Bell tent wood burner help needed

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Leone_blanco

Member
Apr 21, 2016
20
0
Halifax
I am on the verge of buying a canvas bell tent and frontier stove but as I look into it more it appears I need a fire proof floor mat, which makes sense and a spark arrester... Do I really need these and if so is there a cheaper alternative to the advertised shop ones? They seem a bit steep in price. Anyone's experience and ideas would be most welcome.
 

Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
27,864
2,927
62
~Hemel Hempstead~
No... you don't need them if you want to take a chance and risk not having holes burnt into the canvas.

A floor mat can be a fire blanket which you can get from Screwfix or Toolstation for about £13.
 

Ogri the trog

Mod
Mod
Apr 29, 2005
7,182
71
60
Mid Wales UK
Short answer - yes there is!

Long answer;
Get a large plastic ground sheet/tarp, one that is bigger than the floor of the tent - this is important - about a meter larger, both wider and longer.

Cut a large "T" shape into the ground sheet - (you can put duct tape along the cut lines to help prevent fraying if you want).
When fitted, the "T" fits from beyond the central pole towards the door. Here's the crafty bit - the sides of the "T" can be folded or rolled back to create a bare earth pathway from the door to the stove (if located close to the central pole) and also allow the stove to be on bare earth.

The spare groundsheet just gets bundled against the side-walls as a draught/insect seal all the way around the circumference of the tent - Bob is your Aunts husband!

I've used this method for about the past 8 years with my 8 man Laavu.

If your stove is off to one side of the tent, then get creative with similar cuts to a groundsheet to allow it to sit on bare ground.

A spark arrestor is simply a mesh baffle to help catch large sparks if they become airborne up the flue - small sparks do not last long enough to do any damage, but big sparks (like embers) can settle onto the roof of the tent and burn holes or be carried away onto dry crops/grass etc causing wild fires. You should be able to make something similar with commonly available mesh - the added bonus with the Frontier Spark arrestor is that they feature the 3 way tie-out bracket, so you can guy out the flue so it doesn't move about in high winds.

HTH

Ogri the trog
 

baggins

Full Member
Apr 20, 2005
1,563
302
49
Coventry (and surveying trees uk wide)
i have the frontier. not got the mat as have a zip in the floor, but i do have the spark arrestor and it is a good bit of kit. As said above, it has tie down brackets which, after having it blow off in 70mph winds, are very useful. i now have a chain connected to it, running down to the centre pole.
 

Dave

Hill Dweller
Sep 17, 2003
6,019
9
Brigantia
You could buy an elbow, and have the flue going away from the tent at an angle, so the sparks wouldnt burn the canvas, if they came out the end.
 

Leone_blanco

Member
Apr 21, 2016
20
0
Halifax
Thanks all for the advice, spark arrestor will be purchased and a Heath Robinson fire mat used. It was also suggested I use a thin piece of ply which would sit flat in the bottom of the car boot for transit
 

Sundowner

Full Member
Jan 21, 2013
891
341
70
Northumberland
I have a 4m bell tent and a frontier stove. We went to loch Tummel over easter. Temperature dropped tojust above 0° during the night. I have a back problem and trust me, I NEED to be warm. My better half hates cold. As we travelled separately (she arrived late at 1AM) she was more than happy to find the tent cosy and warm. I use 1 fire blanket and the spark arrestor tied down with 3 carabiner's and guy ropes pegged to the ground. Here a few tips to avoid smoking in the tent.
Clean the flue and especially the spark arrestor EVERY DAY
Use dry wood split thinly. NO LOGS
Shove them right back in the stove then build it up toward you.
Before you go to sleep, shut the door of the stove. If it's minus temperatures I use a few fire bricks on the stove. Once they are hot the release heat later in the night.
I've heard that if you get a 5m tent it will be hard to get enough heat from the frontier stove.
I absolutely love this set up as a can easily transport it in my open canoe. Hope you have a lot of fun!!
 

baggins

Full Member
Apr 20, 2005
1,563
302
49
Coventry (and surveying trees uk wide)
i really do like the idea of the fire bricks to keep the tent warm at 5 am without having to get a chilly bum to put more logs in the stove, they sound like a good plan. Are they easy to source?
we have the safer 9, so a 5m dia base and it was 30 deg c in they last time we measured it (and -3 outside).
 

dasy2k1

Nomad
May 26, 2009
299
0
Manchester
Any suggestions for a stove slightly smaller than the frontier to use in my 3m canvas bell?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

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