Wood stove in cotton tent?

MD

MD

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A friend of mine sold me (well, darn near gave me, the price was so cheap) a vintage 9x12 wall tent made of Egyptian cotton I believe it is, not canvas.

It is still in good shape, no rot and quite light and small enough to easily pack and not completely fill my Tacoma's canopy like a big old canvas tent would.

He never had a stove jack or stove in it, just toughed it out when he guided for grizzly bears in Rivers Inlet and moose in the Chilcotin.

I'm not so tough though and was wondering if it could safely take a small wood stove with a proper commercial stove jack through the side or top.
 
MD said:
A friend of mine sold me (well, darn near gave me, the price was so cheap) a vintage 9x12 wall tent made of Egyptian cotton I believe it is, not canvas.

It is still in good shape, no rot and quite light and small enough to easily pack and not completely fill my Tacoma's canopy like a big old canvas tent would.

He never had a stove jack or stove in it, just toughed it out when he guided for grizzly bears in Rivers Inlet and moose in the Chilcotin.

I'm not so tough though and was wondering if it could safely take a small wood stove with a proper commercial stove jack through the side or top.
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I used an alcohol two burner in mine. Worked OK to keep the chill out. Never store if the tent is the least bit damp. It will spontaneous combust and burn your house down!
 
I think a fire retardant is a requirement for a wall tent intended for human occupancy. I bought a tent, some years back, from Campers Village, that was recalled because of a problem with the treatment. Fire in a tent is no fun.

Grizz
 
I would look into a spray on fire retardant / water repellent treatment. The tent probably needs some maintenance by now anyway. With new fabric treatment and a good fireproof stove jack it should be good to go. "Canvas" is just coarse weave cotton. It just needs to be treated correctly. I won't do late season tent camping any more without a wood stove. Makes life much more fun in the bush when you're warm and dry at least twice a day.
 
Scare-dy cats! Dunk it is molten parafin wax cut with turps. That's how the old timers did it. And a few of them survived to tell the tale.
 
TANK1867 said:
Just get a Big Buddy heater and two 20lb propane tanks, should last you a week. Easier, cleaner and safer.
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I've been on tent trips before with a wood stove and I like the option to cook on, plus the dry heat is really nice. But I know you've got to stoke them all night. Then again, at my age I'm up every two hours anyway.
 
geologist said:
Which ever path you take, be like the old timer bush guys and keep a knife handy near your bunk. A knife allows you to exit the tent anywhere in case of fire.
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I read this information on Gunnutz before, and my hunting partner actually was in a tent that caught fire at 40 below. It happens quick. I now have a knife at the ready close to my head. It could also be the last line of defence for something coming in
 
There are a handful of us guys who haul wood stoves and canvas tents into the bush on toboggans to camp. It's called winter trekking. That egyptian cotton tent you have is considered to be one of the unicorns of winter trekking. Very light with a tight weave that repels wind. Almost impossible to find anymore. The cadillac of winter trekking tents are the Snowtrekkers, they use 7 ounce canvas, and it is not as like as the egyptian. I have an egyptian tent, it is very light. You can actually get stove jacks on amazon, and it's not a big deal to sew one into your tent.

I always put a cheap poly tarp over my tents, in case it rains, helps snow to slide off easier too, plus if you have any small pin hole sparks, the tarp will soak it up first. If you position your pipe correctly, burn dry wood and do not put paper in your stove, the chances of anything landing on your tent are very slim.

Winter camping is just about one of the funnest things to do, you should give it a whirl. Start in your back yard till you get the kinks out.
 
TANK1867 said:
You really worried about CO in a tent? Sounds like your repeating something you read once and took as gospel.
They are safe and I too had my doubts so I bought a CO detector and it never registered anything bad.
Been using propane heaters for years, much safer then eood stoves. Haters usually cant afford the heaters or the propane.
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No problem using propane heaters, just don't like sleeping with it as I don't trust an offshore electronic part to save my life. I have spent my career dealing with electronic circuits and parts failures.
 
memaquay said:
....

You can actually get stove jacks on amazon, and it's not a big deal to sew one into your tent.

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The army surplus modular tents all have a fireproof "asbestos" cloth chimney ring with an external flap. When the fabric of the tent dies or is too badly ripped, that ring is the last thing to survive.
 
TANK1867 said:
You really worried about CO in a tent? Sounds like your repeating something you read once and took as gospel.
They are safe and I too had my doubts so I bought a CO detector and it never registered anything bad.
Been using propane heaters for years, much safer then eood stoves. Haters usually cant afford the heaters or the propane.
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Two fellas I know were found dead in an ice fishing tent a few years back thanks to a faulty heater... it can and does happen.
 
I spent LOTS of time in wall tents with stoves. I wouldn’t say I always have a stove, but really, a wall tent without a stove doesn’t seem to have much of a point to me. I never paid too much attention to whether they were just regular canvas or treated cotton or what have you. As long as the person has a proper fireproof ring where the stove pipe goes through the tent, and maintains reasonable distance between the stove and other things inside, they work very very well and fires are not nearly the issue that some people seem to think they are. And also if a guy buys a large stove, it is possible to put wood 5 to 6 inch diameter in there, and keep the stove running several hours at night. I have seen guys using the propane heating method, but I prefer wood. It just seems much safer to me, and also hauling around propane tanks when wood is just laying about everywhere and is free, doesn’t suit me very much.
 
Biggest danger with wood stoves and tents is the operator. Little experience burning wood can lead to disaster. Over fueling and creosote build up from wet wood are two major causes. Know the stove and use proper dry wood if possible and they are very safe. Quality stove, stove pipe and stove jack is a good place to start.

Darryl
 
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