Wood Stoves

The idea of a tiny wood stove in a larger van intrigues me. I think I've read that you do need to keep a window cracked for a supply of oxygen. But do the stoves have some sort of air-intake opening to feed the fire?

I'm wondering if any of the tiny wood stoves happen to have an opening in or near the bottom for air intake? If so, do you think a metal pipe could be welded to the bottom of the stove, to go through the van floor as an air intake source, to avoid having a window open?

If you want one for the Romance of the fire then go for it. But do have an alternative heating source such as a diesel heater because for daily heating for nomadic life they are not a practical option for many reasons including no thermostat.

Wood stoves begin being more practical for heating for the larger vehicles such as a school bus where you can have something with a larger firebox lined with firebrick and room to store a wood supply.

As to fresh air intake how that is handled that is totally dependent on the design of the stove. There are hundreds of small wood stoves in a wide price range.

My big concern is burn bans due to the dry conditions in the southwest now a days and the fact you cannot transport fire wood between states or certain areas due to insect infestation. Put that with cleaning out hot ashes and the fact I carry a lot of things that are flammable makes it seem more trouble than it’s worth in my opinion.

bullfrog said:

My big concern is burn bans due to the dry conditions in the southwest now a days and the fact you cannot transport fire wood between states or certain areas due to insect infestation. Put that with cleaning out hot ashes and the fact I carry a lot of things that are flammable makes it seem more trouble than it’s worth in my opinion.

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I agree. And I love wood heat, and lived with it for a good chunk of my adult life.

An alternative to burning wood is to use charcoal briquets or even coal. Also, having a stove that's airtight, or can be made so, really helps. In regards to air supply, drawing the interior air out, as long as there's exterior air to replace it, is beneficial when it's cold as it pulls out humid air. If you're worried about CO, just get a cheap CO alarm or, even better, 2 of them.
Just the other day I ordered a lightweight 'tent stove' from Amazon to put in my rig. It came down to a choice between the Pomoly Dweller & the Cubic Mini Cub. Both are pricey, but both have secondary burn capability & the Pomoly can be made airtight too. I went for the Pomoly because it's made out of stainless steel, has a larger burn chamber, & is wayyyy cheaper without being cheap crap. ..Willy.

Here's a youtube review of the Pomoly Dweller: I'd edit my previous comment & insert it, but don't how (if possible) to do so.

At age 70, spending my days scrounging for wood (to keep warm at night) does not intrigue me at all.

I do love my Dickinson vented outside propane fireplace though.

Is there a pellet stove that would fit the bill?

Camper said:

At age 70, spending my days scrounging for wood (to keep warm at night) does not intrigue me at all.

I do love my Dickinson vented outside propane fireplace though.

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What else are you gonna do all day in the forest? Kidding. Be hard to find wood, depending on where you camp.

Often in Illinois the campsites are surrounded by wood on the ground waiting to be picked up.

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Firewood collection:
National Parks -
National Forests -
BLM -
State, County Land -

Inside wood stove may or may not be allowed in Stage 2 fire ban; check with issuing authority. Probably requires a spark arrestor, 5 lb extinguisher, water or sand, shovel.

You could definitely add a vent to supply fresh air from outside your van. The wood stove will take the air from the easiest source.
This is why in some homes with wood stoves you need an air intake near your stove so it doesn't pull from other sources.

Wood burning stoves are great. And that link sent me down the cubic mini rabbit hole. So many neat ones out there. I do miss my fireplace and this would be great in my apartment. But I don't have a good way to install it, and I live in California. So the fire bans would make it a moot point regardless.

But they are on my radar now, and I'm trying to figure out if there's a smart way to make it work.

This very small wood stove that says it is good for a van does have an optional direct fresh air intake. It is the 3k Dwarf. There is another version of it called the 3K Dwarf Lite, do not purchase that one as it cannot use the fresh air intake kit. I have no experience with this product, I just found it in a search.
https://www.tinywoodstove.com/product/small-stove-the-dwarf-3kw/

maki2 said:

... do have an alternative heating source such as a diesel heater...

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A diesel heater would be my primary heat source, a wood heater would mainly be backup. Thank you for the link to the Dwarf!

Bullfrog: Burn bans come and go. A good source of wood for these small stoves is kiln dried building material scraps, often free for the taking, and aren't usually restricted.

Willy: Thank you for the Pomoly video -- very nice!

Happy Camper said:

Wood burning stoves are great. And that link sent me down the cubic mini rabbit hole. So many neat ones out there. I do miss my fireplace and this would be great in my apartment. But I don't have a good way to install it, and I live in California. So the fire bans would make it a moot point regardless.

But they are on my radar now, and I'm trying to figure out if there's a smart way to make it work.

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Don't forget the chainsaw and log splitter!

I lived in a 66 square foot (van sized) tiny house that I heated with a tiny wood stove for 18 months. I have lived with wood stoves my entire life so its second nature. If you are new use caution until you get the hang of it.

Random thoughts:
+ Don't listen to nay sayers about how dangerous it is blah blah blah.... it's not if you use common sense

+ MOST IMPORTANT! run the stove really hot with a temperature probe of some kind and water handy. Check all areas (ABOVE, BELOW, BEHIND, etc) around the stove to see how hot they get. My rule of thumb is if you can't hold your hand on it for 30 seconds it's too hot. The reality of wood stoves in small spaces is that the clearances are tighter than they should be. If you find something getting hot you need to add metal shields, stone tiles, bricks, etc. Metal shields attached to pipes and the stove are very effective at reducing heat of surrounding items. NOTHING SHOULD BE GETTING HOT TO THE TOUCH UNDER NORMAL OPERATION!!!

+ Wood stoves are fantastic at removing moisture from the room...amazing really

+ Air intake is not really an issue in a tiny house...van may be more sealed up, so crack a window or add a vent no big deal

+ You will discover that the warm air generated by a wood stove DOES NOT migrate very well. You will have a cold floor and hot ceiling. I used a small 12v computer fan near the floor to blow cold air into the warm zone...it worked fairly well.

+ Have a fire extinguisher, smoke detector, and any other safety devices that make sense.

+ Small stoves do not burn very long...large fire box = longer burns. I bet that cubic mini gives 3 hours of heat max.

+ Firewood for small stoves needs to be small. I used a chop saw to make 3 inch diameter rounds about 1.5 inches thick. I would locate a standing dead hardwood tree about 3 inches diameter (common in northeast forests) and cut it up. A single tree would fill a small blue plastic tote and last a week or more of nightly burning. For kindling, the lower dead limbs of a pine tree work great. Oak pallets are also great firewood...get a carbide bladed chop saw in case you hit a nail or two.

+ As for wood collection. You are not supposed to do it on public lands. That said, the only stuff worth collecting is dead. Deadwood fuels forest fires, so collecting it causes no harm. I have a small battery-powered chainsaw (M12 hatchet) that is perfect for stealth firewood collection. Get a large backpack fill it with small logs hike out, rinse, repeat. A large backpack of logs is enough to power a small wood stove for several nights.

I would want one with a fresh air supply arranged, I used up the available air in my cabin several times with a woodstove. Woke up feeling stuffy breathing, ripping headache, went and opened the cabin door in the zero temps, got fresh air, felt worlds better. I then utilized the fresh air intake the Blaze King stove had with a pipe through the floor and never had trouble again.

I like the idea of a woodstove, Ive also had wood heat much of my adult life. A woodstove would perhaps be more practical in a bus or larger rig, Id almost be inclined to lean towards a bus to have a stove.

The little pocket sized electric chain saws are very cute, I want to get one for my sidecar rig and general camp firewood use.