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Small Cabin Forum / Off-Grid Living / Wood Stove vs Oil Furnace
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Gone2TheCamp
Member
# Posted: 17 Apr 2019 11:58am
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And, when I say oil furnace, what I really mean is the old style that are a burning pot with a sheet metal cabinet around them.. There's a float bowl, and it just dribbles furnace oil into a burning 'bowl'...there's no thermostats or blowers, etc... I'd really like to know what the heck they're actually called...I don't find a lot of info online about them (likely looking for the wrong thing) but every 2nd camp around this area seems to have one.

Anyway...my 12x16, it's insulated well (one element on the buddy heater set as low as it will go keeps it plenty snug even at -20c.)

I (learn from my mistakes) figured I'd use the buddy heater for my heating needs...it makes plenty of heat, but holy snap does it make water too.... I had no idea until I went and read that burning a pound of propane puts 1L of water into the air.

That water condenses on the vapour barrier around the bottom of the walls, and that's no good.

So..I picked up (used) a small wood stove...it's one of the little rectangular box stoves. Usually they have 2 removable burner plates and the stack outlet facing up, behind the rear burner plate. Well, this one is the same design, but shorter (front to back)..so much that it only has room for 1 round burner plate.
Then, I found out that I might be able to get the oil burner from a friend's cabin...it works great, is in good shape.

Chimney, stove-pipe, and cost and availability of wood/oil aside, what would be your choice?

Wood stove: Small, won't hold much wood, will possibly be too hot for a 12x16 then 2 hours later I have to get up and put more wood in. Have to get a chain saw, cut wood, split wood...

Oil furnace: turn the knob and toss a match in, will burn all night, can be adjusted from low to high and easily regulated.

NorthRick
Member
# Posted: 17 Apr 2019 01:40pm
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Drip oil stoves/heaters is what we call them up here.

I'd go with one of these over a small wood stove for all the reasons you mention.

ICC
Member
# Posted: 17 Apr 2019 02:24pm
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The same, for same reasons.

Aklogcabin
Member
# Posted: 18 Apr 2019 11:03am
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The drip stove. Ive been thinking about putting a drip stove next to my woodstove at the cabin. The newer ones are pretty small. Also could get by on a couple drums of fuel per year.

Brettny
Member
# Posted: 18 Apr 2019 12:55pm
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A woodstove always works. I went to a pellet stove in our house fo one season...went to wood the next.

You should beable turn your wood stove down enough to almost put it out or arange the wood in it to its not all lit. This will get you a cooler fire but build cresote.

But is it a real cabin with out a woodstove? To me no

kittysmitty
Member
# Posted: 18 Apr 2019 06:27pm
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We used to call them "pot burners"

Gone2TheCamp
Member
# Posted: 29 Apr 2019 01:39pm
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Thanks folks. I'm still on the fence...
I have the little wood stove, and I thought it would look nicer than the oil furnace...but then I got looking at the oil furnace closer, and it's in a nice 'cabinet' with some brushed aluminum trim that would clean up pretty sharp...it's only about 16" square and likely 4' high so it's not going to take up any more room than the stove....

And I could message my neighbours and get one of them to light the furnace up 6-8 hours before I'm heading down for a winter weekend....

The big attraction is being able to just light it and forget it.

But yes..pot burner, drip furnace, drip stove... That's the rig I'm talking about.

old243
Member
# Posted: 29 Apr 2019 05:10pm
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Gone , from what I can remember. They work great when they are working right. I had one at our workshop a long time ago. We didn't keep it turned up too high, just a knob that you turn to adjust the flow. The oil seeps into the pot from the regulator. I had a metal rod , that I disturbed the ash buildup, other wise the flow could stop or be impeded. There was no thermostat. Not sure if they have changed the operation. I have also seen them flood, you always want to check for oil in the bottom of the pot , before you light it. There should be none. If it is flooded, throw a part roll of toilet paper in, to soak it up. Then remove the roll, and light normally. We had one blew the stovepipes off, when was lit while flooded. If the stove overheats, shut oil off, hold the pipe damper open till, it clears itself. Not to frighten you , but don't light them and leave, till you are sure they are operating correctly. Same applies to a wood stove. Good luck old243

moneypitfeeder
Member
# Posted: 29 Apr 2019 07:28pm
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I've never had experience with an oil stove like you have described, but we use a small wood burner for our cain. It works great for our needs, and there isn't the need to get up in the middle of the night to replace logs. Not sure if all have this, but ours has air intake vents at the bottom for air regulation, and at night we can put an un-split log in for "slow-burning" to provide heat overnight. It is nice in that if we need, there are grill plates that can be added to "grill" in the stove, and on the top we place a steel plate so that we have a warming burner for a water kettle anytime that we are heating. We also use it for burning the last minute "burnables" that we want to discard before leaving the camp, vs. having to set up our normal burn bonfire outside and having to have extra time to be certain it is extinguished before leaving (we can control the burn easier/determine when it is fully out with the wood stove).

Gone2TheCamp
Member
# Posted: 30 Apr 2019 08:21am - Edited by: Gone2TheCamp
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The oil burner that I think I can get is the one in the old abandoned cabin by mine. I used that cabin for 2 winters (Just occasional use) and after I took the carb (float, whatever name you want to give it) off and tore it apart and cleaned it....the stove worked like a charm.
There's a picture of it in one of my old threads. Yes, the flash makes it look pretty crappy...and the black boards are not from a fuel leak, but rather a leaking stove pipe where it goes through the ceiling. There's a bit of fuel spilled right by the furnace, but that was me working on it, and not really caring if I spilled fuel.
As for smell...I do notice a smell of furnace oil by the tank, but not inside or around the stove, as long as you're aware of spills when fiddling with the carb/float.

https://imgur.com/mkUpN

The woodstove I bought is not airtight, it's one of those cheap typical 'box wood' stoves....rectangular, a removeable burner plate, and then the stack behind that. You often see the exact same stove, but they are usually a big deeper, and have 2 burner plates...one behind the other.
This one is not as deep and only has room for one burner plate.

Maybe I'll just try the woodstove first, and if it turns out to be a pig pain to keep it going overnight, etc, I can always remove it and out the oil burner in its place.

moneypitfeeder
Member
# Posted: 4 May 2019 09:04pm
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Here's a pic of the woodstove we have, I think i was made in the 70s...
Cabin25.jpg
Cabin25.jpg


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