Hot Tent Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Worries

[452b264]

I have a Seek outside tipi with large stove, every morning before I use the stove I clean the screen and never had a problem and there isnt a single burned hole in my tipi.
The spark arrester on top of the stove pipe of my wall tent I have had plug up and it smoked us out.

This is the only spark arrester I like. It also captures more heat.

Reduced Price - 5" In Line Spark Arrestor

REDUCED PRICE IS ONLY VALID WHEN ORDERED AND SHIPPED WITH A WILDERNESS TENT, SELKIRK SPIKE TENT, YUKON STOVE OR A WILDERNESS STOVE.Normal price of $72 for a 5" in line spark arrestor will be charged if not ordered and SHIPPED with items listed above.The In-line Spark Box is designed to have a spa...

www.walltentshop.com

A quote from the USFS.

RECOMMENDATIONS A 1/4-inch spark arrester screen size provides the best balance between ember reduction and optimal stove performance. A 1/2-inch screen size releases larger ember bits into the air and increases the potential to start a wildfire. A 1/8-inch screen size causes the soot to buildup too heavily on the mesh, choking the exhaust in less than an hour, and smothering the fire in the stove. SDTDC staff recommends placing dirt on the steel floor of the stove to reduce the heat being radiated to the ground. This decreases the chances of a fire starting near the stove’s base.

 

[Tyler C]

On a positive note; if your mind is consumed with whether or not you’re going to die from carbon monoxide poisoning, then it doesn’t have time to worry about being mauled by a bear.

 

[mhabiger]

Man I love Rokslide, fella can find the answer to all his hunting problems here!

Had a close call last week here is the setup: its the 5th night in the tent, 3rd with rain and last night of the trip. The temps are close to freezing. We get the stove going and hunker into bed. We had some issues with the stove not drafting well when cold, but of course I blame that on wet wood. Slept 20 or so nights in the tent and never had an issue with smoke so has to be the wood instead of something with stove. That is what I tell my buddies when they complain.

At 4am, with a steady rain going on outside, my buddy wakes up coughing and yells "Matt the f#$!ing tent is filled with smoke!" We are all coughing and scrambling to open the rain fly. I grab the shovel and empty the contents of the wood stove outside. 10 mins later the smoke is cleared, we hunker into our bags and sleep for another hour. We pack everything up hastily in the rain and jet out just as the sun is coming, kind of chuckling how we are all glad we are still alive to se the sunrise.

I was just gonna post on how my damn stove was venting and I thought it had to do with the specific conditions and being camped in a narrow canyon. Then I read these posts about spark arrestors getting clogged if they are at the top of the stove pipe. So I pull my spark arrestor/rain cap out from the last section and this is what I see....

 

[treillw]

Man I love Rokslide, fella can find the answer to all his hunting problems here!

Had a close call last week here is the setup: its the 5th night in the tent, 3rd with rain and last night of the trip. The temps are close to freezing. We get the stove going and hunker into bed. We had some issues with the stove not drafting well when cold, but of course I blame that on wet wood. Slept 20 or so nights in the tent and never had an issue with smoke so has to be the wood instead of something with stove. That is what I tell my buddies when they complain.

At 4am, with a steady rain going on outside, my buddy wakes up coughing and yells "Matt the f#$!ing tent is filled with smoke!" We are all coughing and scrambling to open the rain fly. I grab the shovel and empty the contents of the wood stove outside. 10 mins later the smoke is cleared, we hunker into our bags and sleep for another hour. We pack everything up hastily in the rain and jet out just as the sun is coming, kind of chuckling how we are all glad we are still alive to se the sunrise.

I was just gonna post on how my damn stove was venting and I thought it had to do with the specific conditions and being camped in a narrow canyon. Then I read these posts about spark arrestors getting clogged if they are at the top of the stove pipe. So I pull my spark arrestor/rain cap out from the last section and this is what I see....
View attachment 342478

It's good to see that the smoke wakes you up before it kills you! Glad you all are alright.

 

[Lawnboi]

A stove without a removable when burning spark arrestor is a recipe for disaster in these small tents.

I filled one with smoke, with a lite outdoors stove. Arrestor clogged and there is no way to remove or clean mid burn. I’d never buy another stove of that design. Now I just run it without the arrestor as long as conditions allow.

 

[Read1t48]

Hard to think of someone using their hot tent long enough without getting smoked out. Wet wood or burning something unnatural is usually the culprit. My experience...
Extremely wet conditions in PNw. Burning less than dry wood in a large Kifaru Box stove. This stove has two spark arresters at the bottom of the pipe which can be pulled out while burning. 1st SA clogged up and caused smoke to fill up tipi. Took out SA, cleaned and learned to periodically check when burning in wet weather. No big deal.
I also burned a Dura flame log to initially get the local wood to dry. This works well, too, but you still have to watch for clogs.