04 October 2013

Hot Tent on the Cheap

Not cheap because I have to, but because I want to see what I can do with the cheapest tent stove I could find.

Initially I had decided to not hot tent for the Adventure in December this year, at first I was just planing on a tarp/super shelter combo set up with camp fires. After some discussion I decided to go ahead with the hot tent which means luxury in the backwoods provided you can handle the weight in and out. Since the Adventure in December is focused on the wolf I didn't want tired sore back and uncomfortable accommodations to detract from the focus of the foray. So hot tent it is!

$39.00 for the stove, that price included FedEx Shipping to the lodge here. It arrived today shortly before I got back from Denver. Having some daylight left I threw it together and got a fire going in it. I knew from the reviews I'd found online, particularly youtube, that the stove wouldn't be perfect. For $39 I don't expect perfection. I figured I'd be making some modifications, including burning off the factory paint and redoing it with a better quality. Tinkering with the door latch and a few other odds and ends.

At that price the worst case scenario would have been me using the core to make my own, reality is I'm not going to have to do much at all to have this stove fully functional.

I was actually surprised when I assembled it, heavy duty materials and it went together just fine with no fitting issues. Door has the slop but it was cut correctly, all I'll need to do here is modify the handle or just wedge it as you'll see in images below, that worked just fine.








So I know I'll have some minor things to do but not a lot, within ten minutes of getting it out of the box I had a decent fire going. Maybe I got lucky on the draw, I don't know, but this one isn't bad at all and doesn't have the issues that most folks were complaining about, and rightly so in their cases.

Measures: 18" long × 10 1/4" wide × 11" tall
Stands 26 1/2" with extension legs
Weight 30 lbs

Everything breaks down and can be stored inside the stove, the top sides of the rack fold up into a carry handle for transport.

Since I'm using the sled or the mule to get this into a base camp with the canvas tent, 7 days of supplies etc, I'm not concerned about the weight. Thirty pounds is NOT backpacking weight for sure. It's plenty big enough to heat my wall tent and cook on. 

Hope to get a few more updates done this weekend along with another scout of the area.

7 comments:

  1. Nice one. The design looks familair. ;)
    I really like the idea of the folding handleracks!
    You might encounter a few problems. One is that the stove has 4 legs, making it hard to get it level out there. Two is that i saw the pipe-ends are assembled with the colar going over the lower pipe. That might cause creosote to run down the outside of the lower pipe.
    What is the purpose of the 2 pipes attached to the sides?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The two pipes on the sides become support for the racks, above giving you a flat surface to cook but you can also put things like foil wrapped potatoes in them and they'll bake. I'm figuring you could also wrap vegetables in foil and cook them the same way.

      You're correct on the pipes. Not much I can do though. I am planning on a flat piece of sheet metal that will go on the tent floor that the stove will sit on, and one of those lightweight aluminum turkey baster type pans that will catch ash and coals and whatnot.

      Delete
    2. you can also use these pipes for picking up and carrying the hot stove....run poles or sticks thru them

      Delete
  2. Yep, looks like it'll work. Great price, too. :)

    weekendwoodsman

    ReplyDelete
  3. The tent will be packed full of items right outside our Houston store. http://myfamilytent.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. essentially this brazilian curly human hair is large minimum-cost and doubtless is not remy.

    ReplyDelete