Is this 55 Gallon Barrel Stove Safe? (Judge for Yourself!)

I used a 55 Gallon Barrel as a Wood stove in my shop. I tested out a kit that turns a 55 gallon drum into a woodturning stove. Is this safe? You be the judge...

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[OddBall]

Just a thought for you. I put a layer of fire brick in the bottom of mine just coming up the sides slightly. Covering about a third of the barrel.Then put a log grate from a fireplace inside to keep the fire from direct contact of the bottom so as not to burn out the bottom of the barrel. Works great in my shop and haven't had to replace the barrel yet. Going on 11 years.

[RobertLSasseFreedom]

Great first build
FYI
Adding 24inches clearance to the back is a MUST (so you dont burn the paint on the outside of the building), also wrap the wall, especially wood, with heat reflective materials. Add second barrel on top and you will retain 80% more heat. Hanging a box fan blowing air through the 2 barrels really ramps effectiveness.

These are just old man lessons we have learned up here in Montana and Idaho

Good luck, always have fun, and keep innovating!

[zanejohnson]

You might want to move the stove over.Away from the wood beam you have it against. The heat might start it on fire. And the rubber boot you put on the roof is going to melt and start letting in the elements. And if yo would have stacked a second barrel on top and ran pipe from front to back, you could have put a fan behind to blow warm air into the shop.

[joehogan]

I used a barrel that had a removable lid, as it's face when set horizontal to aid in the clean out of ashes.
There are two types of removable lids, clamp type and a ring type that locks in place with a bolt.
I also lined the bottom with firebrick and used a heavy gauge expanded steel as a grating.
The brand of kit was a Vogalzang.

[NoKamalaIn]

ALWAYS remove the lids of a sealed container (if possible) when cutting into it. Trust me, I learned this the hard way

[bluegorillacookies]

Kind of ironic someone makes a video asking if these things are safe and then puts it in contact with two pieces of lumber.

[caddi]

you did good. If you cut out the flue hole first you can get your arm straight through to leg bolts. I also turned my bolts around after it was secure so they don't stick up on the inside and as someone else said I cut a hole in the wall instead of messing up the roof and the spring actually works better if connected to the latch instead of the door

[garysamons]

the two things i would stress is do something about that rubber gasket where your pipe went through the being way too close to the wood is a fire waiting to happen....double wall pipe and a proper roof penetration kit (expensive but your shop is worth a whole lot more) ..i know probably code would say 3 feet from the wall, you could sneak by with 2....My config is a double barrel in the corner of my shop and i lined the wall with 1/2 inch concrete board and to absorb heat. For those cold days I'm out there all day i also had some old cinder blocks that i have stacked between the stove and building to absorb heat and it even radiates heat after the fire is gone....For the inside of the burning box i lined the bottom with sand and used some regular cinder cap blocks flat and an old fireplace grate turned longways to hold the wood up off the burning surface and for a little more protection i leaned cap blocks on the inside at an angle on either side of the grate....finely get some good stove spray paint for the off season....after the fire burns off all the barrel paint its going to rust like crazy in the summer....stove paint goes on black and flat and wont stink when you start firing it up next winter... i love my heating barrel and the days you spend all day out there working....b4 u start in the morning cut some potatoes and onions up in quarters ...a couple pats of butter, drizzle some olive oil over the whole thing....sprinkle salt, rosemary, thyme and some cracked pepper ....roll it all up good in some aluminum foil and once it gets burning good, place it on the top of the in an hour or two (depending on how hot you keep your stove) lunch...the smell is awesome

[brosselot]

I've got a double barrel stove in each of my shops. You should have at least 24 -36 inches all the way around it because they get about 700 degrees and will burn off the paint on your building steel. Also single wall flue pipe is ok on the inside but you should have double wall trough the roof and extend above the ridge of the building it will draw better. I have built several and I use the barrels with removable lids makes it easy. I also put them on a stand. Building another one now for the greenhouse.

[dwaynemetts]

I cant begin to explain how lucky you were. Cutting i to a barrel that had high ictane race fuel with the caps still on and not vented, that couldve went a whole lot different.

[harryturner]

I had a double barrel one, one barrel mounted on top of the other the heat throw out was unbelievable and used to burn low all night the workshop was mad hot early on a winters morning fantastic.

[NoKamalaIn]

If anyone builds one of these make sure you have the 2" hole at the bottom instead of the 3/4" hole for better airflow to the stove if needed

[billclisham]

If you were to put the door as high as possible you could fill the bottom of the barrel with sand and a layer of fire brick. This keeps the bottom of the barrel from burning through so fast as the ashes are very caustic and degrade the metal.

[peterjf]

I have seen modifications you can get for the flue pipe, like a splitter manifold that divides into four smaller pipes to make a more effective radiator. Also a module that was like an enameled metal box with a small oven inside.

[chadjones]

You had me at "instructions let's throw those away", ,,😂

[jamesford]

When I was on a fire department in Illinois, I learned that metal drums were marginal safe as a rule. That changed when the user would burn hedge wood (Osage Orange). There was a fad going on to remove wooden fence posts. Many of them were used for firewood because they were virtually free. I personally responded to several of them burnt through from hedge. I also knew a fire chief from the other side of the state who lost his own house when the barrel stove in his garage burnt through. He had recently started burning hedge.

[johnwood]

I, and lots of others, in Alaska use these in our cabins.

[freedomisntfree_]

If you cut the chimney hole you can reach through for the rear leg bolts 🤙🏽 I made a hot fire in mine outside before moving in my shop to burn the paint off as well and place the larger drain hole on bottom for a lot of air flow to make it hot

[CityToTheWoods]

Figured by now you’ve read and heard all the comments.I’ve been running a double barrel stove for 10 years now. They make a grill that goes inside the barrel. I filled the bottom with sand, about a half inch from the bottom of the vent and put the grill on the sand. That keeps the fire from burning through the barrel. As you know, by now, it has to be at least 2 feet away from the back wall and the same on each side. I’m guessing that a year later you’ve burnt through the rubber grommet on your roof vent and it’s leaking. I came off the top of the stove about 10 inches and then went out the back wall of the shop.
If you ever replace it, make sure to do the first burn outside so all that paint on the barrel doesn’t stink up your shop.

[thisismyalt]

Can you do an update and show us what not following the minimum distance to combustibles did to the wood post and wall strapping?