Charcoal 4 Tent Stove Fuel

[psyculman]

So this is an observation, not meant to be technical in any way. Sorry, no pictures. DO NOT squirt lighter fluid in a stove if it has already started, just don't! Trust me.

I started with 4 one pound measures of BBQ charcoal. 22 bricketts each.
The stove is very a small folding Luxe.

https://luxe-hiking-gear.com/collect...stove-titanium

The tent is a simple Bush Kraft A frame DIY using a 12'x16' tarp, closed off ends. Not that that matters, but it's pretty big for a small heater, to be fair.
Outside temperature for this trial was 25 degrees, with full direct sun, so again, lots of extra ambient warmth from that.

The first 1 lb. load took longer than wood to get up to where I dampened the flue pipe, and set back the air intake to half also (15 minutes) It maintained a very hot temperature for 30 minutes, than tapered down to the 1 hour point, at which the charcoal was only about 1/4 in volume left. I did not use a laser thermometer, but I should have.

AFTER 1 HOUR
I added 2 more pounds of charcoal, with some paper, it was very slow to build up heat, and in fact never did get hot enough to dampen down, every bit of air feed was needed. After another 30 minutes, I lost patience, and put the last pound of charcoal in. It was putting out some heat, but never did get hot enough for me. After two hours, that 3 pounds of charcoal burned down to maybe leave 25% left to go, hardly any heat.

To sum up, although it might be easier to control, charcoal doesn't burn fast enough to use as hot tent fuel for me. 50/50 wood charcoal does much better. If there was some form of a grate under the charcoal, so it could get more air, I'm sue it would do much better. I might experiment on that some day.

The night before this test, it was about 0 temperature, and the stove with wood only got it up to 50 degrees, and that stove pipe was cherry red. but to maintain that would have required constant attention, maybe every 15 minutes. The Luxe stove is great, I wanted a stove that folds down for packing, it is very high quality, I highly recommend it. It is titanium, the sides lock together with channeled flanges, it is very air tight, and can't warp. Glass window is a super feature. Affordable price includes 7' pipe.

[JT4446]

Give Natural lump charcoal a try. It burns way hotter and is very efficient. Still probably a good idea to mix with wood, but you could have a hot fire going with a load of lump charcoal and a warming tent while you gather and cut the wood you will need.

[OneClick]

Slow and low. I found big unsplit "rounds" of hardwood to be the best for hot, consistent heat (except for the first few minutes of loading).

[Biker Bob]

I found briquets which contain a lot of not charcoal, burn out fast when using to cook. Lump lasts longer and gives more heat per pound. Based on totally unscientifically conducted study, but the Boston butt turned out good.