Just used one of those insulating junctions for the exhaust. It would get so warm in the shed I would be down to my t-shirt in near zero weather. Neighbors thought I was nuts when they saw me standing in the door with only a t-shirt watching them shovel snow.



For many of us, nuts is given. Too bad for the innocent people who don't understand basic people.  No harshness intended.


----------

