A woman must have warmth, and a man must have peace.

Yes, the title is overtly sexist… lets just get that admission out of the way.  But I have sound reasoning for the title; If you read our first experience, you would have noticed my massive oversight when it came to creature comforts.  My Katie was a trooper… she’s no snowflake, but the reality, is both she and I were damn cold that first weekend, an act I didn’t intend to repeat.  Our first remedy was to purchase and build an 8’x12′ shed to serve as a small cabin while we got established.  This made Katie and I happy on two fronts, one, shelter is a primary need, and it satisfied that.  Second, it was our first act of permanence.  To build is to put down roots, to stake a claim, in the most basic of economic terms, to mix our labor with the land and make it ours.

I spent quite a bit of time on Craigslist and Facebook searching out and attempting to acquire a wood stove for our little shack, realizing quickly, that even the smallest of stoves would roast us out of our shelter.  Not to mention, the prices were high, even for the most basic stove.  The fix? I’d build one myself.  What follows is a step by step documentation of the build… I hope you find it interesting, and even possibly inspired to make one of your own!

Propane Tank Stove

I got to thinking… “What’s the right size stove for an 8×12 shed?”, and, “What do I have on hand that I can untilize?”  I’ve seen several Youtube video’s for camping stoves that both provided insight, and a good launchpad for my endeavor.  I had a few items that would fit the bill, steel buckets, ammo cans, and propane tanks.  I saw this video which provided the foundation for my stove.  I’ve got a few propane tanks laying around thanks to my hobby of brewing my own beer… I picked the crappiest one and got to work.

Tank Preparation 

Step 1. (This is extremely important)

Making a stove out of a propane tank requires you to cut and weld on a tank that holds explosive gas.  For this reason I will start with a tank with the valve already removed and the gas purged.  You can ask around at some of the local scrap yards, they should have several that you can purchase for a few bucks.  The valve should have been removed and the tank free of gas.  If you can’t find one and must use a tank with the valve still installed, please seek professional advice on the proper way to remove the valve and purge the tank.  No project is worth a life.

 

Step 2.

Verify that the tank is free of gas by filling it full of water, then drain.  Note: even after I had been cutting and welding on my tank, it still had the odor of propane (or the chemical they add to make it smell like rotten eggs), this is normal.

 

Step 3. 

Cut the collar / handle off and grind down the welds.  I used an abrasive cut-off wheel on my angle grinder to modify or create just about every part on this project.  A safety concern:  if you can clamp your work, do it.  Work that can move while cutting poses a dangerous risk to you and those around you.  I’ve got a second angle grinder with a flapper style sanding disk attached.  I use it for just about all grinding applications.  It’s not a necessity, but it sure saves time not having to switch from cutting wheel to flapper disc.

Step 4.

I set sights on the connection for the chimney.  The smallest diameter chimney pipe available at the the local big box store was a 4″ dia. x 24″ long piece of pipe.  OVER $9.00 for one section!!!  At this rate, I was going to be further in the poor house…. not if I had anything to say about it!  At the same store, I found an 8′ section of 3″ diameter exhaust pipe for $31, and a short coupling for $3.  I felt this would be more than adequate.  It might provide a little extra work when it came to the roof flashing, but I felt I could handle that.  I set the tank with the door opening level (see door construction section), and then found the top dead center of the tank with a level as well.  I picked an arbitrary spot for the chimney, and marked the circumference for cutting.  After the hole was cut and fit to the pipe (female end up – creosote needs to run back into the stove).  I once again checked with the level and tacked the pipe in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Door Construction

Step 1.

Before you can Build an acceptable door, you’ve got to have an acceptable surface for it to seal against.  After taking a look at the size of the tank, I determined that I didn’t need a massive opening.  The average length of wood to be burned in the fire would be about 10″, so any opening would only need to accommodate a smaller chunk of wood… maybe 4″ in diameter at most.  I took some 1″x1″x1/8″ angle iron and cut them on my metal cutting miter saw at 45 degrees.  The legs were 7″ long, forming a 6″x6″ opening.  You don’t need a miter saw though, a speed square, cutting wheel, and steady hand will work fine.

 

Step 2.

I used my welding magnets (available at any big box home improvement store) to hold the pieces flush and perpendicular while I used the welder to tack them together.

A note on welding:  with less than $200 and a little time, you can get proficient with a cheap flux core wire feed welder.  It won’t be the fastest, nor the prettiest weld job, but it will work for this kind of project.

Step 3.

Once I had my opening frame tacked, I laid it on the face of the tank where I wanted the door.  Being careful to align it perpendicular to the axis of the tank, I took a sharpie and marked the tank along the sides of the frame (as much as I could).  I then used the cutting wheel to cut along the marks.  After cutting all four marks, I joined the cuts at a 45 and removed the face of the tank.  The reason I left the corners uncut, was that I wanted to leave some material to rest the frame against, so I could accurately mark the corners.

Step 4.

After laying the frame back in the opening and carefully marking the corners, I cut along the lines and finished removing the corners.  Checking for a good fit, I tack welded the frame in place.

Step 5.

With the opening frame fit and tacked, I set my thoughts to the door.  I had some 3/16″ mild steel sheet I had purchased for another stove, so I cut a 7-1/4″ x 7-1/4″ piece to form the door.  I also had some 1/8″ x 1/2″ bar stock that I framed the door with to form a “lip” to help seal the door and provide some protection from warping with the heat of the fire.

Step 6.

I had purchased some weld on hinges, but as soon as I started thinking about how to weld them, I quickly realized that custom made hinges from the 3/16″ plate and left over 1″ x 1″ angle would be more robust.  A little time with the cutting wheel and grinder, carefully coping the hinges to the profile of the tank, I tacked them in place and checked for operation.

Step 7.  

I drilled a clearance hole for a 1/4-20 bolt in the center of the door.  I also took a 3/32″ circular piece of sheet metal and drilled the same clearance hole through the center.  After marking the circumference of the sheet metal on the door, I sketched and cut three triangles in the door.  I then used those openings to mark and cut the circle.  I tacked on a piece of scrap to the circle to act as a handle for adjusting the damper.

Step 8.

I grabbed some scrap that I felt would make a good latch, laid out, and drilled holes in the latch and door.  The shape of your latch isn’t incredibly important, other than, it must “draw” the door closed and tight, and you must be able to actuate it without burning your fingers.  I used a longer chunk of sheet scrap to get the handle further away from the stove, in order to keep the handle cooler.  I cut the notch in the corresponding latch at an angle, so the further I seated the handle, the tighter the door would get.

Finish Prep

Step 1.

At this point it was late into the evening, and little work was to proceed, but being the impatient person I am, wanted to see this little guy perform.  I used the powder coat on the tank as an excuse to fire it up and get it good and hot, after all, the stove paint wouldn’t stick to powder coat.  I had a short (2′) section of exhaust pipe I stuck on to help generate a draft, and filled the mini-beast full of wood scrap.  A little time and stink later, the powder coat was ash and I was off to bed.

Step 2.

The next day, I fixed a wire wheel to my angle grinder and removed any efflorescence and remaining vestiges of paint from the stove.

Pedestal

Step 1.

I purchased a short section of 5″ x 5″ x 1/8″ wall square tubing scrap for $.60/lb at a local metal retailer, as well as an 8″ x 8″ x 1/4″ thick laser cut 4 bolt flange for about $8.  I coped the tube to the profile of the tank, and centered it on the flange.  A few tacks later, I was ready to weld the project.

 

Welding

My nephew Matt has a bigger better bestest wirefeed welder than I do, so I took advantage of his generosity and laid down some nice bead in short order.

 

 

Finish

Step 1.

Make sure all rust, slag and paint have been removed.

Step 2.

Make sure you’re working in an area that is free of dust and a breeze.

Step 3.

Put on clothes that you can immediately discard, because this is some messy stuff… I used a Rustoleum product good to 1000 degrees.  I wasn’t worried about looks, but rather was pressed for time, so I applied it with a brush.  Note:  have a solvent available for clean up… I found lacquer thinner worked well, but it will let you know where every nick or cut on your hands are…

Step 4.

Allow adequate time and temperature for proper curing…  In true Waldorf style, I debuted the project still tacky.  By the time we got to Rustic Pines, it had thoroughly dried.

Step 5.

Apply stove gasket adhesive and stove gasket to the interior perimeter of the door, and allow 24 hours to dry.

Installation

Step 1.

Get help or consult local building codes for fire place installation.  You’re on your own for this one.  I installed mine as determined by my space requirements and took the necessary precautions in flashing the chimney and protecting the walls from heat.

 

First Burn

NOTE:

The first time you have a fire, the finish will off gas, prepare for the stink and provide plenty of ventilation, if possible set up the stove and have a good long burn out doors… In my case, I kept the door wide open, and the dog outside.

Lessons learned:

1. Had I had it to do all over again, I would have allowed myself a bit more time.  That said, I’m more than pleased with its functionality, and it’s looks.

2. Do not over stuff the stove with birch bark…  that’s kind of like throwing oil on a fire… Vodka may have been involved…. stop by some time and I’ll demo the 3′ flames shooting out of the door on a back draft.

3. My hope is that you don’t follow my efforts as a “how too”, but rather as a “how to recognize mistakes”.  I’m sure there are far more educated and wise professionals building stoves you should listen to way before me.  That said, I set out to build a down and dirty stove to keep me warm, and it did just that.  It’s size is corresponding to the space it is heating.  This is not a stove that will keep you warm all night, it’s a stove that must be fed often.  If you go to bed at 10pm, plan on getting up at 1am to stock the stove, and at 4am, and 7am…

Conclusion

I take no responsibility for any actions you undertake, whether it’s in regard to a wood stove, or skydiving… you’re on your own.  You’ve been warned.  As the TV lawyers demand: DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!  That said, I’m pretty damn proud.  My first attempt, and it works well.  I think I won’t hesitate to build another should the need arise.