Using portable wood burning stove in house this winter?

discoteque

I echo the nay-sayers, I'm afraid. The carbon monoxide & particulate poisoning and fire risks with a jerry-rigged system like this are too high.  It may also be counter-productive; the open window would be difficult to insulate, and you'll lose a lot of the heat that you generate.  

If you already have the stove and a free source of wood then you could simply use it outside to heat water and cook, if you think the effort trade-off is worth it. 

Section62

HertsLad said:

I am building a wood burning stove but I would never risk placing it indoors. Mine will go in the back garden to heat 30m of copper piping. Water will be pumped/circulated up to first floor level and into my bathroom to heat towel radiators. I will add a pressure release valve. I have quite a lot of wood and can obtain more. Nevertheless, firing it up and cleaning out the furnace will be quite a lot of effort so I only reckon on using it something like once ever three weeks.

30m of copper piping sounds:

a) Expensive

b) Not very efficient.

Even if you already had the copper piping, I would have considered selling it for scrap and using the proceeds to buy the few units of electric needed to heat a towel rail once every three weeks.  Or used them to heat the towel rail directly rather than running a circulation pump.

mumf

Dear god! A flue sticking out of a window? There is a reason why there are building regulations- to stop people from dying! 

I am worried that people will be burning houses down ( and their neighbours too) through operations like the above. And don’t start me off about candles…

pickledonionspaceraider

Do not do this - as others have said it is unsafe

Even done properly, It is worth looking into the way wood burning stoves contribute more to pollution, than cars do - and see if you feel comfortable with this

NickH85

discoteque said:

I echo the nay-sayers, I'm afraid. The carbon monoxide & particulate poisoning and fire risks with a jerry-rigged system like this are too high.  It may also be counter-productive; the open window would be difficult to insulate, and you'll lose a lot of the heat that you generate.  

If you already have the stove and a free source of wood then you could simply use it outside to heat water and cook, if you think the effort trade-off is worth it. 

The impact from the open window is definitely an important factor - I know it's possible to get window seals, but it would be about getting one which wasn't combustible, as I wouldn't want to risk the flue pipe getting hot enough to ignite it.

I knew I'd get a good number of nasty replies because hey it's the Internet, but to provide more context, the stove would be on a stone hearth, in a galleried hallway (ie 20 foot high ceiling), with nothing but stone walls, a marble shelf & a metal & glass table within 10 ft (fabric furniture being in the next room, separated by a wall naturally).

Regarding any CO/CO2 buildup, of course that'd be either the no 1 or 2 concern (alongside any fire risk), which is why I'd want the opinion of experienced people. If certain stoves are advertised as being safe for use inside tents, I would've imagined the flue was successfully piping it away, though it would be interesting to know if any breathability of tent fabrics was factored into safety checks & how that compared to being used in a much larger (though still enclosed) space.

During renovating the house, we did actually get quotes to get a stove installed, but ultimately decided the cost vs the hassle of cleaning/convenience etc wasn't worthwhile, so I guess the pondering of this post was to determine the feasibility of fashioning a safe, temporary setup, without drilling a hole in the wall, or incurring such costs to make the whole exercise redundant. On the subject of wood as fuel, I should be able to source this fairly easily (though not necessarily for free), so would need to perform some calculations separately if I thought the idea were otherwise realistic.

Mstty

Please livestream your first fire up👍

mumf

NickH85 said:

discoteque said:

I echo the nay-sayers, I'm afraid. The carbon monoxide & particulate poisoning and fire risks with a jerry-rigged system like this are too high.  It may also be counter-productive; the open window would be difficult to insulate, and you'll lose a lot of the heat that you generate.  

If you already have the stove and a free source of wood then you could simply use it outside to heat water and cook, if you think the effort trade-off is worth it. 

The impact from the open window is definitely an important factor - I know it's possible to get window seals, but it would be about getting one which wasn't combustible, as I wouldn't want to risk the flue pipe getting hot enough to ignite it.

I knew I'd get a good number of nasty replies because hey it's the Internet, but to provide more context, the stove would be on a stone hearth, in a galleried hallway (ie 20 foot high ceiling), with nothing but stone walls, a marble shelf & a metal & glass table within 10 ft (fabric furniture being in the next room, separated by a wall naturally).

Regarding any CO/CO2 buildup, of course that'd be either the no 1 or 2 concern (alongside any fire risk), which is why I'd want the opinion of experienced people. If certain stoves are advertised as being safe for use inside tents, I would've imagined the flue was successfully piping it away, though it would be interesting to know if any breathability of tent fabrics was factored into safety checks & how that compared to being used in a much larger (though still enclosed) space.

During renovating the house, we did actually get quotes to get a stove installed, but ultimately decided the cost vs the hassle of cleaning/convenience etc wasn't worthwhile, so I guess the pondering of this post was to determine the feasibility of fashioning a safe, temporary setup, without drilling a hole in the wall, or incurring such costs to make the whole exercise redundant. On the subject of wood as fuel, I should be able to source this fairly easily (though not necessarily for free), so would need to perform some calculations separately if I thought the idea were otherwise realistic.

I have had stoves for 25+ years. They meet HETAS/ building regulation. The rules are for a reason ; to prevent house fires and carbon monoxide poisoning. I’ll tell you something else too. If anything went wrong,and frankly it’s highly likely,then your house insurance won’t cover you! I’m glad you are not my neighbour,although perhaps you are detached and don’t mind burning your house down?

Sea_Shell

Pointing out it's a bad idea and potentially dangerous isn't "nasty".

But it sounds like you've already made your mind up.

Good luck 🤞.   Let's hope you live in a detached property 😉

chris_n

pickledonionspaceraider said:

Do not do this - as others have said it is unsafe

Even done properly, It is worth looking into the way wood burning stoves contribute more to pollution, than cars do - and see if you feel comfortable with this

I live in the Alps, noted for clean air right? Also lots of wood burned as we are surrounded by trees. In winter we often get periods of high pressure weather which has the effect of keeping cold air trapped in valleys so any emissions from chimneys is immediately cooled. When you are in the mountains you can clearly see the pollution in the valleys, not a pretty site.

NickH85

mumf said:

NickH85 said:

discoteque said:

I echo the nay-sayers, I'm afraid. The carbon monoxide & particulate poisoning and fire risks with a jerry-rigged system like this are too high.  It may also be counter-productive; the open window would be difficult to insulate, and you'll lose a lot of the heat that you generate.  

If you already have the stove and a free source of wood then you could simply use it outside to heat water and cook, if you think the effort trade-off is worth it. 

The impact from the open window is definitely an important factor - I know it's possible to get window seals, but it would be about getting one which wasn't combustible, as I wouldn't want to risk the flue pipe getting hot enough to ignite it.

I knew I'd get a good number of nasty replies because hey it's the Internet, but to provide more context, the stove would be on a stone hearth, in a galleried hallway (ie 20 foot high ceiling), with nothing but stone walls, a marble shelf & a metal & glass table within 10 ft (fabric furniture being in the next room, separated by a wall naturally).

Regarding any CO/CO2 buildup, of course that'd be either the no 1 or 2 concern (alongside any fire risk), which is why I'd want the opinion of experienced people. If certain stoves are advertised as being safe for use inside tents, I would've imagined the flue was successfully piping it away, though it would be interesting to know if any breathability of tent fabrics was factored into safety checks & how that compared to being used in a much larger (though still enclosed) space.

During renovating the house, we did actually get quotes to get a stove installed, but ultimately decided the cost vs the hassle of cleaning/convenience etc wasn't worthwhile, so I guess the pondering of this post was to determine the feasibility of fashioning a safe, temporary setup, without drilling a hole in the wall, or incurring such costs to make the whole exercise redundant. On the subject of wood as fuel, I should be able to source this fairly easily (though not necessarily for free), so would need to perform some calculations separately if I thought the idea were otherwise realistic.

I have had stoves for 25+ years. They meet HETAS/ building regulation. The rules are for a reason ; to prevent house fires and carbon monoxide poisoning. I’ll tell you something else too. If anything went wrong,and frankly it’s highly likely,then your house insurance won’t cover you! I’m glad you are not my neighbour,although perhaps you are detached and don’t mind burning your house down?

Thanks for your reply, though it'd be nice to get more constructive details if you'd be willing.

In experience, say I were able to attain a proper, DEFRA approved (isn't HETA a brand?) indoor stove, is there a way to install it without drilling a hole for the flue, or is that essentially impossible?