Woodstoves in Airstreams?

[Mrcrowley]

Originally Posted by Mrcrowley

I beleive I had seen it on a stove pipe going into wall heat resistent .

You guys look this over and tell me if you see any problems using it .

Its 3m fireblock rated to 1300f.

[cameront120]

Originally Posted by Mrcrowley

You guys look this over and tell me if you see any problems using it .

Its 3m fireblock rated to 1300f.

We use that and similar products from other manufacturers for fire stopping floor and wall penetrations in buildings. I'm not sure if it is safe for aluminum.

[byamcaravanner]

Originally Posted by Wabbiteer

Check out their 'Newport' solid fuel stove... about the size of a shoebox!

Dickinson Marine

*EDIT: took two tries to get link to stick....

I can't get it to work... Here is another link to this unit

[norsea]

Originally Posted by overlander63

I'm sure you know the acids in rtv silicone are not conducive to aluminum. You could put a small piece of flashing around the chimney, and silicone that to the chimney. There's got to be a way to do this, I see houses everywhere around here with fireplaces and aluminum roofs.

Look for ELECTRICAL grade silicone.

It does not have the metal etching qualities of most silicone sealants.

I use this stuff all the time for sealing electrical connectors on vehicles that are used in rough off road and extremely dirty conditions. This keeps the dust/dirt/mud/water out of the electrical connectors and does NOT cause the metal etching issues generated by most silicone sealants.

But, this in no way addresses the HEAT issue; only the corrosive effects that most silicone sealants impart when exposed metal is in the application area.

Jim

[mustang]

Keep in mind you cannot run 2 different types of fuel up the same chimney. You always need to install a seperate chimney for woodburning stove. "always" I also noticed on a few pictures that the crome satck wasnt discolored, I wonder if it was ever used. Pipes ussually discolor when heated, kind of like a HArley Davidson exhaust pipe.

[cameront120]

It's likely that the stack is a double wall construction stuffed with mineral wool insulation, just like a lot of modern exhaust pipes. No discoloration would be visible on the outer wall, except possibly right at the base where it physically touches the heat source.

[mustang]

I though the inside pipe would be just plain double wall. Now that you said that it would make sense. It probably will control the heat better to.

[elliottcm]

Hi everyone,
These forums have been a great resource for us as we prepare to live in our 25' Excella year round in northern Vermont. Now we turn to you for any advice you may have that is specific to our situation. My girlfriend and I are full-time students at a very small college, and we think we're ready to make the lifestyle changes necessary to live off the grid with a smallish PV array and a woodstove (the Sardine from Navigator Stoveworks) for heat.

Our woodstove will provide heat when we are in the trailer and the propane furnace will serve as a backup for especially cold spells. We will not be using the water plumbing in the trailer so we think it is not a huge issue if the trailer freezes while we are away during the day.

I anticipate many concerns from the seasoned veterans of airstream living and I thank you in advance for any advice you have for us. Keep in mind that we know many will think we are crazy people, but we have done extensive research and have been encouraged by experienced people in the area. We are committed to making this happen and excited about what we will learn in the process.

Our pressing issue right now is installing the chimney for the woodstove, so that when the woodstove arrives we can get it up and running right away. We have a pipe boot from www.pipebootexpress.com to weatherproof the seal and we plan on using Pro-Seal 34 caulk, both on recommendation by the stovemaker.
How do you suggest we go about cutting the 4-inch hole in the roof, while making sure we don't hit any electrical wiring or other important components?

Thanks for any help,
Chester and Sarah

[Gene]

Chester and Sarah, I notice no one answered your specific questions. I won't either.

It may be too late as I suspect you have ordered the stove, so I may not talk you out of it, but there's a lot of work involved. I've been supplementing heat with a wood stove for many years. First of all, it's a mess. Carbon gets into the room from the burning wood, a little at a time, but it does, and makes things dirty. The wood is messy. If you cut it yourself, you'll figure out how small to make logs so they fit in the stove after a while. Maintaining a fire means someone has to tend to it every few hours—or less—depending on hard or soft wood. Hardwood is more expensive if you buy it, but it's less tending to the fire. Felling trees and cutting them up is hard work and chain saws require lots of maintenance. Hand saws work fine, but time is a factor. I still do it, but not so often any more; you have the advantage of being 45 or 50 years younger. Maybe you've done all this; if you haven't, you may not like it.

No water tanks, but water jugs I suppose. They will freeze as well as the toothpaste and other things you never thought of. It takes a long time and a lot of BTU's to defrost a plastic jug of water—can't get it too close to the stove. Maybe not every day, but you'll possibly feel tethered to the trailer, and not wanting to go away for a few days. The black water tank will freeze or whatever you use for a toilet and will be no fun to defrost (if you use the Airstream toilet, there will be after a while of column of frozen "stuff" reaching ever closer to the flap in the toilet itself; it will not smell good on warm days). I've know plenty of people who wintered in cabins with wood heat and no running water and it was a high maintenance lifestyle. They acted tethered to prevent everything from freezing. I think you will find you are combining the propane heater and wood stove to provide some heat around the clock. Newer electronic thermostats can set the furnace to just heat the trailer to 40˚ and don't use as much propane and then you can supplement with wood heat. Look into a free standing larger propane tank—120 gallons maybe—that can be delivered and you won't have to take the trailer tanks to get them refilled all the time.

Without a fan, the heat will be concentrated around the stove. At the far ends of the trailer, prepare for really cold temps. In the winter, the PV may contribute little—there can be days of dark clouds in Vermont. Don't park under trees and obstruct the sun.

The trailer will not hold heat very well—it's got some insulation, but it sure has a lot less than most houses. And some models have a lot of windows—all single pane. They get cold very fast. A catalytic heater is more efficient than the furnace and some people use them for fulltiming.

It's a romantic idea and I don't think you are crazy, but it can be stressful. I applaud you for trying different things for an exciting life requires experiments. You'll learn a lot about yourselves too. Seeing you are college students, if you are serious about your studies, time is a factor.

You're lucky to live in Vermont. One of the more beautiful states (especially if you like clouds).

Gene

[Selmer3006]

People have been using wood stoves in big canvas wall tents for years.

I used the two dog model last winter in an 11x14 canvas wall tent from Tentsmith.
It's true that it doesn't hold enough wood to burn all through the night.
But it was not much of a problem to roll over on the cot every few hours to put a few sticks in the stove. I didn't have to get up.

I do love the smell of a wood fire. Not sure I'd want a wood stove in an Airstream, but not sure I wouldn't like it either.

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[mhilley]

We once had a Dickinson boat diesel stove which was really nice. It burned very little diesel (or kero) and had absolutely no smell when lit. It had a 4" stove pipe exhaust. We spent 2 winters in Connecticut living "aboard". We had a small diesel tank with a 12v fuel pump. I think the stove was called an "Antartica". It weighed about 15 or 20 pounds. It had a glass window where you could see the flickering flame. Cozy!