Heat for the Shop

Looks like I will be working with some stove pipe this afternoon. My brother just got a new Hitzer 50-93 for the shop. This thing is a beast, and the price was right. Hopefully we will get the paint cured later today.

WTF, you're not done with that??? What do you do in your spare time???????????????????????

I just moved my woodworking shop from my garage to down the basement where my stove is, nice and toasty warm now and the moisture content of the wood is good and low once I climitize it down there. A heated shop makes it sooo much more enjoyable.

Very nice, I am jealous!! My shop is still cold and will remain so for now.

This will be essential when the Malone switchgear freaks out. Murphy's Law does still seem to control our world! Fred must have called you "Girlie Man" once too many times. Nice stove, and now Freetown can rest a little, knowing his good friends are protected.

Started out with a nice wood fire (100 year old barn boards!) and gradually brought it up to whatever the paint-smoking temperature is. It was pretty blue in there for a while, good thing I had the windows and doors open. Layered on the nut coal over 30 minutes or so and then filled the hopper. It was really cranking out some heat when I left.

A year has come and gone. The Hitzer 50-93 has performed excellent in the shop. We run the blowers, and it keeps the 40'x40' building at an even temperature. Last year we insulated the shop, and removed most of the wall between the first and second bay so the heat can move around. The dozer loves it...even if we have to remove the cab to clear the 11' doors. Talk about thermal mass, that is about 40 tons of steel. Takes a few days to heat it up, but the stove can go out for a cleaning and things stay pretty comfortable. Much of the building's heat loss is due to the 3 overhead doors (almost 1/2 of each door is glass), but the daylight from those doors is great to work with.

The coal we got this year is a pleasure to burn. No small stuff, no fines, lots of heat, and it shakes down like butter.

I will add that there is no manual pipe damper or baro on the stove. We just set the bimetallic thermostat at #10 (#12 if below zero outside) and let it work. Never had a puffback, ash door vents are cracked open slightly. We have never had to poke the grates or anything like that, just a few quick shakes is all it takes. I have only operated a handful of hand fed stoves, but this one has been by far the easiest.

Welcome to easy street!