I have an alaknak 12x12 tent and I run a Colorado cylinder stove in mine, the spruce model. Great stove, but I should have bought the next size up, as it would handle more wood for a longer burn time, but for the most part, I am very happy with it, however I do have a couple of extra goodies for it.
The fan is indespensable, however you have to be careful with location on the stove. I woke up one morning and my fan was stuck to the stove... I don't know if I got junk on the base of the fan or what, but it didn't want to come off... The box does say not to get it too hot.... But it goes where ever the tent goes. I have the two blade model, but I know there is a bigger three blade out there somewhere.
I also have a chimney oven. The dampner on the stove sucks, I need to get a gasket for my stove door, so my stove burns a little iradically sometimes, even with the vents shut and dampner closed, it still burns too fast, which is why I bought the oven. I have that set just right, and it allows for the stove to burn slower and hotter. I've gotten the inside of my oven up to 500+ degrees, but I have a full control range. At night I like to throw a couple of handfuls of briquettes in the stove, and close it all up, but leave the oven door open. My friends love how I can bake a cake or cookies or have melty cheesy things... Where does the fan come into play? Point it out the door, and open a vent, and it keeps it cooler inside when cooking.
In my opinion, if you have a stove in the tent, you need the fan. I've tried sleeping with just the stove, the stove and fan, and the stove, oven and fan, and the latter is the way to go, but the fan is a must. I don't have a cold zone in my tent, and I've been 80 some degrees inside, while its single digits outside. It moves enough air and heat around, my vestibule even gets warm, so even when you gotta get up to use the tree at night, it's not actually cold until you go outside
With the oven attached, I've stoked the stove with wood and briquettes, and been warm till morning with enough coals to start the fire for coffee, and it's still warm enough inside the tent to walk about in your skivvies, or...lack of...
This is how I am set up, and I couldn't imagine not bringing my fan.
For what it's worth... I also have a queen sized cot bed, and think I might have found an inflatable sofa for my tent too. My tent is my portable cabin. I call it Tentzilla, big, green, and breathes fire, but at the heart of it is a fan.
