Last year, I put a 3-gallon pail of water a couple inches from the side of the woodstove to act as thermal mass and to humidify the air. It didn’t work that well. It’s a galvanized steel pail, so the outside is very shiny and it reflected most of the heat radiating from the side of the stove, not to mention the cooling effect of the water evaporating from the surface. The water in the pail wasn’t stone cold, but it wasn’t as warm as tepid either.
So last Spring, after heating season, I painted the outside of the pail flat black (with high-temp paint). And this year, the water in there is quite warm when the stove is running. It should work much better for both of the above-stated purposes, as well as backup warm water for washing if ever needed. It’s amazing to me that a coat of paint can make that much difference.
Ending and Beginning 