Yurt Stove Recommendations at 9200 ft

[BFEColorado]

Hi, I've been lurking on here for a while, but wanted to get some feedback from the community. We have 40 acres at 9200ft in a remote location in Colorado. Our property is forested with unlimited timber, both live and dead. The wood, unfortunately, isn't of the highest caliber for burning, as it's primarily Subalpine Fir, Engleman Spruce, and Aspen (according to my Forest Service buddy that visited). The yurt has some basic insulation, but is about 450 square feet with a 15ish foot ceiling in the center. I'm planning to put in a wood stove for heat, as it sometimes is into the teens when we've camped there late/early season. With the right setup, I'd like to be able to even spend the night in the winter. Ideally, I'd like to be able to load the stove and make it through the night without having to reload it.

My goal is to avoid loading a stove, making it 90 degrees in the yurt, falling asleep, and waking up 4 hours later and it being 30 degrees inside. Assuming money is no object (within reason), what is your ideal setup, considering the low BTU wood available? I've been going back and forth between getting a decent non catalytic stove like a Drolet or something, or getting a higher end catalytic stove like the smaller Blaze King that I can dampen way down, but not sure if it's worth the money to burn pine and Aspen. Thoughts?

 

[begreen]

At that altitude the main issue may be getting enough draft for the stove. High altitude setups need more flue height. Will the flue run out the sidewall or straight up? How tall will it be?

 

[BFEColorado]

It has to go out of the sidewall. The flue needs to be 10ft laterally away from the roof at the top at minimum. I'm not sure what that equates to in height, but I imagine the flue will be at least 12 to 15 ft higher than the stove, if not more.

 

[stoveliker]

I think a BK is not advisable because of the flue.
At sea level it needs 15 ft straight up. At 9000 ft it needs 19 ft if it's straight up. Add two elbows and that becomes 23 ft. And then you have to add 2 ft in height for every ft of horizontal run.

The chimney is the engine of the stove, so don't skimp on that.

Moreover you may not need the low output range that the BK also can do.

 

[begreen]

It has to go out of the sidewall. The flue needs to be 10ft laterally away from the roof at the top at minimum. I'm not sure what that equates to in height, but I imagine the flue will be at least 12 to 15 ft higher than the stove, if not more.

I helped install a setup like this for a friend in their yurt. It is at around 270' altitude. In order to avoid a lot of smoke spillage, everything must be done to help draft. This includes connecting with double-wall stove pipe, using 45º elbows. Keep the horizontal section as short as possible and the chimney pipe at least 12 ft tall. For a stove, you will need an easy breather and I would suggest a deep firebox model, not a shallow E/W loader.

Our friends ended up installing a Morso 2110. It's a nice, well made stove, but not a good choice for 24/7 living in the yurt. It will spill smoke easily when the outdoor temps are above 45º or when the entire system is cold and draft has not been established. The small firebox means getting up after 4 hrs and reloading. Unfortunately, they got the stove at another friend's suggestion, months before I got involved with the installation. A better choice would have been a N/S loading stove that's an easy breather. In hindsight, they now realize this and are contemplating replacing the Morso.

Is the plan to buy a new stove or an older used stove? If new, I would consider a Drolet Escape 1800 or a Pacific Energy Alderlea T5 or T6. Although some cat stoves will provide long burn times, the draft issues presented by the altitude, a horizontal section going into a 90º turn at the tee, and the short chimney, will all work against good performance. If used stove is being considered then an old Fisher Mama Bear (with a baffle added) or a Jotul 118 (original model) could work. As it is, preheating the flue with a newspaper fire may be necessary if the system is allowed to go cold. Don't worry too much about going oversized with the stove. Yurt insulation is typically poor and heat loss is signigicant. Smaller fires can be burned when less heat is needed.

 

[EbS-P]

I helped install a setup like this for a friend in their yurt. It is at around 270' altitude. In order to avoid a lot of smoke spillage, everything must be done to help draft. This includes connecting with double-wall stove pipe, using 45º elbows. Keep the horizontal section as short as possible and the chimney pipe at least 12 ft tall. For a stove, you will need an easy breather and I would suggest a deep firebox model, not a shallow E/W loader.

Our friends ended up installing a Morso 2110. It's a nice, well made stove, but not a good choice for 24/7 living in the yurt. It will spill smoke easily when the outdoor temps are above 45º or when the entire system is cold and draft has not been established. The small firebox means getting up after 4 hrs and reloading. Unfortunately, they got the stove at another friends suggestion, months before I got involved with the installation. A better choice would have been a N/S loading stove that's an easy breather. In hindsight, they now realize this and are contemplating replacing the Morso.

Is the plan to buy a new stove or an older used stove? If new, I would consider a Drolet Escape 1800 or a Pacific Energy Alderlea T5 or T6. In used, an old Fisher Mama Bear (with a baffle added) or a Jotul 118 (original model) could work. Although some cat stoves will provide long burn times, the draft issues presented by the altitude, a horizontal section going into a 90º turn at the tee, and the short chimney, will all work against good performance. As it is, preheating the flue with a newspaper fire may be necessary if the system is allowed to go cold. Don't worry too much about it being oversized with the stove. Yurt insulation is typically poor so heat loss is signigicant. Smaller fires can be burned when less heat is needed.

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I have seen class A boxes at like 15 or 30 degree angle. Something like this. Would that be worth considering at this altitude?

Ventis 6'' Class-A 30 Degree Wall Pass-Thru

Ventis 6 inch Class-A Solid Fuel Chimney 30 Degree Wall Pass-Thru

www.stove-parts.net

 

[begreen]

I have seen class A boxes at like 15 or 30 degree angle. Something like this. Would that be worth considering at this altitude?

IDK, that might work. It would depend on how much lattice needs to be taken out and I would be a bit concerned about water intrusion.

 

[BKVP]

OP, as pointed out here by others, elevation can be critical component of stove performance.

There are many yurts with BK's in them and they work well because a yurt isn't typically as tight as stick built or manufactured homes.

But 9000', that's a bit much!

BKVP

 

[begreen]

If this was a straight-up flue in a yurt closer to sea level, then it could be a good fit, though the flue height would still be about 3 ft shy of the manual's recommendation.