Pot belly stoves and hut fires.

What are the tips and tricks to get the most out of the ancient little pot belly stoves or open fires found in many DOC huts... Much of the year the little fires overheat the hut, making it uncomfortable for all.... Mid winter, the little fires can struggle to even bring the hut above freezing.... Especially if its a cold night and the hut is uninsulated. I have noticed a few things over the years... - No matter how hot it is, someone would always light the fire... - There is normally a good supply of wood available in DOC huts, most of which is green or wet. The dry wood probably burnt by summer hut users. - If you go mining beneath the green wood, or search right at the back of the wood storage area it is sometimes possible to find dry wood. Occasionally supplies of dry wood can be found beneath the hut. - Standing dead wood in the bush is often drier then what can be found in the DOC hut itself, I typically gather 4-5 armfuls of the driest wood I can find... Then I get 3-5 more armfuls just to be safe. This is normally enough to last the night and have a little spare to restock the hut supplies. - I now bring fire starters with me, makes lighting dump twigs and leaves much faster. Probably not safest, but using a gas cooker can also kick start a reluctant fire. But how to start a fire is a topic in itself. - When cold, sawing beech branches can warm you up faster then the little fire can. - Unless trying to make kindling, I found the axes to be quite useless at cutting beech branches. - I place wet wood close to the fire to speed up drying.. It has mixed results. - When seating by the fire I often burn long branches, slowly pushing them into the embers as the ends burn away. The heat also helps to dry them. - I have yet to figure out how to get the little pot bellies to burn all night (assuming no one gets up to restock them) So any tips, tricks or experiences on how to get the most out of the fires. or even just some crazy stories / experiences which you might have with them.

Your onto it, get plenty of dry wood. Most wood burners produce plenty of heat, if the wood is ok. DOC usually only provide wood at Serviced huts, I think, so many others don't necessarily have much wood. Often come to huts, bugga all left to start the fire. Some trampers and hunters have a habit of not replacing what they use, or cut the wrong type (green etc). Often find big wet or green branches etc that are left in wood boxes. Open fires require more wood, and in winter don't heat huts as well as wood burners. many people don't know how to use/cook over an open fire, its a disappearing art trick is with open fires is to use thin heaps of dead/dry branches - like beech, kamahi, to get a good fire going, and burn heavier wood that doesn't ignite too easily.

I always carry a few strips of bicycle tube in an outside pocket on my pack, usually gets most things started. Sometimes scout around for used tea candles that people leave around the hut. Dead standing leatherwood is good

Most huts I visit have good supplies of wood, but I trend to frequent less popular huts which might explain why. I have noticed that if track clearing crews are in the area they normally fully stock the hut wood boxes.

All good advice above. I'd add...Split the wood for the fire and to quicken the drying out. A trick an oldtimer showed me, before I became one myself, was harvesting the standing deadwood by tossing a weighted line over it and hauling it down.

I carry a couple of the 'budget' brand fire starters from Pak N Save - they don't stink like most of the other available brands do and do the job just as well.

gathering firewood - I've seldom had to walk more than 100m from any hut, in the bush, to find standing dead wood of hand breakable size. The more empty the wood shed (normally a sign of less experienced users) the closer if just out of sight will be the wood. Green or rotten/soggy is a waste of time (except for a specific species or two), dry is better than wet but water on the outside is not a problem once the fire is going. Drift wood that snaps is the best! Know the species like kotukutuku that are almost impossible to burn. If you can't snap it - scrap it. Unless you have a good saw and axe. Split wood, even a small branch shaved with a knife, burns much better. Having tried all the firelighters - including candle stubs - I now just carry a suitable supply of bike inner tube rubber. A compass sized strip, and my lighter, will get most fires going. Its waterproof, light, keeps, and doesn't smell or leak. If you enjoy a real challenge - try lighting a fire in the rain, in a fiordland valley, in winter. :-)

Yeah the strip of inner tube rubber is an old NZFS trick. Very reliable, very cheap. I always carry some. In addition to all the useful tricks above, I'd also add the importance of getting a decent airflow across your fire. @Hugh vN That does sound like fun - although oddly enough if your on the Fiordland tops there's an abundance of species like 'turpentine scrub' and good old leatherwood which more or less burst into flame if you so much as glare at them.

Like footsore suggests I carry a coil of cord which, when weighted, can be tossed over those dead branches which beech trees always seem to have. Especially good when there is deep snow around the hut. Those branches always seem to be dry(ish!) even in the rain.

Always amazed my ability not to think of such obvious solutions as that to problems I face daily!