Titanium stove burn time?

[sneakypete]

Hi I recently bought a BPW Luna 6 and am now in the market for a titanium wood stove. Mainly the lite outdoors cylinder stove or a seek outside. Any preference of one over the other? It looks like a little weight is saved with the cylinder stove and it can still be used to cook with. My next question is the size? I would think that any size would put out plenty of heat for a 10x10' shelter but what are your experiences with burn times? Does the xl give off heat a lot longer than a large stove? Large vs. medium? I'm new to the stove world but looking forward to it. Thanks

 

[Mtslackcountry]

I use the seek outside titanium in a msr 4 brothers 7x14 tent. I went with the large stove and it does great but burn times are about 2 hrs. The bigger the stove the bigger the wood and more you can get in it thus giving your a longer burn. The larger stove weighs more and cost more tho. I think the seek outside in a large would work well for you. It packs down small and mine has proven durable in the 60 or so nights Ive used it. Once you dial in how to set it up its really easy.

Make sure you get a good hand saw makes the job a lot easier. I use a Japanese steel "silky" brand saw with a 16" blade cuts wood fast.

 

[sneakypete]

Thanks for the info. The large seek outside is one I've been thinking about. Or possibly the sxl, just don't want to tote around the extra weight if the burn time difference is isn't much. I will check out that saw also.

 

[whitingja]

I have the SXL, and I really like the large door opening which means I don't have to be so picky on my wood choices, and access is easier too. I do own a light lite outdoors as well, but you're going to get a lot more heat out of the SXL and the ability to cook on it is a little bit better too. If I am only backpacking a couple miles I take SXL, any further I do the light. It also depends upon the size of the shelter.

 

[BIGHORNtracks]

You got some good advice.
Door size is a significant consideration.
Buy a stove with a small opening, all you can burn is small diameter sticks. They burn fast and don't last long on burn time.
But, you have to consider your wood options.
Maybe you want to burn sticks.
How are you going to process larger diameter wood?
Remember, you have to get it in lengths short enough to fit in the stove. So, with the smaller sticks, you can just break them over your knee.
Now they are to length. No sawing, no messing around.

I know guys who would rather gather sticks and break them to length quick and easy. I know guys who would rather spend effort hauling a saw, and spend time cutting wood to get longer burn times between reloads.

You have to decide what options you have and what you prefer.

But, when buying a stove, one thing is true. With a large door, you can burn both. With a small opening, you are limited. You juts cant fit an 8inch diameter log into a 4 inch opening.

So, buy one with a large door, even if you don't ever end up using it, at least you have the option.

Next, consider the total volume and shape. The more wood you can get in, the better. Shape also influences the way the wood burns. Wood laying horizontal will burn slower than stoves that stack wood vertical.

But my personal most important consideration is air control.
I would look for the ability to control air in, and air out.
Damper in the stove pipe and on the inlet holes in the front are an absolute must.

No matter what size wood you have, and how much of it you have in there, if you cant control air flow, its just going to burn and burn and burn.
You want to be able to smolder the wood, not burn the wood.
The only way to do that is with air flow control.

Anyone with a tent stove will tell you that burning the wood will create a lot of heat. Too much heat in reality.
A long, slow, smoldering of a lot of wood will give off steady, heat at a slow rate.

Thats what you are looking for.

You will find that your first fire you will want to burn fast and hot to get some coals in the bottom of the stove.
Then you will want to use the coals to smolder a full load of wood as long as possible.

From then on, you have a bed of coals for the rest of the trip. All you have to do is reload the stove and damper it to give off smoldering heat.

I load the stove before bed, let it smolder until the wood is all burned to coals.

I try to minimize flame. You will get longer burn times and won't have intense heat cooking you out if you minimize flame.

Its something that you learn with experience. In my tipi, if I load it up with wood and have the front and pipe open all the way, the heat is so intense you cant stand to be in the tent. And that doesn't last long before the wood is gone and its cold again.

The best stove is one with a large door, and complete air flow control.

Your question about stove size, large vs extra large. I would say its not about heat.
Its about wood size and total volume.
Most extra large stoves are longer and taller, and wider than large stoves.
That means longer logs and more logs before its full.
Not so much, more heat. However, more wood without air control will lead to more heat due to more surface area being burned by flame.

So yes, it can lead to more heat, but if you control the air, a larger stove should just mean longer burn times.

 

[sneakypete]

Thanks for the advice guys. BIGHORN can I ask what stove you run?

 

[BIGHORNtracks]

I am running two stoves, one is a Titanium goat large WiFi stove and the other is a frankenstein stove. Built from parts and pieces.
I took the best features of all the stoves and used them to make a personal preference stove.

You will like the lite outdoors stove. Its a good one.
Let me give you a few ideas.
Buy the lite outdoors stove. Use it a few times.
Then when you have some experience, start tinkering with it.
You can make a ton of modifications to these types of stoves without actually modifying the stove.

For example, you can keep your 18 inch body sheet metal. But you can also go and buy titanium sheet metal that will allow you to increase the length of your stove. The stove diameter requires that you cut the sheet to a width, but you can cut it to a longer length to give you longer wood options. And, if you decide you don't need it, or like it, you just go back to using the original sheet body. No harm done.

The other thing is go look at the titanium goat cylinder stove legs.
They don't attach the same as the lite outdoors legs, but they are a far better leg design.
You can re create this type of leg for the lite outdoors stove.
Just buy a piece of aluminum tubing that the ends of the lite outdoors legs will slip into.
Bend the tubing into the style of the titanium goat legs.
This will give you more stability in the body. When you load the lite outdoors stove with lots of heavy wood, the legs want to spread and the body wants to bend shape.
A little aluminum tubing will fix that. If you don't ever load the stove enough to cause an issue, just don't use the tubing. No harm done.

Things like that. You can modify and build your own pipe dampers to get the results you want.
You may also find that you want to add a wood handle to the lite outdoors door, that thing can get hot.
I also like to lengthen the handle of pipe dampers, they can get hot as well.

But one thing I would do it buy extra pipe rings. Pipe rings get lost all the time.
They fall into the powdery snow and disappear, they fall into tall grass and are gone, they sometimes slip off the pipe as you pull the pipe through the tent, then they slide down the tent into the grass and unless you notice they fell off, and do a search for them, they are gone.
Plus they never give you enough in the first place.

You will be happy with whatever stove you buy. A stove in a tent is always better than no stove when its late November.

Also, if you like the seek outside stove, look at the kifaru front damper system. You can easily make a similar system for the seek outside stove.

If you are the type who will only use the stove on rare occasions, you will likely just use your stove and enjoy it.
If you are the type who will spend 6 - 8 weekends a year using a tent stove, you will end up tinkering with whatever stove you buy.
No one is making the "perfect" stove in my mind.

The best stove in the world would be a 12 inch cylinder stove with titanium goat legs, the lite outdoors size door and the door damper, a totally different door latch, and multiple body length options.

 

[Shrek]

Bighorntracks is giving good advice. Bigger stoves mean bigger wood which gives longer burn times. I run the large WiFi and I'm pretty happy with it. The door could be a little larger and a front damper would be a good addition for total air control but it works really well as is. I've gotten over an hour burn with good wood 4hat I can break over a rock with my boot.

 

[colonel00]

I'll throw this out there just in case but if you are handy in the slightest, you can easily make a cylinder stove yourself. Check out the link below. If you go this route, you can actually make two different sized stoves with the different diameter burner cover plates. In my setup, I use the same piece of stove body for both stove sizes. It's just "longer' than necessary on the small setup but it's just rolled around itself. There are some pictures on the later pages of the larger stove.

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?12385-Another-DIY-Stove

This photo shows the size comparison:

 

[mrbillbrown]

Love the large front door on my Lite Outdoors stove. Will post some pics in a sec.

 

[mrbillbrown]

molon labe

 

[colonel00]

That is a nice big door. I may have to make one like that and try it out.

 

[G5Archer]

I also like the bigger door..

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[Kevin Dill]

The Lite Outdoors stove with large door and integrated front draft control looks like a superb design. One question for those who have burned them hard: Have you experienced warpage in the door or end plate which affects the fit/seal?

 

[sneakypete]

Has anyone used the baffle in the lite outdoors? Was there a noticeable difference?

 

[sodaksooner]

Has anyone used the baffle in the lite outdoors? Was there a noticeable difference?

Same setup as you sneakypete. Bpwd Luna 6. 18" lite outdoors. I bought it prior to the big door. Yes the door and flue dampers really let you choke it down. Gotta be a bit careful as you can kill the fire too. Just have to experiment.

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[Quikcoog]

You know...my liteoutdoors is still sitting here unburned.....remember that time you convinced me I should have it?? Want me to bring it to work in the morning?

 

[sodaksooner]

The Lite Outdoors stove with large door and integrated front draft control looks like a superb design. One question for those who have burned them hard: Have you experienced warpage in the door or end plate which affects the fit/seal?

None with mine but i have the smaller door. Will probably upgrade it this summer. I try and keep the fire toward the back. The endplates are thicker and more substantial.I burned a bunch of oak in it when I burned it in. Can't imagine it getting any hotter than that.

 

[sneakypete]

Lol quikcoog! Yeah that took a lot of convincing. My plan is coming together nicely. Soon I will be buying your stove from you, still unused, at a used price!