Portable wood heater (Pocket Rocket Stove?) in a Wall Tent

I enjoyed seeing Pocket Rocket Stoves at the RMH workshop in Missoula last week, has anyone used one or something similar for portable heat in a wall tent? I’m going on a hunting trip in a few weeks and would prefer to build a stove instead of buying a more traditional wood stove. This is what I’m looking for to start:

Tent Dimensions 14 x 16’ or 15 x 18’

Safety Concerns – distance from wall, elevate on blocks.

Heating – is a 55 gallon drum design too large for that space? Heat while we are awake in the tent wouldn’t be an issue but I’m wondering about how to keep the tent warmish at night since the stove would go out. We will probably bring water jugs in for some thermal mass but I’m assuming that would be not nearly enough.

Josh : my 1st question is what kind of insulating, safety thimble / jack do you have for the stove pipe to Pass thru the tent itself ? size, oval or round ! out thru the roof or thru the end wall ? Size of the thimble/jack will limit size of stove pipe . Next if you set up a ridge pole outside the tent so that the tent hangs down below it and throw a largeish tarp over the ridge pole so that you create a dead air space between tarp and tent you gain a layer of insulation (esp with a snow load on the tarp ! )that should cut down the amount of wood that you will use, the size of the heater you will need, and greatly increase the interior area of the tent that can be safely used. Any camp bed that raises you up off the floor will greatly add to your comfort as the temp goes up remarkedly after you get 6'' or more off of the ground , around here we take the cub scouts, webilos out ice fishing with a 5 gal pail for a pocket rocket and just use banked snow or a tarp for a wind break, My personal choice would be to have a set of 2 sleeping bags that fit one inside the other and give you a range of temps separately and together to get you thru the coldest night ! Im sure that the rocket stove class that you went to told you to build a rocket stove and practice using it , I would give you the same advice for the rest off your outfit, set it up, figure out your layout, and do it enuff times to be able to do it with the amount of time/help you have,- - - getting to camp at dark and needing an hour and a half to set up your gear can make for a poor start to a hunting trip, oh yah, the check list , dont leave home w/out it ! pyro - maticly yours Allen L.

Josh : I was looking up some stuff in Ianto Evans' Book 'Rocket Mass Heaters' and found where he noted that the SMALLER the outside barrel the higher the temp will be on the surface of the drum ! - All the more reason to practice laying out all your Hunting outfit w/in your tent 1 so you can see how to safely move about your tent ! g' Luck , Pyromaticly yours Allen L.

Josh,

I'll be helping to build a rocket stove into a wall tent this Winter. We're using it as a prototype for a larger RMH but if I get any issues specific to the tent I will share. Our plan is, actually, to turn the tent into a temporary wet sauna. The air temps in this part of the Yukon get very low in the winter so this little stove will be doing some big work! I'm currently gritting my teeth and building up the mental fortitude needed for the obligatory roll in the snow once all sauna-ed up.