Open fire in a polish army lavvu??

[fergus77]

Hi all,

Been out playing with my tipi today and thought i'd try lighting a small fire inside the lavvu. All worked well but i couldnt get the draw right to clear the roof area of smoke ie: i smoked the hell out of myself!!

Question: Does anybody who uses these lavvu's ever light small fires on the inside and do it successfully??
Am i missing something in the setup??
Before anyone asks i did have the top open slightly ;o)

Loved the idea of a small stove in there but didnt like the idea of lugging more kit about

Thanks All

 

[Graham_S]

If you're lighting a fire in a lavvu, and you don't want smoke you are probably going to need a chimney.

 

[fergus77]

i thought if the apex was unbuttoned a bit and a sufficent opening in the door, it would draw and clear the smoke easier. Maybe im wrong though??

 

[Graham_S]

It depends on the wind direction,
However,
The reason that the fire "draws" is that hot air rising pulls air in at the bottom of the fire, and takes the smoke out at the top.
The chimney holds the heat of the smoke in, stops it dispersing, and causes something akin to a venturi effect.
Without a chimney, the smoke cools down enough that it won't force itself out of the top fast enough to prevent smoke build up.
Even under a parachute, with all the sides open, smoke will still collect under the canopy, despite the large hole in the top.

 

[fergus77]

Dude, that makes perfect sense!! Aw well, will have to bite the bullet and build some sort of a tiny stove to heat the interior

 

[DavidJT]

They are quite small tents, so I don't think an open fire inside is a good idea, quite tight for a small stove even.
Ive riggied mine in the past with the doors wide-open, like a Baker tent, and sett a fire just outside. Not the warmest set up of course.

 

[Silverhill]

+1 for a stove Fergus. I made one before the cold weather set in and it is brilliant. It is, however, more than 10kg (all-in) to add to your bergen.....Which nearly crippled me. :/

 

[fergus77]

He he, that would be a hard walk with all that in your pack!!!

I know somebody else made a burner out of an ammo box and used it one of these tents, looked really smart. But as you mentioned, the weight involved with lugging a stove around, as well as all your other kit would make a small open fire a beter idea.

Think the stove idea would be a hell of a lot safer as well!!

Cheers for the replies guys )

 

[leealanr]

take up open canoeing and let the boat take the strain.....

never could carry huge weights while walking!

seriously, a lavvu and stove really is not a backpack option, but is perfect when open boating.

Alan L.

 

[treadlightly]

I regularly have an open fire in a tipi shelter and although it is much bigger than the tent you describe maybe the principle is the same.

I have experimented quite a bit to try and minimise the smoke. You need dry wood and good ventilation. I suspend the fire on a grill above ground so there is good air flow underneath. I also keep the fire quite small.

I find that too much air coming in at the base of the shelter is not a good thing. Best to have an even, moderate draught on all sides which gives the best chance of the smoke rising vertically and exiting the open apex.

Even then though smoke collects at the top and I find I have to keep low to breathe reasonably fresh air.

 

[Badger74]

Have alook at this link to my trial set up just before christmas. I used shim steel for the chimney and a 5 litre can for the stove, coppied off here.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=253568&id=646762373&l=9160de130c

Would try to post pics here but have not done it before and i've had a couple of glasses so won't attempt it now

 

[Silverhill]

Nice setup there Badger. Nearly identical to mine. (minus the liver and white of course!) Great minds think alike eh!

 

[gregor-scott]

had enough of swinging around in the trees then Ferg? you don't need a fire to keep warm, all you need is some of that grappa!!

 

[durulz]

Have alook at this link to my trial set up just before christmas. I used shim steel for the chimney and a 5 litre can for the stove, coppied off here.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=253568&id=646762373&l=9160de130c

Would try to post pics here but have not done it before and i've had a couple of glasses so won't attempt it now

What good timing!
I've been thinking of making one of these myself.
Could you add a few more details about how you made it?
I assume it's just a normal 5L tin, such as the types you get in the catering business for oils, and that kind of thing? Did you put a door in the front, or just leave an open hole? How did you attach the chimney? Welding sheet tin I would have thought is rather difficult - or did you use bolts?
If you could give us some more details, and some more (daytime!) pictures I'd really appreciate it, and I'm sure many more would too.
Excellent job, by the way!
Cheers.

 

[fergus77]

Badger, now that's the job. Small, cosy and keeps a small fire contained. Will be trying to knock something like that up soon. How's the heat on the inside? To warm???

Greggor my ole son, I'm always swinging from trees dude, but not with the grappa in me!!! Ah, memories of the RV ) did you get any of those ration packs I gave to Brum?? Still got 3 boxes of MRE's to eat!!!

 

[Badger74]

I did make the stove body out of a 5 litre Thompsons tin which will be the same as those catering tins that hold oils. The design was blatently copied from Pwb thread on here http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34143&highlight=stove

The chimney was a 1m length of shim steel that was just placed over the flange on the stove. Shim steel is the stuff that can roll width ways for the chimney and long ways for storage. It was stopped from springing open by 4 jubilee clips.Please note that if using wood that spits fit a spark arrester. I'm going to use a small strainer over the top next time. The chimney was placed through the arm hole and a 2nd tin as a heat baffle but the canvas did get quite warm even in the -13 temp we had that night. Using a welders heat pad would have done a better job. The body of the stove did glow red when at full burn so not sure how robust these tins will be as they are not a last for ever item.

The tent was +25 inside but as the stove only had a small capacity it didn't last that long. I wasn't too worried about carbon monoxide as there was an lots of gaps around the base and the door was slightly ajar.

I'll try and put it back up tomorrow for extra pics.

 

[fergus77]

Some great info there Badger, really usefull stuff.

Was wondering, what would be the best way to start cutting one of those cans up? Would'nt fancy using a grinder of fear of the can vapourizing in front of me!! Maybe a dremel or very sharp sanley knife? I'm one of those people how like everything cut square and clean.

Getting excited now, next day off im on the hunt for a can to use.

 

[TinkyPete]

I have used a small cooker using green heat gel which is a non toxic, smokeless and odourless cooking gel I have used in a crusader cooker and another small tin stove I have, worked well enough to give me enough heat till I settled down for the night and refilled it in the morning to give me warmth to get up and make a brew that is how I used it. In a small tent you need to keep the fire small as well, another method I have used is with a large tin candle (12 hour) night light style candle in a tin which has since become a stove

 

[Badger74]

Fergus, I used a dremal copy, tin snips and ali pop rivits to keep it all together and then sprayed it and the chimney with stove paint. It isn't as tidy as Pwb's.

 

[durulz]

I was thinking of using one of those aluminium beer kegs (not the ones brewers deliver beer in, but those 5L ones you get in supermarkets).
Has anyone else tried using one of these? My concern is that the aluminium may be too thin and could melt or just buckle and give way under the heat.
Thoughts?