Our family has some winter camping and would like to know what you have found to give you the longest burn time in a small hot tent stove. We recently tried some of the dura-flame logs in the back yard to see how they would work. Our discover is they give off an unpleasant smell and burn hot. While camping it seems we feed to stove every 20 minutes to keep things cozy in the tent. Have any of you found something that would burn 2-3 hours and give you more time to sleep before the fire dies down?

Oak works great, burns hot and last a long time. Burn time will also depend on the size of stove you are using.
Hard to find much of that up in the BWCA though.

These two charts might give you a glimpse...
Chart One
Chart two

Tamarack seems to be the "best" choice in the BWCA...lots of dead stuff half fallen and dry in the swamps.

Coal?

:)

Stick to burning any of the hardwoods, like oak, hickory. Osage orange (hedge) burns like coal.

quote Doughboy12: "These two charts might give you a glimpse...
Chart One
Chart two


Tamarack seems to be the "best" choice in the BWCA...lots of dead stuff half fallen and dry in the swamps."

+1 for tamarack (in the BWCA)

Thanks for your comments, the chart was interesting. Maybe I just need to bring a newbi and put them next to the stove at night. I tried a fallen (beaver tree) aspen/ birch and that tree was either wet or just doesn't burn well. The thick dead underbrush seams to give off the most heat for a quick warm up and getting things going. We did buy a larger stove this year just to see if loading the firebox will let us get a bit more shut eye.

Everything I've read about hot tent camping is that it's not going to be too hot if you don't feed the stove every hour or less.

How about a catalytic tent heater, like Coleman's?

The idea of hot tenting is to warm the tent while you are awake. When it's time for bed, you crawl into your cozy, properly temperature rated sleep system, cover your noggin with a balaclava, and sleep in the cold tent. You bring the newbie with you to start the fire back up in the morning and get the coffee going.

Hardwoods burn the longest, but nothing is going to last throughout the night in sheet metal hot tent stoves. A couple of hours at the most.

Don't use anything like a catalytic heater unless you properly vent the tent.

quote awbrown: "The idea of hot tenting is to warm the tent while you are awake. When it's time for bed, you crawl into your cozy, properly temperature rated sleep system, cover your noggin with a balaclava, and sleep in the cold tent. You bring the newbie with you to start the fire back up in the morning and get the coffee going.


Hardwoods burn the longest, but nothing is going to last throughout the night in sheet metal hot tent stoves. A couple of hours at the most.


Don't use anything like a catalytic heater unless you properly vent the tent. "

Wise counsel...

I'm on the hunt for some Osage Orange

Matt and I actually brought some of the duraflame logs on our last trip, just to have something to start fast if needed, and I'm glad we did! Sometimes with all the snow, the harder woods can take a long time to catch well... and when I got cold, we needed heat quick.

My boots rated for -30 proved to be otherwise... :/

quote Papinator: "Matt and I actually brought some of the duraflame logs on our last trip, just to have something to start fast if needed, and I'm glad we did! Sometimes with all the snow, the harder woods can take a long time to catch well... and when I got cold, we needed heat quick.


My boots rated for -30 proved to be otherwise... :/"

Your feet (in those boots) get cold for reasons other than your boots...unless they are too tight. And if you were at the point where you needed a big fire that fast, it proves my point...sort of. (Disclaimer: If you fell in the water all bets are off...lol)

quote Doughboy12: "

quote Papinator: "Matt and I actually brought some of the duraflame logs on our last trip, just to have something to start fast if needed, and I'm glad we did! Sometimes with all the snow, the harder woods can take a long time to catch well... and when I got cold, we needed heat quick.



My boots rated for -30 proved to be otherwise... :/"

Your feet (in those boots) get cold for reasons other than your boots...unless they are too tight. And if you were at the point where you needed a big fire that fast, it proves my point...sort of. (Disclaimer: If you fell in the water all bets are off...lol)"

back in the day when I worked at Holiday Sports that become Gander (aging myself) we told customers that the temperature ratings given to Sorels / Pac Boots etc is usually based on a rather high activity level such as snowshoeing or constant walking. Ice fishing and deer hunting and other sendentary winter sports take a lot more insulation then you think.-- but a lot of variables come into play.
This from a popular boot company--

Winter Boot Temperature Ratings

Providing an exact rating for winter boots is difficult because there are so many variables: your sock system, metabolism, fitness, hydration level, food intake, exposure time, activity level, and so on. To give you a basis for comparison we list an active temperature rating for all of our winter boots. There is no industry standard testing method, but MEC ratings are often more conservative than manufacturers' ratings. Our ratings assume you're actively walking or snowshoeing. When you're idle, the effective warmth of any footwear will drop. If you know from experience that your feet tend to get cold, choose boots that are rated for lower temperatures than those you'll actually encounter.

Thanks WhiteWolf,
That is what I was eluding to...you did a better job of explaining it than I had time for.

electric socks

Probably shouldn't wet foot when wearing these. :)

That was my problem, I'd get into watching something Matt was doing and forget to be moving around myself... this happened often... evidently I'm a tough learner... lol

While snowshoeing, I did stay rather warm.

Matt found some winter boots at one of the Farmstores for a good price... and they worked really well for him... I may have stolen them a few times!

Yeah, Sorels are fine when you're moving, but when you stop you freeze. That's why I finally got a pair of Steger mukluks - they're the first thing I've found that's actually warm when standing still or sitting, in part because they're soft enough that you can still wiggle your toes around, which pac boats restrict too much.

quote tonyyarusso: "Yeah, Sorels are fine when you're moving, but when you stop you freeze. That's why I finally got a pair of Steger mukluks - they're the first thing I've found that's actually warm when standing still or sitting, in part because they're soft enough that you can still wiggle your toes around, which pac boats restrict too much."

As time goes on, I find that all the traditional, old fashioned winter gear works best. Mukluks allow you to wiggles your toes and they are really great at keeping your feet warm. They also "breathe" helping you get rid of the moisture build up.

Wool is better for keeping you warm, is resistant to sparks, and also wicks moisture away from your body. I purchased a wool "boreal shirt" from Empire Wool and Canvas at the Winter Camping Symposium and I love it.

You can keep your synthetics, give me wool, canvas and down.

Wool retains 80% of it's insulating value when wet, nothing compares. I wrote it off for years convinced that it was too warm but it seems that it has some great qualities that allow it to prevent over-heating too. I'm surprised that the big label, outdoor clothing companies don't come out with more wool outerwear. I guess the margins aren't there.

The best wood for a hot tent is oak.

quote awbrown: "

quote tonyyarusso: "Yeah, Sorels are fine when you're moving, but when you stop you freeze. That's why I finally got a pair of Steger mukluks - they're the first thing I've found that's actually warm when standing still or sitting, in part because they're soft enough that you can still wiggle your toes around, which pac boats restrict too much."

As time goes on, I find that all the traditional, old fashioned winter gear works best. Mukluks allow you to wiggles your toes and they are really great at keeping your feet warm. They also "breathe" helping you get rid of the moisture build up.


Wool is better for keeping you warm, is resistant to sparks, and also wicks moisture away from your body. I purchased a wool "boreal shirt" from Empire Wool and Canvas at the Winter Camping Symposium and I love it.

In my book, you can't beat wool for winter camping.

You can keep your synthetics, give me wool, canvas and down."

Yes..oak and wool. a warm combination.

quote awbrown: "

quote tonyyarusso: "Yeah, Sorels are fine when you're moving, but when you stop you freeze. That's why I finally got a pair of Steger mukluks - they're the first thing I've found that's actually warm when standing still or sitting, in part because they're soft enough that you can still wiggle your toes around, which pac boats restrict too much."

As time goes on, I find that all the traditional, old fashioned winter gear works best. Mukluks allow you to wiggles your toes and they are really great at keeping your feet warm. They also "breathe" helping you get rid of the moisture build up.


Wool is better for keeping you warm, is resistant to sparks, and also wicks moisture away from your body. I purchased a wool "boreal shirt" from Empire Wool and Canvas at the Winter Camping Symposium and I love it.


You can keep your synthetics, give me wool, canvas and down."

I find they both have uses, especially in combination. For instance, I will wear a synthetic, wicking long sleeved shirt under my old, tried and true wool shirt. That combination keeps me dry and warm. And with my Snowtrekker tent, I got a steel stove, but I would like to get a titanium stove someday. Or just get one of Dan Cooke's winter tents. Those are beautiful.
But for keeping me warm, give me wool.

quote tonyyarusso: "Yeah, Sorels are fine when you're moving, but when you stop you freeze. That's why I finally got a pair of Steger mukluks - they're the first thing I've found that's actually warm when standing still or sitting, in part because they're soft enough that you can still wiggle your toes around, which pac boats restrict too much."

You would be surprised at how well standing on your closed cell foam sleeping mat will warm up your toes in a pinch while around camp...but walking is preferred if you can.

I scored some Osage and am going to put a log in on top of my coals just before bedtime to see home long it stays toasty!

Be careful with osage. I had a friend put it in a fire place and it burned so hot the grate and this metal on this inside of the fire place buckled. It was 20 below wind chills and had to open all the windows to cool off the house.

Our property in Kansas was covered in Osage Orange (hedge apple). It is not intended for a fireplace. We used it in a campfire. Neighbor used it in wood stove but had to control the flue. Nasty stuff to lumberjack...thick sap gums up chainsaws so it should be harvested in winter. Gnarly so tough to split. Thorns long enough and tough enough to puncture shoes and lawnmower tires. Once cured it is rock hard = I could not drive a nail into an old post. It is great for btu content but requires a lot of lumberjack btus to harvest it. Pretty wood too = orange core, but I can't imagine anyone trying to make furniture out of it.

Attached is a nice little article on firewood.

Firewood characteristics

Seems like the best firewood (Oak, hickory, Osage Orange etc) will have to be packed in to the BWCA.

quote Primitiveman: "Seems like the best firewood (Oak, hickory, Osage Orange etc) will have to be packed in to the BWCA. "

If you know where to look, there is Black Ash growing in the north woods:

Black Ash