Stove Placement in Tipi/Lavvu: Side versus Centre?

[Kutassy]

Hi Folks,

I'm no bushcrafter (yet) but I'm asking here because I expect you guys will have plenty of thoughts on the practical implications of life in a canvas cone with a hot fire.

I'm the proud owner of a Soulpad 5000 Tribe and my plan was to have something like the Frontier Woodburner stove in it to provide warmth and focal point..

I was all ready to go and get the extra flue pieces required to get the stack safely out of the centre of the tent (some 3.5 metre) and then began to doubt whether a stove slap bang in the middle of a round tent was that practical.

I could opt for fewer flue pieces and push the stove over to one side and bring the stack out the side of the tent using one of those silicone adapters.

Does anyone have any thoughts on either setup? There's only two of us in the tent and I've not yet put it up so I'm not sure really how much room there is and how much of an impact a centre-stove will make on the usability of the space.

Many thanks

Jon

 

[spandit]

I think you've said it yourself. Put it up and see. Plonk the (unlit) stove in the middle and then you'll know what the impact is. If it's for you & the wife you might want it to one side so you can sleep side by side (or maybe not! )

You can always do both, as long as you have a means of blocking off whichever grommet you're not using

 

[Kutassy]

Thanks spandit.

I did wonder how you fill those holes up once they've been made if you're not using the stove!

 

[Kutassy]

Thanks spandit, We'll have a play.

 

[spandit]

Round piece of wood? Tin can? Duct tape?

There's probably a product available that would do it for you anyway

 

[sandbender]

Are you likely to use the tent in rough weather? If the stove is near the side of the structure when it is thrashing around then there is a chance it might touch the stove and be damaged, with the stove in the middle that won't happen, although you can lay there watching the top of the chimney moving back and forward several feet and than can be a worry.

 

[Tor helge]

As your tipi has a centre pole I can`t see the benefit of having the oven anywhere else than in the middle.
Set your oven to the back/side of the tent, the centre pole will still be there. And then you will have two obstructions in your tent.

 

[bigroomboy]

in the centre allows better use of the central pole for drying things

 

[Andy BB]

Agree with Tor. And with the 5 metre diameter, you'll have plenty of space for a double-berth to the side of the pole/stovepipe anyway.

 

[Kutassy]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to hold fire for a while and see how the chap gets on with his Russian import stainless steel stove as they seem to be a comparable price to the Frontier.

But centre placement seems to be winning, at the minute. Just need a huge flue.

 

[LittleChief]

I did quite a lot of pondering myself about this.
I was kindly sponsored by Belltent.co.uk who provided an 4m canvas bell tent for use on my upcoming Arctic Heroes Challenge and they even included a Frontier Stove. The stove included a metal/rubber fitting for putting the flue through the canvas but nothing to say where it should go.

My thoughts were trying to get the best use of the space as we may want to put 4 people on camp beds inside, safety and ease of access. This last item was the tipping point and we decided to fit it just inside the entrance to the side.
The space issue was similar where ever we fitted it, it was a game of Tetris but easily sorted.
The safety issue was similar where ever as we would be using an appropriate flue length and inside the side fitment, if anything, was slightly better as its more "out of the way", with centre fitment where ever you are the stove is near you.
The ease of access was the decider, we figured that we would only be using the stove in winter or bad weather and so being able to access the stove from outside, without removing boots was a big advantage, it meant we can tend the fire, get it nice and toasty before going into the tent for bed, we could cook on it all without removing boots.

This was our decision in part because our extremely robust belltent has a built in very heavy duty groundsheet, if this isnt the case for you then this concern wont be as great.

On a recent test on the Welsh coast, during the storms of 3 weeks ago, it worked perfectly, warming the belltent easily and with such wet ground, the small mat by the door was sufficient to allow access without the worry of boots.

Hope this helps, even if only a little bit

Dave