I’ve watched a bunch of these videos trying to figure out what kind of build I want to do. Then I came across your video, saw the channel name and had to give it a watch. As a fellow yooper living in the warm and sunny south that is cleveland Ohio, I think I’m goin with this design. A lot more work but it looks way more efficient heat exchange wise.
Thanks for watching! I have a few videos on this build including a follow up video after using it for a while. The design is good but if I had to build another one I would build a shield under the copper pipes. With the pipes open to the flame it gets a lot of creosote build up on the pipes.
This was exactly the video I wanted to see. I’m looking to build an outdoor wood burning fireplace to heat a hot tub. Any chance you could give an update? Two years on, is the solder holding out still?
I have done an update video: th-cam.com/video/AaOcjr_dYdQ/w-d-xo.html. Solder is still holding up good. I show of couple of things I have done different and things I would change in the video. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I'm not sure if it would make a difference or not. After using it the last few years I haven't had any issues with the joints coming apart. As long as water is flowing through it, the solder won't melt. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great video, very good explanations. I’m asking myself if I should change the design of my pool heater from copper coil according to your heat exchanger
I have the fire burning in the middle of my copper coil and think that a good amount of heat just goes up in the air. With copper right above the fire you might avoid that loss@@UpperPeninsulaDIY
i see this is a few years old, hows longevity for this? i want to build an outdoor stove and pipe hot water to a radiator in my house for supplemental heat. Everyone tells me that flame on the copper brittles the copper. thoughts?
I still have this stove and have yet to have an issue with the copper pipes. As long as there is water flowing through the pipes while there is heat in the barrel, you won't have any issues. The only issue I have had for longevity is my barrel is starting to rot out. I have a few holes in it now. I should be able to unsweet the pipes and take the coil out and put into a new barrel though.
Used it for an entire summer so far and it is still working great. As long as there is water flow through the pipes the water will keep the solder cool enough not melting. If no water movement then yes, there would be a problem. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Makes a lot smoke when burning? asking because where I live we not suppose to have this lol but if is normal wood smell should not call a lot attention
Thanks for watching and commenting! I haven't measured the BTU but I have found a couple interesting things out. In order to keep a good hot fire in the barrel, burning hard wood is a must. I also found that the cooper pipes create condensation. The dripping condensation makes it tough when trying to get the fire going. I plan doing a follow up video in the fall after I have used the barrel stove a bit more.
i guess with constant water flow the pipes should remain cool enough for the solder joints not to fail? i have seen wood stove water heaters where the wrap copper tubing around a pipe.
That's my plan, as long as I have water flowing through the copper pipes the solder joints should not fail. Key is water flowing... Thanks for stopping by, watching and commenting!
Not a stupid question at all. I get asked that a lot. As long as there is water flowing through the pipes when under heat it won't melt. With out water flowing the pipes would burst and then melt the solder. Thanks for watching and commenting!
What is your solution for the creosote that forms an insulating barrier after so many fires? Mine formed so much the water would no longer get hot. Had to power wash the pipes. Considering making them on the outside and then insulating them.
Your right, mine have creosote on them also. I'm sure I am losing heat but I've yet to clean mine. I've thought about maybe putting some thin metal like tin under the pipes but I don't know how much heat you would lose with that also. If you come up with something let me know. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Any updates on Efficiency loss over the season? wondering how the condition of the tubes over a season? seriously debating whether to do internal tube configuration or wrapping coil on the outside with insulation. thanks
It has been working great. There is a lot of sot build up on the pipes but doesn't seem to affect the heating of the water. If I have a nice hot fire going this wood heater works just as good as my propane pool heater. I think wrapping copper on the outside and then some sort of insulator would work just as good. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I'm looking to do something similar for my spa in order to reduce the running costs by keeping the spa at a lower temperature when not in us and them shortening the time to reach ideal temperature. Couple of questions: 1) wouldn't it be more durable if the piping was on the outside of the barrel and thus not susceptible to being coated and caked in the soot and whatnot from the burning wood? 2) for a barrel of that size what would be the expected energy output? I've done an excel spreadsheet to work the time out and the burner needs a really high output to make heating the spa within 30mins viable. 3) would insulating the stove with some fireproof blanket help in reducing wasted heat and increase the heat output overall? Look forward to the next installment.
Thanks for watching and commenting. 1) Yes, piping on the outside of the barrel would be more durable but it would be difficult to wrap the pipe tightly around it. It could be done though. One thing I didn't think of is the condensation I get from the pipes as they heat up. 2) I'm not sure of the energy output but yes the fire needs to be really hot and stay hot in order to have a decent output of heat. I found I need to burn hard wood in order to produce a good heat. 3) Wrapping the barrel would help, especially if you put the pipes on the outside of the barrel.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am going to give this a try for the winter. The spa really does not need heating this summer, which is not the norm in the UK but it is an exceptionally hot, long lasting summer.
Have you gentlemen though about a 30 gallon drum inside the 55 gallon drum as you can get insulation cloth in there as well as the heat exchange for the water. You can put the flue through to the smaller drum business as usual and your pipes are not on the open fire breaking down as fast.
@@UpperPeninsulaDIY I used aluminum flashing as a quick and dirty heat shielding. Have some doublesided mounting screws (bolt on one side) that I plan to use as a standoff to permanently mount.
I haven't really checked it, I usually just go by feel. I can notice a significant change in water temp coming back into the pool. Last night I did a "scientific" test and put my rubber duck pool thermometer in front of the water jet coming back into the pool. haha According to that the water was 4 degrees warmer coming back in compared to the actual pool temp. It feels much warmer than that so take it for what its worth.
Quick tip, get a heat resistant forced air fan, and then get a 110 volt thermostat switch for the fan, take your thermostat Make it so the fan can turn on and off based on the pool's temperature you can do all of that with your simple thermostat switch
I haven't actually heard that before but it could be true. For my set up I am using Baquacil which is a non-chlorine pool chemical. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I am hoping to do one myself. I just wanted to do more research before i do one. Also, wouldn't help to prolong the life of the copper if it doesn't get direct hit with fire. I was thinking about some sort of plate over the or under to protect the copper.
This will be I think my 3rd year using this setup. The only thing I have changed is rotating the barrel lid so the big bung on the lid is at the bottom so it will pull a draft through it and underneath the fire. If you put a plate or something to protect the copper, it will last longer sure but you won't get as much heat out of it. It's a toss up on what you want to do but either way it will work.
Add forced air, will burn hot, move water at a high rate you want volume not an extreme high temperature on discharge water. Great job thanks for your efforts.
Having the pipe on top looks good for a secondary burn. Suggest going most the way to the back with it, drilling holes along the length of it and putting a cap on the end. It should be efficient and burn the smoke,
Could you add some pipes inside to that threaded pipe on top, and then the air would be directed to the bottom? I'm not sure that it woukd work better than (or even as well as) the bung hole solution. Another possibility is that you could install one of those dial air intakes, like they have on charcoal grills, only put it on the back, where there is probably some room.
This looks like what I want to have behind my woodstove (behind metal or tile, etc) to add and spread its heat through a radiant hydronic heating system. I guess it could be pex, but since it is so close to a heat source, it seems like copper might be a better choice. It looks good!
i wouldn't think the solder would hold.... can you show what temp you get up to before it would fail. I'm thinking you should have used a solid pipe rather than soldered joints. im just about to start my project on building a pool and using a wood burner to heat it but im just doing my research at the moment
So far I have gotten the stove up to about 500 degrees F. No issues at all. As long as the water is flowing through the pipes the entire time the fire is going the solder or the pipe will not melt. I've seen other videos were people have bought a coil of copper pipe and just simply put the coil in the stove, then you don't have any solder joints inside. There is definitely more than one way to build a stove heater like this. Good luck on building yours. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great video. Can I ask when you connected the end of the pipe dispensing the hot water did you have any problems with the copper pipe being too hot and melting the plastic / rubber pipe to the pool. Thanks
All I used was plastic water supply hose from menards. Haven't had any real issues. One time I had an issue but that was my fault. The fire had died out but there was still some heat in the barrel. I forgot to turn off the pool timer and the pump turned off. Plastic pipe burst because of the pressure in the pipe from the heat. Didn't damage the copper pipes as all. That's the only issue I have had. Thanks for watching and commenting! I do have a 2 year follow up video also: th-cam.com/video/AaOcjr_dYdQ/w-d-xo.html
You might not have to weld to put the cover on the vent hole. What you can do is use a self tapping screw and drill a hole in your vent flap then place the screw through the hole into the metal stove. Tighten the screw just enough so there’s resistance on the flap which would allowIt’s to stay in the position that you set it at. Hopefully this helps
It did work and is still working. I've had to make a couple modifications to the door but that's about it. I need to make an update video to this project. It's been requested a few times. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I cant help but think... as soon as u light that fire, your gonna have a can filled with solder and copper fittings.. Maybee... 3/4 soft rolled copper, (used for water main line feed)
I've used this stove/heater for 2 summers now with no issues. As long as water is flowing in the pipes the water keeps the copper and the solder cool enough to not melt the joints or the copper. Your idea of rolled copper will work just as well. Just remember to always being flowing water when there is a fire lit or even when the fire is out and the barrel is cooling. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Excellent job soldering all those pipes and elbows into the shape of the barrel, but you will have to run water through the pipes at high speed to prevent boiling at the very least. I'd guess you could melt the solder if you burned a fire hot enough, and I've heard about those barrels glowing cherry-red. Cool idea though.
Thanks for watching and commenting! I have been running it for two summers now with no issue. Well, one slight issue. I turned the flowing water off when the fire was out, not thinking the barrel and the piping was still warm. Ended up melting a hole in the plastic piping I have connected to the copper going to the pool. Easy fix though but you are very right. Water always has to be flowing through the pipes. Thanks again!
To turn lemons into lemonade get another kit so you can turn that barrel into the top of a double barrel. I'm pretty sure you will find that the temps are too high for copper tubing. It should be in the upper barrel.
Thanks for your advice! So far I ran it all summer with no issues, as long as water is moving through the pipes. I made the mistake right away with turning off the pump when I thought the fire was out... Thanks again for watching and commenting!
@@UpperPeninsulaDIY the main reason I said this is that copper melts easily. Like aluminum. So it may need to be well away from direct flame. That and it could melt any solder joints. If it can melt with a pen it will melt in a fire
Maybe if you cut a slot under the barrel about 10" wide by just short of the length of the barrel. Then you could put a rebar grate inside the barrel with about 3" square openings. The ash would drop directly to the ground and you would have excellent draft. You could regulate the air flow and intensity of the flame with a flue dampener. You have inspired me to get off of my butt and build one of these. Thanks!!
I like that idea. Probably would have to put sand or gravel under the barrel as to not start a grass fire but it would draft better. Thanks for the tip! Good luck on building yours also!
Howdy from Texas, Born & raised in Kalamazoo. How did your project work out so far? I'm building one very similar except I am going to coil soft copper tubing around the EXTERIOR of my barrel. My reasoning is that after a year or two the pitch,tar, and creosote build up on the tubing it acts like an insulator and lowers the output temperature of the water. Also any sweating will not drip into fire. I realize outside the firebox it won't get as hot as inside. My concern is the type of copper tubing I should use. K copper, or L copper, refrigerator coil copper???? Might you have any ideas? I don't know the best and or the least expensive copper tubing I can use. Thanks a ton. Any information would be greatly appreciated. One Michigander to another , Peace brother.
Hello Jerry! Always nice to meet a fellow Michigander. I do have a quick update video on the stove: th-cam.com/video/AaOcjr_dYdQ/w-d-xo.html. It's still working pretty well. Your absolutely right with the tar build up on the pipes and the dripping of the pipes from condensation. My thought was to maybe build like a heat shield to protect the pipes from the tar build up and then let the condensation run down the sides of the barrel instead of right on the wood. Putting the pipes on the outside of the barrel would work but you would probably lose a lot of heat unless you then insulated the pipes some how. I don't think I would worry so much about what type of copper. Just get what will easily work for what you want and what is readily available. Hope that helps some. Let me know how your build turns out.
@@UpperPeninsulaDIY Hello there. Thanks for your reply and all the info. Yeah I've been thinking about heat loss with the coil on the outside of the barrel. One things for sure. It doesn't get near as cold here in Texas. Lol except this past winter storm. My multiport valve froze and broke along with my salt cell and my booster pump housing. I'm looking for some type of insulation that will work. Maybe some of that pipe insulation that can take the heat. I'm going to build a diverter valve assembly to feed the coil water and the discharge side will probably have a hose connection fitting. It's pretty close to the pool. I'm about an hour West of Dallas. 9 miles south of Weatherford. If you want, shoot me an email at jerrymeeuwse@gmail.com And I'll send ya a couple pictures of my project. Driving up to Michigan this July. Going to show the wife around the state. She's never been. Hopefully show her the bridge, Mackinac island, lol the Mystery Spot. Thanks again, take care and stay. safe
That's a question I get asked often. As long as there is water flowing through the pipes at all times the solder won't melt. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Simple fix. Turn your door over, loosen the Lid ring and spin it around. Now the pipes on the bottom and the doors right side up. With having a removable lid you can do that.
Don’t do that. You will wreck your piping if you put them on the bottom. The design is very similar to an OTSG(once through steam generator). You’ve inspired me. Thank you.
The one I did...I had the bunghole Under the door....and put that pipe inside and ran it under the grate I made. Put more fresh air..towards the back of the fire
Thanks for watching Sam! Unfortunately not. The way it is cut our for the vents in the bottom of the door I would have a big air gap. Unless I weld in a plate. I will have to think about that, thanks for the tip!
I know, I really need to do an update video on this. It has been working great! I've made a few little modifications to it but it has been working just as good as our propane pool heater.
@@UpperPeninsulaDIY Great! I'll subscribe in hopes of seeing i soon. I'm really hoping to see the water temps going in vs after heating. I've been digging through YT vids for the last two months, trying to find a way to heat water with wood fire and this design really does seem to be the winner.
Great video and the second part of this video is also Informative... So I decided to build something very similar to this... The concept is solid and works well. For me this worked a little to well (permit me to explain) My pool is very small only a 10' round and 30" deep around 1600 gallons... Upgrades would include a sand filter with 3/4 hp. pump. Starting temps going into the pool heater was 74 degrees temps coming out were104 degrees. Running the pool heater increased the pool temps to 90 degrees & 120 degrees exiting the pool heater, in less than 18 hours... However When the water temperatures in the pool reached over 105 degrees... The seams of the pool became weakened and failed letting all the water out. This all happened while I was sleeping. This caused the pump to run dry, and the soldered joints to unsolder... While I believe all of this is repairable. For me this is a lessoned learned. When the pool temps are satisfactory, let the fire go out. :)
Thanks for sharing your experience! 105 degrees is very warm for a pool, that is more in the range of hot tub water. That is a total bummer that your pool is ruined and the solder joints failed. Water always has to be running through the pipes when there is a fire going. I made a similar mistake at first also. I didn't shut off my automatic timer on the pump, so the pump turned off at 9pm like normal but I still had a fire going. Luckily all that happened was it blew out the plastic hose I have connected to the copper that runs to the pool.
I am very happy with how this project turned out... Even though I'll need to do a bit of patching. 🙂 Just wanted to give you the credit for pointing me in a workable direction for heating my tiny pool. Thanks!
I'm not even sure to be honest, what ever was the cheapest at the hardware store. I haven't had any issues so far with mine. There always has to be water flowing though when a fire is in the barrel. If water is flowing the solder shouldn't melt.
There is definitely a LOT of elbows in there. lol One thing I wish I would have done is put some sort of shield on the copper pipes so creosote doesn't build up so much on the pipes.
I like your stove man. I'm putting up my one wood stove barrel pool heater. I was wondering what type of soldering you got there for your copper tubing. Cause i saw one of our mate that said that it melted right of the first burn ...! i'll try to silver soldering and i'm gonna stick the "U" shape fitting right outside the front of the stove to prevent from that outcome. Let me know what you think ... thanks !
As long as water is flowing through the pipes you shouldn't have any issues with the solder melting. But that being said I have not tried mine yet, that's just my theory. As soon as I'm able to open up my pool this summer I will then be able to test. Thanks for stopping by and watching!
The issue is not the function of the stove. You need the water pump to pump the water @ the correct speed to allow water to stay in pipes long enough to get warm & flow into pool @ speed that prevents pipes foam melting & allows water to heat. We devised our own similar system. With the correct water pump keeps pool @ about 85 degrees
Yup I used regular solder. Been using it for 3 seasons and haven't had any issues. As long as water is flowing while the fire is burning the pipes stay cool enough to not melt. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I think the concept is great but 3/4 copper with all those 90 degree bends is going to greatly restrict the flow of water and put a huge strain on your pool pump. A larger diameter coiled tubing would be better.
100% agree a coiled tubing would flow better. The only down fall would be the coil would take up more room in the barrel. That was my reasoning for going with the 90's, try to get the most surface area I could with out taking up to much of the barrel. Thanks for watching and commenting! Always great to hear other ideas.
good luck, if your pump fails youll be bailing out. better option is to buy 25 meters of 15mm annealed soft copper coil and internally coil and strap in barrel. lord have mercy on my hot tub. once that water temp gets up and the exchanger starts working i actually have added cold water due to its efficiency.
Why don't you as a minimum run a secondary heat exchanger so you can cut your losses. You/me/we are loosing way too much out the pipes. I made a 20 pound propane tank wood stove, and 20 pound propane tank heat extractor plus a minimum of 8 foot pipe and only 4" dia but I still loose too much out. Instead of using it only for your pool, I would be using it there in the shop immediately to develop my experience running multi-fuel and multi purpose heating, cooking, smoking, refining, kiln, plus hot water heating. I would run a minimum of double barrel plus. People are too wasteful unlike previous day's. Remember if you are burning wood how long it takes to grow a stand of trees. If you design multi- fuel you are being more of a proper land steward and then you will have to run your tests burns to observe/sense the burn/transformation qualities and reactant gasses produced and how to make modifications for the different fuel sources to get to the proper parameters. Your better than that! Don't settle for less!!
I’ve watched a bunch of these videos trying to figure out what kind of build I want to do. Then I came across your video, saw the channel name and had to give it a watch. As a fellow yooper living in the warm and sunny south that is cleveland Ohio, I think I’m goin with this design. A lot more work but it looks way more efficient heat exchange wise.
Thanks for watching! I have a few videos on this build including a follow up video after using it for a while. The design is good but if I had to build another one I would build a shield under the copper pipes. With the pipes open to the flame it gets a lot of creosote build up on the pipes.
This was exactly the video I wanted to see. I’m looking to build an outdoor wood burning fireplace to heat a hot tub. Any chance you could give an update? Two years on, is the solder holding out still?
I have done an update video: th-cam.com/video/AaOcjr_dYdQ/w-d-xo.html. Solder is still holding up good. I show of couple of things I have done different and things I would change in the video. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great video. Would brazing the copper solve the melting solder concerns?
I'm not sure if it would make a difference or not. After using it the last few years I haven't had any issues with the joints coming apart. As long as water is flowing through it, the solder won't melt. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great video, very good explanations. I’m asking myself if I should change the design of my pool heater from copper coil according to your heat exchanger
Copper coil would work also. I mainly just wanted to cover more surface area in the heater with this design.
I have the fire burning in the middle of my copper coil and think that a good amount of heat just goes up in the air. With copper right above the fire you might avoid that loss@@UpperPeninsulaDIY
Great point!
@@schitthe Hi mate. How have you got on with this. Do you also have a baffle in the chimney to reduce heat loss etc?
Hi brother how long it takes today heat up the water thankfully
i see this is a few years old, hows longevity for this? i want to build an outdoor stove and pipe hot water to a radiator in my house for supplemental heat. Everyone tells me that flame on the copper brittles the copper. thoughts?
I still have this stove and have yet to have an issue with the copper pipes. As long as there is water flowing through the pipes while there is heat in the barrel, you won't have any issues. The only issue I have had for longevity is my barrel is starting to rot out. I have a few holes in it now. I should be able to unsweet the pipes and take the coil out and put into a new barrel though.
Isn't that solder going to melt I wonder if maybe you should not have used Mig braze instead
Used it for an entire summer so far and it is still working great. As long as there is water flow through the pipes the water will keep the solder cool enough not melting. If no water movement then yes, there would be a problem. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Makes a lot smoke when burning? asking because where I live we not suppose to have this lol but if is normal wood smell should not call a lot attention
Depending what kind of wood and how hot its burning. Mine will smoke quite a bit until it gets hot and up to temperature.
Great video, can you take the front lid and turn it upside down so the pipe goes down??? Door would be left hinged !!??
Yes that can be done. That's actually exactly what I did. Check out my update video: th-cam.com/video/AaOcjr_dYdQ/w-d-xo.html
Will the solder joint be affected by direct heat?
As long as the water continuously flows the solder is unaffected by the heat.
Great video, have you been able to measure the BTU output of that heater? Curious to see how well it will do.
Thanks for watching and commenting! I haven't measured the BTU but I have found a couple interesting things out. In order to keep a good hot fire in the barrel, burning hard wood is a must. I also found that the cooper pipes create condensation. The dripping condensation makes it tough when trying to get the fire going. I plan doing a follow up video in the fall after I have used the barrel stove a bit more.
Awsome gave me a good idea. I just have a question logs burning wont that heat make soder weld to melt. If so let me know
As long as there is water flowing through the pipes the entire time there is heat the solder won't melt. Thanks for watching and commenting!
i guess with constant water flow the pipes should remain cool enough for the solder joints not to fail? i have seen wood stove water heaters where the wrap copper tubing around a pipe.
That's my plan, as long as I have water flowing through the copper pipes the solder joints should not fail. Key is water flowing... Thanks for stopping by, watching and commenting!
stupid questions will solder melt when in use
Not a stupid question at all. I get asked that a lot. As long as there is water flowing through the pipes when under heat it won't melt. With out water flowing the pipes would burst and then melt the solder. Thanks for watching and commenting!
What is your solution for the creosote that forms an insulating barrier after so many fires? Mine formed so much the water would no longer get hot. Had to power wash the pipes. Considering making them on the outside and then insulating them.
Your right, mine have creosote on them also. I'm sure I am losing heat but I've yet to clean mine. I've thought about maybe putting some thin metal like tin under the pipes but I don't know how much heat you would lose with that also. If you come up with something let me know. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Any updates on Efficiency loss over the season? wondering how the condition of the tubes over a season? seriously debating whether to do internal tube configuration or wrapping coil on the outside with insulation. thanks
It has been working great. There is a lot of sot build up on the pipes but doesn't seem to affect the heating of the water. If I have a nice hot fire going this wood heater works just as good as my propane pool heater. I think wrapping copper on the outside and then some sort of insulator would work just as good. Thanks for watching and commenting!
thanks for the feedback pal
I'm looking to do something similar for my spa in order to reduce the running costs by keeping the spa at a lower temperature when not in us and them shortening the time to reach ideal temperature. Couple of questions:
1) wouldn't it be more durable if the piping was on the outside of the barrel and thus not susceptible to being coated and caked in the soot and whatnot from the burning wood?
2) for a barrel of that size what would be the expected energy output? I've done an excel spreadsheet to work the time out and the burner needs a really high output to make heating the spa within 30mins viable.
3) would insulating the stove with some fireproof blanket help in reducing wasted heat and increase the heat output overall?
Look forward to the next installment.
Thanks for watching and commenting. 1) Yes, piping on the outside of the barrel would be more durable but it would be difficult to wrap the pipe tightly around it. It could be done though. One thing I didn't think of is the condensation I get from the pipes as they heat up. 2) I'm not sure of the energy output but yes the fire needs to be really hot and stay hot in order to have a decent output of heat. I found I need to burn hard wood in order to produce a good heat. 3) Wrapping the barrel would help, especially if you put the pipes on the outside of the barrel.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am going to give this a try for the winter. The spa really does not need heating this summer, which is not the norm in the UK but it is an exceptionally hot, long lasting summer.
Have you gentlemen though about a 30 gallon drum inside the 55 gallon drum as you can get insulation cloth in there as well as the heat exchange for the water. You can put the flue through to the smaller drum business as usual and your pipes are not on the open fire breaking down as fast.
@@UpperPeninsulaDIY I used aluminum flashing as a quick and dirty heat shielding. Have some doublesided mounting screws (bolt on one side) that I plan to use as a standoff to permanently mount.
@@netwrench6570 Excellent job! Thanks for sharing the idea. Let us know how it works out.
What kind of temps are you getting?
I haven't really checked it, I usually just go by feel. I can notice a significant change in water temp coming back into the pool. Last night I did a "scientific" test and put my rubber duck pool thermometer in front of the water jet coming back into the pool. haha According to that the water was 4 degrees warmer coming back in compared to the actual pool temp. It feels much warmer than that so take it for what its worth.
Quick tip, get a heat resistant forced air fan, and then get a 110 volt thermostat switch for the fan, take your thermostat Make it so the fan can turn on and off based on the pool's temperature you can do all of that with your simple thermostat switch
You can also get it to run a water pump to the pool all of it can run off that same thermostat if you're good at a little bit of wiring
I heard copper and chlorine is not good for pool liner. Any thoughts
I haven't actually heard that before but it could be true. For my set up I am using Baquacil which is a non-chlorine pool chemical. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I am hoping to do one myself. I just wanted to do more research before i do one. Also, wouldn't help to prolong the life of the copper if it doesn't get direct hit with fire. I was thinking about some sort of plate over the or under to protect the copper.
This will be I think my 3rd year using this setup. The only thing I have changed is rotating the barrel lid so the big bung on the lid is at the bottom so it will pull a draft through it and underneath the fire. If you put a plate or something to protect the copper, it will last longer sure but you won't get as much heat out of it. It's a toss up on what you want to do but either way it will work.
Add forced air, will burn hot, move water at a high rate you want volume not an extreme high temperature on discharge water. Great job thanks for your efforts.
Forced air into the burn box might be a good idea. Thanks!
How has it held up?
It has held up really well. Still using it.
Having the pipe on top looks good for a secondary burn. Suggest going most the way to the back with it, drilling holes along the length of it and putting a cap on the end. It should be efficient and burn the smoke,
Thanks for the suggestions and comment!
Could you add some pipes inside to that threaded pipe on top, and then the air would be directed to the bottom? I'm not sure that it woukd work better than (or even as well as) the bung hole solution.
Another possibility is that you could install one of those dial air intakes, like they have on charcoal grills, only put it on the back, where there is probably some room.
Them are both good tips, thank you!
This looks like what I want to have behind my woodstove (behind metal or tile, etc) to add and spread its heat through a radiant hydronic heating system. I guess it could be pex, but since it is so close to a heat source, it seems like copper might be a better choice. It looks good!
i wouldn't think the solder would hold.... can you show what temp you get up to before it would fail.
I'm thinking you should have used a solid pipe rather than soldered joints. im just about to start my project on building a pool and using a wood burner to heat it but im just doing my research at the moment
So far I have gotten the stove up to about 500 degrees F. No issues at all. As long as the water is flowing through the pipes the entire time the fire is going the solder or the pipe will not melt. I've seen other videos were people have bought a coil of copper pipe and just simply put the coil in the stove, then you don't have any solder joints inside. There is definitely more than one way to build a stove heater like this. Good luck on building yours. Thanks for watching and commenting!
What type of copper pipe did u use L or M?
I'm not actually sure. I just used what ever my local hardware store had in stock.
Great video. Can I ask when you connected the end of the pipe dispensing the hot water did you have any problems with the copper pipe being too hot and melting the plastic / rubber pipe to the pool. Thanks
All I used was plastic water supply hose from menards. Haven't had any real issues. One time I had an issue but that was my fault. The fire had died out but there was still some heat in the barrel. I forgot to turn off the pool timer and the pump turned off. Plastic pipe burst because of the pressure in the pipe from the heat. Didn't damage the copper pipes as all. That's the only issue I have had. Thanks for watching and commenting! I do have a 2 year follow up video also: th-cam.com/video/AaOcjr_dYdQ/w-d-xo.html
You might not have to weld to put the cover on the vent hole. What you can do is use a self tapping screw and drill a hole in your vent flap then place the screw through the hole into the metal stove. Tighten the screw just enough so there’s resistance on the flap which would allowIt’s to stay in the position that you set it at. Hopefully this helps
Thanks for the tip!
So..did it work? I can't find a 2nd video.
It did work and is still working. I've had to make a couple modifications to the door but that's about it. I need to make an update video to this project. It's been requested a few times. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I cant help but think... as soon as u light that fire, your gonna have a can filled with solder and copper fittings..
Maybee... 3/4 soft rolled copper, (used for water main line feed)
I've used this stove/heater for 2 summers now with no issues. As long as water is flowing in the pipes the water keeps the copper and the solder cool enough to not melt the joints or the copper. Your idea of rolled copper will work just as well. Just remember to always being flowing water when there is a fire lit or even when the fire is out and the barrel is cooling. Thanks for watching and commenting!
JOKER wrong. As long as water is in the pipes it is fine
Wont the heat MELT the solder ???
As long as water it flowing through the pipe the solder won't melt.
Excellent job soldering all those pipes and elbows into the shape of the barrel, but you will have to run water through the pipes at high speed to prevent boiling at the very least. I'd guess you could melt the solder if you burned a fire hot enough, and I've heard about those barrels glowing cherry-red. Cool idea though.
Thanks for watching and commenting! I have been running it for two summers now with no issue. Well, one slight issue. I turned the flowing water off when the fire was out, not thinking the barrel and the piping was still warm. Ended up melting a hole in the plastic piping I have connected to the copper going to the pool. Easy fix though but you are very right. Water always has to be flowing through the pipes. Thanks again!
Do you think this would work to run to a heat exchanger in the house.
I'm sure it would work but it wouldn't be efficient enough to say heat a house. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great video...I need to watch again and find out how to buy the barrel...
Thanks for watching and commenting! Barrels can be pretty easy to come by. I found mine pretty cheap at a local farm.
To turn lemons into lemonade get another kit so you can turn that barrel into the top of a double barrel. I'm pretty sure you will find that the temps are too high for copper tubing. It should be in the upper barrel.
Thanks for your advice! So far I ran it all summer with no issues, as long as water is moving through the pipes. I made the mistake right away with turning off the pump when I thought the fire was out... Thanks again for watching and commenting!
@@UpperPeninsulaDIY the main reason I said this is that copper melts easily. Like aluminum. So it may need to be well away from direct flame. That and it could melt any solder joints. If it can melt with a pen it will melt in a fire
Maybe if you cut a slot under the barrel about 10" wide by just short of the length of the barrel. Then you could put a rebar grate inside the barrel with about 3" square openings. The ash would drop directly to the ground and you would have excellent draft. You could regulate the air flow and intensity of the flame with a flue dampener.
You have inspired me to get off of my butt and build one of these. Thanks!!
I like that idea. Probably would have to put sand or gravel under the barrel as to not start a grass fire but it would draft better. Thanks for the tip! Good luck on building yours also!
How well did it heat the water?
If I kept the fire going good it would heat the water pretty well.
question... are you pushing water through the copper pipe with a pump or are you relying on a thermal syphon?
Yes, I'm pushing water through with the pool pump. I've been meaning to do an update video to show how it can be hooked up. Thanks for watching!
I had a copper hose bib on my pvc pool filter and it ate the copper up.
No kidding? Do you think it was from the chlorine? Thanks for watching!
Howdy from Texas,
Born & raised in Kalamazoo. How did your project work out so far?
I'm building one very similar except I am going to coil soft copper tubing around the EXTERIOR of my barrel. My reasoning is that after a year or two the pitch,tar, and creosote build up on the tubing it acts like an insulator and lowers the output temperature of the water. Also any sweating will not drip into fire. I realize outside the firebox it won't get as hot as inside.
My concern is the type of copper tubing I should use. K copper, or L copper, refrigerator coil copper????
Might you have any ideas? I don't know the best and or the least expensive copper tubing I can use.
Thanks a ton. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
One Michigander to another ,
Peace brother.
Hello Jerry! Always nice to meet a fellow Michigander. I do have a quick update video on the stove: th-cam.com/video/AaOcjr_dYdQ/w-d-xo.html. It's still working pretty well. Your absolutely right with the tar build up on the pipes and the dripping of the pipes from condensation. My thought was to maybe build like a heat shield to protect the pipes from the tar build up and then let the condensation run down the sides of the barrel instead of right on the wood. Putting the pipes on the outside of the barrel would work but you would probably lose a lot of heat unless you then insulated the pipes some how. I don't think I would worry so much about what type of copper. Just get what will easily work for what you want and what is readily available. Hope that helps some. Let me know how your build turns out.
@@UpperPeninsulaDIY
Hello there. Thanks for your reply and all the info. Yeah I've been thinking about heat loss with the coil on the outside of the barrel. One things for sure. It doesn't get near as cold here in Texas. Lol except this past winter storm. My multiport valve froze and broke along with my salt cell and my booster pump housing.
I'm looking for some type of insulation that will work. Maybe some of that pipe insulation that can take the heat. I'm going to build a diverter valve assembly to feed the coil water and the discharge side will probably have a hose connection fitting. It's pretty close to the pool.
I'm about an hour West of Dallas. 9 miles south of Weatherford. If you want, shoot me an email at jerrymeeuwse@gmail.com
And I'll send ya a couple pictures of my project. Driving up to Michigan this July. Going to show the wife around the state. She's never been. Hopefully show her the bridge, Mackinac island, lol the Mystery Spot.
Thanks again, take care and stay. safe
did the solder hold up???
Yes it did. As long as there is flowing water the solder will hold up.
@@UpperPeninsulaDIY awesome ty i didnt get a chance to see it working. im glad i found a fellow yooper to get info from lol
probably a stupid question,but wont the heat melt the solder?
That's a question I get asked often. As long as there is water flowing through the pipes at all times the solder won't melt. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Simple fix. Turn your door over, loosen the Lid ring and spin it around. Now the pipes on the bottom and the doors right side up. With having a removable lid you can do that.
Great idea! Thanks for the tip!
Don’t do that. You will wreck your piping if you put them on the bottom. The design is very similar to an OTSG(once through steam generator). You’ve inspired me. Thank you.
Awesome job Mike!
Thanks!
The one I did...I had the bunghole Under the door....and put that pipe inside and ran it under the grate I made. Put more fresh air..towards the back of the fire
Can't wait for spring so I can get back to camp and do fun stuff like this too.
That's a good idea to run a pipe inside. Thanks for the tip. I'm ready for some warm weather for sure. Getting cabin fever. lol
Can you not just unbolt the door and rotate it 180 deg then rotate the entire front 180 ?
Thanks for watching Sam! Unfortunately not. The way it is cut our for the vents in the bottom of the door I would have a big air gap. Unless I weld in a plate. I will have to think about that, thanks for the tip!
You would just need to rotate the door itself also.
Well? How did it work out?
I know, I really need to do an update video on this. It has been working great! I've made a few little modifications to it but it has been working just as good as our propane pool heater.
@@UpperPeninsulaDIY Great! I'll subscribe in hopes of seeing i soon. I'm really hoping to see the water temps going in vs after heating. I've been digging through YT vids for the last two months, trying to find a way to heat water with wood fire and this design really does seem to be the winner.
Great video and the second part of this video is also Informative... So I decided to build something very similar to this... The concept is solid and works well.
For me this worked a little to well (permit me to explain) My pool is very small only a 10' round and 30" deep around 1600 gallons... Upgrades would include a sand filter with 3/4 hp. pump.
Starting temps going into the pool heater was 74 degrees temps coming out were104 degrees. Running the pool heater increased the pool temps to 90 degrees & 120 degrees exiting the pool heater, in less than 18 hours... However When the water temperatures in the pool reached over 105 degrees... The seams of the pool became weakened and failed letting all the water out. This all happened while I was sleeping. This caused the pump to run dry, and the soldered joints to unsolder... While I believe all of this is repairable.
For me this is a lessoned learned. When the pool temps are satisfactory, let the fire go out. :)
Thanks for sharing your experience! 105 degrees is very warm for a pool, that is more in the range of hot tub water. That is a total bummer that your pool is ruined and the solder joints failed. Water always has to be running through the pipes when there is a fire going. I made a similar mistake at first also. I didn't shut off my automatic timer on the pump, so the pump turned off at 9pm like normal but I still had a fire going. Luckily all that happened was it blew out the plastic hose I have connected to the copper that runs to the pool.
I am very happy with how this project turned out... Even though I'll need to do a bit of patching. 🙂 Just wanted to give you the credit for pointing me in a workable direction for heating my tiny pool. Thanks!
What kind of Solder did you use? Ours melted when we made this.
I'm not even sure to be honest, what ever was the cheapest at the hardware store. I haven't had any issues so far with mine. There always has to be water flowing though when a fire is in the barrel. If water is flowing the solder shouldn't melt.
Never start the fire with no water flow! Then solder won’t melt!
The e p a does not allow pipes inside the stove add a second barrel wrap it with 3/4 soft copper pipe instead
It would probably be more efficient that way.
The EPA don’t allow companies to build them with pipe. You can add anything you want once it’s yours.
1:36 - LOL!! , ok ! , had to PAUSE it here, so I could count the # of 180° elbows you used!,°👍
thank you for posting this, my barrel is done & I'm looking forward to doing some form of this copper heat exchanger!👍🤙
There is definitely a LOT of elbows in there. lol One thing I wish I would have done is put some sort of shield on the copper pipes so creosote doesn't build up so much on the pipes.
to design a serpentine corectly ,first read "cooling the inductor with water" of induction furnance ,i hope this advise will be usefull
Thanks for the advise!
FEEL FREE TO ASK
I like your stove man. I'm putting up my one wood stove barrel pool heater. I was wondering what type of soldering you got there for your copper tubing. Cause i saw one of our mate that said that it melted right of the first burn ...! i'll try to silver soldering and i'm gonna stick the "U" shape fitting right outside the front of the stove to prevent from that outcome. Let me know what you think ...
thanks !
As long as water is flowing through the pipes you shouldn't have any issues with the solder melting. But that being said I have not tried mine yet, that's just my theory. As soon as I'm able to open up my pool this summer I will then be able to test. Thanks for stopping by and watching!
The issue is not the function of the stove. You need the water pump to pump the water @ the correct speed to allow water to stay in pipes long enough to get warm & flow into pool @ speed that prevents pipes foam melting & allows water to heat. We devised our own similar system. With the correct water pump keeps pool @ about 85 degrees
Sound good BUT i hope you did not use regular solder for the copper it will not take the fire tem.
Yup I used regular solder. Been using it for 3 seasons and haven't had any issues. As long as water is flowing while the fire is burning the pipes stay cool enough to not melt. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@UpperPeninsulaDIY Great job & i wish my shop was as clean as yours,
Cool project. • Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂
Thanks buddy! Have a great day!
Hope the copper pipes do not desolder.
Used it for two seasons so far and haven't had any issues yet. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Yoopers rock!
One thing you need is to have stack at least 3’ higher than anything around
Thanks for the tip!
I think the concept is great but 3/4 copper with all those 90 degree bends is going to greatly restrict the flow of water and put a huge strain on your pool pump. A larger diameter coiled tubing would be better.
100% agree a coiled tubing would flow better. The only down fall would be the coil would take up more room in the barrel. That was my reasoning for going with the 90's, try to get the most surface area I could with out taking up to much of the barrel. Thanks for watching and commenting! Always great to hear other ideas.
good work bro i subbed
Thanks for watching and subbing!
Place some sand in your stove saves the bottom grate above that sand
I thought about doing that, just haven't got around to it. Thanks for the tip!
Hello from NoRth of the Border.........
Hello there, thanks for stopping by and commenting!
good luck, if your pump fails youll be bailing out. better option is to buy 25 meters of 15mm annealed soft copper coil and internally coil and strap in barrel. lord have mercy on my hot tub. once that water temp gets up and the exchanger starts working i actually have added cold water due to its efficiency.
Thanks for watching and the tip. So far I haven't had any issues, its been working great.
Why don't you as a minimum run a secondary heat exchanger so you can cut your losses. You/me/we are loosing way too much out the pipes. I made a 20 pound propane tank wood stove, and 20 pound propane tank heat extractor plus a minimum of 8 foot pipe and only 4" dia but I still loose too much out.
Instead of using it only for your pool, I would be using it there in the shop immediately to develop my experience running multi-fuel and multi purpose heating, cooking, smoking, refining, kiln, plus hot water heating. I would run a minimum of double barrel plus. People are too wasteful unlike previous day's. Remember if you are burning wood how long it takes to grow a stand of trees. If you design multi- fuel you are being more of a proper land steward and then you will have to run your tests burns to observe/sense the burn/transformation qualities and reactant gasses produced and how to make modifications for the different fuel sources to get to the proper parameters. Your better than that! Don't settle for less!!
Get you a new. Lid
Thanks for watching!
so... length of copper needed directly correlates to the number of dollars available inside the wallet. got it.
Copper is definitely not cheap right now. You could also buy the coils of copper. I think them are a little cheaper. Thanks for watching!
Duct tape
lol Thanks for watching!