Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Tent stoves

Thanks for all the ideas, comments and info on the stoves. I'm going to build one myself. I just picked up the main part of it yesterday. I had my steel supplier bend this up for me from 12 gauge steel. It measures 18"x18"x26" long. I'll make the ends and top. I'll likely start a new thread on building the stove after I get a little further along. Oh and the nesting stove pipe came in too. 5" at the stove. I'm looking forward to building this.

put your air intake at the top of the door, with an internal channel to the bottom (ala Sotz). Pre-heats combustion air and never a spark out the front...... Don't forget to reinforce the top to minimize warpage

Okay, just to confuse this matter further- do you guys prefer a log tray/grate in the bottom of your stove or not?

I've talked to stove suppliers, sellers, etc... and they are mixed on this. Some say it makes a difference in how your stove burns and others say it is a waste of time? What say the sage members of this site?

grates only when I burn charcoal....

Good idea. Not only the top will be reinforced but I plan to the sides and bottom too. The top is thicker too, 10 gauge but it'll still get some bracing.

Jim1611: We have used this stove in our wall tent for decades now - be sure and get the water heater if you are packing in!
That water heater is a Hunt extender and a life saver.

LINK: https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...msclkid=d0027952f52b1c8f5b3d18a652a27490

Hope this link works it appears long?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Sheister, you will probably get varying answers because there are a lot of different stoves and designs out there. There will be plenty of personal opinions based on how individuals use their stoves. You will probably have to experiment with what you get to figure out what works for you and the stove's idiosyncrasies.

I only use whatever local firewood I can get where I am camped, which has been a variety of places. My comments come from having owned a couple different stoves for years, and used others. All of them were collapsing or at least folding portable sheetmetal types that are sold to go with wall tents. But with that said, I am a genetic fire-poker, and I like a fire the way I like it.

The one I have kept all these years is a stove I got from Beckel Canvas Products back in the early 80s. They have a newer model now that is similar but way fancier. But the one I have does best with a small fireplace-type grate in it. As did another that I am not sure the maker on that; I sold it with my other tent sometime back. But they will burn without a grate as well. I just find that with mine, it helps to get the logs a couple inches off the floor so I can accumulate coals on the floor for steady heat and have the logs up a little so air circulates around the logs better. But I probably manage a fire differently than many. I do not run my stove overnight. It burns out after bedtime, and is relit in the morning.

The grate I use looks like this cheap little one shown in the link below. What I have is modified from its original size by cutting the legs to shorten them to about 2.5 to 3 inches, and it was cut down to fit the firebox. But the style is like shown.

stove grate example

I and my campmates have simple cylinder stoves in our tents and we both use grates in ours. I've always thought they burned better with a place for air to flow around the wood and it also helps with damping the fire IMO.... I only mention it because I asked this question of our tent suppliers, a few stove manufacturers' reps, and many guys I run into who also run stoves in their elk tents and the answers are all over the map. Some of them make no sense at all, while others seem to have the experience to explain their reasoning. I've been using this cylinder stove with a grate for a very long time and don't plan to change my habits any time soon....

Bob

Hey Jim1611, what became of the stove build project? Any photos of the end product?

I had the Simms Sportsmsn Stove, and used it from 12x15 to a 16x20 tent for 20+ years. I sold it and the guy is still using it. Great for pack ins as it fit in a canvas pannier. After getting a bed of ashes built up, it would last most the night, or at least have some red coals in it by morning that would catch fire easily. Unless someone was staying in camp, we never lit it up in the morning. We didn't want to leave it burning while we went hunting, While cooking breakfast, two lanterns and the 3 burner coleman got it warm enough

A friend built a real nice pair that double as panniers. Been awhile since I’ve seen them but think he used stainless steel. They work really well.

If you like soot all over the chit you pack in them.....

I always just put about an inch of dirt in mine.

Here is an alternative I had when there were fire bans in place. I set it inside my wood burner, so I had the stove pipe for a vent It burns propane.BTW,it is for sale ,$35 + shipping as I don't use it anymore.

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I used this Blue Flame ventless propane heater,30,000 BTU in my stock trailer and big tent when I got tired of cutting wood. A little more humidity ,but it was sure nice to reach out and turn it on in the morning. Again,there were fire bans in place. A common thing in Colorado now days.They go on sale at Northern Tool frequently .

I’ve never used a stove in a tent but have been burning coal my whole life. If you’re burning anthracite it will produce carbon monoxide(what we call coal gas). When you start your fire, get a good hot burn for a while before you damper. And have a detector. I had a stove malfunction 35 yrs ago that near killed my young family.

I always used a wood stove, (Simms Sportsman) fold up, in our wall tent. We didn't camp real close to where we hunted, but it was within hiking distance.We cooked, ate, washed, slept in those tents. In one area, I killed 8 bulls in eight years and quite a few cows later. Other areas, we had similar experiences ,but not quite as good. I cannot remember missing an elk season for at least 40 years, may be more. My success rate was better than 95% .The last three years, it went down considerably as all I can do is ride to where I hunt and sit due to disabilities.

The last several years before that, when I quit packing camps in and camped at the trailhead in my stock trailer, I initially had a wood stove in it and then switched to a Blue flame 30K BTU propane heater. Cooked, ate, slept, in the trailer too.Then I moved up to a little 6&1/2ft pop up slide in camper on my pickup. Ditto same thing. Elk don't care if you stink just a little bit,or a whole bunch.They don't like it and leave. Pay attention to the wind and use it to your favor. ( your hunting partners will appreciate you keeping clean though).

Here is a photo of where those 8n bulls were taken. All in the surrounding hills of the meadow. We camped in the pines just a little past that hill on the right. An outfitter later and screwed up the whole area..