SPARK HOLES!

[jooleyen]

Getting tons of large spark holes in my Seek Outside Redcliff just testing it in the backyard two or three times. I'm not even going to be waterproof anymore for when I actually hunt with it unless I patch the tent up. I'm getting so fed up with holes in my 800 dollar tent and it's making it feel like a disposable item and there's nothing I hate more than the disposable culture we live in.

I have the recommended length stovepipe. Burning spruce - not ideal, but what can you do - northern forests is where I hunt. I'm using a spark arrestor that came with my winnerwell folding titanium stove. After the first go around, I had a bunch of spark holes so I ordered a spark arrestor from Lite Outdoors thinking that if I double up, it might help. Just as bad on the second burn, now even more holes. Is my only option to try rigging up an internal stove baffle to help? Am I the only one having such severe problems? I swear after a season of hunting at this rate, my tent would be gone by the end of the season. Any ideas?

 

[Ryan Avery]

I notice if I use wet/crap wood I get way more burn holes.

 

[jooleyen]

My wood is dry and spruce has a pretty long burn time - for a softwood. Besides, the more likely you are to want/need a fire, the crappier the wood is likely to be. I'm thinking maybe removing the top cap on my spark arrestor will help. The sparks might be bouncing off and rebounding onto the tent before they have a chance to burn up, whereas if they're allowed to go straight up it might help? I dunno, just thinking out loud.

Eventually I might have to accept that I need to bring silicone patch with me on each trip and patch the tent after each night or two. I just wasn't aware it had to be this way when I was researching and purchasing things. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[billoo349]

My thoughts are that a top cap would definitely cause sparks to bounce back but it also sounds like whatever spark arrestor you have isn't working very well if it's as bad as you make it seem. The liteoutdoors stove pipe ends a good 2' above my tent and I have no noticable burn holes in about a dozen nights. I don't use a spark arrestor and burn soft wood.

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[jooleyen]

Hey, I never tried it without a spark arrestor. Maybe that'll be my next thing to try. I did keep the damper closed as much as possible tonight and it seemed to help. I also wasn't burning spruce tonight, so I'm positive that helped too. Next try will be damper closed when possible + spruce. I'll figure it out eventually.

 

[Kobuk]

We have to burn spruce too and tried the spark arrester. It is pretty sparky wood and kept plugging up our arrester mesh and dampening the fire. We finally just removed it and haven't used it 15 years or so. Different tent setup but I do see what you mean that now the sparks go pretty high in the air and burn out. If I had your tent, I think I would still come up with a cover to protect your tent. Maybe something canvas? I would be bummed to if I were burning up my tent! Sorry to hear it.

 

[couesbitten]

Sorry to hear about your tent/stove/spark issues. I do not have a spark arrestor on mine but do use a damper and once I have a good fire going, I usually have the damper pretty close to fully closed and haven't had any burn hole issues.

Regarding the existing burn holes, depending on their size, you can probably seal up the pinhole sized ones by rubbing silicone across them with your finger. For any larger than an 1/8", I recommend tenacious tape. A piece on the inside and outside sandwiched over the hole will close them up and probably last for years. Cut the tape in circles so that there are no corners to peel up.

 

[LandYacht]

I don’t run an arrestor at the top of the pipe. Keep mine inside the tent at the top of the dampener. Don’t have any issues with sparks and have burned a lot of spruce.

When I had the arrestor at the top of the pipe it would clog up and then turn my tent into a smoke lodge.


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[Slugz]

Give the guys a holler in Grand Junction. Im sure they will help out and provide a solution.

 

[rclouse79]

I ended up buying a stove pipe longer than recommended and have been careful not to stir the coals around when I add wood. I have not noticed any holes yet, but I have only burned it a few times. That sucks, hope you can figure out a solution. I feel your pain with how expensive they are. I had to eyeball my Cimarron for w couple years before I pulled the trigger.