Is my tent stove going to melt?

This sounds silly I know but I cannot find my answer anywhere. We have a 12x12 Alakanak tent from cabellas and the stove that goes with it is awesome. However my husband always packs the thing to the gills which causes two things. One, it gets so dang hot that I wake up and rip open all the windows and doors even when it's 20°f or colder out. Two, the first section of pipe will start to glow. The nervous nelly in me freaks out that it's gonna burn the whole thing down. Hubby just wants to paint the pipe with the black heat paint, or just buy insulated pipe? Is the glow normal? Is there a better way to keep from turning the tent into a sauna?  

Hi Melissa:   Welcome to Permies!
A glowing stove pipe is always something to get nervous about.

In my opinion your hubby is overloading the stove.  But, be that as it may.
His idea of insulated pipe is expensive but would be much safer than glowing orange pipes.  You would feel slightly less heat in the tent as well.

Are you guys aware of rocket mass heaters ?  One with a bench that doubles as your bed and your couch?  Sit on it , stay warm , sleep on it , stay warm,  In place of the stack of wood you guys burn getting too hot, you would burn a few pieces instead.  No fire all night , stay warm , burn much less wood …  If you can't tell I am a big fan of RMH's.

I realize your living in a tent, space is limited, building a rmh takes some time, but maybe this might be worth your time to look into?  Summer is coming but next winter is right on its coat tail...