Wood stove strategies

[Lowke01]

Ok so I've only used my Ti goat one trip and found I didn't really know how to strategically use it. When I got back each night I would start a fire and that was nice for warming the tipi and drying things out a bit but the benefits stopped there. We would load it and dampen it before going to bed but that would only last a couple hours and be completely out by alarm time.

My question is do people re-start the fire in the morning or just deal with the cold? Or do you try to keep putting a little wood in all night? Or is there something else I'm missing here?

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[mountainman406]

Ok so I've only used my Ti goat one trip and found I didn't really know how to strategically use it. When I got back each night I would start a fire and that was nice for warming the tipi and drying things out a bit but the benefits stopped there. We would load it and dampen it before going to bed but that would only last a couple hours and be completely out by alarm time.

My question is do people re-start the fire in the morning or just deal with the cold? Or do you try to keep putting a little wood in all night? Or is there something else I'm missing here?

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I don’t think you’re missing too much, people tend to think the stoves will burn for an unreasonable amount of time(like myself before using one this past season). From this past season for me it depended on the temp.

If it was well below freezing at night I would wake up every couple hours to stoke the stove, burn it wide open for about 10 mins and then dampen it.

If the temps were above freezing I would stoke it before bed, dampen it and let it burn out then restart it in the morning before I got out of my sleeping bag.

Hope that helps. Also, I was using the LO stove and fully dampened I could get about 2hr before it was totally burnt out.


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[rbljack]

I have no experience with them (Ti goat), but I have a medium kifaru box stove im just learning how to use. Most people use the stove for exactly as you described and let it burn down at night from what I can tell, Relying more on the bag to keep warm.

With that said.....the size of the stove and type of wood make a difference too from what I noticed so far. I think its a matter of adding wood a few times during a night if you want it still going in the morning. Which size Ti goat do you have, and is the box stove? Im looking at one of those myself for a lighter option. what's your experience with it so far? Im considering the TI wifi, and the SO titanium at this point.

 

[Lowke01]

I have no experience with them (Ti goat), but I have a medium kifaru box stove im just learning how to use. Most people use the stove for exactly as you described and let it burn down at night from what I can tell, Relying more on the bag to keep warm.

With that said.....the size of the stove and type of wood make a difference too from what I noticed so far. I think its a matter of adding wood a few times during a night if you want it still going in the morning. Which size Ti goat do you have, and is the box stove? Im looking at one of those myself for a lighter option. what's your experience with it so far? Im considering the TI wifi, and the SO titanium at this point.

I have the small WiFi I believe. Like it just fine. Size and weight are good. Took a little saw to make good "logs" for it. But like most of the stoves it won't last beyond two hours and I don't want to wake up to keep putting wood on. I can't really picture going through the pain of starting the fire again while laying in my bag. I just get dressed and get moving.

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[mitchellbk]

I always leave twigs, branches, smaller wood and fire starter under the stove before I go to bed.

Then I lay my bag parallel to the stove so I’m able to reach out easily and get it started while still in my bag. It only takes 5 or so minutes and you’re toasty warm.

 

[5MilesBack]

Unless you want to be up half the night stoking it, I'd just start it in the mornings. I'm much more comfortable starting off warm every morning.

 

[Beendare]

Those cylinder stoves just don't burn for a long time- you have to keep feeding them.

You can use chunks of hardwood...or Coal to get longer burn times.

You can bed the stove in rocks and gravel to form a heat sink that holds the heat longer. The heat transfers to the rocks that store the heat longer.

 

[Trial153]

Once I am asleep I am out .. a cold stove isnt keeping me up. Your not missing anything. Either wake up a handful of times or wake up to a cold stove. I am talking about every small tent stove I have used. Regular stove in wall tents, different story you have a chance to wake up to some coals. ...small Ti stoves not happening unless you keep feeding it.
Best thing you can do is have a kindling pack ready for the morning

 

[MTElkChaser]

Those cylinder stoves just don't burn for a long time- you have to keep feeding them.

You can use chunks of hardwood...or Coal to get longer burn times.

You can bed the stove in rocks and gravel to form a heat sink that holds the heat longer. The heat transfers to the rocks that store the heat longer.

This ^^^

I’ll gather several rocks and bring them into my tipi to put under and next to my stove.

I had a buddy that used to put small rocks in his stove, but had one explode. No damage, just scared him. Not sure if it was quartz or just high moisture content??

 

[reaper]

Cylinder and box stoves works the same and they all have pros and cons and i Always have more heat source from a cylinder because of the shape.One thing sure you want to control the burn so a damper set is key.
I am going to my sleeping bag warm and only feed the stove one or two times during the night and always woke up cold,i leave some small branch and dry woods near the stove ready for the morning.Theses wood stoves ARE NOT like what we have in our houses,you will need to feed it thats all.

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[FlyGuy]

I don’t typically use my stove to stay warm all night, that is what your bag is for IMO. But I HATE climbing out of that warm bag in the morning, so I mostly use the stove to help that transition.

My preference is to get straight into my bag when I get back to camp at night. From the bag, I’ll boil water (on Jetboil) for dinner, restock/reload my pack for the am, pre-load the stove for the morning, then crash after eating. In the morning I’ll have two alarms set, the first one I just grab my lighter and touch off the stove and fade back out as it softly crackles in the background. Second alarm goes off 15 min later and by then it is HOT and I am in a hurry to get out of that bag. It makes those cold mornings Sooooo much more tolerable!


If my clothes are damp (from sweat) i just wear them to bed or put them at the bottom of my bag to dry out, I don’t think the stove is very efficient at that.


You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[Lowke01]

Thanks for the insight folks. I knew the stove wouldn't last all night regardless of strategy. I think the idea of having a nice bundle and fire starter ready for the morning is a good idea. We woke up in mid 20s with no fire and survived fine, but it wasn't comfortable. Did the rock thing a bit last year too but the rocks need to be up high to get enough heat to warm them up.

It takes a little finesse to get the fire going to the point I can put bigger stuff in without it dying on me. Over time I'll learn the right air flow for starting, growing and slowing the burn.

What kind of fire starter does everyone use?

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[reaper]

Thanks for the insight folks. I knew the stove wouldn't last all night regardless of strategy. I think the idea of having a nice bundle and fire starter ready for the morning is a good idea. We woke up in mid 20s with no fire and survived fine, but it wasn't comfortable. Did the rock thing a bit last year too but the rocks need to be up high to get enough heat to warm them up.

It takes a little finesse to get the fire going to the point I can put bigger stuff in without it dying on me. Over time I'll learn the right air flow for starting, growing and slowing the burn.

What kind of fire starter does everyone use?

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Doing my own,cotton and petrol gel(vaseline)

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[huntsman22]

trioxane.....

 

[mountainman406]

I was using either what Reaper mentioned or trioxane. This past season I used InstaFire from Walmart and was pretty impressed. Bought the packages for $1 each and 1 package lasted 8 starts with some left over. In the mornings I would throw some of that in my tinder bundle, strike a waterproof match and put it in the stove.


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[Trial153]

Commercial stuff, the little square crap. I am not messing with making my own. Had some white block stuff that I could break in smaller sections, weight a couple oz max and I could light my stove or camp fire easy and fast.

 

[Lowke01]

I got some "square" crap off Amazon and it didn't do much for me. I need something better than that. I'll probably get some trioxane this year and experiment with it. Lighting in the morning needs to be full proof otherwise it ain't happening.

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[Kevin Dill]

Just throwing another viewpoint here....

I burn my stove mostly in the evenings after the hunt. I get a good fire cranking and use the heat to help dry out any damp gear. I never try for an extended burn into the night, mainly because I just don't want a fire burning in a tent while I'm sleeping. Unless my gear is really wet, an all-night burn is of no benefit and just wastes wood for me.

As for mornings...I just don't have/take time to mess with lighting and tending my stove. It doesn't matter how cold it is or if the tipi is 100% frosted inside; I just unzip and start getting dressed. I don't allow myself to think about the cold or what a fire might feel like. I just block it out and get going. Pretty soon I'm dressed warmly and lighting my cookstove which provides a bare minimum amount of heat....until the warm food and coffee take hold. I'm always gone from the tent immediately after breakfast, so probably only 45 minutes from wake-up to gone-hunting.

I may burn my stove midday if it's cold and wet and I need to perform more than very basic hygiene. I don't appreciate being semi-naked, damp and shaking like an aspen leaf in the breeze.

I treat dry wood like money. I collect it, split it, stack it inside and use it wisely. I can go through a lot of it if weather turns horrible and keeps me tent-bound a few days.