Frontier stove in a bell tent?

[attheendoftheday]

Has anyone done this?

I know the soulpad doesn't recommend putting the frontier stove inside the tent, but there is a flashing kit on the market specifically for putting the frontier into a bell tent, so it can't be totally not unsafe? I think the frontier looks like such a useful stove I wonder if there's a way to put one in safely?

Thanks!

[CampingClaire]

Hi,
Everything the company says implies safety if you follow the rules. Reckon Soulpad possibly sell a different make (side exit) and that's maybe why?
You can get the flashing kit, a spark arrestor (you won't see what's leaving the flue if you're inside the tent!) and a heatproof mat - get all three. tinyurl.com/oznv9g5
If leaving it up and having it lit for days on end then empty flue daily -especially if wood unseasoned. This is easy though…just knock the flues sections on the ground and any clumps fall out…or make like a native and use an evergreen branch and pull it through!
We use our Frontier stove outside the tent under a canopy rather than have it in our tent which is canvas but not a bell tent. You can get extra flue sections if needed for the height of the tent.
We love our stove and use it in the garden when not camping.
Cooking on it is super simple and I don't take a gas stove now.
Leave a gap of about 4 inches at the back of the stove when popping wood in and it means that the back is a bit cooler for big pots to simmer for a long while. Crepes, fry ups etc on the front and take the top circle off for woks or pans to sear meat in etc.
Use layers of smaller bits of wood when cooking on it as the heat won't fluctuate as much but you can pop bigger logs in when it's just for heating.
PS...I know people who have camped out in a bell tent with a frontier for most of the winter!

[attheendoftheday]

That's really helpful, thank you!

Would you think the frontier would generate enough heat for a 5m bell tent? My finger is hovering over the order button but I've seen a couple of reviews saying it didn't.

[Fooshufflewickbannanapants]

We have a soulpad 5m zig and use the recommended blaze stove, it's tiny but easily warns up the whole area it's output is 2.5 kw and I believe that more than that would be an issue on the side exit which is why they don't recommend. We chose to have side exit (and chose the soul pad genie) rather than central as we have lots of kids and the side exit is easier to keep clear.

[CampingClaire]

Sorry…been busy working and not on top of my musnetting!!
It'll heat it fine. These friends of mine lasted through a Scottish winter after all!!
The most important thing about burning wood for heat is burning the right type of wood!
You really want kiln dried for ultimate heat. If you just use what's lying around it won't work as well. You're better to use loads of small bits - bigger than kindling though rather than huge blocks of wood. This means you have layers of wood and the heat won't fluctuate the way it will if you throw a giant log on.
We bag up all the little bits that fall off the trailer when we get our log delivery for the house and use these. If you don't have a log fire at home - google for a log man in your area. Chances are they may take kindly on you asking for the rubbish bits of broken wood that they don't think of as actual logs and give you bags of them at a good price.
We do burn wood we find out and about too but we swap it in with the good stuff once we have it going well.
If all you can get wood wise is the bags from a garage forecourt - chop them up smaller and maybe store them in your garage or a sunny but covered spot in the garden to help age/season them as much as possible.
Hope this helps.

[CampingClaire]

Also lavendersun you'll need to be extending your camping season to 11 months of the year to justify the expenditure I talked you/your DH into!!
PS Still very jealous!

[CampingClaire]

I love your style lavendersun We are also believers of the 'method in our madness' style of tent shopping in our house too. (2 x 2 man, 1 x 4 man, 1 x 6 man, 1 x 10…yup 10 man, the adored Albatross and a roof tent on the Land Rover) We have two children and only one of them holidays with us anymore!! Can we bear to sell any of the tents…nope!!

[attheendoftheday]

Thanks for the advice, that's really incredibly useful. I have done the deed and ordered the bell tent and frontier stove, I can't wait to try it out!

[CampingClaire]

attheendoftheday Yippee!! Now get away off the internet and go camping!!
lavendersun It's a proper 10 man although honestly more like 8. The Outwell Maryland (I've seen smaller retirement bungalows!) although weirdly it's quite easy to put up. Two 3man rooms and 2 2man rooms and a living area that's about 12 feet square!! It's what I used to head away in when the kids were little and we'd go for most of the summer holidays and DH would join us when he could. Solid as a rock…it's remained standing when all else around it has buckled or been blown away in the wind.

[CampingClaire]

Ours sits just above the variolifuil height but we also stick the spark arrestor on it so that takes it up another 6 inches. God forbid a spark would set fire to my tent!! Does your stove have a spark arrestor bit? I'm guessing it must. We use the whole of the frontier flue even when we have it on in the garden to cook on (like last night) and it sits about 6-7ft high then. Yours must be higher to fit out the top of the tipi?
I'm sure their groundsheet will be fab…everything else is!!

[CampingClaire]

I'm presuming using it at the 7ft mark won't affect the draw on it…try it out in the garden first and see. For the 'sleeps' you're having in each place the tipi does make sense as a quick pitch. Least we've pitched the Albatross for is 5 nights and then it went up the next site for a week. You'll be expert at pitching it doing it 7 times in quick succession.
Living in the tropical beauty of Scotland the variolifuil will be much appreciated to keep the rain off you though!
Watch the weather (we find xc.weather.co.uk) the most accurate and make the decision based on what it's looking like?

[CampingClaire]

Skye….Glenbrittle campsite is fab positioning - pretty much right on the beach. Showers are a bit so-so for power though although very clean. Midges can be hellish there in summer though.
Big Sands at Gairloch is my fav of all sites. Although maybe a bit off track for you…unless after leaving Skye you went from Plockton over towards it.
Feel that all the best Scottish beach ones are further north than you maybe are planning, Gairloch, Clachtoll, Achmelvich to name three fab places.
DD loves Loch Morlich at Aviemore….right on beach but it's a bit 'corporate' for the rest of us.
Your DH will need no advice on weather sites then!!
Since you obviously camp like us you will almost certainly take both tents!!

[welshman2012]

Been looking for a stove to go in our bell for a while now heard good and bad about it. Just found these www.vestastoves.co.uk/shop/Bushmaster-camping-stove

I whent down to the factory were they are made in Lancashire and bought the flue kit as well. I am over the moon with it and now camping at every opportunity no matter how cold it gets outside.