tent stove

[jimbires]

does anyone have any experience with the tent stoves that burn wood pellets ? I'm kind of looking at something like this .

http://www.cylinderstoves.com/pellet-burner-kit.html

 

[PBramble]

I'd think any stove that uses fuels commonly found near camping sites would be better. I wouldn't want to have to lug in the fuel for the stove too. It does seem to be much more convenient though.

 

[dmj]

I don't have any real experience with one of those pellet stoves. We do have a cabin that has a pellet stove. It runs off electrical power. One 40 lb bag (cost $5) will last about 2 days. Then we were at a flea market and a guy was selling the type of pellet stove you are considering. It was in the spring and was cool and wet. He had it set up in a tent. It was nice and warm. Can't remember how long he said a bag of pellets would last, but he said that it was nice to fill the hopper up, go to bed and no one had to stoke the fire and it was nice and warm when you get up in the morning. Know that's not much help. Good luck

 

[405win]

I would be suspicious. We had a basket to burn pellets in a wood stove. It worked yes but not very well. Draft has to be just right and it can be a bitck to get it started and takes a long time to get warm. Not apples to apples I know.

 

[wyosteve]

I'm just curious, doesn't a pellet stove need electricity to feed the pellets? If yes, how could you use it in the backcountry?

 

[dmj]

Yes most do. But the one being discussed here feeds off gravity. Or at least the one the guy at the flea market showed us. Wish I remember more about it.

 

[laker]

I have a Riley pellet stove I take elk hunting every year. I love it. Fill the hopper before falling asleep and still burning in the morning. Trees are scarce in eastern Montana so it was an easy choice to go pellet stove.

 

[jimbires]

I have a Riley pellet stove I take elk hunting every year. I love it. Fill the hopper before falling asleep and still burning in the morning. Trees are scarce in eastern Montana so it was an easy choice to go pellet stove.

Laker , about what elevations have you used this , any problems at say 8000 or 9000 ft ? are you using soft wood pellets ? how hard are they to get to burn ? about how long of a burn time do you get from a ( 40 pound ) bag of pellets ? is your stove pellet only , or is it able to burn wood too ? what size is your tent ? sorry about all the questions , I might have a few more . thank you Jim

 

[jimbires]

I'm just curious, doesn't a pellet stove need electricity to feed the pellets? If yes, how could you use it in the backcountry?

yes , most of these for in houses use electric to run a pellet feed auger and a draft blower , also the blower to get the heat out of the stove . there are even a few house units available now that do not need electric . these are used for back up heat source for when the power is out .

the tent stoves use gravity to feed the pellets and just radiate the heat off the stove . no electric required .

 

[laker]

Laker , about what elevations have you used this , any problems at say 8000 or 9000 ft ? are you using soft wood pellets ? how hard are they to get to burn ? about how long of a burn time do you get from a ( 40 pound ) bag of pellets ? is your stove pellet only , or is it able to burn wood too ? what size is your tent ? sorry about all the questions , I might have a few more . thank you Jim

No problem at elevation. I'm just using the same wood pellets I burn in my pellet stove that's in my house. The hopper I have I think holds 30 pounds and that will make 8hours about half choked down. If I keep it half choked down I can keep my small 10x12 tent about 60 degrees. If I open it wide open it will run you out of the tent. I went cheap and got the pellet only one. I use a butane torch to start them but the way the hopper is designed it pulls a ton of oxygen so it lights and burns easy. takes about 15 minutes to get the tent warmed up. Nice about the Riley stove is they are extremely lightweight. They make a wood/pellet version I wish I had gone with

 

[jimbires]

No problem at elevation. I'm just using the same wood pellets I burn in my pellet stove that's in my house. The hopper I have I think holds 30 pounds and that will make 8hours about half choked down. If I keep it half choked down I can keep my small 10x12 tent about 60 degrees. If I open it wide open it will run you out of the tent. I went cheap and got the pellet only one. I use a butane torch to start them but the way the hopper is designed it pulls a ton of oxygen so it lights and burns easy. takes about 15 minutes to get the tent warmed up. Nice about the Riley stove is they are extremely lightweight. They make a wood/pellet version I wish I had gone with

thanks for the info , I really appreciate it . the pellet / wood stove is the way I'm leaning . Jim