Wood stove for 13 foot burro?

[k corbin]

There are several different woodstoves made for use in fiberglass boats.

As to where does one get wood.... Most campgrounds sell wood as do many grocery stores and hardware stores. Also you can find it at stores that sell wood stoves. Some of the marine wood stoves (but not all) can also use the pressed wood logs. Those are quite handy as you can split off a chunk of it the right size to fit into the firebox. That is much easier to do than cutting a piece of firewood to a shorter length.

If you really want a wood stove it is certainly a viable and achievable option.
But just remember they don't have large fireboxes so that means waking up a couple of times a night to feed it wood.

[steve dunham]

We heat our home with wood , have for over 30 years.
Buying firewood at a gas station / convenience store is not economically feasible unless you are talking about only occasional use. A propane furnace is much safer , easier to control and more cost efficient for heating a small area.

[Jon in AZ]

My experience with campground firewood, in a word: garbage! Unseasoned, undesirable species, small diameter, lots of bark,... Same with the stuff you find at grocery stores, convenience stores, hardware stores, etc. Really expensive, too.

With a little help from a supply of seasoned heartwood juniper kindling I always bring with me, I can get some kind of campfire going with it, but in a small wood stove for a clean burn and reliable, even heat?...

Unless you're taking the trailer to a place where you can put up your own supply of firewood or work with a good local woodcutter, finding decent fuel wood will be a problem.

[ZachO]

I would only go with a woodstove if I were living in my camper year round. But I'd love to have one, all the same. It would definitely be more work. But in the north, in the winter, it's the only way to go. Propane wouldn't cut it. If you're living in your camper in the north in the winter, you have all sorts of concerns, and would need to be pretty darn competent, and so finding wood would just be another part of it. Totally do-able for that kind of person.

It somehow seems to make more sense in a tiny house on a trailer than in a camper trailer. But for the right situation, I think it would be great in a camper.

[k corbin]

http://cubicminiwoodstoves.com/
For use in small spaces including tiny houses and RVs. However for fiberglass trailers you will likely want to use the fittings made for marine wood stoves for the through the roof chimney. Or another option is to work with a local fabricator who works in stainless steel. One of the customers had his local muffler shop fabricate a chimney.

[Raspy]

I put a small wood stove in by boat and used it for a season. It's hard to get a very small wood stove to burn correctly. Wood is a very messy situation with lots of smoke and debris. It also takes up a lot of room as fuel and it's high maintenance with splitting, storing and tending the fire. I tried coal too as it takes up less space.

The chimney part is easy. Just a stainless steel patch in the roof and a 3" vent pipe passing through a 3" hole. Then a heat proof shield against the wall and one to support it from underneath are absolutely critical. Then a combustion air source.

The length of the chimney on mine was about 3'. If needed, you could slip on an extension piece after you park.

Eventually, I got tired of the hassle and changed mine to a diesel burner. That worked beautifully.

[Glenn Baglo]

I had a "cottage" wood-burning pot-belly stove in my living room ( 28' X 12' ).
The fire was either too hot or had died. It would only take small pieces of wood that had to be cut down to no more than 10". Required constant attention.
Then my home insurance company demanded to see that it had been installed with permits and inspection ( previous owner neglected to do that ). I went to city hall and got the requirements. It basically had to be set on a 3' X 3' concrete pad and needed clearance all round.
While cutting down 2" X 4" scraps for fuel, with an electric table saw, I realized it would be much easier to use that electricity to run a heater than a saw.
I tore out the stove and haven't missed it for a minute.
Imagine trying to maintain clearances and even heat in a 13" trailer.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Imagine trying to maintain clearances and even heat in a 13" trailer.

It doesn't seem doable in any practical or safe way.

[Glenn Baglo]

I'm happy and so is my insurance company.

[Raz]

In my home I have a concrete and tile pad, a masonry chimney, and lots of clearance around the stove.



In my trailer. I don't think so.

[steve dunham]

Similar to Raz , Quadra Fire wood stove on a raised platform with mexican pavers and stone walls with a 1 1/2" air space.

[Jon in AZ]

I'm not sure I see the point of comparing wood stoves designed for residential applications. I love our home wood stove, too, but assuming there is one that is designed and rated for installation in a 13' fiberglass trailer, it's going to be a different animal altogether.

I agree with Raspy that the smaller the firebox and the space to be heated the harder it becomes to regulate the temperature. You need good quality fuel with consistent, predictable heat output. There will be more work to prepare the fuel for a small firebox. And it will require more frequent tending, cleaning, etc.

Not my idea of vacation!

[MyronL]

You want to carry along a heavy pile of wood, deal with bugs, dirt, ashes, risk death by smoke inhalation, not to mention a short burn life? Get a wood stove for the trailer.

[ZachO]

Until other technology catches up, for a certain kind of person, having a small wood stove in their camper is the only way to go.

For the other 99% of us, yes, it's an unnecessary hassle, and carries more danger.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

it's going to be a different animal altogether.

Yup. It'll run on propane or electricity.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

I'm not sure I see the point of comparing wood stoves designed for residential applications.

To start it's a metal box with a fire inside. My stove is rated for 60k BTUs , for houses up to 2000 ft^2 , takes up to a 21" log, and has a fire box of 2.2 ft^3. Now scale that down to a 60 ft^2 trailer that has not been built to the fire codes my house has. Also bear in mind you need to run it hot to avoid chimney fires. Imagine a chimney fire in a trailer. Just because someone makes a stove that will fit doesn't mean it's safe.

[Cathi]

Originally Posted by not-very-clever

Hi,

I just picked up my first fiberglass trailer, i got a 13' burro. quickly nicknamed the burrito (little donkey)


I am primarily going to be using it as a winter weekend getaway in the mountains at a ski resort. The previous owner had it setup for summer camping with an conditioner.

I was wondering how other folks are heating their 13' fiberglass trailers? I saw online some tiny wood stoves but they still seem too big. like the Sardine from marine stoves (and not to mention, pretty darn expensive). it definately seems too big even at that size.

I guess i wouldn't even know where to put a wood stove with the chimney. anyone out there using a tiny tiny wood stove and can give me some advice?

thanks

pete

You might get the idea by now from the above posts.

[Lee Senn]

I suggest you check out Dickinson marine they market wood stoves for application in boats ( I subscribe to a couple of sailboat magazines , not because I am sailboat enthusiast but because they have been dealing with living comfortably in small spaces for decades if not centuries ). Their stoves have been used safely in confined spaces for years. They can utilize many sources of solid fuel including firewood, coal, artificial logs etc. ( apparently broken into smaller pieces ) anyway worth a look see. Lee

[Jon in AZ]

My own opinion about woodstoves and small trailers hasn't changed, but this Casita happened to show up for sale in Alaska this morning, and it seemed interesting and relevant to this discussion:

Casita Woodstove 1.JPG Views: 38 Size: 30.7 KB ID: 103787" style="margin: 2px" />
Casita Woodstove 2.JPG Views: 39 Size: 29.0 KB ID: 103788" style="margin: 2px" />

1986 Casita 16SD in AK $4000

[theresa p]

Seems "off". Price is waaay low for condition of unit. Phone number is for Cinncinati, Ohio area yet he says Alaska.

But---this is the same woodstove that was linked to by Karen Corbin and it looks really amazing in situ! Despite the negative comments by most posters about utilizing a woodstove in a small camper, this one (built for this purpose) seems to be a good fit.

Cannot deny that there's work to having a woodstove ANYWHERE. But it would certainly be nice on those frosty mornings


...just sayin'....