What stove should I get for my 12x20 Alaknak from Cabelas

[gun-dog]

I'm looking for opinions on stoves to use for my Cabelas Alaknak II 12x20 tent. I just bought this tent last week, its use will be during deer and elk season when I set up my camps for longer than a couple of days.  I bought the tent and all the accessories but I have yet to buy a stove.  The guy at Cabelas told me to buy the Colorado stove that they had at Cabelas but I wanted to do some research first.  The internet says to go with either the Colorado or a Four Dogs stove.  Has anyone used the Four Dog? Colorado?  Weight is not an issue.  Like I said, the internet seems to think that four dogs and colorado are the ones to go for but it wouldn't be the first time the internet has led me astray! I am open to other suggestions. Thanks 

[HntnFsh]

I know its a ways away from you. But I highly recommend this guy
http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/for/4862608229.html
Makes an awesome stove. Can customize any way you want. And is very knowledgable. At least give him a ring and talk to him. I think you will be glad you did.

[washelkhunter]

cylinder stoves or a kwik kamp stove. The stove mentioned above looks like a good one too. The four dog looks thin.

[actionshooter]

 I have the 12x20 also and we use the Large Cylinder Stove out of Utah. It works great and has held up for several years now.

http://cylinderstoves.com/contact_us.php

[Buzz2401]

We have a 16x24 wall tent and use the large Kwik Kamp.  It works so good we bought the smaller one for out 10x14

[loggerjim]

X2 for the kwik kamp. I have the 12x12  alaknak, and the smaller one works great.

[gun-dog]

You guys who are recommending the Kwik Kamp, how long have you had them?  How well are they lasting? Are there any problems with warping or heat erosion?
Thanks for the relies! Keep em coming!

[BULLBLASTER]

i have a kni-co for my 12x12 alaknak. I think its the Alaskan. has worked great for me. I got the water tank and side table with it

[royalbull]

if weight is not an issue

[loggerjim]

I have owned my kwik kamp stove for four years now, and have absolutely no problems. If you buy one just make sure you put a layer of dirt inside when you use it, it helps for insulation. We have gotten 13 hour burn times using dry Tamarack. Very nice.

[elkaholic123]

A friend has the same size Alaknak and he has the Four Dog and loves it.. Very well made stove with long burn time 

[Smokepole]

In our camp, there is never enough room on the cook top.  We use the wood stove for heating water & cooking.  We had this stove made by a friend who works in a fab shop.  The stove sits on the ground & is made of boilerplate.  Had the stove for 10 years now & it still holds a fire all night.  The draft control is bronze, and the door has barrel hinges with zerk grease fittings.  It weighs a ton, but once you get it on the ground you're good to go.  This stove is the holy grail around our camp!

[gun-dog]

 

In our camp, there is never enough room on the cook top.  We use the wood stove for heating water & cooking.  We had this stove made by a friend who works in a fab shop.  The stove sits on the ground & is made of boilerplate.  Had the stove for 10 years now & it still holds a fire all night.  The draft control is bronze, and the door has barrel hinges with zerk grease fittings.  It weighs a ton, but once you get it on the ground you're good to go.  This stove is the holy grail around our camp!

@Smokepole, looks like you have a pretty sweet setup there!  How warm does it stay in your tent during the cold months?

[Stein]

cylinder stoves or a kwik kamp stove. The stove mentioned above looks like a good one too. The four dog looks thin.

I have a two dog and couldn't be happier.  It is very heavy duty and should last a couple of lifetimes.  It in our Cabelas Bighorn and we can have any temp we want.  It is very well designed with baffles to increase efficiency and for a better cooking surface.

I did a test burn to seal the paint in the back yard and practically had flames shooting out the top of the chimney.  No warping or any problems at all.

[ballpark]

I have a 10 x 12 wall tent and use the 2 dog wood stove, small, airtight and made in the USA.

[jrebel]

I have the 12x20 also and we use the Large Cylinder Stove out of Utah. It works great and has held up for several years now.

http://cylinderstoves.com/contact_us.php
[/quote

worked awesome in our 16x20....but make sure you get the Yukon.  Don't go any smaller, you will regret it with that big a tent. 

[Smokepole]

In our camp, there is never enough room on the cook top.  We use the wood stove for heating water & cooking.  We had this stove made by a friend who works in a fab shop.  The stove sits on the ground & is made of boilerplate.  Had the stove for 10 years now & it still holds a fire all night.  The draft control is bronze, and the door has barrel hinges with zerk grease fittings.  It weighs a ton, but once you get it on the ground you're good to go.  This stove is the holy grail around our camp!

@Smokepole, looks like you have a pretty sweet setup there!  How warm does it stay in your tent during the cold months?

Actually, we have to keep the tent flaps open when we're cooking.  It gets real hot in there.  At night we bank the fire with log rounds piled up.  It is about 60, if you don't put too many in.  It is never cold inside the tent.  Sometimes it is way too hot, though.  One drunk guy showed up and said it was 900 degrees in there.  He didn't stay long.  You can get rid of a lot of drunk hunters that way.  Lodgepole pine works best.  Guaranteed!   

[jeepster]

I run a Colorado cylinder stove in my alaknak 12x12. I use the spruce Stove. It works pretty good. I definitely don't get cold, but if I could do it all over again, I would get the next size up, just so it can hold more wood/coals and give you that extra hour before you have to add more wood. I am considering adding a gasket to my stove door, it might help the stove burn better.

I forgot to say I also run the vestibule on my tent, and when we have the stove cranking, we open up the front door, and even the vestibule gets nice and toasty, great for having a warm place to take your boots on and off (no shoes allowed in my tent, gets dirty enough, ah the joys of a tent with a floor)

The thing that makes the biggest difference is my chimney oven, it traps so much more heat, plus it's always nice to be able to make muffins or something gooey and cheesy. It has a second damper, which makes all the difference in the world. But it's extra bulk

http://www.cylinderstoves.com/chimney-oven-p-74.html

It nearly doubles the efficacy of the stove. We have tossed in a shovel full of briquettes, stoked the fire, closed the dampers and gone to sleep, and woken up the following morning, and have it been almost as warm as when we went to bed.

Whatever stove you get, at least get a stack robber, if not an oven. Totally worth it

Don't forget to get a fan

[Wanttohuntmore]

Got a 12x12 alaknak with the four dog stove.  I went a little bigger on the stove so it would hold more wood.  Worked great in 7 degree temps in November.  Still trying to figure out how I can get it to burn all night in temps like that.  We could get 5 hours.  To be fair, we had not the best wood nor did we stack it full.  I would go big with a tent that size.

[jeepster]

http://vogelzang.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=59_95

Ya know, if you were going to have your tent set up for long periods of time, these vogelzangs are a little cheaper, and might hold heat better... Cast iron stoves are pretty heavy tho...

[ShadowHunter]

I have an Alaknak tent also and went with the 4 dog brand stove.  I picked the 3 dog model (size) and it works well for our needs.  I bought the tent and stove 11 years ago.  My son and I don't like a warm tent for "sleeping" and I'm not fond of getting up to re-stoke a stove during the night, nor am I fond of having to build a new fire in the morning.  My 3 dog will burn on low all night, with crappy wood like Grand Fir (some call it white fir) if I stoke it correctly.  With better wood, pine, douglas fir, or tamarack I can and have gotten 10-12 hour burns.  When the time came for a couple of our hunting partners to buy tents and stoves they went with the 4 dog size and it's easier for them to keep the fire going all night at a higher temp.  IMO it's not tough to get a tent warm-hot with "any" stove.  Just keep chucking wood into it!   4 Dog makes a great "airtight" stove that lasts.  Mine looked "brand new" on the outside, when I finally repainted it last summer. 

[couesbitten]

I have the largest kwik kamp, solid stove, love it!  Cylinder Stoves are also very good stoves.  Those stoves from that guy in Oregon look very nice as well, looks like it wouldn't be a bad choice.  I see you're in eastern WA, you might be able to drive down and pick up a stove and save yourself shipping and tax.

[ghosthunter]

I have a 10 x 12 wall tent and use the 2 dog wood stove, small, airtight and made in the USA.

I just bought a 10X12 was thinking of a 3 dog. How often you got to stoke that two dog at night?

[ballpark]

2-3 times but it wasn't that cold last year so we had to keep in low and slow.