Wood stove tent heater

[Moondog55]

I have found a suitable thin steel ( .4mm) rectangular can for the body of the firebox. I have suitable folded steel for the secondary heat shield and I have worked out all the nuts and bolts of the assembly but I am struggling with the attachment of the flue to the thin steel of the box.

Normally thin steel like this would burn out very quickly but I discovered that a 4 liter olive oil tin fits inside to make a sacrificial layer that can be replaced at need.

As titanium foil is out of stock I will use 70mm steel down pipe as planned originally

If anybody has done something similar I'd appreciate some guidance on this one.
Pictures follow as soon as I get a new button battery for the camera

Last edited by Moondog55 on Thu 21 Mar, 2013 9:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Moondog55]

OK Here are some pictures of the project so far.
Apart from the cream coloured tin which cost me a dollar at a garage sale so far all the bits are salvage and cost for materials is minimal. Small bolts and washers cost $10-. What is the best part of this is that the steel is from old amplifier cases that was going to scrap.

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[Moondog55]

More pictures b

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Shielding while minimal will help heat circulate I hope; as well as being partial protection for the tent fabric, double bottom will add to the service life of the stove. The thing I'm actually a little proud of is the sacrificial olive oil tin that will take most of the wear and degradation, I have some very thin stainless steel sheet that will be used as a small baffle and to add a small spot on the top to let me warm some water or melt snow. More pictures will follow when I take the next step.

[Son of a Beach]

I would think you'd get more warmth (and fewer scratches) by letting the cat sit on your lap rather than trying to burn it in the heater.

[Moondog55]

I think my wifes cat just likes playing with stuff, she seems to get into a lot of the photos, it was simply too much trouble to catch her and lock her away LOL.

[Moondog55]

Just drank some pineapple juice to give me a flue entry, still trying to decide if I actually need a damper. I see that titanium foil is back in stock at TiGoat too.
I think I'm going to re-drill the base and use slightly bigger bolts than 1/4 inch to make fitting legs easier

[mArt]

So how big is your tent Moondog ?

[Moondog55]

The Rays Tent City tipi.
HUGE
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=11755

Still to do any modifications to the tipi, I thought I'd wait and see how the little stove works first.

I may need to use some old skis and make a new sled tho, the pulk is a little short for the big load, I am on the lookout for for a pair of really old straight Alpine skis around 220cm or longer

[neilmny]

You might be able to get an old retired ex rental pair pretty cheap if you ask around the rental shops.
They are probably in update more for the comming season at the moment.

[Onestepmore]

Lol do they still make long skis? I used to use my mum's 195's and I am only 165 cm tall
It's been over 20 years since I skiid downhill, but I think my last pair were 155cm.
220 is pretty long!

Did you see this stove Moondog?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/140886375451 ... 1436.l2649
Only $45 US, but the postage is a killer

And these 4 dog stoves
http://fourdog.com/view-all-tent-stoves
(I love how he get's the name. I have a confession - if hubby is away on a conference I have the dog and 2 cats in bed with me. Not the pug becuse he snores)

[Moondog55]

I am a constant visitor to the local recycle centre looking for a pair of old skis around that length.
Yes there are still a few very long skis being made. Arctic sled hauling skis and such.
I'm willing to pay as much as $5- for a pair
My first "Beginners" downhill skis were 195 and I remember my old Atomic CC skis at 210 and 215; things have changed haven't they.

[Moondog55]

Got an old pair of K-2 skis but only 200cm ( they do have practically new bindings tho ) for $5- yesterday so I may just screw on a top of 7mm builders ply and call it quits with a rope pull, only has to last one trip.

[Strider]

Wood heater in a tent? Pfffft.

[Moondog55]

Been a while on this one but today i gave this little stove it's first burn.
Stinks as all the paint burns off and I don't think I can be bothered buying stove paint so after this winter it can slowly rust away and get dug into the vegetable patch when totally rusted

Attachments

75mm downpipe as flue

No door as yet

[Stridertim+123]

Moodog55, I like your effort with you tent stove. There does not seem to be much appeal for this in Australia. Have you made a door for it? Does it smoke a lot? I hope the cat survived the test burn. I also am a DIY tent stover and am considered to be mad to put a stove in a 3 m diameter silnylon tent, but it makes those ski trips involving backpacking/camping so much more inviting if you can make your tent warm. The stove in the Volvo shot makes me seem sane. Do you plan to cook on the stove? I have put quite a lot of effort into my many wood burning tent stoves to improve this aspect of my stoves. My latest design is is made from stainless steel and titanium and weighs less than 500g and it all fits inside the one little box for back packing. It is designed to sit up off the ground or snow surface on a short bush pole that is driven into the snow (or ground). It is 180mm long, 120mm wide and 70mm high stainless steel box that acts as a heat exchanger, cook top, spark arrestor and ask ash tray and it provides you with a 120 by 120mm square cook top for boiling, snow melting,food heating and wood drying rack for sticks hanging underneath and beyond the perimeter of the box to act as a guard against accidental contact with the hot surface. It has a 40mm diameter roll up titanium flue pipe and a 50mm diameter SS fuel tube that stands above and at one end of the above mentioned box. Sticks of wood are fed into the fuel tube and they burn off at the bottom in a clear fuzed quartz glass tube that spreads a lovely light around the tent. The sticks feed in by gravity but the glass allows you to manage the fuel flow if the sticks get hung up. It can burn as little as 400g of wood per hour and it gets mighty hot. I have a few shots of the stove that may interest you, but I could not upload them, so maybe there is some way that I can send you a personal email instead.

Keep up the good work with your stove.

[Moondog55]

No I haven't got around to making a door yet as I have decided ( being a fixed camp this year ) to use the little cast iron sheepherder stove instead.
I have to say tho that the little stove does burn hot. This was my first experiment in tent heater stoves and I learnt a lot doing it. I have since sourved some stainless steel cylinders which will make better heaters.
Have another go at uploading the pictures, I have not ever had any problems if the pixel rate wasn't too high.
You sound like you have made a "Rocket" type stove, I was thinking of doing that "one-day"