Small tent stove experience

[Boomer686]

I love wood heat, but more and more I'm thinking that an inexpensive vevor diesel heaters and a 12 volt battery might be a nice alternative option, save space and effort and you could run it all night if you wanted to.

Can't beat wood heat. If you run into real bad weather and have to stay put for a while you may very well run out of fuel / battery power. I'd never rely on something like that for my primary heat source. makes for a cold stay when you run out of fuel or run into electrical /mechanical issues at -20, -30 & -40C!

Likelihood of running out of solid fuel to burn is slim unless you're above the arctic circle.

 

[Can-down]

Can't beat wood heat. If you run into real bad weather and have to stay put for a while you may very well run out of fuel / battery power. I'd never rely on something like that for my primary heat source. makes for a cold stay when you run out of fuel or run into electrical /mechanical issues at -20, -30 & -40C!

Likelihood of running out of solid fuel to burn is slim unless you're above the arctic circle.

I love heating with wood, grew up stacking 10 chords around the house to feed a boiler. I agree that it's a great way to go and a no brainer if your deep in the woods for extended time.

Sometimes a buddy heater or one of the diesel units are a nice alternative and by the looks of the small diesel units, it would take up less space in a small tent and be able to vent out the side and sit right up against the side wall without the heat issues of a wood stove.

Right tool for the right job sort of thing, nice to have options.

Not going to be cooking on it like a wood stove or buddy heater though....

 

[MD]

This is my Cabela's Camp Chef stove. Last week was my first outing with it for five nights. It heated a 9x12 wall tent very well in minus-15 temperature. It pretty much burned up a whole load of wood in about 2 1/2 hours. I figure the next time I go out I will use bigger pieces of wood and even rounds of wood to try to make the burn last longer.

 

[PinnedTo5ive]

I stack wood under my cot and configure the stove so I don’t have to get out of my sleeping bag to stoke the fire. The key to these small stoves is burn them for a few hours before bed so you get good coals after that jam it full before passing out. This method I have coals in the morning with hard woods of course. Each stove has a different damper/draft that needs to be figured out for most efficient operation. I’ve stayed in -25c a few times.

 

[Trimmer 905]

always find a buddy with a not so good sleeping bag will help a lot for having someone feeding the woodstove ...

ROFL!! ^^^^^^^ What he said.

 

[45ACPKING]

I can comment on MD's Camp Chef stove as I just spent several days with him hunting.
I slept in my vehicle and kinda froze my ass off LOL but hanging out in MD's wall tent with that wood stove was a nice respite from the chilly weather while we had our meals and down time.
The way the stove pipes , legs and racks fit all contained inside the stove for transport was a cool feature.
My plan is to use a stainless beer keg I've had laying around and buy a wood stove builders kit that includes the door and other parts to DIY a wood stove.
If I wasn't already doing that I'd probably look for a camp chef stove. I have the camp chef stainless outdoor oven and dual burner unit and thier stuff is always top shelf.

 

[bluegrizz77]

I use an Army multi fuel stove and set a drip diesel or or jet fuel to keep me warm all night. The arctic army tent does help as well.

 

[Longwalker]

Some good advice above, but few answered your questions about a system "small, light, and easy to carry" - any camp system with a wood stove is on the edge of practicality for backpacking. I have a Kifaru tent and stove. It's wonderful to be able to warm up twice a day, and to dry a few small items. The system is practical for transport by ATV or canoe, but getting too large for most backpacking trips. Their collapsable stove is small, & kinda finicky, but very useful. But never rely on a stove to keep you warm at night. It is imperative to have sleeping bag and pad that can keep you comfortable when the stove is out. My biggest challenge with the tent/stove system was when camping above treeline, on tundra. For reliable heat when good fire wood is scarce or unobtainable, like above treeline, I have found the wax/sawdust "fire logs" cut into pucks are a good fuel. They last a long time and stay lit. Of course that's not practical if you're using "human power" for travel, but is a nice backup plan if you have motorized transport.