Grizz Beak to the Nth degree

[L.D. Cakes]

If I pack the stove with Charcoal I get 3 hours of high heat and another 2 hours of low heat.

That is very interesting. Wonder how long lump coal would last?

[OutandBack]

That is very interesting. Wonder how long lump coal would last?

Hi Cakes,
It would probably last a lot longer. I have no idea where to buy it out here.

I am always looking for the best BTU to lbs I can find. Hunting for wood when there's 2-4' of snow on the ground can
be a real challenge.

[oldgringo]

Full size woodstoves that are designed to burn coal as well as wood have a special shaker grate for the coal. No idea what the implications of that are, if any, for burning coal in a tiny tent stove.

[angrysparrow]

Hi Cakes,
It would probably last a lot longer. I have no idea where to buy it out here.

Go buy a bag of 'natural lump charcoal'. It will light readily and burn much much longer and cleaner than the crappy 'briquettes' do (they are full of filler).

[hppyfngy]

OutandBack, I don't know if you've tried it or not but you can make a damper for that flue.

These lightweight stoves have some issues. They are leaky, i.e. you can't really damp them down because of the way they're constructed. They just leak.

With a heavier steel or cast stove, you depend on the body of the stove to store a lot of the heat it produces and banking a fire for the night works well. The way these stoves burn you are building a hot fire, but the stove doesn't retain much of the heat, in fact you get a lot of the heat in your structure from the pipe.

There are screens in the pipe near the stove body that act as spark arrestors and you can replace one with a solid sheet of ti or stainless or whatever to help slow the burn some.

But as you note, you can't make a fire that will burn through the night because of the size and construction of the stove. The good news is you're in a small space and with good fuel, you can heat it up in a hurry. That's really what they're good for.

Or you can bring in a heavier stove. I hope you're on horseback at that point.

[OutandBack]

Full size woodstoves that are designed to burn coal as well as wood have a special shaker grate for the coal. No idea what the implications of that are, if any, for burning coal in a tiny tent stove.

This is all new territory for me. But I am up to testing anything that I can find readily available in my area.
I called Kifaru and asked about burning coal in their SS stoves.
They said they have never tried it but the 100% lifetime warranty would still stand if I wanted to try it.

Go buy a bag of 'natural lump charcoal'. It will light readily and burn much much longer and cleaner than the crappy 'briquettes' do (they are full of filler).

Would Lowes or Home Depot sell this?

OutandBack, I don't know if you've tried it or not but you can make a damper for that flue.

These lightweight stoves have some issues. They are leaky, i.e. you can't really damp them down because of the way they're constructed. They just leak.

With a heavier steel or cast stove, you depend on the body of the stove to store a lot of the heat it produces and banking a fire for the night works well. The way these stoves burn you are building a hot fire, but the stove doesn't retain much of the heat, in fact you get a lot of the heat in your structure from the pipe.

There are screens in the pipe near the stove body that act as spark arrestors and you can replace one with a solid sheet of ti or stainless or whatever to help slow the burn some.

But as you note, you can't make a fire that will burn through the night because of the size and construction of the stove. The good news is you're in a small space and with good fuel, you can heat it up in a hurry. That's really what they're good for.

Or you can bring in a heavier stove. I hope you're on horseback at that point.

Great info hppyfngy thank you.
When I lived in Alabama my parents had a Franklin Stove in our family room.
Using oak we would bank a fire by adding uncut logs, covering the tops wish ash and
closing the damper most of the way and shutting down the air intakes to barely open.
There was always hot coals in the morning.

I don't think that can be done safely with these leaky SS stoves.
I am also worried about CO collecting in the tarp.

Right now I am very happy with having an evening fire to cook dinner, read, dry my socks
and gloves for a few hours before bed time.
Having a morning fire to take the chill off and eat breakfast without my down coat on.
The plan is to always have enough wood, ___________ (charcoal?) stored in the vestibule
should a snowstorm come in (hoping hoping hoping) I will be able to stay in the tarp with a fire
burning all day.

I know we are not suppose to talk about religion on this forum but I will make this one statement and hope it doesn't offend anyone.
I have never felt closer to GOD than waking up after a snow storm to find white powder everywhere, no tracks, blue skies
with mtns as far as the eye can see. This one on one fellowship is the reason I winter snow camp when everyone else
is home safe and warm.

[angrysparrow]

Would Lowes or Home Depot sell this?

Absolutely. Even Walmart or Kmart often stock it.

[hppyfngy]

I think coal would be very tricky in one of these stoves. It's harder to light, burns hotter and longer, (thin metal + very hot coals = ???) and needs to draft well.

But I'd be more concerned about noxious fumes. I know your tarp isn't airtight, but I'd be really careful about trying any sort of coal.

These little stoves are very light, easy to pack in and are great at what they do. I am satisfied with that, but I'm not in as extreme temps as you are...

If you do try coal let us know how it goes!

[OutandBack]

I think coal would be very tricky in one of these stoves. It's harder to light, burns hotter and longer, (thin metal + very hot coals = ???) and needs to draft well.

But I'd be more concerned about noxious fumes. I know your tarp isn't airtight, but I'd be really careful about trying any sort of coal.

These little stoves are very light, easy to pack in and are great at what they do. I am satisfied with that, but I'm not in as extreme temps as you are...

If you do try coal let us know how it goes!

I think you are right. Coal just might be to complicated to deal with.
angrysparrow shared a website with me about lumped charcoal which looks like it would have a much better BTU to weight ratio.
I believe that will be my next test for this little stick burner.
Weatherman says snow starting tomorrow. I'm off to homedepot.

[L.D. Cakes]

Would you share that website on lumped charcoal please.