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[homemademan]

newbie, just found this site a few weeks ago (lots of good info).

i've been busy tring to get my stove finished so i'm just now posting.

let me know what you think.

[willieG]

looks good..and a cement pad big enough for a wood shed? will the stove also be under cover?

[homemademan]

willie, yes i'm going to build a shed over the stove and the cement pad.

i think it will need o be bigger so i'll build the shed bigger than the pad and pour more cement later and just use gravel for now.

[willieG]

i ahve my home made is a shed as well...it is nice to handle dry wood and be out of the snow and wind when loading, you will like that

the cap on your stove..is that just to keep water out or is it some sort of screen and spark arrestor...if it is keep an eye on it..i have seen those things plug up in as little as one year..if it plugs it will make a hot fire almost impossable

happy burning

[R W Ohio]

Nice looking unit.Let us know how it works. Welcome to the site.

Ron

[homemademan]

its just a cap, i'm used to trying to keep water out of things, so i thought it needed one.

so far its working great i put wood in it sunday evening (about half full) and again tuesday morning.

its not been very cold yet so i know it will use more wood but compared to my old in the
house wood burner that you feed about every 6-8 hours (more when its cold) its like a dream.

heres a few more pics.

[Jason]

Very nice...looks like a heck of a furnace.

[homemademan]

thanks jason, it's works better than i ever expected. i used water heater t-stats for the control of the damper and the blower for the stove and am not very happy with the control i get, so i ordered an ranco control and am going to install it tonight. i had the damper and the blower on there own t-stat, but i think i'll tie them together with the ranco control. i have a switch to shut the blower of if i need to, so if i decide not to use the blower i can just flip the switch. i'll let everyone know how it works.

wade

[mikenc]

Great looking OWB.  You must have a large tractor or something to move it to pad. Honeywell aquastate works good to control fan. Does chimney go straight into fire box or is there a divider of some sort? How did you do the door? Did you insulate door? Do you have a estimate of how much water it holds?
This is my first full season with mine,installed last day of feburary. Nice to not have to burn oil and still heat whole house plus DHW.

A friend of mine is talking about building him one is the reason for the ??'s.

[homemademan]

 thanks mike, i put skids on the bottom of the legs so the tractor could just drag it to the pad. the ranco controler i install so far is great, it's digital and is very easy to use and adjust. it has -30 to + 220 degree range for setpoint and 1 to 30 degree for the  differential. the firebox is 36" square and 48" long, theres a 4" inch gap at the back, it goes up 4" and then to the front then out the chimney. so theres 2" water under firebox 4" between firebox and baffle and 4" above the baffle. theres 4" on each side and the back for around 200 gallons of water.  the door is the same size as the firebox and is hollow, the return water goes thru the door then to the water jacket to be reheated. hope this isn't to confusing.

wade.

[MarkP]

How does the Ranco controller work?  Does it have a probe that goes inside a well like a Honeywell, or does the probe imerse in the water, or just strap onto the stove on the outside?  I use the Honeywell, and it works OK, but I would like to change to something digital.  I think most are using the Honeywell or the White-Rogers  units. 

Let me know how yours hooks up if you can, or maybe some pics??

[homemademan]

mark,
  it has a probe with a 6' (it was advertised with a 10' cord) cord that i put in a well that i made out of a 8" piece of copper that i capped, then i flared the other end so it wouldn't fall through, then i drilled a hole in the top of my stove and high temp siliconed it in the stove. i got the idea from a member of arborist site. it was $65 shipped which i thought was cheap enough. i don't have any pics. but can get some this week if you want. i mounted a weather proof box next to the other box on my stove and ran the cord through liquid tight conduit to the back of the stove to the well. it's very simple to adjust for colder o warmer weather.

it has four settings:

1. f/c
2. setpoint
3. differential
4. heat or cool
if i want to change a setting i open the door on the box i installed it in, push the set button 2 times adust the setpoint push the set button again adjust the differential push the set button 2 more times and i'm done. i really like the simpicity, and ease of control, but i've only had it a few days, time will tell.