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Como Hacer Una Estufa
Como Hacer Una Estufa
Como Hacer Una Estufa
I made this portable stove as a source of heating for inside my canvas bell tent, it should be ideal for winter camping when
temperatures drop below zero. Also, I just thought it would be a fun thing to make...
People have made such stoves in many different ways. They are mostly used in colder climates like Canada and Scandinavia. The
following article shows my own design, bear in mind that this is the first stove I have ever made, I am not an expert where stove use
and design is concerned so the design may not necessarily be the best. I wanted to share this project with you, but before doing
any of this yourself please consider the following realistic warning:
WARNING: Fitting a wood burning stove inside a tent can potentially be very dangerous. Among many hazards, death
can be caused by carbon monoxide poisoning if the stove is poorly made and designed, and/or if there is too little fresh
air circulation provided by tent vent holes. Please DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH on how a stove should be used inside a
tent and what types of tent are suitable etc. Do not take this article as being a fully comprehensive manual on the use of
stoves in tents and the associated safety considerations. Be responsible for yourself and stay safe!
My stove box will be a '50 cal' ammo box; this is a popular choice.
I went for the 'Fat 50' version which is slightly wider than
standard. I got this off eBay.
These pipes are intended for custom exhaust systems, I also purchased this 'Double end sleeve' from which to make the flange
but they work well for a flue pipe too. They have slotted to connect the main flue pipes to the stove box. Notice how it is slightly
ends meaning that I can collapse the stove down for crimped in middle, this handy feature will stop the flue sections falling
portability. They are manufactured by Jetex, I also got down into the fire box.
these off eBay. I chose the 2 inch diameter mild steel
ones.
Stage 1
- Making the connector/ flange to connect the flue pipes to the stove box
1. - The double end connector 2. - The connector after some metal-work modification
3. - Connector/ flange fitted through hole cut in ammo box lid 4. - Part fixed in place using pop-rivets
Oak board with exact sized hole cut out serves as a form to bend
the metal over.
To install the flange a hole needed to be cut into the ammo box lid. The ammo box handle was removed first by chiselling it off with
a big screwdriver and mallet. I marked out the position of the flange, remembering to take into account the extra room needed to for
riveting the flange lip to the lid... I then cut the hole out using a drill and a rounded file.
Stage 2
- Making the door
Door size is marked out. The door will overlap the opening materials for the door: some sheet stainless steel and a
slightly. section of aluminium 'piano hinge', all sourced on the
internet. pieces were cut to size using a hacksaw. the strip of
metal on the left will be fixed behind the left hand side of the
hinge to bring the hinge level on both sides.
The pin in the centre of the hinge is knocked through slightly, I cut the door opening out by firstly drilling a starter hole big
the end then crimped over very slightly using a hammer, and enough to get a hacksaw blade in. I then gripped The loose
then knocked back into place. This will stop the pin moving hacksaw blade with a rag and cut along the lines, this
Door fixed in place with pop rivets. Bear in mind you don't
want to position the rivets so that their back-sides will
prevent the door from closing fully.
Stage 3
- Door Air Regulator
The centre holes are cut out by firstly removing most of the
After carefully marking it all out this piece was first crudely
unwanted metal with a drill. With hard metal like this
cut out with the hacksaw at some rough angles. The shape
stainless steel it's much easier to make small holes first then
could then be refined with some files
increase the drill bit size.
Now the design needed to be marked out onto the door and
Complete piece with the handle bent into shape
the appropriate parts cut out in the same way
Stage 4
- The Door Latch
To make the door easy to open and to save burning fingers, i These pictures should be fairly self-explanatory. I Fixed the
made the latch knob from a piece of hardwood (Holly to be latch in place in the same way as for the air regulator so that
exact). I'ts just fixed in place with a small screw. it could rotate...
This part could be improved upon, but here's what I came up with...
It's made from a food can lid and a piece of thick wire,
The metal is then forced either way to allow a metal rod to The damper before being installed with wire control handle
be inserted through the middle. A hammer and bit may be
needed to persuade the metal into shape.
The damper is located in the first piece of flue pipe. To Once in place I forced a small shim of metal between the
accommodate it a hole needs to be drilled through. wire handle and the tin disk so that they gripped each other
more firmly. Look carefully at the picture on the left, you can
I then balanced the round piece of tin on top of a thick piece see it at the centre.
of dowel and passed it up the flue pipe to the exact point
where I needed to pass the wire handle through the holes in
the flue. The handle was then shoved all the way through
both the the flue and tin disk.
Also, the tin disk inside is aligned parallel with the handles
so that you can tell the position of the damper from the
outside.
Stage 6
Sealing the Lid
The rubber seal from the inside of the lid needs to be levered out with a screwdriver and replaced with a length of fire rope. This
will ensure no smoke escapes. Do this towards the end of the project rather than at the beginning like I did.
Stage 7
- Legs
Stage 8
Firing up, burning-in and painting
When cooled, use sand paper or wire wool to remove all the
paint residue right back to bare metal. Now you can spray
paint the whole thing with heat-proof stove paint. This will
protect the metal from rusting. If you didn't remove all the
original paint then your new stove paint will eventually peel
off in patches.
I also decided to add a grate inside the stove to lift the fire off the bottom somewhat. I made this simply by taking the mesh from
a disposable BBQ, bending down the edges and putting it inside. It was a perfect fit without any cutting! With the fire not in
direct contact with the bottom, maybe this will extend the life of the stove.
NOTE: I have since learnt that many people recommend putting an inch or so of sand (or mineral soil - soil containing
very little organic matter) in the bottom of the stove. With repeated use over the long term, without such protection
the fire can eventually burn a hole in the bottom. this layer of sand will greatly help with extending the life of the stove.
If necessary, the sand can be carried in a bag with the stove and spread out inside when the stove is assembled.
Notice I have put the stove on a slab of slate to prevent burning the ground sheet of my tent. Not exactly a light-weight solution
but heat proof mats can be purchased which weigh very little.
You can buy a purpose made 'flashing kit' made for safely passing the stove pipe through the tent roof. I purchased
mine from this website: http://www.belltent.co.uk/truly_portable_wood_burning_stove
(see the option for buying the "flashing kit only")
- Back-puffing problem
I have found that operating this small stove is a lot different to a larger 'log burner' which you'd have in your house. I have
sometimes experienced a problem called 'back puffing' which is where the stove starts spluttering smoke out of the door and
front vent (This could be caused partly by poor design, I'm not sure). Back puffing can be caused by many things but usually I
have found that it's because I got the fire burning really hot and then shut down the air regulators too quickly. The result it that
the fire suddenly becomes starved of oxygen so it pulls oxygen in from wherever it can, including down the chimney! This pulls
smoke with it, then when the smoke and oxygen reaches the fire it temporarily bursts into life which forces all that smoke out of
any gaps in the door. This 'back puffing' can get into a continuous loop because after one 'puff' the fire immediately needs more
oxygen and so pulls more oxygen down the chimney and the cycle repeats itself.
Reading some info on the internet also reveals that back puffing can also be caused by a cold flue pipe which makes for a poor
upward draw of smoke. If your stove back puffs, try opening up the air regulators again and then shutting them down very
slowly over time.
Also I have found that sometimes it's only wise to open the door when the fire has died back; like when putting more fuel on.
You don't want the fire getting used to a level of oxygen that can't be maintained when the door is suddenly closed. Also It may
help to keep the fire burning at a modest heat rather than banking it up and burning it like crazy! I recommend lighting your
stove while it's not in the tent and practicing how best to operate it. with some practice these problems wont occur, at least not
very often...
Useful links:
Recommended bell tent and stove companies:
http://soulpad.co.uk/
http://www.belltent.co.uk/