Recommendations For Purchasing and Installing a Wood Stove

I am thinking about finishing my garage, putting a bar and maybe a pool table in there.  To heat it in the winter I was thinking about using a wood stove.  It's not that big a space, approximately 400 sq feet, so the wood stove wouldn't have to be that big (I plan to insulate as well).

I am looking for a place to buy one(recommendations for BTU size, do I need a blower, etc.) and a professional installer.

Regards,

RCH


Have you thought about a pellet stove?  If not, it is something to consider.

Wood stoves usually don’t have blowers, but they sell fans that don’t use electricity and use the heat generated to turn the blades.  It’s actually pretty cool how the fan works, you literally sit it on top of the stove and the heat does the rest.  Some people also put enamel pots of water on their wood stoves to put humidity into the air since they can be drying.

I don’t have any recommendations for you (I’m still researching myself for my own upcoming purchase), but I do know that finding stoves (wood or pellet) for smaller spaces isn’t easy, most are designed for 1,000 sq feet and up.  Some stoves have catalytic converters to help them meet EPA standards.  These put out less pollution, but they do need more maintenance though.  

Since it is for a smaller area you might want to find one that is mobile home approved.  Though your garage will NOT be airtight like a mobile home, it is a small space and you don’t want to risk issues so having a stove that can source its own air is a safer bet, and ALWAYS have functional CO detectors (which you should have anyway) 

Wood can often be found free (always check the type though), but free wood almost never comes cut, and you’ll also need a space to store it.  And sometimes you’ll find three free offers within a month and then nothing for a year or more, so you’ll end up buying either by the cord or by the stack.  Pellets you always have to pay for, but you can buy by the pallet at the beginning of the season, just make sure to store them where they won’t get wet.

If price and size were not a consideration, I personally would go with a soapstone wood stove.  In addition to being beautiful they also heat more evenly, though they probably won’t get the garage up to temp as quickly which for your use might be a drawback.


This is the type of fan I mentioned.  No electricity, just heat.  I’ve never used one but many reviews seem to say they work well


I'm just kind of curious, but does local code allow something like this. No dog in the fight. Just thinking out loud.


Soul_29 said:

I'm just kind of curious, but does local code allow something like this. No dog in the fight. Just thinking out loud.

 If they don’t allow them then I’m surprised.  Wood stoves and pellet stoves are both safer than fireplaces, which many homes have and are commonly used 


spontaneous said:

Soul_29 said:

I'm just kind of curious, but does local code allow something like this. No dog in the fight. Just thinking out loud.

 If they don’t allow them then I’m surprised.  Wood stoves and pellet stoves are both safer than fireplaces, which many homes have and are commonly used 

 Not in the garage.


I have seen a number of garage 'conversions' in the area.  I have no idea whether they were done officially or non-officially.



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