Carbon Fiber Center Pole & Hot Stove - What is the safe distance?

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May 6, 2018
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This will be my first year utilizing the option to run a stove in my shelter. The location of the stove jack is fairly close to where the carbon fiber center pole is located. I know that the stove and pole can be adjusted some to give some extra cushion between the two. However, I was wondering if anyone would know how close is too close for them to be?
 
I also have a SO setup with the carbon pole.

I was worried about the same thing the first time I fired up the stove. We were trying to get as much distance as possible between the pole and stove, it was probably 4-5" away. When we really got the stove roaring the pole was super hot to the touch but seemed to hold up without any issues.
 
After a week in the frank church with a carbon fiber center pole in a SO 12 person teepee and stove the pole was shot. It bowed and took a permanent set which made it un stowable. I contacted SO upon my return and purchased an aluminum center pole. Completely possible to be too close to the pole with a hot stove and pipe.
 
In the TipiTents I make, I did not find, at the time, a resin with high enough heat rating and carbon poles made with it of correct dimensions at a cheap enough price to make it either what I felt was safe, or financially feasible, even if it was safe. Aluminum works well unless you can keep the carbon pole a reasonable distance from the stove. With my design, I put the stove about an inch from the pole. This puts the two items that take up floor space right next to each other in an effort to conserve floor space and as such I did not feel comfortable with a carbon pole. Things may have changed since then, but in general, resins capable of high heat without deformation used to make carbon tubes is a niche market and so they are going to be considerably more spendy than the 'run of the mill' carbon tubes--just scale of economy.
 
In a wilderness setting combine the following ingredients:

2 hunters and their gear.
1 silnylon tipi
1 carbon fiber center-pole
1 hot wood-burning stove

It only makes sense to me that a responsible manufacturer (example Seek Outside) would never supply or endorse any CF pole which hadn't been properly tested and proven to be safe in use next to a woodstove. At the very least there would be warnings about minimum clearances etc if an issue existed. I say this because the potential liability would be enormous if a pole failed in normal use, allowing a shelter collapse onto/around a hot stove and pipe with the shelter occupied.

For myself, I have one season of use with a CF pole and woodstove. I elected to orient the stove and pipe to maintain safe clearances (my estimate) from the pole. In use, my CF pole never got hot; only significantly warm and never too warm to touch. Zero problems of course. I personally would never have a CF pole closer than 4-6 inches from a hot stove. There is no downside to an angled flue pipe.
 
Thanks a lot for all of the feedback. This was a topic I was concerned about and I was having a difficult time finding any information on it.
 
4 -6 inches is fine. I have inadvertently had them touch before with no damage. We did a lot of different testing. Early on, there were occasional issues with the type of epoxy that have long since been resolved (see 12 man referenced above). In most instances and with a little care the CF poles are actually a better pole than aluminum (irrespective of weight). However, aluminum probably has a slightly better record on reliability ... but that being said there have probably been more out and out failures with aluminum poles (not just ours .. but people that buy REI poles etc) .

Either way, I would not loose a lot of sleep over it, but in extreme conditions it pays to be diligent with all of them regardless of material.
 
I was wondering about this, too. Was thinking about keeping a piece of aluminum foil in my stove kit to wrap around the bottom section of the cf pole to reflect heat

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Deertrout....that is an excellent idea. The aluminum foil weighs nothing and can only serve to help. I'm going to do the same.
 
For the record: If you're going to use some type of heat shield, it should not actually be in contact with the pole. Heat shields work best when air space is maintained between the shield and whatever it's protecting. Foil will indeed reflect some radiant heat...just wrap it loosely enough to maintain space.
 
Thanks to the OP and all of you who have contributed...it is very helpful and affirming.

I am relatively new to the tipi/wood stove world (4 man SO with medium stove). I trust the manufacturer, but I'm an extra careful guy and was also concerned from the beginning about the CF center-pole composites and possible excessive heat absorption/transfer from the stove. I even brought along some foil in my stove bag to use if needed. However, on my SO 4-man the stove jack port is located such that when the center pole and stove pipe are both perpendicular to the ground and parallel to one another there is at least 4 (probably more) inches of air space between them. My center-pole has never been too hot to the touch...warm for sure, but not hot to a point that I thought I should wrap the foil that I had with me (but I'll keep taking it). That said, I've also not had to keep my stove blazing for hours and hours of time.

As a relative rookie tipi/stove guy, thanks again for the experienced comments.
 
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A couple of C-shaped spring clips spot-welded to a curved piece of titanium would make a great heat shield which clips on a pole. Just musing....
 
I've had my stove pipe so hot...and my tipi pitched so tight....I've had my Alu pole weaken and start to bend. Do that to a carbon pole and it might be permanent or worse.

The 4" recommendation surprises me....asking for a problem IMO. I like to keep mine about 10" away minimum.
 
I put my stove close to the pole, 6 inches or so. I also hung my frying pan on the pole as a make shift heat shield. When i dont have fry pan...I dont worry about it.
Speaking of frying pans I got a new little one that's the cats ass ...non stick and light weight.
 
I have the Seek Outside 4 man tipi and large stove with CF pole and it has never been to hot to touch and Ive had that stove and pipe red hot. Just used it last week during my late season archery hunt (15 degrees at night) and I touched the pole several times and it was just fine, at about 6 inches from the stove. This is about the 7 th time I have used my tipi. The bottom section of my CF pole is aluminum (first section).
 
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