To heat your garage, you can easily make a wood-burning stove with your own hands. This will not take much time and will be very inexpensive, since you can use scrap materials.
Why do you need to heat non-residential premises?
State standards establish that the air temperature in the garage should not fall below +5°C. If these standards are not adhered to, the engine will not start, especially after the vehicle has been idle for a long time.
In extreme cold, even antifreeze can freeze. The number of car breakdowns due to the negative effects of hardened water is significantly increasing. Also, you will agree that it is much more comfortable to carry out vehicle repairs in a warm environment.
Advantages and disadvantages of heating with wood
By choosing solid fuel as an energy source for heating your garage, you can get the following advantages:
- low cost of firewood;
- no need to buy expensive installations and spend additional money on electricity;
- small dimensions of the stove with high productivity rates;
- the heating device can additionally be used for cooking and heating food;
- ease of manufacture and installation of wood-fired installations. There is no need to additionally equip a massive foundation.
The disadvantages include that such heating devices heat up quickly, but at the same time they also quickly release heat to the environment. To maintain the optimal temperature, you need to constantly add fresh firewood. Fuel consumption increases significantly.
Types of heating devices
To heat a garage, you can make the following types of stoves with your own hands:
- potbelly stove with a metal body;
- brick oven;
- long-burning heater.
To install a potbelly stove yourself, you need to have skills in working with a grinder and a welding machine. In this case, brickwork is much easier to produce.
Potbelly stove - manufacturing features and structural elements
Potbelly stove diagram
This is a fairly simple design, which consists of the following elements:
- loading chamber or firebox;
- grate;
- blower;
- ash pan;
- metal door;
- chimney.
To make the installation, use thick metal 4 mm thick. When attaching the chimney pipe to the upper wall of the combustion chamber, it must be strengthened. This place is considered the weakest; metal most often burns out here.
Use a strong metal mesh as a grate. You can take a ready-made one or make it yourself from a corner or wire. Make many small holes in the grate to remove ash.
Step-by-step instructions for making a potbelly stove from a steel pipe
- Use a steel pipe with a diameter of 0.4-0.5 m and a length of 1 m, to which you need to weld the legs.
- From a steel sheet, cut two circles of the same diameter as the pipe.
- In one circle, make a door for the firebox and a hole for the ash pan.
- The length of the grate is equal to the length of the potbelly stove, and the maximum width is equal to the diameter. It is best to use a metal mesh with a width slightly smaller than the diameter of the housing. Insert it into the pipe and weld it to the walls.
- Weld metal circles to the pipe. Monitor the quality of the seam to ensure the stove is sealed.
- Near the hole in the circle, attach hinges onto which you will place the doors.
- On the housing cover closer to the rear wall, make a hole with a diameter of 100 mm for the chimney pipe.
The following wood-burning stove design for a garage is suitable if you do not have a metal pipe. It’s very easy to make it yourself, using scraps of metal.
Manufacturing technology:
Brick stove
To install a brick oven for a garage with your own hands, you will need to additionally fill a small slab foundation 200 mm deep. Line the combustion chamber completely with refractory bricks.
On the front wall of the structure, leave a window for the door and vent. Using pieces of brick, make small protrusions at the bottom of the heater for installing a grate.
To install the cover, place the fittings on the walls. Lay 1-2 rows of bricks on top.
You can also use a metal sheet to arrange the top wall. Place it on the stove, then cover the cracks with fireclay clay. At the top of the device, provide a hole for the chimney.
Design of long-burning furnaces
Thanks to the presence of a special damper, homemade stoves of this type are very effective, since the wood does not burn, but smolders for a long time. With the help of vents you can control the intensity of the flame and the power of the heating device.
Schematic representation of a long-burning furnace
To make a garage heating installation with your own hands, you need to use a metal tank with a volume of 200 liters. In its upper part, make a hole for the chimney with a diameter of 150 mm. Also provide a hole for the pipeline through which fresh air will flow into the barrel.
For the weight, cut a circle of metal that matches the diameter of the barrel. Weld channels to it. Also make a hole with a diameter of 100 mm, where you insert a small piece of pipe. Place such a load in a barrel under the lid. Make two holes in the body of the heater to supply fuel and remove ash. Additionally equip each of them with doors.
Making a heating device with your own hands is quite simple, using simple materials - a metal sheet or barrel, corners, pipes, bricks.
Video: Super potbelly stove for the garage
We have a ready-made solution for this issue - a compact and inexpensive metal stove for heating a wood-burning garage! Agree that operating a small portable stove in the garage is cheaper than heating the garage with electrical appliances. We can offer a choice of small long-burning stoves that can warm up a small room.
A garage is not only a place to park a car, but also a workshop, and often a “club of interests.” In frosty weather it is very difficult to start the car engine, sometimes it takes so much time that the trip itself becomes irrelevant.
It’s also better to do repairs and simply exchange tips at a comfortable temperature. Therefore, it is clear that heating a room is one of the problems that car enthusiasts solve. Heating a garage is not a simple matter, since this is not only a condition for comfortable maintenance of equipment, but rather a requirement for normal, civilized maintenance of the car.
The simplest and fastest solution to this issue is to install electric heaters, fully automated and fireproof. But what should anyone do if they have a garage without electricity or want to save money by burning various waste? There is a ready-made solution for a wood-burning stove for a garage.
As a rule, a wood-burning stove for a garage is required to be economical and reliable, easy to use, and also run on inexpensive fuel. All these aspects are present in a small metal stove; by the way, you can burn not only wood in it, but also all the garbage that appears. It is not recommended to burn it with coal or peat, otherwise it will quickly burn out, since the combustion temperature of this type of fuel is too high.
These stoves are also indispensable for heating cabins. After all, a change house with a stove is an excellent solution for a summer house. Because I want to relax not only in summer but also in winter, when all the work is finished. In such a cabin it is always warm and cozy.
Many stoves for cabins are equipped with a hob, which makes it easy to heat water and cook food. Especially for our customers, the PechiMAX online store offers a large assortment of stoves for small spaces such as garages and change houses. As well as related products for them.
For most people, the word “garage” is simply associated with a box for storing a car. However, there is a fairly large category of car owners for whom the garage is truly a “second home.” They are ready to spend all their free time there - fortunately, there will probably always be work here. In addition, garages have rightly acquired a strong reputation as a kind of “men’s club”, where the uninitiated, especially women, are not recommended to enter.
But it’s just that winter is trying to make adjustments to the active life of the garage - it’s extremely uncomfortable to work in a frozen room, and just chatting with friends is very uncomfortable. However, inventive craftsmen always find a way out - they install homemade stoves, constructing them themselves or using the advice of their comrades on how to make a potbelly stove for the garage.
Let us also make our contribution to this noble men's cause. The publication will discuss several ways to make a potbelly stove with your own hands.
Wood stoves made from scrap materials
The basic design of the simplest potbelly stove operating on solid fuel is very simple. In essence, it is a thick-walled metal container divided into two main compartments.
Firewood or other fuel is placed in the upper firebox, for which a loading door must be provided. The grate separates the firebox from the lower compartment, which is much smaller in size - the ash pan, which also often plays the role of a blower. It is also recommended to install an appropriate door through which the potbelly stove is regularly cleaned of ash. In addition, opening the door a certain width regulates the flow of air into the combustion chamber, and therefore the intensity of firewood combustion. A pipe is welded into the upper combustion chamber to drain combustion products into the chimney pipe.
Such a scheme gives scope for independent design of simple potbelly stoves, and a wide variety of materials or used items and devices are used as blanks. There is probably no need to teach real masters how to cook a potbelly stove for a garage - it’s probably better to just give a number of interesting ideas that can be taken as a basis and supplemented with your own modifications, based on existing capabilities and preferences.
1. One of the simplest options is a potbelly stove from an old metal barrel.
The design shown in the figure is simplified to the extreme. The master manufacturer decided to abandon the two separate doors, combining them into one common one. A metal frame is welded on top of the barrel, which allows you to lay a metal sheet on it, which becomes a kind of “hob” - you can, for example, heat water on it.
Potbelly stove made from a barrel - a simple design, but with a lot of disadvantages The advantage of such a design is, perhaps, only one - simplicity and speed of production, accessible to almost everyone. There are many more disadvantages.
- Firstly, the barrel itself is not the best option for a potbelly stove - the walls are thin, their heat capacity is low, and they will not last long - they will quickly burn out.
- Secondly, it is quite difficult to regulate the intensity of combustion.
- Thirdly, the design is bulky and takes up a lot of space. You can, of course, think about a vertical arrangement, but the main problem is the thinness of the walls, thisAll equals not will eliminate
- And, fourthly, such a potbelly stove is very unsafe in terms of fire safety.
It is better to have such a stove not in the garage, but somewhere on the street, for waste disposal.
2. Something similar, with the same basic disadvantages, but more compact, can be made from standard 40 liter can.
The scale of work, including welding, is even smaller here. In fact, only the legs (3) and the chimney pipe (2) are welded to the body (1). The door is already ready - it remains standard, only two rows of holes (4) are drilled in it for air access. A homemade grate made of a metal rod is placed inside, conditionally dividing the can into two compartments - and the mini-potbelly stove is ready.
3. Very wide opportunities in the manufacture of garage stoves are provided by the use of old gas cylinders. These vessels have thick, greasy walls that can be easily welded and themselves have a good heat capacity.
The main difficulty is to properly prepare the cylinder for further work, since even with the neck removed, vapors of explosive concentrations may remain in it. You may come across advice to fill the container with water overnight, and then, after draining the liquid, start cutting it. However, as practice shows, this does not provide a complete guarantee of work safety. In this light, the following approach seems optimal:
- Bury the vertically placed cylinder in the ground so that it is securely fixed for cutting with a grinder.
- Fill it with water right up to the neck and let it sit for 2-3 hours.
- Draw a line marking the future around the circumference cutting.
- Start cutting along the marked line until a through hole appears. Water will begin to flow out. You must wait until its level drops to the cutting level, and then carefully continue working with the grinder and remove the cover completely.
- Now you can drain the water and continue further work - the cylinder will no longer pose any danger.
There are a lot of options for potbelly stoves made from cylinders.
— It is often made horizontally. The cylinder capacity itself is, in fact, a finished combustion chamber. Dividing it into two with this orientation is irrational; it is better to make it from sheet metal and weld a box-shaped ash pan with its own door.
In this case, the grate can be rows of holes drilled in the cylinder body:
If you find a real cast iron of the appropriate size, then you can do it differently - cut a window in the wall of the cylinder that will ensure a tight fit of this part:
Another option is a window for installing a regular cast iron grate You can make the firebox door yourself, using a fragment cut out for the firebox window, or you can weld a finished part, which can be purchased at a hardware store.
The structure is installed on welded pipes or leg corners at a height convenient for use. A pipe for connection to the chimney is cut into the rear part.
— In order to save garage space, the cylinder can be placed vertically. In this case, it is divided into two chambers, welding brackets inside, onto which a homemade round grate made of a steel rod with a diameter of 10 - 12 mm is placed. Two two parts are made - the furnace and the blower.
The upper cut part can be drowned out - in this case a kind of cooking surface will appear. Another option is to purchase a cast iron cauldron of the required diameter, which will fit exactly as a “plug” and turn into a container for heating water or even for preparing a variety of dishes.
An original solution - instead of a top lid, a well-fitted cauldron is used To allow combustion products to exit from the rear, a standard 90-degree outlet with a diameter of 100 or 110 mm is welded in, and then the vertical part of the chimney is connected to it.
Another craftsman offers an original design. As a finished part for the potbelly stove, he used an air tank-receiver from the brake system of a truck.
The master did not install ordinary doors. For the blower, a pipe is welded in, equipped with an adjustable damper that limits the flow of air. There is also no loading hatch on the side wall of the potbelly stove - it uses the principle of top loading of solid fuel. The top cover is hinged and equipped with an arched handle for convenience.
The internal space of the cylinder into the firebox and ash pan is divided by a homemade grate:
The design itself is simple to manufacture, but during operation it requires caution when adding firewood. In addition, the process of cleaning such a potbelly stove from accumulated ash will also not be entirely convenient.
Potbelly stoves of a similar design can also be made from scraps of thick-walled pipes with a diameter of 300 - 500 mm.
4. Steel sheet- an excellent material, a potbelly stove can be made from it with your own hands, drawings of which are easy to find on the Internet.
As an example, you can give a drawing of an efficient solid fuel stove, which will require sheet metal with a thickness of at least 4 mm (thinner walls will simply burn out quickly).
The drawing below shows all the dimensions, and it will be easy for any craftsman to cut in the parts necessary for the work. The main “highlight” of this design is the presence of two partitions (1). They create a kind of labyrinth for the release of combustion products, which do not immediately fly away into the chimney pipe, but provide maximum heat transfer from the potbelly stove.
A metal plate (2) with rows of drilled holes with a diameter of 12 - 15 mm is used as a grate.
It is advisable to “dress” the potbelly stove in a metal casing, using sheet metal 2 mm thick for it. The plates (3) are cut to the dimensions of the side and rear walls and attached to the stove body either on threaded posts or using 50 mm long bushings (4).
Such an addition to the design of the potbelly stove will solve three problems at once:
- The likelihood of accidental burns from the hot walls of the stove will be reduced.
- The impact of hard infrared radiation from it, which is not always pleasant and necessary, will be reduced.
- The resulting gap of 50 mm between the walls of the potbelly stove and the screens will create a powerful convection flow of heated air, thanks to which the garage will be heated quickly and evenly.
These are not all possible options for solid fuel garage stoves. and detailed technology for their manufacture can be found on other pages of our portal dedicated to this issue.
Video: homemade stove for a garage made of sheet metal
Now, it probably makes sense to take a closer look at the design of the stove, which uses such common in garages, almost “waste” material, like used motor oil.
Find out and also study the step-by-step process, understandable even for beginners, from our new article.
How to make a potbelly stove during mining
In fact, having a supply of firewood in the garage to fire a potbelly stove is not always convenient. But work is almost always available or it’s easy to find. This becomes especially true in large garage cooperatives, where they often install special containers for draining old oil, or in auto repair shops. So why not take advantage of the opportunity to use virtually free fuel for heating?
The design of such stoves and their layout can also be very diverse - from compact potbelly stoves designed for a small room to large and bulky devices with high heat transfer, capable of heating large areas.
However, the operating principle and basic design elements are similar for all of them. They consist of two containers. The lower one is intended for filling with used oil - there it is superficially ignited and brought to a boil. Oil vapor rise up through a pipe with perforation for oxygen access. Here the process of afterburning the rising vapors begins, and their final oxidation and combustion takes place in the upper chamber, which is already connected to the chimney system.
If you look at a photograph of a working one, the temperature distribution in this heating device is very clearly visible from the intensity of the infrared radiation spots. The lower container with oil does not heat up much: the light spot is only a visible area of an open flame on the surface of the burning oil. The main afterburning begins in the upper third of the vertical perforated pipe, and the temperature reaches its peak values in the upper chamber - even its thick-walled body literally becomes red hot. It is this part of the stove that provides maximum heat exchange with the air in the room.
It is necessary to know the operating principle of such a stove. This will help you correctly determine the materials necessary for its manufacture - obviously, the most heat-resistant parts should be the parts of the vertical pipe and the upper chamber.
Below are drawings of a do-it-yourself potbelly stove that works according to this scheme. Almost all dimensions are indicated in them, but still, in order to manufacture such a heating device, it is necessary to give a number of explanations by examining this process in more detail.
So, the work on making such a stove begins with the selection of materials. First of all, you need to have two pieces of pipe for the housings of the lower and upper chambers (items 2 and 8). The drawing indicates a diameter of 352 mm and 344 mm, but such a standard simply does not exist. It is easier to change the data a little and use pipe scraps of 355.6 × 6 or 325 × 6 mm.
The thickness of the steel sheets used for the manufacture of other parts is 4 mm, with the exception of the top cover (item 10) and partition (item 9), which require metal 6 mm thick.
For a vertical chamber, a pipe with a diameter of 100 mm with a wall thickness of at least 4 - 5 mm is used. The same pipe will be required for the chimney pipe.
The process can begin with the manufacture of the lower chamber. To do this, a bottom cut around the circumference (item 1) is welded to a piece of 355 mm pipe with a height of 115 mm (item 2). All seams in the stove structure must be absolutely sealed.
The top of this container must be removable. This means that it is necessary to have a cylinder (item 3) that would fit tightly, almost without a gap, onto the lower one. It will not be possible to select it according to standard pipe sizes, which means you will have to make it yourself. A metal strip 60 mm wide is cut, which, by heating with a gas burner and using clamps, is bent around the body of the lower container, and then welded with a vertical seam.
Now, using the resulting ring, you can accurately measure and cut out the cover for it (item 4). Two holes are immediately cut out on it - a central one, Ø 100 mm (item 4.1) for welding in a vertical perforated pipe, and one offset to the edge, Ø 60 mm - it will be used for refueling, ignition and adjusting the flow of primary air for oil combustion. A sliding cover (pos. 4.3) is being prepared, which will be secured in the hole (pos. 4.4) using a rivet or bolt (pos. 4.5).
Then the finished lid is welded to the ring.
A piece of pipe 100 × 5 mm with a length of 360 mm is marked for drilling holes in it. The top row should be 55 mm from the edge, the bottom row should be 20 mm. It is necessary to place 6 rows of 8 holes each evenly, so that they are staggered. The diameter of the holes is 9 mm. Both ends of the pipe are immediately chamfered for further welding during the assembly process.
The next step is to install the upper chamber. To begin with, prepare two covers that have the same dimensions, but differ in metal thickness - the bottom (item 7) is 4 mm, and the top (item 10) is 6 mm. A hole Ø 100 mm is cut in each of them - so, as shown in the drawing. The diameter of these covers must, of course, exactly match the diameter of the thick-walled pipe used, from which a 100 mm high cylinder is cut (item 8).
It is immediately necessary to prepare a jumper (item 9), which will serve for more complete combustion of rising vapors, preventing them from quickly escaping into the chimney pipe, thereby creating an additional afterburning chamber.
Assembly begins by welding the upper, thicker cover to the cylinder.
After the sealed seam is completed, a jumper is installed with its maximum displacement towards the smoke outlet and welded on three sides.
Now you can weld the bottom cover. Its hole should be located strictly diametrically to the upper one.
Very accurately checking the square, achieving perpendicularity in all planes, install, grab, and then weld the perforated pipe to the bottom cover.
Then you can weld the chimney pipe (pos. 11) to the corresponding hole in the top cover.
Welded chimney pipe From the opposite end of the perforated pipe, also maintaining perpendicularity, the lid of the lower fuel tank is welded.
This O-ring is then welded to the bottom of the "pan".
... and its fixation to the walls of the “pan” In fact, all that remains is to weld the legs (item 6) and the stove can be considered ready. For greater stability of the stove, you can weld a stand (III in the diagram), which will add rigidity to the structure.
If desired, after cleaning, you can coat it with heat-resistant paint and safely use it.
You can refill it through the neck of the lower container, but this can be done safely only when the previously filled oil has completely burned out. To avoid such inconveniences during operation, it is recommended to supplement such a potbelly stove during testing with another “option” - a device for monitoring the oil level in the combustion chamber and safe refueling during operation.
To do this, you will have to make another open container, approximately the same height as the lower “pan”. The shape of this vessel is not particularly important. Both of these containers will be located on a common stand made of two parallel metal corners.
Both containers are welded to the guides - corners... Holes of the same diameter are cut in the bottom of both containers and connected by a curved tube.
... and connected by a tube So, we got two communicating vessels. According to the laws of physics, the liquid level in both is always the same. Thus, the owner of the stove always sees the level of waste oil remaining in the combustion chamber, and can, without any problems, replenish the fuel supply by pouring it into an open container.
True, in order to ensure greater safety, it is better to also provide a protective screen that will cover the open vessel from direct thermal radiation of the combustion chamber.
Now we can say with complete confidence that I’m ready. All that remains is to install it in place, connect it to the chimney pipe, fill it with fuel and carry out a test ignition.
For ignition, liquid for fireplaces (stoves) is usually used; about 100 ml is poured over the oil into the filler neck. A lit wick and a rag or paper soaked in the same liquid are lowered there. Surface combustion should begin, which in a few minutes will lead to boiling of the oil, the formation of vapors and the transition of the entire potbelly stove to its “normal” operating mode - this is usually accompanied by a characteristic hum.
In the model under consideration, ready-made parts were used - cuttings of thick-walled pipes. If they could not be found, then the very same stove can be made from a steel sheet, with box-shaped refueling and afterburning chambers, simply observing certain proportions of their volume in relation to the parallelepiped. The efficiency of the stove will not suffer at all from this. The thickness of the material used is the same, 4 and 6 mm.
Video: stove in operation with box-type chambers
Prices for popular models of welding machines
Welders
What should those garage owners do who already have a conventional stove that runs on solid fuel, but are interested in the possibility of using waste oil as fuel? It's okay - and there is an acceptable way out for them. You can make a special “attachment” that will make the potbelly stove universal.
This “attachment” can turn an ordinary potbelly stove into one that runs on waste oil. In fact, this is the lower capacity of the stove for exhaust, also with a perforated pipe, but only bent at an angle of 90 degrees (by welding a standard outlet).
She's from a different angle But instead of a final combustion chamber, an ordinary wood-burning stove is used, into which this curved pipe is connected using an adaptation device. For example, in a regular potbelly stove, the firebox door can be made removable and replaceable. One, regular one, will be installed using firewood, and the other, having the corresponding hole for pipe insertion –at using the “attachment” during practice.
In this case, a round plug with a hole for the pipe inlet is used as an “adapter”. The standard firebox door is simply folded to the side Another option is to weld the pipe on the side, into the wall of the potbelly stove - then the stove will turn out to be universal. You just have to provide a damper so that when using firewood, the flame does not spread and the ash from the firebox does not fall into the perforated pipe and container with oil.
Advantages and disadvantages of potbelly stoves during development
To ensure that the operation of a potbelly stove during mining does not cause much trouble, you need to know its features, advantages and disadvantages, which must be taken into account when using it.
The advantages include the following qualities:
- The stove is unpretentious and does not require intervention in its operation - the main thing is to correctly adjust the air gap on the filler neck (usually 10 - 15 mm). It has good heat dissipation and can quickly heat a closed room.
- When used correctly, such a potbelly stove does not smoke and no fumes are released from the chimney pipe.
- The furnace, to a certain extent, can be considered fireproof in the sense that the fuel (exhaust) itself never burns under normal conditions, and only the afterburning of the vapors it produces occurs in the chamber.
However, such a scheme has many disadvantages:
- We have already mentioned the noisy operation of the stove. In addition, you cannot get rid of the characteristic smell. However, for garage conditions this should not matter much. Sometimes masters find another solution to a similar problem. For example, an additional air heat exchanger is installed on the upper chamber, through which air is driven using a fan to heat the adjacent room.
- Both the combustion chamber (perforated pipe) and the chimney quickly become overgrown with deposits of combustion products and require frequent preventative cleaning.
- Burning oil in the lower chamber always leaves a coked layer, which is quite difficult to clean.
Video - Stove being worked on
During operation of the stove, a number of mandatory rules must be observed:
- The use of waste oil with flammable impurities, such as gasoline, is not allowed. The waste must be filtered so that it does not contain suspended solids.
- Working with water is also dangerous - this can lead to boiling of the liquid and splashing of the oil, possibly igniting it. Collection of waste for further use as fuel must be carried out under conditions that prevent the ingress of water.
- Under no circumstances should such a stove be placed in a strong draft - this may cause the flame to spread to surrounding objects. There should never be any flammable substances or materials around the stove. Reliable thermal insulation of the walls of the room must be provided.
- The room must have reliable ventilation, since the operation of the stove is associated with intense absorption of air oxygen and the release of carbon monoxide, which is dangerous to health and life.
- It is strictly forbidden to use any other flammable liquids as fuel - this may result in an explosion in the upper chamber or chimney pipe.
- You should never leave such a potbelly stove unattended. It is strictly forbidden to go to bed in a room with a working stove. Before leaving, you should make sure that the oil has completely burned out and that the process of burning off its vapors has ended.
- It is forbidden to pour water on the stove to cool it, or use water to extinguish the fire - this will only aggravate the dangerous situation.
- The stove should not have horizontal sections. An inclined section is allowed to change direction at an angle of 45 degrees. The minimum length of the chimney pipe should be 4 m, and the recommended length is from 5 to 7 m.
- The recommended fill level when initially filling the stove is up to ⅔ of the volume of the lower container.
- When using such a stove in a garage, there must be a powder fire extinguisher or a box of sand near it.
So, probably anyone who has solid plumbing skills can make a potbelly stove for the garage. It is enough to show your imagination or use the drawings of ready-made designs - and everything should work out. The main thing, both in the manufacture and in the operation of such stoves, is to constantly observe basic safety measures so that the heating device does not cause a big disaster.
Currently, many car enthusiasts install heating systems in their garages. This is necessary to increase the coziness and comfort of the structure. Agree, it is much more pleasant to repair a personal car in a heated room. Often, a car owner is faced with the task of choosing the optimal type of stove. Wood-burning garage stoves are considered the most common and versatile.
Types of furnaces
The most common wood stove designs:
- Potbelly stove.
- Potbelly stove with water circuit.
- Brick.
- Long burning.
- Convector stove.
Potbelly stove - the most common wood stove, used to heat a garage. The simplicity of the design ensured its great popularity back in the twenties of the twentieth century. Any available material is suitable for its manufacture: old iron barrels, propane cylinders, a simple iron box.
The principle of operation is very simple: when wood burns in the firebox of the unit, the body heats up and releases heat into the room.
Potbelly stove with water circuit is a modification of the potbelly stove. The main difference is the presence of a water circuit. It consists of a pipeline system, shut-off valves, expansion tank, heat exchanger, pump, radiators.
The principle of operation is this - the water in the heat exchanger is heated and flows through the piping system into the radiators. As a result of heat exchange, heat enters the room. Using a pump, cooled water from the radiator is pumped into the heat exchanger for subsequent heating.
Brick oven- the most efficient in terms of heating the room. Thanks to its design and the building material used, it has high efficiency. Such a stove heats up quickly when fired with wood, and retains heat for a long time. The principle of operation is the same as that of a potbelly stove.
A convection oven is also a modification of a potbelly stove. Its design is distinguished by the presence of a forced convection system. It consists of a fan and a collector.
Thanks to this system, the efficiency of a converter furnace is higher than that of a potbelly stove.
The operating principle is similar to that of a potbelly stove. The only difference is that the fan forcibly displaces heated air from the collector into the room.
Long burning stove- This is also a modification of the potbelly stove. Its design uses the top combustion effect. Due to this, this design has high efficiency. Operating principle: combustion in the furnace of the unit occurs under load, due to this, the fire zone has a small area. This ensures long-term combustion of solid fuel.
Advantages and disadvantages
Like any heating device, a wood stove has its advantages and disadvantages.
Let's look at some of the benefits:
- Relatively low price of fuel.
- The versatility of the device during operation. You can use the heater to heat the room, cook and heat food.
- Installation and installation of a garage stove is very simple and does not require large expenses.
- For the manufacture of the unit, scrap materials can be used.
- During operation, the use of additional installations and devices is not required.
- The small overall dimensions of the unit make it universal for use in garages.
- The operation of such a device does not require the use of an additional type of energy (electricity).
The disadvantages of this design include:
- Such furnaces have a high heat output, as a result of which they heat up quickly and cool down quickly.
- To maintain a high temperature in the oven, it is necessary to periodically add firewood.
- Constant monitoring of the heating process is necessary to ensure safety.
Peculiarities
For the furnace to operate efficiently, its design must have certain qualities. Since the garage room is small, the stove should, first of all, be compact. Operating efficiency for a heating device is also important. In addition, the cost of manufacturing the unit should be minimal.
It is necessary to provide for the possibility of firing different types of fuel. This will make the unit cost-effective. By making a stove with your own hands, you can make it as convenient to use as possible. Taking into account all your needs, you will create a unique and inimitable heating device.
First you need to choose the material from which you will make the wood-burning stove. This is where your skills in working with brick or metal will come into play. But in both cases, it must be remembered that the heating device should not reduce the amount of oxygen in the room. It must release heat for as long as possible to warm the room.
The basic rule when operating the stove is the absence of release of harmful substances.
When choosing the design of a heating device, remember that it should not be a fire hazard.
DIY making
The most suitable material for making a potbelly stove is propane cylinders and thick-walled pipe. Old metal barrels will also work. All options are possible. The main condition is that the wall thickness must be at least 2 mm and maximum 5 mm. If you do everything according to the drawings, then such a stove will serve for a long time and efficiently.
Which stove to make - vertical or horizontal - everyone decides for himself. It is more convenient to burn a horizontal stove with wood. But the vertical one is easy to use and takes up less space.
To make a vertical potbelly stove, we divide the pipe or cylinder into two unequal compartments. We place the smaller one at the bottom. Ash will collect here. At the top there is a larger compartment for storing firewood.
- Cut rectangular holes in both parts. We don’t throw away the resulting rectangles; we use them as doors in the future.
- We weld grate bars to most of them. This can be reinforcement or any metal rods of the required size, with a diameter of 12-16 mm. The gap between the grates is 20 mm.
- We mount and weld the bottom.
- We make a hole at the top of the cylinder for the chimney. We make a pipe from a sheet of metal and weld it to the hole at the top of the cylinder. It is better to make the pipe for standard chimneys, so that there are no problems with its installation later.
- We weld hinges to the cut out doors and install them on the stove. The unit is ready.
To make a horizontal potbelly stove, you need to weld an ash box on the bottom. It can be made from sheet steel. We make holes in the bottom of the stove so that the ash spills into the ash drawer.
At the top of the heating device (just like on a vertical stove) we make a pipe for the chimney. We weld the hinges onto the door and install it from the end of the product. The oven is ready for use.
The design of the convector stove is a regular potbelly stove without a long-burning mode, but with forced airflow for uniform heat distribution in the garage. The unit is a potbelly stove with a built-in mini-fan in the back. It pumps air through guide pipes. These can be hollow metal pipes, a profile or a sheet steel box.
There the air is heated and blown forward. The garage space is heated quickly and efficiently. The stove is ready to heat the room.
Many people believe that the best heating device for a garage is a long-burning stove. Its design is based on a vertical potbelly stove. The main differences are the lateral location of the chimney in the upper part and the presence of a removable top cover with a piston. We cut a hole in the top cover and insert the piston. It puts pressure on the wood inside the stove, providing “top combustion.”
Setting up a brick oven in the garage is very simple. It is necessary to have an orderly masonry scheme and have skills in working with bricks. Be sure to strictly follow the ordering scheme. For masonry, fireclay mortar or clay with the addition of cement and sand is used.
Before installing a brick wall, it is necessary to make a foundation 200 mm high. The combustion chamber is made of refractory bricks. The door and the blower are located on the front wall. The grille is placed inside the device on brick ledges.
To make a stove you need 290-300 bricks. The masonry is laid out on fireclay mortar. Gaps are left between the bricks. This is necessary for thermal expansion. The formation of cracks on the body of the heating device due to temperature differences will be minimized.
In order for the stove to last a long time, the brick must be well fired and without cracks. If it is necessary to increase the height of the heating device, this can be done by repeating the rows.
To make a furnace with a water circuit, you first need to build a heat exchanger. Various materials can be used: steel sheets or steel pipes. You will also need skills in working with metal and plumbing.
How to organize heating of a garage with your own hands? What is the best way to heat a garage in winter? How to inexpensively make a garage warm? We’ll try to answer these questions later in the article and figure out which ones are best to use.
Garage heating options
The easiest way to heat a garage, which is located in the same building as a residential building or close to it. In this case, it is most profitable to heat buildings with a common system. Most often this is a water system with a gas boiler.
With a significant distance from the garage you will have to heat it independently. When choosing a method, car owners most often take into account the type of fuel, cost, safety, complexity or ease of installation of heating equipment.
So, how to make heating in a garage with your own hands? Do-it-yourself garage heating: cheap and fast (the most economical way) - is it real?
Gas heaters
Gas- one of the cheapest types of fuel, and the equipment necessary for heating a garage can be easily found on the market.
Natural gas can become the basis for:
- a complete heating system with a gas boiler that heats water that circulates in the pipes;
- heating using a heat gun, in which gas burns in a special burner, and heat is distributed using a fan;
- using a catalytic or infrared gas heater, where the gas burns in a ceramic honeycomb and the heat is distributed throughout the room.
For the first option connection to the main gas pipeline is required, which is carried out by gas service employees only after signing a number of documents and paying the cost of the connection.
This option for using gas is the most difficult: it takes time to prepare documents, design and install a heating system, purchase and install a boiler. The costs will only pay off with constant heating of a large capital garage.
Second and third options are easier to use and do not require special permissions. To implement them, you can use liquefied gas from cylinders.
According to fire safety standards, the gas cylinder must be located in a closed metal box, remote from the heating element.
Of course, when using this type of heating you will have to spend money on special equipment, but the small cost of fuel will pay for these costs over time. The main disadvantage of using a gas heat gun and gas burners is that combustion products remain in the room and it must be frequently ventilated.
Processing furnaces
This method is often used in car repair shops, but it is also suitable for a private garage. You can make a heater yourself from an oil tank (which can be a gas cylinder with the top cut off) and a metal pipe about a meter long.
When properly designed, it is safer than a household gas stove, and the oil in it burns completely, leaving no soot or soot behind. In practice, such designs need cleansing from soot and soot at least once a week.
Another minus design - the oil is ignited through the ash pan using a torch and does not always light up the first time - it is unlikely that you will be able to quickly light such a stove with cold hands.
Oil used for heating must not contain flammable impurities: acetone, gasoline, etc., otherwise the tank will explode.
Based on waste incineration furnace you can make a full-fledged system with pipes and radiators. To do this, place a boiler on the stove with an outlet for a water pipe and an inlet for the return line, and pipes are placed in the room.
Heating with waste oil one of the safest(oil vapors burn in the pipe and fire of objects surrounding the boiler is excluded) and economical methods (waste unnecessary product is used as fuel).
Minus heating with waste oil is difficult to install the stove - the length of the chimney should be about 4 m and it is installed with a constant upward slope.
Boilers for solid and diesel fuel
A small one will do an excellent job of heating a small room and dry the air at the same time. You can drown it coal, firewood, peat briquettes, etc.
Instead of a homemade potbelly stove you can use a special boiler, but then the amount of its cost will be added to the cost estimate.
There are boilers for solid and diesel fuel. They are safe and do not require constant human presence.
Some car owners install in garages brick ovens. The principle of operation of the stove is similar to a potbelly stove - when burned, the fuel heats the stove, which warms up the air in the room. The difference between a brick stove and an iron stove is the heating speed: brick takes longer to heat up, but it also retains heat better.
When installing a boiler or stove fire safety rules must be taken into account: install the stove on a solid (preferably monolithic) non-combustible base, protect nearby surfaces from accidental ignition and properly arrange the chimney.
Using a potbelly stove or brick oven is suitable for temporary garage heating– it is impossible to automate the fuel supply, and constantly adding firewood or coal is inconvenient. Another serious disadvantage of this option is the high fire hazard. Even with an iron apron around the stove, there is a risk of igniting fuel, rubber or other materials that are always in the garage.
Safe to use stove "Buleryan". It is heated with wood, which is added once every 5-10 hours. The disadvantage of such a stove is its cost, the complexity of arranging the chimney - it must be properly insulated, and the need to regularly remove soot.
General minus using the listed stoves means the need to purchase fuel and equipment for storage.
In addition, factory boilers are not cheap, and homemade potbelly stoves and brick ovens can cause a fire.
Circulating hot water system
Water heating- one of the most reliable and safe, but it is more suitable for large garages in which it is necessary to maintain the temperature of several rooms.
For system device you need pipes through which hot water will circulate, heating radiators that increase heat transfer and a boiler: gas, electric, for solid or liquid fuel. The complexity of the work and the cost of purchasing equipment will not pay off when used in a small room.
With electric boiler There are fewer problems, but you will have to regularly pay high electricity bills, and in the event of an accident on the power line, there is a possibility of water freezing in the system. This option is not suitable for regions with a predominance of strong winds and snowy winters: these phenomena can break the wires and, if you do not have time to drain the water from the system, you will have to replace the burst pipes.
You can heat the water in the boiler, as mentioned above, on a stove that burns waste oil or on a regular potbelly stove. Such a system heats the room more slowly than a heat gun or convector, but it also retains heat longer.
You can lower the freezing point of water by adding special liquids to it, the most common of which is antifreeze. Their use will slow down the formation of ice in the pipes, but in severe frost and heating is interrupted for more than a day or two, it is better to drain the water.
If water is drained frequently, iron pipes and radiators may rust. This can be avoided by using modern, metal-plastic equipment. For the same reason, it is undesirable to use old, previously used radiators - dust and rust may accumulate inside them, which will cause clogging of the system and disruption of water circulation.
Advantage systems with liquid circulating through pipes in uniform heating of the room and maintaining heat for several hours after heating ends.
Minus– in the complexity and cost of arrangement, the need to drain water if heating stops for several days.
Electricity
Electric heating is an ideal way to heat a garage without wasting time on installation and installation of the system. Today there is four options:
- heat guns(the cheapest option) – hot air comes out as a stream and spreads in all directions, thanks to a fan placed inside the device;
- infrared heaters for a garage (average cost method), it is not the air that is heated, but objects and surfaces, which in turn emit heat. This method requires less electricity than a heat gun or convector. Infrared rays are absolutely safe for humans, but can damage the paint of a car. It is best if the rays are directed at the garage door - this will create a thermal curtain and allow the room to be heated more economically;
- convector(more expensive than the first two options) heats up itself and distributes heat around itself. Heats the room more slowly than a gun, but its heat remains a little longer after turning off. There are various models of convectors on the market - equipped with wheels for moving, installed in one place or mounted on the wall;
- inverter split systems(air conditioning systems are the most expensive method) allow you to maintain a constant temperature, save energy, and operate at temperatures down to -20 degrees. The main disadvantage is the high cost.
To use any electric heater, you must be sure of the quality of the garage's electrical wiring - it will endure significant loads. In addition, leaving these heaters unattended for a long time is dangerous.
Disadvantages of heating with electricity is the high cost of equipment and consumed electricity, the possibility of a short circuit on an overloaded power line and dependence on the supply of electricity (if the wires break in the garage, it will be not only dark, but also cold).
Useful video
Video on how to make heating in a garage with your own hands.
Do-it-yourself garage heating: cheap and fast (the most economical way).
The choice of heating method depends on many factors: size of the garage, type of building - permanent or temporary, constantly need to maintain the temperature or need to be able to quickly warm up the room, etc. Only by answering all the questions will the car enthusiast be able to make the right choice, because each heating method has its advantages.
Thus, a heat gun or a heater on wheels does not require installation, installing a potbelly stove will cost the least, and you can save on fuel by heating your garage with waste oil.
Wherein safest options- These are factory boilers for heating with solid or diesel fuel, and a constant temperature can be ensured by a system with liquid circulating through pipes, heated by a gas boiler.
