Types of stoves for winter fishing
There are a variety of heating devices for winter fishing on the modern market. Gas models can be called the simplest and most affordable, if you do not take into account the possibility of heating with wood or fuel. Of course, in order to choose the most suitable version of such a device for yourself, it is worth learning about the characteristic features of each of the possible varieties.
Did you know? The first documentary information about fishing in the cold season is found in Aristotle's Meteorology, which means that people began to get involved in winter fishing back in Ancient Greece, from about 350 BC.
Gas stove
To heat a fisherman's tent with a gas stove, you will need a burner, the main advantages of which include ease of transportation, affordable cost and comparative safety. There are gas heaters with ceramic and metal bases, but in both cases the level of heat transfer cannot be called very high, so the heat from a wood or coal heater will heat the inside of the tent much faster.
Heating with wood
Wood heating stoves today are considered an outdated option, which has been successfully replaced by small gas burners. However, since they generate more heat, some fishermen still use them during winter fishing. Wood-burning stoves can have very different designs and shapes, which largely determine the speed and intensity of heating.
We recommend reading about how to make homemade jigs for winter fishing.
So, for large tents it is advisable to buy round or oval products, but for small shelters standard rectangular or square options are quite suitable. The main disadvantage of any heating product of this type is the overall size of the structure and the consumption of a large amount of firewood, which you also have to take with you in winter.
Fuel heating
To organize the heating of a fishing tent using this method, it is worth purchasing a double-circuit fuel heater, for which you can use gasoline, kerosene or diesel. The principle of operation of such a device is extremely simple: during the heating process, the heat exchanger uses a burner to pass air into the tent, while the device itself is placed outside (thanks to this feature, the system has deservedly received the status of one of the most reliable in use).
With enough fuel, the shelter can be heated for several days. As for the disadvantages of using this method, they include the large size of the device (you can’t transport it without a car) and the need to purchase fuel, which leads to additional financial expenses.
Heating through a pipe
Heating through a pipe is considered one of the most acceptable options, as it allows the fisherman to be in warm conditions even on very frosty days. At the same time, this method is only suitable for heating a relatively large tent camp with a long stay outside, since it is impractical to build such a heating system for a short period of time. In order to efficiently heat the tent, the shelter should be placed on a hill, at a distance of at least 700 m from the fire.
Important! There should be no smoke in the tent, so if gray fumes appear from the chimney instead of warm air, you should double-check the structure, because sleeping in a smoky room is life-threatening.
Ignition is organized only from high-quality and not rotten logs, which will smolder for a long time, releasing heat. As the main material for heat distribution, you can use a two-meter stainless steel product, which is brought to the fire on one side, and connected to the other through a hose and carried into the tent. It is through it that warm air from the fire will enter the middle of the shelter.
Why does a fisherman need a stove for winter fishing?
The specifics of ice fishing include a long period of passive action. The fisherman sometimes has to wait for hours for a bite. Even zero temperatures with high humidity and wind threaten frostbite, especially if it’s frosty outside.
A shelter heated by a stove will not only create comfortable conditions for the fisherman himself, but will also protect the hole from freezing. The fisherman will not have to scare away wary fish by scooping out the ice.
A long stay in the cold also requires hot food. The stove will provide them for the fisherman. Just like it will give you the opportunity to dry wet clothes. It is especially important to use one type of stove or another during night winter fishing in a tent. Scalet functionality:
- heating;
- lighting;
- visibility on the ice for rescuers, snowmobiles, for himself, who went to check the girders;
- preparing and heating tea and food;
- drying clothes and shoes;
- ice bath;
- melting snow to store water.
How to choose the right stove
Given the wide variety of stove models on the market, it is not surprising that many fishermen may have some difficulties choosing a specific product.
To make your task easier, it is important to consider the following features:
- operating conditions of the product;
- characteristics of the area where the stove is used;
- the size of the available heated area.
Also find out which shelf is best for winter fishing.
So, if you are going fishing only for a day, it would be more logical to purchase a gas burner and build a stove on its base, especially if there are no raw materials for a solid fuel device nearby. At the same time, when organizing a hole closer to the shore, where there are many trees and you can find branches with large sticks for use as firewood, it is worth considering the option of installing the device on wood or arranging heating through a pipe.
An important criterion for choosing a stove will be the size of the heated area of the tent. Popular gas burners do not emit as much heat as wood or fuel devices (gasoline), so they will only be appropriate when setting up a small tent, preferably up to 3 m². If there are several people in one shelter at once, and its area is much larger, then it is better to give preference to solid fuel stoves that provide a pipe outlet to the street.
Did you know? Fishing
-
This is not only a way to actively spend time in the fresh air, but also quite an interesting sport.
The first mention of fishing in this context dates back to 1496. The general selection criterion for all heating systems will be the quality of the product, the fire resistance of the materials and the accuracy of the connection of individual parts: there should be no visible defects indicating a fake. If possible, you should purchase stoves only in specialized stores, whose sellers will be able to provide you with a quality certificate for each selected model.
Homemade stove for a tent - how to make it?
The simplest version of a homemade stove for a tent is made from pipes using wood. The main advantage of such a device is high efficiency and rapid heating of the indoor space.
To assemble the stove you will need the following materials:
- chimney pipe with a cross section of 20 cm;
- two clamps for plugs;
- a piece of pipe to lead the chimney outside the tent (the length depends on the height of the tent);
- tourist chair (only legs are needed);
- sheet of tin metal.
Making a stove includes the following steps:
- A piece is cut from a long steel pipe (the dimensions depend on the area of the heated space, as well as the desired free space for loading solid fuel). A plug is installed on one side of the pipe; fuel will be loaded from the open part.
- A hole is made in the upper part of the pipe for the chimney.
- The chimney pipe is welded.
- The structure is installed on the legs of a tourist chair.
How to do it yourself
A simple option for a full-fledged stove for heating a shelter would be a homemade product made from pipes using wood as fuel.
We recommend reading about making a box for winter fishing with your own hands.
To assemble it you will need the following materials:
- a pipe for constructing a chimney, with a cross-section of at least 20 cm;
- two clamps for creating plugs;
- a piece of pipe for removing smoke from the tent (the length of this part must correspond to the height of the shelter);
- legs from a folding chair or other similar product that can serve as support;
- sheet of tin.
The process of creating a heating system from prepared materials consists of several successive steps:
- Cut a part from the steel pipe, the length of which will depend on the area of the heated room (the more space in the tent, the longer the pipe).
- Install a plug at one end of the cut pipe, while loading firewood or other heating material at the other end.
- In the upper part of the same pipe, make a hole for the chimney and weld another pipe to it, which will act as a chimney outlet.
- Place the finished structure on a support, leading the pipe (chimney) out.
- Place a metal sheet next to the stove, which will help dissipate heat in the tent.
For those cases when there is no outlet in the tent, and it is not possible to install a classic solid fuel stove, you can try to warm up using coals. All you need is a fire, large stones, a cauldron or a steel bucket with a lid. Having created a small pyramid from stones, it is covered with brushwood and sticks like a hut.
We recommend that you find out what beginners need for winter fishing.
As soon as the coals and brushwood burn well, the hot stones must be swept away and placed in a cauldron, covered with earth. The filled container is either suspended at a height of about 1 m above the floor, or placed on a stand made of bricks. While the stones cool down, fishermen will be able to bask next to them. On average, this heating method lasts for four hours.
Self-production
The easiest way to assemble a stove for a tent with your own hands is from pipes using wood. The main advantage of such an invention is high efficiency and quick heating of a camp home. To make a homemade stove you need the following materials:
- chimney pipe with a diameter of 20 cm;
- two clamps for plugs;
- a piece of pipe for bringing the chimney out, the length of which depends on the height of the tent;
- legs from a tourist chair;
- sheet of tin.
To manufacture a heater, complex diagrams and drawings are not required; the principle is simple and accessible. The assembly of the structure consists of several stages:
- Prepare a piece of steel pipe for the firebox. The length and cross-section are selected depending on the area of the heated tent, as well as the desired volume of solid fuel for loading.
- A plug is placed at one end of the pipe; fuel will be loaded from the open part.
- A hole is made on the surface of the pipe closer to the plug into which the chimney pipe is welded.
- The product is installed on the legs of a travel chair.
- When using a heating device, a sheet of tin is placed under the legs of the structure.
If you remove the chimney not vertically, but at an angle of 30 degrees, the efficiency increases by 30%. A simple metal mesh installed in the chimney can serve as a spark arrester.
How to put a stove in a tent
In addition to the design features of creating a stove in a fishing tent, there are separate rules for installing it in a shelter. In addition, for better stability of the structure, it is important to choose only an area with the most flat surface possible, away from flammable materials. To effectively distribute heat inside the shelter, you can use a stainless steel sheet or a special reflective screen, which ensures the dissipation of heat emanating from the stove, and therefore better heating of the space.
Thus, the location for installing the heating system is selected taking into account the placement of the ventilation hole in the shelter fabric, so that it is easiest to bring the pipe outside.
Tent stoves - main types and features
Like any other equipment, a stove for a tent is selected according to two main criteria - the purpose of the tent and its volume. In the first case, it is recommended to consider heating devices according to the following criteria: tents for all-season hikes, summer tents, fishing tents. Separately, it is worth mentioning such tents as mountaineering ones. All these houses have their own heating and equipment requirements. Thus, an ordinary tourist tent, designed for outdoor activities only in the spring and summer, most likely does not have a special valve for installing a heating stove. Winter tents are characterized not only by the presence of such a window, but also by the presence of a special insert made of non-flammable fabric with a hole for the chimney. But a mountaineering tent is characterized by a low silhouette, so only equipment with a minimal risk of carbon monoxide emissions is applicable here.
As for the volume of the tent, here, first of all, it means the capacity of the tent, the presence of several rooms, and of course how many people it is designed for.
Depending on this, the stove for the tent is selected according to its power and the type of fuel used:
- Wood-burning camping stove;
- Kerosene stove;
- Automotive fuel stove;
- Gas-burner;
- Electric heating option;
- Heating option from an external heat source.
And although all these devices are designed to heat the volume of the tent in the natural environment, very stringent safety requirements apply to them.
How to operate
The operation of any stove during winter fishing has its own characteristics and must be carried out taking into account certain rules. For example, when loading wood into the firebox, it is better to use paper or dry grass to ignite it, since the use of special liquids in a closed space can be hazardous to health. Before heating the stove, be sure to check the chimney draft to ensure that all combustion products are discharged outside and do not accumulate in the shelter.
Important! Since carbon monoxide typically flows upward, it is best to place the sleeping area as low as possible when heating a tent. But the ideal option
-
put out the fire at night, keeping warm with a sleeping bag and the heat that has already entered the shelter.
Also, be careful when laying firewood or pouring fuel mixture: the latter product flares up very easily and if flammable material is close, a large-scale fire of objects in the tent is possible.
How to set up a stove in a tent
The arrangement of a stove in a tent is carried out according to the following rules:
- The stove is installed in a place where it is easiest for the chimney to reach the corresponding hole in the tent fabric.
- It is desirable that the surface where the stove is placed is level.
- There should be no flammable objects nearby.
- Additionally, you can purchase a reflective screen (or make it yourself from stainless steel), it will better dissipate heat from the stove, and as a result, the tent will heat up faster.
- The solid fuel used is loaded into the firebox (it is better to use plain paper for ignition; using special means in a closed room can be dangerous).
- The smoke draft is checked (all combustion products must be removed to the street through the chimney).
Precautionary measures
Before installing a stove in your tent, you should make sure that you comply with all the requirements for its safe use.
The main precautions in this case will be the following:
- the use of tents made only from fire-resistant materials that will not be damaged by fire;
- The heating system for a tent can only be used for its intended purpose, that is, to heat the interior of the shelter (do not try to cook food on the stove or, especially, to dry wet things).
- Any heating system must have a spark arrester that prevents sparks from falling out of the interior of the stove and further igniting nearby things.
Did you know? In the Middle Ages, harpoon fishing was used, which helped to obtain a lot of food, but the method was used superficially. Underwater technology has become popular relatively recently.
In general, heating systems for tents can significantly increase the comfort of winter fishing; the main thing is not to make a mistake in choosing a stove and comply with the requirements for its further operation. What type of heater to install, and whether it would be easier to make it yourself - each fisherman decides based on financial capabilities, the expected duration of stay and the size of the camp shelter.
