Pot belly stove

[Spook50]

So my wife found this on Craigslist, thinking it'd be good for heating the shop: Potbelly Stove US Army Cannon Heater #18

Honestly, I freakin love the idea of that. I'd repaint it all a semi gloss black, but it'd be cool as hell to have an old stove like this in my shop. Aside from the cool factor though, I don't see it being very efficient to heat my shop, when compared to a pellet stove that is (which is what I'm on the lookout for). I have fond memories of sitting around old US Army stoves on hay bails drinking hot cider when getting the family Christmas tree (after loading it on top of the 62 of course), and at an old antique/farmer's market place in Peshastin, WA during the fall when we'd go get our pumpkins for Halloween.

Kind of rambling here, but what do you guys think? Do you think something like this would have any practical application in a 24'x24' shop?

 

[zebrabeefj40]

With a small fan to move the air around I'll bet that stove will do a fine job warming your shop.

Nick

 

[D'Animal]

Find a Magic Heat heat exchanger that goes in the stove pipe. It will really increase the heeting of the shop.

 

[Spook50]

Find a Magic Heat heat exchanger that goes in the stove pipe. It will really increase the heeting of the shop.

Don't those lead to creosote buildup due to cooling the exhaust gasses?

Sent from my Motorola DynaTAC 8000x

 

[rusty_tlc]

Some decisions are made based on emotion. If you made every decision based on logic you wouldn't be driving a Cruiser. It sounds like you have memories connected with that type of stove, if it makes you feel good to have it in the shop do it.

You can always get an old oil fired heater to supplement it. There is a guy around here that uses his waste oil to heat his shop in winter.

 

[Chop Shop]

That seems like a bit a cash for that stove.

It may be worth what hes asking but I see them all the time at garage sales and on CL here on the west side (puget sound) for around $100.

Im cheap tho.

Find a nice thick pipe on CL to use for the chimney instead of tin. It will hold heat and dist it and also lets ya whack the pipe with a hammer and all the crumblins and soot will fall out easily.

 

[Spook50]

Well I did a little research and apparently a pot bellied stove needs to be at least 36" out from a wall for safety reasons, since it throws heat out from all angles. Looks like for practicality reasons I'm back to looking for a pellet stove. I've noticed alot come with the hearth/slab or at least require one when inside a house. Does anyone know if it would be smart or a waste to have it sitting on one when used in a shop with a concrete floor? They're not way expensive, but if I don't have to get one for my application, it'd save me $100.