Sitka spruce

[Whistling Kettle]

2 hours ago, Oldfeller said:

show a picture of the stove.

what is the purpose of the stove in a tent?

I use the stove for heat,  cooking, drying clothes etc

I spend a lot of time at the plot,  sometimes over a week and in the coldest of weather

[Whistling Kettle]

6 hours ago, openspaceman said:

I would say you are burning wet wood, the water is lowering the combustion temperature and any flames are quenched before completely burning out, that grey haze is moisture.

 

Also I have seen a restricted cowl like that blocked by soot, resulting in carbon monoxide alarm sounding in the boiler room. You do use a carbon monoxide alarm don't you?

I do use a carbon monoxide alarm mate 👍  cheers

[openspaceman]

28 minutes ago, Whistling Kettle said:

I do use a carbon monoxide alarm mate 👍  cheers

Good.

 

A couple of things:

 

Burn the wood hot and fast so that there is always a flame. 

 

If the stove is unlined, i.e the fire directly contacts the metal of the outside of the stove, consider lining the inside and baffle with vermiculite boards to keep combustion temperature up. 

[AHPP]

48 minutes ago, Whistling Kettle said:

I use the stove for heat,  cooking, drying clothes etc

I spend a lot of time at the plot,  sometimes over a week and in the coldest of weather

 

I'd suggest some flavour in your food but otherwise you look to be having a belting good time.

[Whistling Kettle]

15 minutes ago, AHPP said:

 

I'd suggest some flavour in your food but otherwise you look to be having a belting good time.

Think I put 2 chicken stock pots in that, but forgot my salt and pepper 

[Steven P]

As above, use dry wood if you can. 

 

Most of the tent stoves I see are weekend warriors - 2 night and packed away again - which is handy to also knock the soot of the flue - a weeks use in the middle of winter could be a bit too much for the design. A real good hot fire should keep it clearer - though be aware of chimney fires - but the hotter the fire the cleaner the chimney will be.

 

Do you let the fire smoulder overnight or during the day while you are out and about? Might be an overnight fire is the problem, could try charcoal instead if you need something overnight.

[Whistling Kettle]

On 20/10/2025 at 22:25, Steven P said:

As above, use dry wood if you can. 

 

Most of the tent stoves I see are weekend warriors - 2 night and packed away again - which is handy to also knock the soot of the flue - a weeks use in the middle of winter could be a bit too much for the design. A real good hot fire should keep it clearer - though be aware of chimney fires - but the hotter the fire the cleaner the chimney will be.

 

Do you let the fire smoulder overnight or during the day while you are out and about? Might be an overnight fire is the problem, could try charcoal instead if you need something overnight.

It is just a cheap stove, but I wanted to try one because of the capacity, the last one was a heavier gauge with a separate oven, but could only take short logs

[Muddy42]

I guess as a camping stove there is always going to be the temptation to forage wild wood or driftwood, rather than carrying it yourself.  Fur trappers in 19th century Canada could travel around in the snow indefinitely as long as they had a tent stove to dry out their boots and kit at night.   You should be able to scrub out that flue pretty easily with one of those drill based chimney brushes. Id remove that cowl thing on top of the flue and try a straight pipe.

[Whistling Kettle]

41 minutes ago, Muddy42 said:

I guess as a camping stove there is always going to be the temptation to forage wild wood or driftwood, rather than carrying it yourself.  Fur trappers in 19th century Canada could travel around in the snow indefinitely as long as they had a tent stove to dry out their boots and kit at night.   You should be able to scrub out that flue pretty easily with one of those drill based chimney brushes. Id remove that cowl thing on top of the flue and try a straight pipe.

The spark arrester is gunked up, they are handy when there are nylon tarps in close proximity, but the main reason I was asking about burning the spruce was for if I do get a burner installed at home 

Anyway I'm looking forward to this lot being ready to burn 

Cheers

 

Edited 15 hours ago by Whistling Kettle

[Muddy42]

23 minutes ago, Whistling Kettle said:

The spark arrester is gunked up, they are handy when there are nylon tarps in close proximity, but the main reason I was asking about burning the spruce was for if I do get a burner installed at home 

Anyway I'm looking forward to this lot being ready to burn 

Cheers

 

Sitka is great firewood.  I've occasionally had a half lorry load from nearby forestry when they don't want to transport it across the country.  Then its been all ive burned for months.  You should be able to burn that wood in the winter of 2026, if its brought under cover with good airflow, during a dry spell next summer.