Nu-Way propane stoves? (Tent Stove)

[John Havard]

The only reason I am looking at a propane stove instead of using my wood stove is because there is no wood where I’ll be hunting next year

 

[mtbn]

I tried a Nu way 4000 in my 12 man tipi and got rid of it because I could hardly tell it was on except for all the propane I was using. These tipis are definitely not arctic ovens! Heat goes right up to the top and out. I get much more usable heat out of my 18000 btu Big Buddy than I did with my 26000 but Nu way. A lot of the nu way heat goes right up the pipe. I'm sure they are great in other tents, just not in a large tipi.

 

[mtbn]

According to the internet ( always correct?) a 20# cylinder holds 4.73 gallons at 91600 btus per gallon =433268 btus. The Nu Way 4000 burns 28000 btus per hour =15.47 hours on high. Does this sound about right?

 

[mwestvang]

That is the same number I'm getting.

Mike

 

[John Havard]

mtbn, what were the weather conditions when you were using the stove? Also, what kind of damper were you using and where was it in your stove pipe? Your experience with the stove is very helpful and any additional info you can pass along will be appreciated.

 

[mtbn]

It was 3 or 4 years ago in the fall here in Mt. Nights down in the 25 to 30 range. I really don't recall if I had a damper. I slept on a full size cot right next to the stove and turned it off after a couple of hours because I just wasn't feeling much heat. When I got home I set the tipi up in the yard and compared the Big Buddy to the Nu Way and sold the Nu Way.The Big Buddy on high next to the cot was too much heat. I tried them side by side several times with same results. Maybe a damper would help but I wouldn't count on that stove heating your 16 man.
Bob

 

[John Havard]

Bob, thanks for the input. Doesn’t sound encouraging. It would really suck to go to the effort and expense of flying in propane and a stove that was useless.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Interesting read. I have zero to add in terms of propane stove knowledge, except that I've used the Mr Buddy when ice-fishing and experienced a lot of post-combustion condensation. My canvas flip-over shelter would be dripping inside and the outside would turn white as cake flour with frost on cold days.

The only other thing of note...and I KNOW John completely gets this...is the slope sided nature of a tipi encourages heat to rise. A taller tipi gives more elevated space for heat to accumulate, and the floor area will be cooler with the perimeter floor area being the coolest. An 8' or 9' tall tipi can get suffocatingly hot at the 6' level while the floor remains cool, except for radiant heat from the stove.

 

[mwestvang]

Kevin,

I'm thinking about a battery operated fan to help circulate the heat.

Mike

 

[Yellowknife]

John,

I haven't tried a Nu-Way in a tipi... and frankly I wouldn't. They don't throw off BTU's like a wood stove. Trying to heat a massive tipi in below freezing weather would burn a lot of propane to little effect I'm sure, and the experience of Mntb seems to back that up.

If I was planning a semi-light camp for an above tree-line hunt (and that's something I do), my preferred choice would be a sturdy dome tent with propane lantern supplemented by a Buddy Heater to occasionally dry wet gear in the evenings.

If I was stuck on the big tipi thing, I'd bring the wood stove. You say it's a moose hunt, so there WILL be some kind of wood. Maybe not enough for a nightly campfire, but woody stuff is what moose eat after all. It may just be dead willow sticks gathered from far and wide but that's usually enough to dry your stuff at night. If you have space throw in some manufactured fireplace "logs" for longer burn times. Could bring quite a few of those for the weight of a propane tank.

I did a trip this spring with the AO, and brought a wood stove top save the propane weight. We were miles from trees, and still managed to keep it burning with a small sack of fuel we hauled in + scrounged willows. You should be able to do at least that well.

I believe the Nu-Way thing is not the right tool for the job in your case.

 

[Stid2677]

I forgot to mention that I installed a dampener at the top of the first section of stove pipe, I run it almost closed and this still lets the fumes pass but still catch allot of heat that would otherwise exit out the stove pipe.

 

[bairdi]

I forgot to mention that I installed a dampener at the top of the first section of stove pipe, I run it almost closed and this still lets the fumes pass but still catch allot of heat that would otherwise exit out the stove pipe.

Good point. This makes a huge difference with the Nu-Way stove!! I don't see why the dampener couldn't be set-up to be just below the ceiling of the tent. Might help capture some more heat and increase the surface that heat radiates from.

 

[Stid2677]

Good point. This makes a huge difference with the Nu-Way stove!! I don't see why the dampener couldn't be set-up to be just below the ceiling of the tent. Might help capture some more heat and increase the surface that heat radiates from.

I placed it as high as I could, but did not want it too hot up near the tent fabric.

 

[mtbn]

I bagged the all night propane stove thing in a large tipi and just use my wood stove and a warm bag. Wood is no problem here. A friend bought a Riley pellet stove for his spike tent for all night heat and loves it. He's truck camping so weight isn't a problem. Super cub camping- not so good. I do use a full liner in the fall because of all the frost I get overnight.

 

[Ironmerganser]

I had a much better experience than mtbn. We used the biggest Nu-way in my 8 man SO tipi. My tipi does have full liner so not sure if that makes a difference but we were in temps down to low 30's to mid 20's. We sat in t-shirts...….plenty warm.

 

[John Havard]

Ironmerganser, thanks for that information. Your experience is more like what I would have expected. Could you please describe the flue and exhaust stack that you were using?

Thanks, John

 

[Ironmerganser]

I use the damper and stove pipe that come standard with the Seek Outside XL wood stove.

 

[mwestvang]

Did you run a CO detector with the stove?

 

[Ironmerganser]

Yeah, I always bring one along just in case. New batteries every trip. Cheap insurance. We don't run it all night though. Just enough to get warm at night before we hop into our bags and then in the morning to warm up while getting dressed and having a little breakfast.