Typical Barrel Log Burner
This article will show convert a steel barrel into a log burner. The main reason to do this is cost of the log burner. You can make a log burner for less than $100.00 which performs just as good as one that may cost many hundreds of dollars more. The kits come with legs which makes it possible to make a stand alone log burner or, without the legs it is possible to install it into a fire place if the opening is large enough. The stand alone ones are great for garage heating. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. One of the more difficult parts of doing this is finding the right barrel. Barrel businesses can be found in the yellow pages or on line. Most used barrels cost about $30.00 or less. Or it is possible to find barrels just sitting around behind businesses in which case they may be free for the asking. The barrel must be clean and free of dangerous chemicals, free of paint if at all possible, and not all rusted out. The barrels with lids are important so you can take the end off for clean out purposes.
2. Mark the lid for cut out for the door opening. Instructions come with the kits for doing this.
3. Drill the holes around for the attaching screws. Cut out the opening for the door. I used a saber saw with a rough cut tungsten carbide blade in it. Compound tin snips work well also.
4. Put a layer of furnace cement between the mounting surfaces and install the door assembly with the provided bolts. The furnace cement keeps the door plate from leaking fumes.
5. Mark and cut out for the flue adapter. Install it by drilling holes and attaching it with the provided bolts. Put a layer of furnace cement between the mounting surfaces to help seal it off.
6. Once your kit is assembled it is a good idea to burn the barrel outside to burn the new off. This keeps unpleasant odors, if there are any, from filling the house.
7. Once you complete the outdoor burn out it is a good idea to put the log burner in it's final location and line the bottom 1/3 with fire brick or a grate. The fire brick and grate are available at hardware stores, or Tractor supply, or Ace hardware or other places that sell wood burning equipment. Fire brick comes in thick or thin bricks. I just used the thin bricks
8. This shows the log burner mounted in the fireplace.
Tags: furnace cement, between mounting, between mounting surfaces, brick grate, cement between, cement between mounting, come with