I was pondering this concept. Does anyone know of this? I read small article a ways back, it was about building it out of cordwood and then linning the interior. Using a wood burning stove to heat the water. The stove was a special model that had like a radiator set up for the water to heat. The stove also set in the floor and it was sunk into the floor like 2 feet. This one in the article was indoors. I am interested in building one outdoors in the open. Ideas? Suggestions? What could i salvage to use as jets, if at all possible? The jets would just be a bonous. Jagger
I've seen ads for wood burning hot tubs in Mother Earth - special stove that drops over the side into a wooden tub. Run 500-900 dollars just for the stove. You might want to look at snorkel.com for ideas. Perhaps one made with plywood sides with a pond liner to keep it watertight. I've been kicking that idea around myself. Just not sure about the heating part.
Our hot tub is 25 years old and is nothing more than a round 6' stock tank on concrete blocks and an old woodstove beneath it. Works great, heats up in about 1annahalf hours. Gotta drain it after each use, or within a couple days or it gets funky, but with free gravity water, it's not a problem.
I think it's called a Snorkl (?) hot tub. They are made in Vermont. Do a google on that name... Heidi
Jagger, We are on the same wavelength. I plan to build one this fall. I found 400 used fire brick for $40. I got Ken Kearn's Masonry Stove book and have read it twice. I will construct a large firebox to save on wood cutting, then I will run the flue horizontal and surround it with copper pipe to capture as much heat in the water as possible. The pipe will connect to a cistern and the hot tub. I expect to be able to heat water, cook, and heat the garage as well. The whole assembly will have a ferrocement shell and be filled with perlite. I am excited and wish I could start this week. GObug
We discussed this just in the last few months on here. Do a search and you will see a list of pros and cons on one of the threads.
