A brilliant invention is the potbelly stove , which appeared in the 19th century and quickly gained popularity. People immediately appreciated the simplicity of the design, small size, and the ability to heat their homes and cook food with it. In the difficult years after the fall of tsarist power at the beginning of the last century, such products were widely used. During World War II, such stoves heated dugouts at the front and the homes of people in the rear. A potbelly stove could be easily made from scrap materials. The stove got its name because of its rapid cooling and high consumption of firewood.
Today, potbelly stoves have become again in demand; they are made of steel, cast iron, and decorated with various decorative elements. The metal body quickly heats the room, and thanks to the latest technologies, the efficiency of the heating device has increased significantly. The design of the device includes an internal air duct system that ensures efficient use of the heat generated by fuel combustion. Modern models serve as an additional or main source of home heating. There are many interesting options on the market that can satisfy customer requirements.
Advantages of a heating device
The potbelly stove today has many capabilities. It allows you to instantly warm up your home, without requiring significant financial outlays from the home owners. The product is necessary in cases where it is necessary to heat a room where it is not technically possible to create a full-fledged heating system. This device is used for effective heating of country houses, private garages, greenhouses, and other non-residential buildings. The stove usually has a rectangular shape, a door, a chimney, and a drawer in which ash accumulates. The fuel for this device is firewood, peat and other materials.
Advantages:
- Product availability. To manufacture it and purchase fuel, you do not need to spend a lot of money.
- Simplicity of design, which allows you to make the device yourself.
- The compactness of the device allows it to be used in rooms with a small area.
- For efficient operation of the device, you do not need a foundation or a major chimney.
Modern multifunctional models are equipped with a hob and oven for cooking. The disadvantages of the device include its rapid cooling after the wood burns out. Today, manufacturers have managed to solve this issue by equipping the device with a special function that ensures slow burning. When fuel burns, air circulation inside the stove slows down, which facilitates the transfer of heat to its surface. Models with legs ensure safe use of the heating device. Legs made of metal prevent the device from coming into contact with the flooring, which eliminates the possibility of fire.
Modern models have hermetically sealed doors made of heat-resistant glass framed in metal. They do not allow smoke to enter the room. Special valves are installed on the air intake openings of the ash drawer and the door, thanks to which the air supply can be easily adjusted, which affects the combustion intensity. The internal surfaces of the device are finished with heat-resistant materials, which protects the metal from overheating and helps retain heat. The device is re-burned to increase efficiency and reduce the temperature of the smoke entering the chimney.
What is power output and how accurate is it?
The power output of a wood stove is measured in kilowatts. Therefore, a 5 kW furnace will supply about 5 kW of heat per hour to heat the room.
Please note that this is an approximate amount. When it comes to wood stoves, stove manufacturers actually select the kilowatts rated for each stove, testing them for efficiency once they reach a given heating output.
All stoves can produce different heating output depending on:
- amount of fuel;
- type of fuel used;
- chimney hoods;
- thermal insulation of the room;
- installation locations;
- region.
The list goes on, but in fact there is a simple factor - the more wood you can burn, the greater the heating output. But the efficiency values stated in the potbelly stove’s passport are given only at the rated output power, and it is not the maximum that can be achieved during the operation of the potbelly stove. Therefore, maximum power is a more reliable indicator of the maximum amount of heat that a stove can generate under certain circumstances.
Potbelly stove in the interior of modern homes
Interiors designed in the style of the 19th or early 20th centuries attract many people. They have a special appeal; they give us an opportunity to look into the past. Heating devices allow you to create the desired ambience in interiors and have a decorative function. In the cold season they are used for heating homes. Antique models have an interesting decor created using cast iron. The doors are made in the form of bars, similar to those that were installed in castles in the old days. The heating device becomes an original decoration of the interior, a dominant design element.
The potbelly stove-fireplace is popular today; it is equipped with a ready-made biofuel firebox. In a city apartment, the function of a fireplace can be performed by an old restored stove. Old models do not have a variety of designs, so owners have to independently decide on the functionality and decoration of such products. Modern models allow you to choose the right option for any room. Cast iron and steel appliances are decorated with artistic casting, linings and heat-resistant paints are used to create the original appearance of the products. Such heating devices look beautiful and have different shapes.
The ideal solution for a small country kitchen would be a compact potbelly stove equipped with a hob and oven. It can be used in a cottage as an addition to the main heating system and serve to heat water. A potbelly stove will help to quickly heat the room, which cannot be achieved if you light a classic stove or fireplace. The product is taken with you when going out into nature or on an expedition. It will help you stay warm in cold weather and prepare food. Potbelly stoves can be lined with stainless steel or natural stone, which will give them an original look.
The process of working on the ash pit
This element is present from time to time, since ash can be removed directly from the space of the fuel chamber. You will need holes in the door to supply air.
If you plan to have a stove with a garage for an ash pit, then the stove is given the shape of a box. This will avoid using the combustion chamber area. The metal will be thin. Welding is also not needed, screws will suffice.
Choosing a stove
Depending on the purpose of use, the room where the device will be installed, the model is selected. If you plan to use a stove to heat the room and at the same time prepare dinner for the family, then you should pay attention to modern products with a hob. They will also help you cope with the task of preparing food during an emergency power or gas outage. Models with an oven will help replace an electric oven and will delight guests with delicious pastries and baked meat. With such an assistant, it is easy for a housewife to feed the whole family at the dacha or in a country house, and quickly warm up during the cold season. After analyzing the technical parameters, safety and operating comfort of the models, it is easy to make the right decision.
When purchasing a heating device, pay attention to the following:
- The power of the product is selected in accordance with the area of the room that needs to be heated. They choose it after consulting with a specialist.
- The type of fuel that will be used must be taken into account.
- A cast iron device holds heat better and will last longer than a steel type stove.
- Having chosen a model with a hob or oven, the device is used for cooking.
- When purchasing, pay attention to the design of the heating device.
- Product safety plays an important role.
- The materials from which the building is constructed are taken into account. Pay attention to the frames installed in it.
- After burning the fuel, ash remains which must be removed from the furnace. An excellent option is a separate ash container, which is often equipped with a lid to prevent ash from spilling out.
A potbelly stove is one of the simplest types of heating appliances, unpretentious in operation. There are many simple models, retro-style products, and modern high-tech designs on sale.
Important! With the right choice of product, you can ensure a comfortable stay outside the city during the cold season.
Propane stove
The ideal stove is a self-made gas stove. It does not need a chimney because no smoke is released when the gas is burned. Its analogue is a room gas stove with an oven.
It’s not difficult to make - take... a ready-made potbelly stove, insert a steel pipeline into it with a nozzle from an old gas stove. Connect it to a standard gas hose with a reducer from a household gas cylinder.
There is no exact cost for a potbelly stove; you can use a 4-burner stove as a guide. The capacity of a cylinder (50 liters) with 21 kg of propane-butane is enough for 34 hours of operation of such a stove.
Neoclassical kitchen with painted facade
Carriage - material for the home
- Construction waste removal
If anything is unclear from our recommendations, watch the video of making a potbelly stove with your own hands.
Device installation
For the metal product, select a suitable place in the room. It should not be installed on a wooden floor or located near objects that are easily flammable. Take care to place the chimney pipe in the same room, as well as to secure it without connections. If it is impossible to construct a structure without connections, the parts must be in close contact and not form gaps through which smoke can enter the house.
If the design involves the passage of a chimney through a wall or ceiling, a special barrier made of non-combustible materials is installed. Use stoves in rooms equipped with good ventilation. It is not installed in a room where fuels and lubricants are stored. When installing the device, you should remember that the metal body of the product heats up quickly. Stainless steel appliances are less exposed to heat; cast iron structures will last longer.
Advice! Before starting installation work, it is recommended that you read the information on installing such structures in order to know what difficulties you may encounter.
It is important to make the chimney system correctly. It is not recommended to use thin stainless steel for the chimney; it will quickly burn out. It is better to install products on the following materials: tin, concrete, ceramic tiles, brick. Legs are used for stoves, which saves building materials. The walls near them are lined with ceramic tiles.
Chimney
Even if all the calculations are carried out thoroughly, it still happens that gases escape into the chimney without completely burning out. Therefore, during ego creation a number of features are necessary. So, cover the vertical sections with thermal insulation. Their size is usually from 1 to 1.2 meters. The hog should be made 2.5-4.5 meters long. May be slightly inclined or horizontal. From the ceiling 1.2 meters, and from the floor - 2.2 meters.
Have you already created a potbelly stove, or are you planning to do so?
Safe operation of the device
When using the product, the following safety rules must be observed:
- The device is placed at a safe distance from flammable objects. There should be no curtains, wooden furniture, etc. next to it.
- There is no need to load more than three kilograms of fuel into the stove.
- When burning, close the heater door tightly.
- After using the device, it is recommended to clean the ash drawer by removing any ash from it.
- The body of the device becomes very hot during operation, so the stove should not be left unattended.
- Do not use the product if the pipe is faulty or clogged.
To avoid accidentally touching the stove, special protective screens are placed around it and forged grates are installed.
Calculation of parameters for making a potbelly stove for a garage with your own hands
Often, to keep the garage always warm, they use a stove-stove. Moreover, you can create this unit yourself, armed with the necessary materials. What will you need to make your own potbelly stove? And how do you know in what ratio to take the parts?
- Pipe
- Screen
- Litter
- Chimney
Potbelly stove 42 photo ideas:
How and with what to heat a potbelly stove?
Fuel . Steel stoves are designed for wood heating. You can also use sawdust-based fuel briquettes, which are sold in construction shopping centers. Stoves designed to fire coal are made of cast iron.
Operating modes . Most stoves of this type can operate in one of two modes: intense combustion and temperature maintenance. For intense combustion, after adding firewood and closing the oven door, open the ash pan drawer to ensure that the maximum amount of oxygen enters the firebox. To switch the stove to slow burning mode (maintain temperature), add firewood again and close the ash pan drawer. The slow burning time depends on the design of the stove and can reach 8 hours for models equipped with afterburners.
The draft is adjusted using a damper: if there is excess draft, the damper is partially closed.
Remember : you can use the stove in intensive combustion mode for no more than 2 hours a day!
ADVICE
To extend the service life of the stove, experts recommend heating the stove intensively for 15-20 minutes after the slow burning mode: this is necessary to remove soot formed during the slow combustion of fuel.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of a potbelly stove, for which summer residents love it:
- Compactness - the stove will not take up much space, both when installed in the house and if it is moved for storage.
- Quick heating of the room, which is very important, because the dacha is sometimes visited for raids during cool times.
- Potbelly stoves can be heated with firewood, branches, and wooden construction waste.
- Able to tolerate periods of downtime.
- Easy to install and DIY.
- Affordable price.
Rectangular potbelly stove with legs
Disadvantages of a potbelly stove that you need to know about before purchasing:
- Low efficiency. Among furnaces and boilers, this furnace does not hold any records of efficiency.
- Constant supervision is required. The oven cannot be “fired and forgotten.” You will need to throw firewood, work with a poker, and monitor safety.
- Firewood size . The smaller the furnace firebox, the more intensively the owner will have to chop and break down wood fuel. Some models will need poles 20–35 cm long.
- Adjustment of combustion intensity. Roughly speaking, it is not provided, except in a very small range. They adapt to move the ash pan box, and a view that completely covers the pipe is not needed, since the walls of the furnace have time to cool down before the fuel burns out enough to close the damper.
The problem of low inertia of potbelly stoves is sometimes solved by erecting a brick “casing” around it. The array protects people from burns, warms up well and retains heat longer.
