Wood Stove for VW Bus

[Ralf85]

Despite all this advice from newbies/non members (the tags and details in black), listen to the knowledgeable (the tags in blue) and DON'T DO IT and live long and prosper!

[California Dreamin]

Putting wood burners in caravans has been going on for years, as has putting them in narrow boats. and i have seen loads of campervans usually bigger ones admittedly with them in. Its not BS at all its just a different way of heating the space. And as long as its set up properly there will be no CO problem at all.
Deaths from CO are always a tragedy. (there have been a number in Cornwall in the last month) But most of the time and these were no exception its gas appliances that are causing it. This as far as im aware is mostly because gas burns smokless so when the flue is blocked of there is a leak all the fumes com into the home. Now when I light a wood burners it creates smoke. if the smoke is going up the chimney so is the CO. Just make sure there is a fresh air supply and you will be fine.
All this scaremongering is silly, i have a HUGE open fire at home. about 50x bigger than a fire you could get in a van. do i go to bed thinking i might not wake up no. because i have always lived in a house with open fires, and there is a big chimney drawing up all the smoke and fumes. my parents house had two open fires and a soild fuee ray-burn which would be burning 24hours aday in winter.
Just remember a wood stove isn't the same as one of those portable gas heaters with no flue.
anyway thats just my thoughts.
Ben

Well I never said it couldn't be done, however, clearly some users do not understand the processes that lead to the production of carbon monoxide. And it's the burning of any carbon based fuel..not just gas that can lead to CO poisoning.

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Martin

[benlawlor85]

yes but a wood stove would have a chimney!
Anyway my opinions have clearly made people unhappy. The facts are it can be done, it has been done, and can all be done safely.
Likewise it can be done dangerously. Same as using a heater attachment for a gas hob. or connecting up your propex wrong. or not realising your propex has a leak. Main thing is do what YOU feel is safe and always fit a CO meter.
Im interested in wood as a fuel source as its sustainable. Which is why i'm in the process of changing the house over to wood fuel. And remember the same applies to a house or a van. In the house u have a big stove that has potential for lots of CO and in the van you would have a small stove with potential for less CO but also a smaller area. SO the risks are similar.
I did see a swiss guy who put a boat style stove in his volvo estate! from the photos it was lit while he was driving, now thats crazy!

[Ralf85]

All this scaremongering is silly, i have a HUGE open fire at home. about 50x bigger than a fire you could get in a van. do i go to bed thinking i might not wake up no. because i have always lived in a house with open fires, and there is a big chimney drawing up all the smoke and fumes. my parents house had two open fires and a soild fuee ray-burn which would be burning 24hours aday in winter.
Just remember a wood stove isn't the same as one of those portable gas heaters with no flue.
anyway thats just my thoughts.
Ben

Your experience at home (we've all lived with open fires in the house) bears no relationship with a campervan, or for that matter using a stove in a canal boat, so it's not scaremongering and your limited knowledge could lead to fatality. So please, please[/b] stop giving advice about a potentially dangerous heating option. Thank you.

[Ralf85]

All this scaremongering is silly, i have a HUGE open fire at home. about 50x bigger than a fire you could get in a van. do i go to bed thinking i might not wake up no. because i have always lived in a house with open fires, and there is a big chimney drawing up all the smoke and fumes. my parents house had two open fires and a soild fuee ray-burn which would be burning 24hours aday in winter.
Just remember a wood stove isn't the same as one of those portable gas heaters with no flue.
anyway thats just my thoughts.
Ben

Your experience at home (we've all lived with open fires in the house) bears no relationship with a campervan, or for that matter using a stove in a canal boat, so it's not scaremongering and your limited knowledge could lead to fatality. So please, please[/b] stop giving advice about a potentially dangerous heating option. Thank you.

[benlawlor85]

Ralf, just google it, have a look what people actually do Volkzone has several posts on it and various campervan forums are full of using stove often home made! shock Horror! out of gas bottle OMG surely not.
So if someone wants to do it go ahead and do it. As for being potentially dangerous i never said it wasn't. but any heat source is potentially dangerous. if done well the risk is limited.
The big downside for me would be fuel source, as i found with my tipi, its an american design. Ultra lightweight hunting shelter. In the UK where i usually want to camp there is limited source of wood to burn, but i tend to work around this. On the note of the tipi the internal area is small, with very few air leaks, have been in it up to about 60mph winds in the Lakes and no draughts at all so air flow is limited. Stove blasting away, curry cooking on the top. Happy days. I did have a head ache in the morning tho! But that was from the beer. lol

[Andytekno]

I friend of mine put one in a transit conversion.get a carbon monoxide tester.sitting next to the beach fishing out the side of the van with the fire crackling away is just epic.but do be careful.

[ed_crouch]

PLEASE fit a good CO alarm if you're going to have a stove. Tbh, a gas hob can give off CO if the ventilation is crap. CO alarm, for definite.