An old woodburning stove....any outdoor uses?

[MikeT]

Greetings,

I am wondering if there is any use for a old woodburning stove that I have access to.  I know they are relatively easy to come by, but I was wondering if there was a creative retrofit outdoor use I might look into.

A backup outdoor water heater? 
Brick it over and use it as a firebox for an outdoor fireplace?

Thanks for creative and thoughtful ideas.....

mt

[pandaman]

Greetings,

I am wondering if there is any use for a old woodburning stove that I have access to.  I know they are relatively easy to come by, but I was wondering if there was a creative retrofit outdoor use I might look into.

A backup outdoor water heater? 
Brick it over and use it as a firebox for an outdoor fireplace?

Thanks for creative and thoughtful ideas.....

mt

Personally I'd build a little shack to use as a sauna. Wood burning stoves can work great for that, especially if you use wood that is pleasing to the nose.  I am also intrigued by the idea of bricking it over and using it as an outside fireplace or cook top.

[Pox Eclipse]

Use it to fire your still, naturally.  Purely for ethanol fuel purposes, of course!  

[Beavers]

Would make a good firebox for a smoke house...

I built on last year, it looks just like an outhouse. 

I've been able to make some great bacon, smoked cheese, salmon, and nuts.  Keeping the firebox seperate from the smoke house, means you can keep the temps nice and cool and cold smoke things, intead of just hot smoking like with a regular smoker.

Just Google cold smoking, or smokehouses and you'll get a ton of info.

[MountainDon]

I believe a multipurpose still, smoker and hot tub heater would be cool.

[pandaman]

I believe a multipurpose still, smoker and hot tub heater would be cool.

That's funny you mention hot tub heater. I have some current plans to use an old claw foot tub and an improvised heating system to have myself a nice outdoor bath.  Not sure how I'll get the bubbly action like with a traditional hot tub....although I am growing a variety of beans next year.  Might have to wait!

[MountainDon]

... an improvised heating system...

That's a picture of melting lead for a boat keel.

http://www.arqueschl.org/news/eleanor_keel

[MikeT]

I had looked into the possibility of getting an insert that would allow me to heat water for my hot tub and also a serve as an outdoor fireplace.  http://www.therma-coil.com/
Still thinking about it and looking for other thoughts and ideas too...

[glenn kangiser]

A summer kitchen stove.  Here it is a bit hot to cook inside in the summer.  There - maybe not.

[Squirl]

maple syrup boiler.

[cordwood]

A summer kitchen stove.  Here it is a bit hot to cook inside in the summer.  There - maybe not.

Add about six feet of 6" chrome straight stack from a big truck and they look cool too!!

[glenn kangiser]

Excellent idea.  

Oh yeah......don't forget an approved spark arrestor cap or screen.  [idea]

[cordwood]

Excellent idea.  

Oh yeah......don't forget an approved spark arrestor cap or screen.  [idea]

A cheap cone shaped strainer from the Dollar store slid down the top and your good to go!
Stainless steel last pretty good but the plastic handle is a sacrificed item

[glenn kangiser]

I have found that fine mesh screens fill with soot or creosote -- I just double checked and the CDF fire Nazis allow and recommend 1/2" mesh size vertically to help stay clean.

Finer could work with cleaning as necessary.  I used 1/4 on a hottub heater (okie rigged of course) and plugged it pretty quickly and often.

[MountainDon]

Ditto on that Glenn. Screen as fine as window screen vlogs real quick. Real life experience; and a clogged screen makes for a crappy chimney draft.    One half inch is about as small as you want unless you like climbing up on the roof a lot.

[cordwood]

 I don't use a fine screen myself and on something like an outdoor kitchen in this part of the country I probably wouldn't use anything. You guys out there burn a lot different wood that makes more sticky stuff than the White Oak and other hard hard woods we have out here. In SoCal when I burned a lot eucaliptis I had to clean out a lot more than even with the Yellow or White Pine. Out here I rarely get more than a one pound coffee can of scrapings from the pipe once a year and I never have to clean the screen, 3/8" hardware cloth, It just gets black but no noticable build up. I burn very hot fires in the winter too though The strainer idea came from motorcycle days when I had to please the USFS out in the desert.

[glenn kangiser]

Hot fires and insulated chimneys are best.  The cold stove pipe I use underground and outside collects a lot of creosote - it is necessary to clean about 3 times per winter.

I go out horizontal with about a 1/12 pitch for about 6 feet - covered with earth - hey - I live under the ground cause I'm a troglodyte.  Of course it meets troglodyte code.