They are surprisingly easy to build. Me and my brother but two of them, the first one was out of a steel 50 gallon drum. Worked well until it finally burned through after years of use. The second was just a big steel box with a door an exhaust vent and a large blower. It’s a cheaper route to go but still not cheap. The real work comes in venting and routing everything. The second one we built also heated the tank for hot water.
5 Likes
I wouldn’t go that route. The regular steel stoves rust out pretty quick, and leak.
Hardy’s are stainless.
I had a Taylor before the Hardy.
I was constantly welding on that thing to plug up leaks.
2 Likes
With thick steel and good welds that really shouldn’t happen. The one we built never did. But the 50 gallon steel drum eventually burned the bottom out of it, just not thick enough.
1 Like
If I were to build one it would be thick plate and since it would be deep enough for at least a 3’ stick, I would design it with a heavy shaker and ash tray. The bottom would never burn out.
1 Like
The bottom ain’t what you gotta worry about, it’s the water jacket.
2 Likes
Ahh. I got you. I wasn’t thinking about the water heater aspect. That would require more plate… I was only thinking of building one to heat the house. 
1 Like
An outdoor stove is basically a wood stove inside of a water tank.
The water is heated to 180 degrees. The stove has a thermostat on it that closes a damper to smother the fire. If the stove hits 212, it boils over and you lose your water, which results in a burned up circulation pump.
Waterlines, send and return, run between the stove, and a radiator inside your ductwork.
A pump on the stove circulates the water, and your furnace blower forces air through the radiator, and out your vents.
2 Likes
Mine would be a real nice safe wood stove that would be too large to fit inside, with a heavily insulated metal building built around it. A blower fan will push the hot air into the house. The only thermostat used other than the to the blower fan, which will be inside, will be to the intake to regulate the temp in the outbuilding.
I just want a bigger stove for a longer burn and less mess in the house. lol
1 Like
I never did hook mine up to the water heater.
Only thing that leads to is an endless supply of hot water, which encourages people to take long showers, and fill the bath tub all the way up when they are soaking in it.
I am on a cistern, and have to regulate my water usage.
3 Likes
That’s a slightly different animal.
You need to look into forced air outdoor furnaces, and get some design ideas.
1 Like
Oh yeah. I don’t go into anything without working out a good plan. Well, not often. lol
3 Likes
The design for hot water we used was different than most it was a large copper coil of tubing that wrapped around a round cylinder Inside the furnace. It had a sidewall to protect it and the heat fed through the bottom of the cylinder. The cylinder heated the coil of line which heated the water.
3 Likes
Good morning everyone.
3 Likes
You build a stove, or a still?
3 Likes
It did sorta look like one from the inside. Couldn’t take a forever shower but lasted long enough for most.
The copper coils were tightly wound and only 1/4 inch so was a lot of copper used.
1 Like
Lmao I was thinking the same damn thing!
2 Likes
That’s ingenious! You could hide all the working parts in plain sight. If the revenuer comes looking, “Hey man, it’s a water heater”. Thirty minutes work later… … … the coil is relocated into a 55 gal barrel of ice water, and you’re heating up some mash. lol
9 Likes
While not something one could easily retrofit into an existing house, if I was building a new house, this is what I’d go with.
5 Likes