Got a Tent on order (the AO10) but have been going back and forth on the stove. Been told by a few that the stoves aren't worth the $$ and to just have someone build a nice smaller, airtight stove.

Anyone have opinions on their stoves?

Also, does anyone know anyone who would/could fabricate up a stove like this (small, say like a 15 gallon fuel barrel, or 20# propane size)? I'm sure I can get someone in Nome to do it, but like anything up here it'd cost me a pretty penny.

Thinking it doesn't need to be a big stove, airtight, 3" diameter pipe (can buy the pipe from AK tent and tarp).

You can heat it with a 2-burner Coleman. No need to go too fancy. Remember to vent though...

I have the buddy heater as an option, again: venting is key. Have the coleman too as a cooking stove, so it might be an option. I do hear that they heat up real well...

I figured this is the place to ask for someone who knows someone (fabricator). Hate to have such a fancy stove jack...and not use it. Then again, with the OVER ABUNDANCE of trees we have out here....

Nothing like a small wood stove in a tent. The buddy is ok and probably safer than the Coleman cooking stove from what I read.

Alaskan have you checked out the sheephearder's stove:

http://www.cabelas.com/p-0005876.shtml

I use the smallest one from 4dogstove.com. A little big for an AO but I just open the door when cooking or if needed to regulate heat. Awesome stove for the $ IMO. Also put tubes in my vents so they don't collapse, but stay open. Looked at A T & T stoves last week while in Anch. Not impressed.

Alaskan, I don't have trees either but do have a river full of coal. You guys got coal over that way, it burns nice and hot.

stove???

Okie said he was going to get 3 sleeping bags that all zipped together.....made one big , snuggly one..

I try to always volunteer to make the coffee in the morning...nothing like a warm tent from the stove to wake up to, to take the chill out of everything.......

that nome trip was awesome, chip and mark freezing.... our clothes drying, steam coming off the tent, nice and warm....
what dummies...

Do I need to Goldstreak or Air Cargo us some wood???

Presto logs!

Wow, now we need to invite David Copperfield too...Does he hunt?

On the prairies where there were no trees they used to burn buffalo dung. Maybe Alaskan could muster up some musk ox dung for the tent stove.

Moose pellets for a pellet stove.

Soooooooo.....no one knows a fabricator...or just someone who likes to weld and make stuff?

When I get to a real computer I'll take a good look at the other stoves mentioned.

I only stayed in the artic oven tents a couple of times..once in the fall time,the door leaked bad...and no room,other than to sleep,would of MUCH.. rather have been in my 10x12...we did camp in the winter,and was fast to set up,if I remember right we heated it with a colman lantern,and was comfortable,other than that,I guess a yukon fold up stove would be about the right size .. you have to split the wood thin,..but then you dont have much anyway

We stay in one for at least 3 months of weekends every winter. The AO is a GREAT two man tent with the stove. AKbeav bought the AO stove and it's fine. We use duraflame logs to heat it. They get chopped into 1/3rd's and will heat the tent to 70 degrees in a few minutes.

We've never had trouble with a leaky door. You just have to make sure the vents are open.

YJ, kusko- it sounds like you guys stayed in the smaller version. This is the AO10 (10'x10', 7' at peak). It isn't going to be as cramped, or shouldn't. For the exact reasons you guys mentioned is why most upgrade to this bigger size. However, with tha tbigger size...means more to heat...

I have an AO10 and love it, but would really love the Arctika as I'd prefer a bit more room for the extended stays. In reality its a two man tent when using cots, which includes gear. The AO stove is more than enough stove for the AO10 though I find cutting the little pieces of wood a bit tedious.

Hope it can fit three....cause that's how many are gonna stay in it. Am getting the new vestibule set up though, hoping to get some of the gear out in there...

I have a cyclinder stove in my A10, love the hot water attachment for melting drinking water, if I could do it again I'd have the stove pipe hole in one of the back corners instead of the middle rear wall for more sleeping room for the 3rd guy, going to try duroflame logs next, pain in the but jamming small wood in, If propane was cheaper here I'd for sure go with the buddy heat to save room and controll the heat better

Was just checking out the Cabelas' stoves. They are roughly the same price but much heavier. While that might not be that bad of a deal, they are also a different pipe diamter. I'd have to neck down the pipe to make the sheephearder's stove work. On the other hand, the weight might make them "heavier duty" and take a beating better (not that I plan on beating up my stove...but just incase).

Anyone try these and have feedback?

Propane wont flow in cold weather,froze my but on a caribou hunt once finding that out
remember you hear of someone every year dieing from carbon monixide poinsoning every year from heating tents with a fuel stove..when we camp in no trees..we used a two burner primus stove,and left the ridge pole holes open to vent (on a 10x12)
my perfect camp is a 10x12,(carry a ridgpole),with one of those light oval top loading,fish (camp stoves) they used to sell all over,but hardly see them now..the small version would heat the tent and dry the moisture,when it got damp..I always tarp the roof and use a bigger one so you have over hang,have a platic tarp,on the floor coverd by a canvas tarp,and then caribou skin for sleeping pad..that ridgpole is handy for drying clothes/skinning...and if you ever need to work on your machien,just set up the tent over it,and work in comfort.

An AO 10 is what we stay in.

A third person can fit, but they'll be on the floor.

Kuskos- I'll let Hup and Okie fight over the floor...

How tough is the AO stove? worth it? I'm thinking that's all I'll need.

Hmmm.....

Hup gets the floor.

Fights over.

Welcome to the perks of being an owner...

I'll tell you one thing not to do is to use the spark arrestor at the top of the pipe. When it is cold, it will block up there. My buddies did this winter burning wood and mine did while burning duraflame logs. Personally I would not use duraflame logs as the smell they produce if the smoke comes inside is awful!

The AO stove is okay. Do NOT expect a long burn and expect to wake up every hour to put wood in especially when it is cold.

x2 on the spark arrestor. Piece of junk, clogs up and you end up breathing smoke in the tent sometime in the middle of the night. They recommend sand but I use two stove bricks to line the bottom of mine. The two bricks and the AO stove fit nicely in a large flat rate postal box (edgeds taped with duct tape) for packing into an action packer or whatever.

Any other suggestions for flooring (extra liner) or floor saver or??

Thinking, if worst case scenario the AO stove will work for what I need. Yeah, I'm gonna have to figure out a way for longer than a 1 hour burn...but it is what it is...

Right, the undercover cop should get comfort....

I would be some good $$, that the sleeping pad I have is way more comfortable than yours is going to be.......

Alaskan,
we should get that water warmer, to keep okies douche warm, for when his girl parts hurt, and he wants to stay in the tent all day...

I bought a canvas for the floor. It was much cheaper than the floor saver at tent and tarp and fit right inside the tent. Just another place to save a few bucks. Buy the stove and then try to find someone that can make you an airtight one later on.

I use a piece of canvas for a floor cloth right now and also have the foot print. I would recommend the foot print, despite the cost, as I really believe it has increased the life of my tent's floor. I'm also considering replacing my canvas floor cloth with one of the heavy duty 10x12 canvas tarps they have at AIH. I don't like the one I have now because I find it doesn't stay flat and tends to get bunched up especially on uneven ground or snow. The canvas tarp is like 80 bucks I think, which is half the price of the floor AK T&T sells them for and are virtually the same thing. I'm kicking myself know because I didn't buy one when they were on sale for around $40.

NW - Think that might be the way I'll go. This should work well enough, and Kusko seemed to not have any issues on it's use over the winter.

Kusko - you have teh AO stove, or did you get the little bit bigger one? thinking Bigger might be the way to go for ease of loading ect...

3Fingers- what kind of tubes for the vents? Anything fancy or just something tha twill work? Thinking a drier vent spring tubing woudl work, can coil and then let out to expand in the vents. Light weight, and easily replacable if needed.

Will be going with a canvas floor liner.

Thanks for all the input so far!!

Vent tubes I just use 3 tin cans w/both ends cut out and duct taped together. Built a crude wood platform to put the tent on as I use it as a line camp in the same place every year. One tip I was given is when you take it down if its cold out, leave a fire in the stove and take it outside and if the poles don't come apart due to frost just warm them on the stove a few moments. Also found out that squirrels like to chew on the polypro fabric sometimes and A T & T gave me some scraps for patch material.

i had holliday parks in fairbanks build me a small barrel stove made of 1/8in stainless with thread on legs for my wall tent, havent tried it in real cold weather yet just during moose season.

Scotty, how much? How heavy? How big? Work well?

Google titanium goat. Check out their products, including stoves.

What's the name of that teepee tent Family Trapper uses? They also have small stoves.
mt

Fam's tent is a Kifaru. Google that too.
mt

i think it was around $280 its not light i just haul it in a wheeler trailor probly around 10lbs also had them make a telescopic stack. i made the door almost as wide as the stove so you can get some bigger wood in it. things i wish i would have done is a flat top and 2 small vents, i made one big rectangle and if you dont get the damper right it will puff smoke out at you. it heats my 10x14 wall tent good during moose season but like i said i have never tried it in real cold.

The ak tent and tarp stoves as well as the titaniums are not air tight. After staying in the tent at -40, I want a stove that is airtight and that will hold a burn for more than an hour.

The Four Dog stoves say they are air tight. I'm wanting to make sure I have a GOOD stove that will fit all applications (or close to). I realize this is a far stretch, but since it won't be "packed" anywhere (4 wheeler or snogo), I figure it shouldn't be too hard. However...it seems that most of the available stoves are made for "packing" purposes. I also (which limits me to an extent) don't want a huge stove. Just something that is built well.

The search continues....

Four dog stoves are airtight. Problem with them is they come with a 5" ring and necked down to 3" they may not draw well enough. I have a 4" roof jack on my AO and it works well. I really like the baffle in those stoves as it makes a much larger hot spot on the surface. Have spent many nights in that tent at temps northway describes. Also the stoves are flat bottom and fit well in a sled. Well built IMO.

I was looking at the 4 dogs as they do claim them to be airtight, but with a weight of 40lbs for their smallest model (w/o piping) it will be pushing the weight. it may be doable, but that is definately a hunk (however...40lbs might not be that far out). As for the tent, I'm sure with some "heads up" I can modify the tent opening.

3 fingers- when you ordered it, how'd they ship it? Thinking that might be the biggest hinderance.

Well, I went with the Two Dog Stove from www.fourdog.com

http://www.fourdog.com/index_files/steelstoves.htm

I like the way they are built (air tight, and handmade). Talked with the owner, and it's a step up in quality and size from the AO stove (and weight), however the cost wasn't that bad and shipping was reasonable as well.

Thanks for all the help, I'll give feedback on how it works if anyone is interested.

I thought they (4 Dog) made a light weight one out of titanium or something like that?

Oh, they make a lightweight one out of titanium...however, the smallest runs $600. I'll go with steel, as there is no curtiousy reach around offered by them if you buy a Ti one.

Nice Matt!!!


Oh and I love your quote. Someone born and raised in WI can appreciate that!

Alaskan, Keep us posted with how the 10x10 AO and the Two Dog stove combi works. I have an 8x8 AO combined with a TI Goat stove. Nice set-up, but a bit to small. The TI stove burns hot, but is not airtight. It needs lots of babysitting in really cold temps. I'm either looking at the 10X10 AO, or they also make a 12x12, as well. With the beefed up poles option, either should work just fine in winter. The "Vestibule" on both models looks like a nice addition.

I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Every comment so far I've gotten from "people in the know" has been that the stove will probably be too much for the tent, however I think that is because the "packer" (the step up from the AO stove) is what they compare it to. Being non-airtight that Packer would burn hot with little control...and i'm hoping the 2dog stove can give me that control (fingers crossed).

Guess we'll find out.

Here is the ideal stove for that tent. Multi-fuel, packs easily, unique design, state fire marshal approved, integral 1" exhaust included. $225 post paid.

Nice... Okie already knows how to use it....

and he will be up scarred of bears anyways,....

Matt, cancel the other one....

hahaha...we were actually talking about that stove when discusssing one for the tent. Not quiiiiite the same application though.