RMH barrels/finish

If my barrel is steel and to be used indoors, can it be painted with high heat paint? Or is it to be left to rust? I would like to use a stainless steel barrel but they have an $800 price tag. High heat paint requires a three stage heat curing process after which are said to be flame resistant but would they still be gassy and give off toxic fumes? I just want a good looking barrel or is this not doable with steel barrels?

After burning off the original paint on the steel barrel, I sanded and painted it with stove black paint, the stuff in the aerosol-can. The paint is rated for up to 1200° F.  It will stink like crazy the first time the RMH is fired, but after that initial curing session I haven't noticed any further stinking or off gassing. That was six years ago, the stove is used as the primary heat source each heating season, and the original paint job still looks great.

I think it might have been during the fire science video, I saw Ernie Wisner wiping an oil on a barrel in use, and the spot looked like a finish you'd put on a cast iron pan. I've seen barrels in use at Cob Cottage which is in a temperate rain forest and regularly wet, and those barrels were not treated and doing well after 10+ years indoors. Personally I'd prefer to use something to season the metal though. Perhaps a high smoke point oil wiped on would do the trick, but that will take some time and if done inside could cause some smoke and stink. Maybe taking it off and starting a fire in the barrel would work? Or spray painting with stove black would certainly be quicker and simpler! You could run that first fire outside to minimize indoor stink.

I used boiled linseed oil on mine and it produced a nice shine along with rust protection for at least a season.
Yes, it did smoke a little and produce a stink, but mostly on the initial burn and very little after that. Depending on how your barrel paint was removed, the oil may bring out some imperfections but also hides others.

Thanks Byron, I will probably wait till spring to apply and cure the high heat paint as I would do so outside to spare us the fumes in house. In the mean time I have just ordered a barrel stove kit I will set up in the interum to use inside until we build our RMH. I will be building it myself in the basement which will take some time, I am 61 yrs old this month. I am thinking I may be able to heat chamber the barrel stove and use a blower to feed heat through existing duct work to disperse the warmth through out the house. These RMHs are quite the deal and I believe they are a great idea. Looking forward to building them God willing.

Hi Don;
I have used both methods .
High heat paint and oil
Both work.

The paint can be applied outside and a weed burner carefully used from the inside will cure the paint.
As Gerry mentioned oil finish may show small imperfections but overall produce a nice patina.
I used olive oil and it worked great.

The photo shows both methods.
After two years the top barrel could use another oil treatment as there is tiny rust spots showing.
That RMH is in an unheated shop, so some moisture is present that would not be, in an insulated stable environment.
The painted barrel is as good as the day it was installed.

Seeking a very good/ excellent  condition barrel with a removable top would help keep an oil finish looking good with  a nice patina.

I have also tried both oil and paint, my my stove is in an out building and only used for parties.
I much prefer the oil look and I oil mine every time I use it with sunflower oil (it does not smoke as much as olive oil) however I dont think you could do that inside a living room as it will smoke when the barrel gets really hot!
I dont like the matt black look of a painted barrel but I dont know if you can get a high temp gloss finish?

Thanks guys for the advice, my thought regarding curing the paint was to build a j-tube mock up out of fire brick with the drum propped over it to cure the paint, I already bought the paint cans that claim a 2,000 degree tolerance in an aluminum color and I was afraid I might have put the cart before the horse in doing so. I will try it out in the spring as we are currently in the -20° Celsius range here in Saskatchewan. I want to be sure to cure the paint properly and fully. I was thinking it would also look good with a gun metal blue but I have my doubts as to how to achieve that finish so I settled on aluminum color. Finding those barrel clamping rings to join the two barrels is proving to be quite difficult but I am going to see if a metal fabricating shop can make a couple for me.

Hi Thomas thanks for sharing the picture of your heater, does the heat riser extend up to the top of the second barrel? I wasn't aware that could be done. I have a space with 10 foot ceiling and that configuration may be a good choice, what is the primary gain for the second barrel setup? Do you gain more radiant heat? I imagine the exhaust outside would be cooler at the end of the exterior stack.

Hi Don;
No, the riser ends near the top of the first barrel.
Yes, the objective was to gain more quick radiant heat while still having the large brick bell as well.
That stove is in my partially insulated shop, Home of Dragon Technology and 2nd gen. Outback restorations.
It is a 7" batch running an 8" riser.  Works incredibly well once I get the bell heated up.