there are two dangers with having a fire close to your shelter, embers, and flare-ups. the biggest factor in these dangers are what you burn, and how you burn it. soft woods like pine and cedar never dry out completely, so they hiss and pop all night. you want to burn the driest hard wood you can find. once you get it going, collapse the fuel, if you keep it tight there will be very little flame, but a whole lot of heat.
point is its perfectly safe, as long as your careful.
One of my favorite stories, Dave.Originally Posted by oldgringo
.
...And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun... "TIME" by Pink Floyd
www.linvillegorge.net -Ken's site
www.heavens-above.com -(set your own "home" site)
There are dozens of DIY plans... everything from a large tomato can to cut and assemble stoves...
http://zenstoves.net/Wood.htm
Do a forum search on wood stoves, you'll find more than you wanted to know.
ME? I still carry my age-old whisper-lite gas stove and a small DIY wood burning (wood-gas) stove.
I agree on the fire: There's something instinctually comforting about the glow of a fire. Just keep it away from my nylon fabrics!
what about a small ultralight fire box?
There are companies that make "small" titanium wood stoves but the small is still 15-20 pounds what about something for us backpackers that could safely be put inside a winter tarp set up for a little warmth and cooking purposes?
http://www.woodlandedge.co.uk/firebox.html
i have seen that box online and it is getting close to what i want but they never answer any attempts to contact them not to mention its still 4 pounds but its stainless TI would be much lighter.
Titanium Goat Stoves.
"Small Stove:
Dimensions: 6"x 7"x 10" fire box, 11" tall when assembled, with 6.5'
stove pipe. Fire box takes down to 1"x 7"x 10" with the pipe rolling up to
2" diameter, 12" long. Comes with 6.5' pipe for use in the Vertex 6.5.
Weight: 2lbs, 14oz with stainless pipe. 2lbs, 8.5oz with titanium pipe"
I've been thinking about one of these. I just LOVE woodstoves, but the smallest lightest one I have is probably 20 pounds!
I've also been working on a fireproof thimble for my tarp. The commercial types (built for large canvas tents) are quite heavy. In fact, they're heavier than most tarps I'd consider carrying!
DIY to the rescue...All supplies for the fireproof panel are bought, now for the assembly & testing...
Last edited by Tedinski; 02-25-2010 at 09:31. Reason: add boldness and character to my message. :P
What do you have in mind?
DIY to the rescue...
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
0.5 ounce/yd^2 fiberglass e-cloth (high strength fiberglass), with an ultra-high-temp copper RTV coating. The coating will probably weigh 4 times the weight of the cloth (we'll see) ... but it'll be waterproof and good to 750F intermittent use.. 600F no prob. Instead of a center silicone ring, just a couple "rings" of the copper RTV. That should keep water from running down the tarp, and straight down the hole.
Not as strong as the commercially-available types, but far far lighter, and just as waterproof. Also, one yd^2 of 1/2 oz fiberglass costs less than 10 dollars, and the RTV costs about 4 bucks. Should be able to make 4 of the little buggers, or more, for less than $20.
If anybody else wants to jump to it & post results before I get the chance, feel free!!! My schedule is chaotic, so this experiment may take place in a week, or not for 3 months.I bought the supplies while reading about the Ti stoves, a couple months back.
I'm still trying to figure out why longer/cooler burn times can't be achieved in a small stove. My old camp woodstove used to run for most of the night IF you got the draft just right (too low & it'd go out!), but I had sealed it up pretty tight.
I've used ti-temp silicone on a barrel stove, and it held up okay 'till the day I got carried away with my pyro self, and let the fire get HUGE.0.5 ounce/yd^2 fiberglass e-cloth (high strength fiberglass), with an ultra-high-temp copper RTV coating. The coating will probably weigh 4 times the weight of the cloth (we'll see) ... but it'll be waterproof and good to 750F intermittent use.. 600F no prob. Instead of a center silicone ring, just a couple "rings" of the copper RTV. That should keep water from running down the tarp, and straight down the hole.
Not as strong as the commercially-available types, but far far lighter, and just as waterproof. Also, one yd^2 of 1/2 oz fiberglass costs less than 10 dollars, and the RTV costs about 4 bucks. Should be able to make 4 of the little buggers, or more, for less than $20.
If anybody else wants to jump to it & post results before I get the chance, feel free!!! My schedule is chaotic, so this experiment may take place in a week, or not for 3 months.
I'm still trying to figure out why longer/cooler burn times can't be achieved in a small stove. My old camp woodstove used to run for most of the night IF you got the draft just right (too low & it'd go out!), but I had sealed it up pretty tight.
I've also used it to form a gasket where a stovepipe exits a metal building, and it has performed quite well in that application. I think you're on the right track.
Got a link to the e-cloth?
Re: burn times. Yes, draft is important. So is wood selection. If it's dry as a popcorn fart, nothing will last. For overnight, especially in smaller fireboxes, one or two greenish logs will extend the burn considerably.
Also, when loading the stove for overnight, push the hot coals as far from the fresh air intake as possible, and then add the wood. This forces the fire to burn back against the draft, slowing things down.
Hope this helps.
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
GOOOD info Dave ...
WARNING: Will discuss Rhurbarb Strawberry Pie and Livermush at random.
"A democracy is two wolves and a small lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
Freedom under a constitutional republic is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." ... B.Franklin
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I bought it on eBay. hmmm...
not e-glass, but: http://cgi.ebay.com/Hangar-9-Fibergl...item5ad744e0b5
e-glass is about 10 to 20% stronger in tension than "standard" cloth. I just happened to find a good deal on a 1 yd^2 piece, from a private seller.
No reason to think the regular stuff won't work... and it's only $5 per square yard, instead of $8 or $9.
Oh! I think that's why I had such good results! Never thought about it, but when we'd stuff the stove for the night, we'd put in 1 log, the biggest that would fit through the door, and just PUSH. All the coals would be shoved in the back!Also, when loading the stove for overnight, push the hot coals as far from the fresh air intake as possible, and then add the wood. This forces the fire to burn back against the draft, slowing things down.
Hope this helps.Then we'd fill whatever space we could with little stuff, wait for it to "start" (just a bit of flame) and turn it down.
In the thread about the TiGoat stove, someone was saying they could only get it to burn for about 3 hours. Not great, IMO. My stove was probably a bit bigger, but not THAT much bigger... so i was trying to figure out the discrepancy.
I wonder how the TiGoat would do with your technique? **** I really really want one, now....
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