Quote: Originally posted by JimCall on 04/11/2012Actually, the weather can be really nice up here in Autumn. This photo was taken in October last year...
and this was taken the day before....
hi jim, your shelter looks the business. It brings back fond memories of last hogmanay at the squirrel where i bought a garden tarp from b &q (blue coloured).
when buying it in the shop i had envisioned my own set up to be like that of yours. sitting with a roaring fire with the heat getting retained and not a worry in the world if it rained or snowed.how wrong was i to be.
on opening the tarp and peeling back the layers, peeling back the layers some more until it was 1 single layer. i was shocked to find the tarp would cover the size of the local swimming pool. with my bungees and chord under the explosion of tarp my wife was tasked with the job of finding them while i tried to half the tarp in 2 and then half again with the father in law bewildered at what i was trying to achieve. the wind was blowing it everywhere and it was evident when folded it was too heavy and would jut sag.
about approx 1 min later i had scrunched it up packed it in the car and was on route to the clachaig. the tarp now gets used to cover my kayaks but with planning to go back up in a fortnight or so i have to get a decent tarp and right my wrongs. any chance you could point me in the right direction of where to get one like yours.
Hello sco2y, the tarp I use is from a company called DD Hammocks. The address is here. I have the lightweight 3m*3m one. It has lots of tying loops and a set of loops along the rigde so you actually hang it from the centre line (stops the material from fraying in the wind) rather than just hanging it over the centre line. Because it is a nylon tarp I tend to keep my fires reasonably small but the sparks inevitably make small pinholes in it! The last one (which got destroyed in a storm a few weeks ago) lasted about 4 years so good value for money at about £36. (I camp all year round so my kit doesnt last long!).
You can use paracord for the tie downs. I tend to use trees to tie the corners but you can use poles and play about with different configurations. If you search for tarps in this forum you will get some good ideas. I have yet to experiment with bungees but I like the idea as they will flex in the wind. My last tarp ended up with a 2m rip in it caused but one gust of wind!
Wonderful photosand a wonderful thread Thank you for sharing I really enjoyed clooking at them. What a marvellous place. I would love to go. Heck of a drve from Yorkshire though!
Used to take me 4 and a half hours to travel from Leeds to Glasgow..(visiting in laws) Add another two hrs from Glasgow to Glencoe and it could be done for a long(ish) weekend Mantra....If finances allow.....I would look on it as a bit of an adventure rather than the distance being a set back...
Jelboy.
------------- Campers of the storm,Into this world are born
Jim, I've just used the axe and managed to chop up a whole bag of logs! First time I've chopped through anything with an axe in my life, so thanks for sharpening it. I need to put one of those axe sharpening file thingies on my Christmas list now.
Quote: Originally posted by armchaircamper on 17/11/2012
Jim, I've just used the axe and managed to chop up a whole bag of logs! First time I've chopped through anything with an axe in my life, so thanks for sharpening it. I need to put one of those axe sharpening file thingies on my Christmas list now.
Well done you! Now bring the logs up to the Squirrel next weekend!
Ha ha! They're for my tent stove, as the regular sized chunks seem to be too big. The fire blazes with kindling but gives up with big bits so I'm going to try something in between those sizes and see how it goes.
Tempting to come across to the Squirrel again but I'm forming other plans at the moment . . . That's assuming I'm fit and well. I've had a rough week but unlike Jelboy I wasn't feeling well enough to give everyone all the details. I hope he's recovered and you have a great time!
Well I hope you are feeling better too Sarah, touch wood, I have been lucky so far this winter!
As a general rule of thumb, the more surface area exposed, the faster and hotter the wood will burn. So you are probably right in your thinking that somewhere in between will give you the best burn in the stove. Also, if push the fire to back of the stove it will help as the draw from the flue will have a better effect
Quote: Originally posted by armchaircamper on 17/11/2012
Ha ha! They're for my tent stove, as the regular sized chunks seem to be too big. The fire blazes with kindling but gives up with big bits so I'm going to try something in between those sizes and see how it goes.
Tempting to come across to the Squirrel again but I'm forming other plans at the moment . . . That's assuming I'm fit and well. I've had a rough week but unlike Jelboy I wasn't feeling well enough to give everyone all the details. I hope he's recovered and you have a great time!
Getting better day by day Armchair should be back at work after next weekend...Glad to hear your also on the mend...
You should bring the stove to the Squirrel and we could all experiment with different wood/positions in the stove etc till we get it right....
Jelboy.
------------- Campers of the storm,Into this world are born
On the subject of the stove Armchair...
I'm no expert and only suggesting things to help improve the performance of the stove....
Noticed on one of Jims pic's from the Glencoe weekend (Last one in his list) That you have a wire mesh thingy at the top of the flue on your stove...And was wondering if this was part of the problem for the stove not drawing properly??
Have noticed in other pics of stoves that some have a triangular cover at the top(Like a chimney pot cover) and was wondering if you needed one on to draw the fire better??
Only a suggestion to try and help....
Jelboy.
------------- Campers of the storm,Into this world are born
Thanks Jelboy. That's the spark arrestor which is designed to go with the Frontier. I thought it would be useful in preventing any stray sparks from causing problems, and also reassuring to campsite owners when asking if I could use the stove on their site. For example, Rothiemurchus had to send my request to the Estate Rangers who were obviously concerned with the fire risk to the surrounding forest.
Whether it affects the draw or not I don't know. I'd have to try with and without. If I've got kindling in with the baffle open and the door slightly ajar on the first catch, I get a roaring blaze. If it's a large chunk of wood and the door and baffle are closed, it eventually goes out, and I find a half burnt bit of wood there later on. These are the two opposite ends of the spectrum, so I'm experimenting with varying the size of the wood.
There are probably loads of factors which affect the result: type, condition and size of fuel, wind conditions, temperature, height of flue, spark arrestor, baffle, door position - who knows what else.
I've only used it a couple of times really so I'm a long way from knowing it properly. What I need to do is to give it to a tester who can play - oops, I mean 'study' - it for several days and monitor the results. Now I wonder who would be willing to take on that job . . . I can tell you're just dying to experiment with it Jelboy!
Maybe in the warmer weather when I don't need it in the tent I could bring it across to the Squirrel and set it up somewhere near the fire pit for folks to try out. It was giving out a great heat in the tent, you must admit, even though the tent doors were wide open. Mind you, that was using kindling, and I'd need to sit there feeding it every couple of minutes to keep that going.
You would think if it burns kindling at the rate and ferocity you describe it would handle larger logs when going fully...Only other thing I can think of is the wood you have been using isn't fully seasoned/dry and might be dry on the outside...but still have some sap in the middle and is just going out naturally???
Though it does sound more like a problem between the firebox baffle and flue...Is the baffle adjustable?..Is it open or shut only or can you partially close/open it??
Once again no expert as its years since Ive had anything to do with open fires in the house etc...
Jelboy.
------------- Campers of the storm,Into this world are born
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Red Squirrel October meet photos
with my bungees and chord under the explosion of tarp my wife was tasked with the job of finding them while i tried to half the tarp in 2 and then half again with the father in law bewildered at what i was trying to achieve. the wind was blowing it everywhere and it was evident when folded it was too heavy and would jut sag.
I need to put one of those axe sharpening file thingies on my Christmas list now.
I hope he's recovered and you have a great time!
