Hot Tent Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Worries

[treillw]

I'm relatively new to the hot tent world. I purchased a top of the line tent and Ti stove from a reputable manufacturer - not looking to make anyone look bad here. Been out in it half a dozen times or so.

When I'm laying on my back at night, watching smoke wisps coming out of the stove pipe and stove regularly, the thought crosses my mind that this thing is going to kill me. Just as I'm starting to nod off, by convincing myself that I might be better off dying in this tent than enduring the -34 degree wind chill on the top of the mountain for another day, the creosote starts dripping onto the top of the stove and smoking like crazy. Zipper is frozen. Can't open the door. Exciting!

My mind never stops working. How dangerous is it to have the stove inside the tent? Are there any stories of people dying from it?

It snowed ~30" for the MT rifle opener and I think it's pretty safe to say that there wasn't any air getting in through the bottom of the tent, as 4" of ice accumulated over the sod skirt after a few days. The tent has very little/no ventilation. After we get home, the tent and everything in it smells like smoke. I just can't help but think that we have to be breathing something that will kill you in large doses.

Come to think of it, I wonder how there is oxygen in there for combustion after long enough. I guess it is drawing air in from somewhere.

What do you say? Is it anything worth worrying about?

Thanks!

 

[Ross]

My experience says you will sleep like a baby and wake up ready to go, more clean air is getting in than you know, have not heard of anyone dieing in these setups unless it was from too much fun or too much whiskey consumed not sure how many nights I have in these tents but love every one of them

 

[sneaky]

You should worry more about testicular cancer from carrying your phone in your pocket than dying in a hot tent setup. Unless you camp in a burn... in high winds... then you can worry about dying in your tent.

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[KineKilla]

If your stove is drafting properly you shouldn't see much if any smoke from the stove.

Creosote can be a risk. It's quite flammable and chimney fires are bad. Try to burn only dry wood and don't dampen it too much or you'll see excessive creosote build up.

I'd say 9.9/10 times stoves are quite safe. I plan to fire mine up next week for a late season elk hunt.

Be safe. Be warm.

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[BackcountryBloodline]

Ever sat beside a campfire? I huff a lot more smoke when the backdraft is pulling smoke into my face no matter which side of an open fire I sit on than in my tent with a chimney drafting 99% of the smoke upwards. Nice thing about smoke is you smell it and choke on it, it's no surprise death dying from smoke inhalation like it can be with C0

 

[Gila]

Tents made with a stove jack should have vents in the roof. If you want to seal the pipe, put tape around the joints. Some stoves need a gasket around the door. My stove doesn't need one. To minimize creosote, use hard woods and keep the stove up to temperature. I put a thermometer on the stove top at the base of the pipe. I don't use the damper very often. I keep it open most of the time as I prefer to control the airflow into the box to keep the coals going. If you are concerned about heat retention, you can install a heat exchanger half way up the pipe. A good rain cap with a spark arrestor should keep the stack clear.

 

[treillw]

Ever sat beside a campfire? I huff a lot more smoke when the backdraft is pulling smoke into my face no matter which side of an open fire I sit on than in my tent with a chimney drafting 99% of the smoke upwards. Nice thing about smoke is you smell it and choke on it, it's no surprise death dying from smoke inhalation like it can be with C0

View attachment 228659

I see your points. I can't help but feel a little differently in an enclosed space though. There is no reasonable way you could die from a campfire outside.

Aren't the gases that kill you odorless?

 

[akrdkill]

if your worried bring a CO2 detector

 

[valtteri]

For peace of mind you could always get a carbon monoxide meter/alarm.

I had these same concerns when I first got my hot tent, especially in winter conditions when snow is covering the tent.

Fall or winter, I always leave the door zipper open about 5-10” so there’s always air coming in.

I think maybe for the first 10 using the stove I had the carbon monoxide meter with me, but since it never registered anything, I just stopped worrying about it. I don’t carry it with me anymore.

I think it’s a good thing to be aware of but also not worry about too much.

 

[Mike Islander]

Find even one news report of CO poisoning in a hot tent. Can't? No, space heater used inside tent doesn't count.

Now realize that your fear is irrational and address that instead of wasting time worrying about unicorns. And I really do mean this in the nicest possible way.

 

[treillw]

Find even one news report of CO poisoning in a hot tent. Can't? No, space heater used inside tent doesn't count.

Now realize that your fear is irrational and address that instead of wasting your time worrying about unicorns.

This is the first time I've looked into it. I would be stupid not to think about it whatsoever. Not going to put my wife in there with me and pretend everything is OK without using my brain at all.

 

[Moserkr]

I have a co2 poisoning story for you from one of my hot tent trips. I still use hot tents (i have 2) as much as possible but Ill never make the mistake I made again.

I had my SO BT2 set up with a 12” cylinder stove on top a mountain solo. There was a small storm coming that night, just cold temps and spitting snow - no big deal. My mistake - I decided to put the spark arrestor on TOP of the stove pipe. Horrible choice. Even a hot fire and coals did not create enough heat to burn off the debris on the spark arrestor on top of my stove pipe. It clogged and the smoke filled my tipi. I woke up luckily, but i was coughing and dizzy. Immediately, I stuck my head out the bottom of the tipi and inhaled fresh air. Turned my headlamp on and my stove was backdrafting into my tent which was filled with smoke. I opened the tent up, ripped off the clogged spark arrestor which was cool to the touch, and the fire drafted normally. After that, counted my blessings and went back to bed, with the fire roaring again. I almost died alone on the mountain, which would be fine one day, but not yet. So - dont run a spark arrestor on top of your stove pipe. Keep it as close to the burn chamber as possible. Some people have told me they disagree with that - cant fix stupid.

If you run your stove normally with the spark arrestor towards the bottom like all Ive seen are built, it will draft fine and work well. To clog the pipe with creosote would take weeks of burning i think. Super easy to take off the pipe and shake the junk out when its cold too. Ill never go back to a regular tent as hot tents are way more comfortable and add safety, but I wont make the same stupid mistake twice.

 

[Moserkr]

Another note on stove setup... Keep your stove door lower than where your pipe connects. Heat rises right? So if your stove door is higher than where your pipe connects, it just doesnt draft as well, and every time you open the door to add wood smoke will come into the tent. Common sense i would think, but took me a few times to realize the obvious. Lower door position drafts up the stove body naturally, into the pipe and out the top - nice safe warm fire with no smoke when opening the door.

 

[furfishngame]

I have a co2 poisoning story for you from one of my hot tent trips. I still use hot tents (i have 2) as much as possible but Ill never make the mistake I made again.

I had my SO BT2 set up with a 12” cylinder stove on top a mountain solo. There was a small storm coming that night, just cold temps and spitting snow - no big deal. My mistake - I decided to put the spark arrestor on TOP of the stove pipe. Horrible choice. Even a hot fire and coals did not create enough heat to burn off the debris on the spark arrestor on top of my stove pipe. It clogged and the smoke filled my tipi. I woke up luckily, but i was coughing and dizzy. Immediately, I stuck my head out the bottom of the tipi and inhaled fresh air. Turned my headlamp on and my stove was backdrafting into my tent which was filled with smoke. I opened the tent up, ripped off the clogged spark arrestor which was cool to the touch, and the fire drafted normally. After that, counted my blessings and went back to bed, with the fire roaring again. I almost died alone on the mountain, which would be fine one day, but not yet. So - dont run a spark arrestor on top of your stove pipe. Keep it as close to the burn chamber as possible. Some people have told me they disagree with that - cant fix stupid.

If you run your stove normally with the spark arrestor towards the bottom like all Ive seen are built, it will draft fine and work well. To clog the pipe with creosote would take weeks of burning i think. Super easy to take off the pipe and shake the junk out when its cold too. Ill never go back to a regular tent as hot tents are way more comfortable and add safety, but I wont make the same stupid mistake twice.

Just goes to show there's always a situation where a generally safe situation can be unsafe or at the very least much less safe. Happy hunting! ScottW

 

[JPD350]

I have a co2 poisoning story for you from one of my hot tent trips. I still use hot tents (i have 2) as much as possible but Ill never make the mistake I made again.

I had my SO BT2 set up with a 12” cylinder stove on top a mountain solo. There was a small storm coming that night, just cold temps and spitting snow - no big deal. My mistake - I decided to put the spark arrestor on TOP of the stove pipe. Horrible choice. Even a hot fire and coals did not create enough heat to burn off the debris on the spark arrestor on top of my stove pipe. It clogged and the smoke filled my tipi. I woke up luckily, but i was coughing and dizzy. Immediately, I stuck my head out the bottom of the tipi and inhaled fresh air. Turned my headlamp on and my stove was backdrafting into my tent which was filled with smoke. I opened the tent up, ripped off the clogged spark arrestor which was cool to the touch, and the fire drafted normally. After that, counted my blessings and went back to bed, with the fire roaring again. I almost died alone on the mountain, which would be fine one day, but not yet. So - dont run a spark arrestor on top of your stove pipe. Keep it as close to the burn chamber as possible. Some people have told me they disagree with that - cant fix stupid.

If you run your stove normally with the spark arrestor towards the bottom like all Ive seen are built, it will draft fine and work well. To clog the pipe with creosote would take weeks of burning i think. Super easy to take off the pipe and shake the junk out when its cold too. Ill never go back to a regular tent as hot tents are way more comfortable and add safety, but I wont make the same stupid mistake twice.

Lol I hate to say it but I did this too...........same results! except I had the arrester in the pipe close to the top so I had to unhook the pipe and carry the stove outside, I also wasn't asleep so not nearly as bad as your situation.

 

[Gila]

The smoke will kill ya before the cmono will....you will wake up choking first. The spark arrestor goes outside on top of the stove pipe. The NFs require a spark arrestor. The mesh should be a 1/4 inch. I put a welders blanket under the stove just in case something pops out. Get a good rain cap, a roll of tape, and if you are that worried keep your damper open at night....sleep easy! Seek Outside has a raincap for back pack hot tents. I am assuming that the tent is not a back pack tent:

Amazon.com

 

[Moserkr]

Well I guess no one has died, yet. People keep putting their spark arrestors on top of the stove pipe and there will probably be a first. Im 1/2 people in this thread who had theirs clog and backdraft smoke into the tent. A spark arrestor on top would have to be much larger for me to feel comfortable, which would allow it to breath, and the fire to continue to draft properly.

 

[prm]

I typically pull the top zip down a bit and prop open a couple inches with a stick, and then have some airflow from down low via the skirt or bottom door zip. Keeps condensation down too.

 

[Gila]

Well I guess no one has died, yet. People keep putting their spark arrestors on top of the stove pipe and there will probably be a first. Im 1/2 people in this thread who had theirs clog and backdraft smoke into the tent. A spark arrestor on top would have to be much larger for me to feel comfortable, which would allow it to breath, and the fire to continue to draft properly.

Actually the opposite is true. The spark arrestor is supposed to be on the top of the pipe outside. Seek Outside puts the spark arrestor on the bottom of the pipe for their stoves which is damn dangerous IMO. I understand why they do it for back back tents as it is easy to pull the smaller pipe and clean the screen every time you fire it up. Not so easy to pull the pipe on a standard hot tent and cylinder stove. If you have a good rain cap with a 1/4 mesh spark arrestor, it will never plug up as long as you burn decent wood.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Actually the opposite is true. The spark arrestor is supposed to be on the top of the pipe outside. Seek Outside puts the spark arrestor on the bottom of the pipe for their stoves which is damn dangerous IMO. I understand why they do it for back back tents as it is easy to pull the smaller pipe and clean the screen every time you fire it up. Not so easy to pull the pipe on a standard hot tent and cylinder stove. If you have a good rain cap with a 1/4 mesh spark arrestor, it will never plug up as long as you burn decent wood.

Kifaru puts theirs in bottom on cylinder stove and I've had mine clog, this smoking out the tut, good news is the burn time isn't long enough in the 18” to do to much damage