Safe Cooking and Warmth in the Backcountry using Wood Burning Camp Stoves from Outfitters Supply®

Camping just isn’t camping without the smell of food cooking on a wood stove or over an open flame. Or how about stretching your cold, tired feet out toward a warm, toasty camping stove inside your tent? However, we all need to be extra careful when working with fire in the backcountry, especially in late summer or times of drought. One small stray spark from a camping stove or campfire can be blown far enough away that we don’t notice that it has started a wildfire. And that little wildfire can quickly get out of our control and potentially burn thousands of acres, costing millions of dollars in resources and damages. Consequently, we need to bear in mind a few basic fire safety tips.

Spark Prevention in Wood Burning Stoves

It is only in the highest fire danger times that you cannot build a fire in a stove, as it is generally a pretty safe thing to do, especially if you take precautions. The most important safety feature on your stove is a spark arrestor. Spark arrestors come in a number of designs, which work with varying degrees of success. Spark arrestors will also protect your tent roof from that same stray spark that may start a wildfire, thus preserving your expensive equipment.

We believe the best design for most purposes is the spark box/stack robber. A spark arrestor should be not only effective when preventing sparks from escaping, but should also be easy to clean, preferably with a removable screen. A clogged spark arrestor will cause the smoke from your camping stove to back up into your tent. A spark box arrestor works well with all high quality wood burning tent stoves. Because some stove packages include nesting stovepipe that changes width as it goes up, the spark arrestor will need to be installed between the stove and the first piece of stovepipe. Another alternative if you have the space while packing is to place an extra piece of straight pipe in the stove, insert the spark arrestor, and then insert the nesting stove pipe in the top of the spark arrestor.

Another option for spark protection is a rain cover with spark arrestor. While normal rain and snowfall making it to the stove is not usually an issue, if you expect there to be a lot of precipitation this will minimize the amount of moisture that can get into your stovepipe. It is more difficult to reach for cleaning as it goes into the very top piece of stovepipe, but does have the added benefit of being very lightweight and compact. Unfold it for use, and then just fold it back into itself for storage.

Make Sure You Have the Correct Tent

It is extremely important to have a tent made from fire retardant material and specifically designed to have a wood stove. We only recommend and use wall tents that have met or surpassed California Fire Marshall regulations. There doesn't seem to be much point to being careful building a fire if you put it inside a meltable or flammable tent! You should also have a fireproof stove jack installed in the tent. The stove pipe can get extremely hot, and it is vital that it only touches material that can withstand the extreme temperatures. There are a few different stove jacks on the market, made of various materials ranging from fiberglass to stainless steel. We prefer one that is made of silicone-coated fiberglass with a high-temp-resistant rubber gasket. This style stove jack is not only extremely functional, it is easy to install and is not noticeable when you roll or fold up your tent for packing or storage.