Wood Stove Options

Good news:  I found several very small multi-fuel stoves for sale in the UK.  These are in the 3.5-5k BTU size range.  That could be enough to over heat my camper if it is well insulated, but if I use the boiler loop I divert much of the heat to water and reduce the heat output.  So I have a means of regulating the heat while burning hot, clean and efficiently.

Bad News:  However, I made a mistake. These are 3.5-5 kW stoves, and put out up to 18,000 BTU's.  Too big for my little camper.  

The prices or these  stoves are reasonable, albeit shipping could be painful.  The problem being these stove weigh too much. 

My concern is that I don't want a 150 lb stove flying through the air in an accident, or one too many bumps in the road.

The Sardine:  The smallest US made woodstove I could find was the Sardine.  It is a 35 lb stove with a cooktop, but not water coil.  While it would be nice to boil water for heat, I suppose I can find another way to do that.   This stove burns wood and charcoal.  I suppose coal would work with a grate installed.  Although air flow might prohibit this.

The enameled verison in green:

This is plan cast iron version with window that I probably will buy.  It won't have the cheezy name etched into the glass.  $1240

I like the idea of cooking on the Sardine.  I like that it is small.  And while the burn time will be shorter on a small stove, I'd rather have clean burns than smokey ones, which means I'll be lighting fires and most likely letting them go out at night.  If it was really cold, I could sleep on my dinette bed--my plan for cold nights, and be close to the fire where it is easy to feed.

That looks tasty.  As much as I like the enamel surface on these stove, I am concerned about the finish failing.  I anticipate putting cast iron fry pans on top, and perhaps a stainless steel tea urn for heating up water.  I like the idea of a stove doing double duty.  And heating up water will also divert some of the heat from heating the camper to heating the water with some moderating effects on the heating cycle.

One thing I really want is the pleasant glow of a fire that I can see.  There is an option for a glass side panel, which would work out well for me.  The enamel feature is expensive, and I won't be using it near salt water, so plain painted cast iron with the glass panel will be the logical choice.  I'd like to find out more about how enamel holds up before I decide.



The Tiny Tot:  This is an even smaller stove.  There are a few features and options, but the double cooktop version weighs 27 lbs.  They recommend charcoal or coal to fire this. 

It is an interesting stove.  For a smaller application, it would be my choice.  I don't think it would be very useful for cooking, but it would be useful for keeping warm and drying clothes.  I may choose this in any case and install some rails around it to dry clothes. The price for one of these, would be much less than a Sardine, about half at $361 plus flue and heat shields.

Tent Stoves:  Tent stoves are lightweight, designed to be taken apart and moved around easily.  So this is something I could move outside in warm weather.  In fact, some are so light that I could easily have two stoves, one for inside and one for outside.  Tent stoves are designed to heat a tent with no insulation, and they do a good job and burn a lot of wood, and larger pieces of wood. With one of these I'd be baked until well done.  I would certainly be able to handle any temperature, but I'd also be opening and closing windows constantly.  There are some nice designs. None of them have glass doors or ports.

Here is one of my favorites.  This one is made in Sweden, as I recall and made entirely out of stainless steel.  The flue pipes fit inside the stove for travel. I don't know the price on this one, it is probably expensive.

This one is made out of Titanium and weighs only 8 lbs.  I like the fact that it is so light.  The smallest verision is not much bigger than the Sardine. It is about 6 inches longer with about the same size face.  Titanium is more resistant to staining and heat than Stainless steel, and it can handle much higher temperatures than steel.  It is a nice product, and might be my final choice. $660

This next one is made of steel and features a water reservoir with a spigot on the side--I'd prefer it was on the front, but that could be changed.  It is called a twodog stove.

They make larger sizes.  This was the smallest I could find.  About $325.  Putting a second water reservoir on would be another $90.  The shelf is extra also.  This is simple and effective, and more than enough to heat my camper.






All of these tent stoves are made of thin, light metal, so they heat up fast and cool down fast.  They do one job--provide a lot of heat, and viewing pleasure is not part of it, unless the door is left open.

In any event, they do propose ideas like the side reservoir tanks that have merit and might work well with other stoves.

Self Built Stove:  My final option is a design, copy or modify a design for a stove and build it myself.  I like rocket stoves.  They offer a clean method of burning with efficient use of wood.  Other fuels can be used. I will probably build a rocket stove in any case.  The question is, will I use it in my camper for elsewhere.  One design issue is a self feeding stove. I've seen one rocket stove that was self feeding.  While I'd like that feature, it does pose some risks that manual feeding does not.  I like the idea of being able to leave my camper in the winter for a period of time and not worrying about pipes freezing.  A better option might be to use water has a heat storage medium that would re-radiate the heat.  Also, I could disable the normal water system in the winter season and use water stored in containers or in a heated insulated reservoir that could withstand freezing.  The later seems like the best choice, and I could still have water in my camper once it was brought back up to temperature.

Theme Considerations:  My boat theme is well suited for a wood or coal stove.  These have long be traditional in boats.  Both the Tiny Tot and Sardine fit this theme well.