Added a Window/Second Stove Jack to my Tent

[4estTrekker]

I have the Luxe Octopeak (with snow skirts and a single door) and really enjoy it for what it is (light, bomber in wind, and compact). However, when camping with two people, I find the stove location to be a bit awkward to get around. So, I added a second jack on the panel opposite the door that puts the stove smack between the two bedding areas. When going solo (as in the picture) I run the stove through the factory jack and cover the new opening with a vinyl window. My buddy liked the mod so much we cut a hole in his perfectly good Octopeak, too. 😎 Sitting here fireside enjoying the first half of the 16” of snow we’re supposed to get today! That amount doesn’t come all at once too often in my neck of the woods.

(For reference, I use a baffle in my stove box, which is why the stove pipe is over the door.)

[Heavy Duty]

Nice! better use of the space and this mod allows more light in. Good work!

[kiggy]

I was questioning myself why you using mosquito net in winter. until I figured out you have floor in it

[Lonelake]

Nice, windows are awesome!!

LL

[brianw]

I was questioning myself why you using mosquito net in winter. until I figured out you have floor in it

It also helps with condensation on the interior of the shelter and it makes the sleeping area a little warmer by holding in a little extra heat.

Cheers

Brian

[Undersky]

Hey 4estTrekker, Useful and pleasing mods, for sure!

Sometimes cutting a new hole in a new tent is as big a hurdle as plunging the chainsaw through the house wall when you start a big reno!

When you mention your stove baffle, are you indicating that you will have fewer sparks, so having the pipe above the tent is still good?

Also, did you install the baffle, or did that model of stove come with a baffle?

Finally, how well can you slow the burn down in your folding stove? I have always wondered how much air gets past the seams?

Thanks for sharing your experience and picture!

[4estTrekker]

When you mention your stove baffle, are you indicating that you will have fewer sparks, so having the pipe above the tent is still good?

Also, did you install the baffle, or did that model of stove come with a baffle?

Finally, how well can you slow the burn down in your folding stove? I have always wondered how much air gets past the seams?

Yeah, it's not the funnest thing to make that first cut! Between the baffle and the spark arrester, I don't seem get any sparks. However, I've not burned much pine/spruce/etc. yet. Can't say for sure if it's the baffle, arrester, and/or wood choice, but I've put no unintended skylights in the tent so far. 😎

The baffle is something I fabricated for my stove in order to get a more controlled/complete burn, help hold a little more heat in the firebox, and to get the footprint of the stove to sit a little further back in the "negative" space of the tent's interior since it puts the pipe over the door (I still have plenty of room between the back of the stove and the tent wall). My stovepipe was so long that I just cut a length of it off (can't remember how much off the top of my head, but something like 4" shy of the length of the firebox) to use for the baffle. I bent the ends over flat (to eliminated sharp edges and create rigidity), put a few breaks in the middle (again, for rigidity), and bent channels down each side that lowered the baffle and fit over the end of the stove's sides. The baffle rolls up and stores inside my stove pipe. I'll snap a picture later for clarity, as words just complicate it.

I find that I'm able to slow the burn in the stove a bit more with the baffle than without it. As empirecanvas pointed out in another thread, this stove "leaks like a pasta colander." That's for sure. I find that I can mostly shut the air intake on the door all the way and run the damper at about half closed or more most of the time and still get a clean burn. Once I've got a hot bed of coals, I shut the damper almost (if not all) the way. She's leaky, but she's mine. And it's light, fairly compact, stupid-easy to put together in the cold and snow, and was a gift from my brother-in-law. 😉

[Undersky]

Thanks!
I really like your baffle solution - ingenuitive, simple, effective!
All of the folding stoves leak - that is just what they do. So users need to start from the point of having a "colander wannabe" for a stove, and not try to compare a folding stove to a rigid one. So what you're doing seems to me to be an excellent approach. You're finding solutions to "how can I make this thing work well". And, it is working well!
Love your line: "she's leaky and she's mine"!!
I hope to get a Ti folding stove one day - hence my big interest in learning from the experience of others.
(Maybe I should be hoping for a generous brother-in-law, too!! )

[Heavy Duty]

Fantastic solution. All tents are made to be modified