It's pouring snow outside the workshop right now, and that always makes me think about winter preps. Fulfilling the need of shelter becomes much more difficult in the winter, and in northern (and even temperate) climates, winter shelter always involves heating with a fire.
But how do you make a fire out in the field? At its simplest, you can just build an open campfire and gather around it to absorb the heat. But this has some problems:
OPEN FIRE:
fuel-inefficient (you have to burn more wood to get the same amount of heat)
gives away your position (creates lots of light and smoke)
usually can't build one inside your shelter (unless your shelter has a huge hole in the roof, which in turn lets a lot of your heat escape)
if built outside, requires you to stand out in the rain/snow/wind in order to get warm
more difficult to cook with
harder to light in the rain/snow/wind
greater risk of spreading out of control
So throughout history, the open fire became an open fire in a special open chamber with a hole in the roof, which became a fireplace with a chimney, which became a wood stove with a stovepipe jacked through the ceiling. This method remains the peak of wood heating. All other developments are either small tweaks to the classic wood stove, or they use different fuel (such as electricity or propane) and thus are too complex and rely on too many external inputs to use in an austere environment for a long period of time. Wood stoves are resilient. They have no moving parts, they run off a fuel that, in most places, can be locally harvested by anyone for free, and they can last many years, sometimes for multiple lifetimes. Here is how they excel over an open fire:
WOOD STOVE:
more fuel-efficient (has a more efficient burn, AND distributes the heat better)
except when starting and stopping the stove, it usually creates very little smoke, and can be quite stealthy
can be installed inside a tent, a lean-to, a shed, or the rooms of most buildings
can be used fully without having to leave your shelter
is unaffected by rain/snow/wind outside
if your stove has a flat top, it can be used as a cooking surface
less risk of spreading out of control, so long as you monitor it adequately
Now I know what you're thinking: "carrying or setting up a wood stove on patrol is stupid, you can't pack it up in a hurry, you'll get snuck up on while inside your tent, you'll get killed in the streets, just wear more layers and tough it out, blah blah blah" I would respond that indeed, you probably shouldn't carry a wood stove on patrol. But eventually that patrol is gonna end, and you're gonna return somewhere to rest and get warm. You may not be able to return to a warm home. Your home may have no power, or no propane for your furnace, or maybe you lost your home, or had to travel far away from it. A woodstove will provide the warmth you need, no matter what your "home" is at the moment: a tent, an old shed, a house or apartment without working heat.
And you will need that heat. Chronic exposure to the cold and wet poses all sorts of dangers:
frostbite
increased risk of flu and pneumonia
infection from lapsed hygiene practices
poor sleep that causes accidents and poor decision-making
being unable to venture outside for long because your clothes are wet
malnutrition from your body having to spend so many calories warming itself
Having a warm, dry place to sleep, eat, and dry and maintain your gear may not be necessary out on a patrol, but it is essential for long-term survival. This goes double if you have women, children, or elderly with you. That's the reason why basically every military in the world that might have to operate in the cold has an ample supply of "hot tents" with stoves to warm them. The US is no exception, most famously fielding the M1950 Arctic Tent and the M1950 Yukon Stove.
Now this is the part where I usually shit on milsurp gear. Yeah, the M1950 Arctic tent is wildly outdated, but if you don't have to carry it on foot, they are still pretty competitively priced for a hot tent that big. Same thing goes for milsurp tent heaters: they weigh a TON, but they're pretty cheap, built tough, and many of them can also burn various liquid fuels, which is neat I guess.
So those are the heaviest end of the portable wood stove spectrum. On the lightest end are ultralight, titanium woodstoves that fold flat and can fit inside your ruck with room to spare. The biggest name in both ultralight woodstoves and ultralight hot tents is Seek Outside, with OneTigris making some decent Chinese knockoffs.
In between each end of this spectrum is a wide world of semi-portable wood stoves that I'm not really gonna get into. There's a plethora of brands that all sell what is essentially the same few designs of cylinder stove, produced by Chinese company du jour. A lot of these look kinda doodoo, but one of the best incarnations is the one made by Camp Chef. I actually reviewed the one made by Vevor, and it's not bad if you get it for a decent price. Kni-Co stoves are also good if you have a truck, or a large cart or sled to carry it on, since they don't really fold up much.
Now the other option is to MAKE a stove. After all, they're basically just a metal box, with some metal legs, and a metal tube coming out the top. DIY woodstoves have been getting more and more popular in the MYOG world, though they're still somewhat niche. The stove I've made is pretty similar to the Seek Outside U-Turn stove, and that's what I'll be showing you how to make in this tutorial. It's done well in my 2-man tipi, my 6-man tipi, and in a semi-permanent dugout house setup. This is the third wood stove I built, but I promise it's not that hard to do, even if it's your first time.
Now before we get started, I want to disclaim that this is for educational purposes only. Fire is dangerous, and therefore wood stoves are dangerous too. These can be used safely, but you definitely have to play by big boy rules. I'm not responsible if you burn down your tent (or worse).
HOMEMADE STOVE OVERVIEW
Here she is, my pride and joy. Built in March 2021, the stove is three and a half years at the time of this writing and has been used at least a couple dozen times on winter trips in various settings. Here are some basic stats:
Dimensions (packed): 8" wide, 16" tall, 2" deep flat bag, 3" diameter, 12" long tube bag
Dimensions (deployed): 8" wide, 16" deep, 10" tall + 6" legs
Door Dimensions: 6" wide, 6" tall
Chimney Dimensions: 3" diameter, 10' above ground, 8'10" above top of stove
Weight: 5lbs, 0.5oz
Firebox volume: 1,280 cu in
Materials: titanium, steel, stainless steel
The stove packs up into two homemade zipper bags for transport: a relatively flat 8x16x2 inch "flat bag", and a 12" long, 3" diameter "tube bag." Both fit easily into any ruck or even an assault pack, and weigh only 5lb total. The flat bag is, alas, slightly too long to fit into an LFR buttpack. But the point is that it folds up VERY small.
Inside the flat bag is:
top panel
bottom panel
front panel
four legs
AA carbon monoxide detector (optional but adds some peace of mind)
Inside the tube bag is:
side panel, rolled up
stovepipe, rolled up
damper
a tiny bag, stuffed inside the stovepipe, which contains:
eight cable rings for stovepipe
heatproof handle for stove door
two end rings for stovepipe (optional, found them unnecessary)
spool of floral wire for repairs (optional)
spare nuts and bolts for repairs (optional)
You may notice that this stuff is FILTHY. That's just the price to pay: soot buildup is inevitable on these little stoves, and they're annoying to clean, so I don't bother. Just know that when handling them you will get soot on yourself, but if you don't, is it really winter camping?
Here's a video of me assembling it. One take, not sped up:
As you can see, it is ready to go in only about eight minutes. While one guy sets up a shelter and another guy grabs firewood, you can quickly assemble this thing and have it warming you up within fifteen minutes. Disassembly takes only half that time:
Because it is so thin and light, the metal itself doesn't hold much heat, and you can pick up the firebox with gloves, dump out the coals, and start disassembling it almost immediately. Four minutes is not fast enough to do it under fire, but definitely fast enough to take it with you if your LP/OP gives you an early warning that you need to pack up and go.
So how much does it cost? I know you're wondering. Here's my estimate:
heat proof stove handle: $8 NOTE: this isn't the one I'm using, but it's cheaper and better
A Saturday's worth of your time: ???
TOTAL: $288
So yes, this is a decent bit of money, but you save over 40% versus buying a comparable stove, especially when factoring the cost of the stovepipe. And for the capability it grants you, I think it's an incredible value. For the same price as a t̶h̶o̶u̶s̶a̶n̶d̶ five hundred rounds of 5.56, you can keep your family or your fireteam warm, healthy, and effective.
You'll also need a few basic tools:
cordless drill & drill bit set
tin snips
hacksaw or dremel with cutoff wheel
pliers
hammer
hand files
pop riveter
sharpie
ruler
vise
a very solid edge to bend the metal against. I used a short length of angle iron
Ok, let's get into it.
HOW TO BUILD IT
Now inasmuch as possible, I've tried to annotate this how-to tutorial with pictures of my actual woodstove. Unfortunately though, I built it already, and I'm not spending the money to build another one, so I can't actually photograph every step. Instead, I've provided some diagrams, as well as some GIFs of myself making the necessary cuts on a half scale paper mockup. I can provide more of these if you get confused at any point.
STEP 1:
Cut your threaded rod into four pieces, each 16" long. Make sure you do it right. Thread onto each a wingnut and a screw mount nut as shown below. Congratulations! The legs are done.
STEP 2:
Burn all of the galvanization off of your duct caps in a well ventilated area. You can do this over a campfire, propane stove, etc. Just hold the duct caps over the heat until they go from a shiny to a dull finish. Now they're ready to use.
Take one of your duct caps, and mark all four corners, 1/2" in from each edge. On this mark drill a 5/16" hole for the legs to pass through. Now your bottom panel is done.
STEP 3:
Take another duct cap, and mark all four corners 1/2" from the edges, as in step 2. Instead of drilling a hole on each mark, attach a screw mount nut as shown, using your rivets. Make sure you do it right. Also make sure you install your rivets from the flat side of the duct cap. This flat side will be the top surface of your stove, and you want the rivets as flush as possible to not interfere when you're trying to cook on the stove. As you may have guessed, this will be your top panel.
STEP 4:
On the flat side of your top panel, make a mark in one corner that is 2.5" from the short edge and 1.75" from the long edge. Draw a 3" diameter circle around this mark. The edge of the circle should be 1" from the short edge and 0.25" from the long edge. Inside of this circle, cut out a 2" diameter circle, and make several 0.5" long cuts outward toward the 3" circle you marked. This might sound confusing, but it's simple: just look at the diagram below, and mark according to the yellow lines and cut according to the red lines. Finally, bend the edges between the red circle and the yellow circle 180 degrees so that they lay flat against the rimmed side of the top panel. The result should be a 3" diameter round hole in the top panel, with folded over edges that aren't sharp. See the photo below.
STEP 5:
This part you're gonna have to kind of freehand. Take your steel flat bar and bend it in your vise with your hammer until it forms the shape pictured below, then rivet it into place. The purpose of this piece is to give the stovepipe something to rest on when it is inserted into the top of the stove. Your goal here is to be able to insert the stovepipe through the hole you made in step four, and it should go in about 1.5-2" then rest comfortably on this bent piece of flat bar. Note that this will eat up a bit of your firebox space, but it is necessary.
STEP 6:
Take your last remaining duct cap, and bend one of the rims on a short end 270 degrees so that it lays against the flat side, as shown below. This duct cap will become your front panel.
STEP 7
Now, take your front panel, and from the end you just folded over, measure 11" down the length of the panel and mark across it. Cut it completely in half along that mark. Afterwards, trim back the rims an additional 1" from where you just cut.
STEP 8:
Bend the edge of the front panel that you just cut with two bends, as shown below.
STEP 9:
In the center of your front panel, cut a 4" square hole. Bend the edges back to the rimmed side an additional 0.5" to form a 5" square hole and hammer them flat, as shown in the photo below.
STEP 10:
Take some leftover scrap metal from cutting the front panel and cut out a 7" square. Bend the edges back an additional 0.5" to form a 6" square piece of metal, then hammer them flat, as shown in the photo below. This will be the door of your stove. At 6" in size, it will overlap the 5" hole in your front panel by 0.5" on all sides, creating a seal so sparks don't escape and air doesn't get in.
STEP 11:
Take your piano hinge and cut it to 6" in length. Use it (and some rivets) to attach the stove door to the front panel as shown in the photo below. The door should be centered over the 5" hole in the front panel. Note that the holes in your piano hinge are likely too large to hold the rivets. If this is the case, use some leftover scrap metal to cut thin strips to act as a washer over the piano hinge, as shown in the photo. Also note in previous photos that there are three small notches in one edge of the front panel hole. These are relief cuts to prevent the rivets on the backside of the door from hitting the front panel, which would prevent the door from closing. You'll probably need to make these cuts as well.
STEP 12:
Cut two pieces of steel flat bar and use them to form a latch, as shown below. Attach your handle and see if it works. Tip: when you rivet on the piece of flat bar that is supposed to rotate, place a washer made out of an index card or a few sheets of paper between the flat bar and the front panel. Rip the washer off after riveting, and this will create a loose rivet that will allow the flat bar latch to rotate freely. Now your front panel is finished, and you're almost done!
STEP 13:
Take your 10" wide ti foil, and cut it to a length of 39.5". Bend the short 10" edge with two bends, as shown below. Repeat with the other short edge.
STEP 14:
From the edge you just folded, measure 6" down the long unfolded edge of the foil and mark it. On this mark, cut a 1" deep cut, and another 1" deep cut 3" further down in order to form a 3" wide tab. Repeat this on the far side of the same edge, so that one of the long edges has a tab at each end. Your side panel is now finished.
STEP 15:
Take your 12" wide ti foil, and from the two corners of a short end, measure 5" down the length and 3 5/8" in from each sides, and mark. Drill a 5/32" hole in each of these two marks. These holes are where the handle of the stove damper will pass through. Now your stovepipe, and the entire stove, is finished!
If you've made it to the end great job! Now you have a very lightweight, packable wood stove that can provide warmth almost anywhere.
Assembly of the woodstove should be pretty straightforward by now, especially after watching the video of me assembling it. But you can always DM me if you're not sure. Watching this video from seek outside will also help you get the idea.
If you liked this tutorial, and especially if you followed it to make your own DIY woodstove, please tag me or send me some pics. I always appreciate the feedback, and sharing your pics (with your permission) really helps me get my stuff out there.
As always, thanks for reading and if you have questions, feel free to DM me on Instagram or email me at support@nixieworks.com . Thanks again and good luck out there.
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