With the onset of cold weather, there is a problem of heating the premises. This is especially true for country houses in which there is no central heating. However, any difficulty must be solved in time. In the post-Soviet space, a stove called "potbelly stove" is known. It is made from various metals, but sometimes improvised materials are also used. The article will discuss the process of how to make a stove from a barrel with your own hands.
Benefits of homemade heating device
The potbelly stove can be assembled from various materials. Craftsmen for this business use old cylinders or metal sheets, which are then connected using a welding machine. However, not everyone will have the things mentioned, especially since welding metal correctly is not an easy task. In addition, iron sheets will have to be bought, and their price is high. Therefore, the masters recommend making a stove from a 200-liter barrel. This is an inexpensive and affordable design from which you can make a heating device of any complexity.
Why is it recommended to use a barrel of this size? The answer is: it will fit a lotfirewood or other raw materials with which you can ensure long-term burning. In addition, there is enough space in a metal barrel to equip a roomy blower (ash pan). However, you need to know: the equipment cannot be heated with coal, since its walls will simply deteriorate due to the high combustion temperature of the mentioned raw materials.
The potbelly stove is the optimal heating device that can be installed in a small shed, garage or basement. In addition, you can quickly assemble it with your own hands. You need to know: making a stove from a barrel is allowed only from high-quality raw materials - the thicker the metal, the better the manufactured device will be. Therefore, it is recommended not to save on the source material.
The advantages of a potbelly stove from a barrel are as follows:
- capacious ash pan;
- the volume is enough for a long burning flame;
- device will instantly heat the room;
- unpretentiousness to fuel;
- easy to manufacture and operate.
But there are also disadvantages, namely:
- low efficiency;
- body gets very hot;
- thin walls.
If you need to make your own heating equipment, a barrel stove is an ideal device for heating a small room.
Required materials and tools
Before you start assembling the device, you need to prepare the following construction equipment:
- grinder;
- grinder;
- welding machine;
- file;
- hacksaw.
To make a potbelly stove from a metal barrel, you must also purchase the following additional materials:
- metal for legs and chimney;
- door hinges;
- pieces of sheet iron;
- bolt;
- fittings (for lattice);
- brick;
- cement and sand (for mortar).
Making a heating device with your own hands is a simple task. The main thing is to comply with the technical conditions and follow the instructions clearly.
Initial stage: preparing the barrel
The first thing to do is to put the metal container in order. The barrel is covered with paint, which means that this layer must be removed with a grinder. If you neglect this point, you will have to inhale the toxic odors emanating from the heated metal.
After that, carefully cut out two small rectangular holes with a grinder. In the future, the cut pieces of metal will be useful for making doors. The sharp edges of the barrel must be filed. The device will have two doors: under the firebox and an ash pan. The first must be greater than the second.
A grate will be placed inside the stove from the barrel, so the top of the container is completely removed. The cover will later be welded together with the chimney.
Production of grate
Steel reinforcement is the main material for making this structural element. Experts say that the diameterbarrels of 200 liters is 57.15 cm, so the grate must be made smaller, since it will need to be installed inside the heating device. To fix it, it is necessary to make ledges from steel sheets between the ash pan and the firebox and weld them to the inner walls of the barrel. The grate must be installed on the obtained support pins.
Masters recommend making wide doors to make it easier to clean the stove from the barrel, because during heating, burnt raw materials will fall into the blower. In addition, the optimal height of the ash pan is 10-13 cm.
Preparing the doors
This process is an important step in the manufacture of the heating device. First of all, you need to make iron handles and weld them to the doors, which should be scalded with pieces of metal, the thickness of which is 20 mm. It is recommended to use the factory door for this purpose.
The next step is welding steel hinges to the stove from an old barrel using electric welding. Do not forget that outside the door must be equipped with a locking device (bolt).
Preparing the base
Before installing the stove, it is necessary to make a safe and non-combustible place for it. Such a base can be made of brick laid on a concrete screed. Important to know: the free space in front of the barrel is also made of non-combustible material, such as sheet metal. The best option is to make concrete floors, and then put iron on themand install a potbelly stove.
In no case should a barrel be placed near combustible materials and explosive objects. The first include linoleum, polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam and bitumen. And the second - gas cylinders and cans of gasoline.
Craftsmen recommend making steel legs on the stove from a barrel. To do this, you need fittings or metal corners. If the bottom of the barrel is 10 cm from the floor, then the device is located at a safe distance from the base.
Making a chimney
The pipe is an essential element of a potbelly stove. Its diameter is from 10 to 15 cm. The pipe not only removes smoke, but also participates in heat transfer, so it is made of steel or cast iron.
The nozzle can be positioned both on top and on the side of the oven. However, it is the latter option that is considered optimal: in this way, gases slow down and there is space for arranging the brewing unit.
In order for the room to warm up faster, the pipe must be led to a far point, and not in a straight line to the nearest hole. It is recommended to install a damper on the chimney: with the help of this element, it is possible to regulate the removal of warm smoke. In addition, when the stove is not in use, it is recommended to close the chimney.
Final assembly of the oven
The only thing left to do is to transfer the barrel to the prepared brick base. After that, install a grate in the stove. Next, you need to weld the top cover and make a hole in it for the pipe. When the chimney is installed, you canto heat the stove with wood.
The next step is to put paper on the grate and set it on fire. Dry firewood must be laid carefully, since there is a high probability of accidentally getting burned. The stove from the barrel will gradually heat up. All you need to do next is to add firewood so that the flame does not go out.
The blower of the device can become clogged with ash, so it must be periodically cleaned of burnt raw materials.
How to improve the oven: the best options
The question often arises of how to make a barrel stove more modernized. To do this, the device must be improved in this way:
- Build a refractory brick wall on the right, left, and back of the barrel.
- To get a kind of convector, the potbelly stove must be scalded with round 20 mm pipes. This will circulate warm air in the room.
- Run a chimney across the room.
- Lay out the inside of the stove with bricks.
- To get a hob for cooking, you need to install a cast-iron insert in the lid.
Craftsmen recommend combining several barrels into one design. This can be done in both vertical and horizontal positions.
Garage long burning oven
This device is a good solution if you need to heat a small room using a minimum amount of firewood. If the question arises of how to make a garage stove out of a barrel, then for this you will need a welding machine and the ability to work withhim.
To make a heating device with your own hands, you need to do the following simple work:
- Cut a hole for the loading window.
- Make a circle from a metal sheet, the thickness of which must be at least 4 mm. After that, make a 10-centimeter window for the chimney in it.
- Weld a steel pipe to the resulting circle, and 4 channels to its inner side.
- Lower the fabricated structure into the barrel.
- Weld the cut off cover, in the middle of which make a 10 cm hole for the pipe.
- Perform a concrete or brick base on which the stove will stand.
- Weld all structural elements to the barrel: doors, hinges and latches.
- Install the chimney.
- Place the device on a concrete base.
The peculiarity of this design is that the firewood in it will not burn, but smolder. In addition, a circle with a pipe and channels installed inside the barrel will go down as the raw material burns out. The main advantage of this potbelly stove is that it is not necessary to control the operation of the device: it works almost autonomously, due to which the metal gradually heats up. The only thing to do is to fire up the oven.
In closing
Making your own simple potbelly stove from a barrel is easy if you follow the instructions and listen to the recommendations of the masters. Another condition is the ability to make welds. However, do not forget about fire safety, since anyhomemade heating device is a high risk item.
