I stacked bricks around the back and sides of my stove to add thermal mass and retain a lot of heat. Cheap improvement. I also do a very hot burn occasionally to create a controlled chimney fire to burn out the creosote. I never have to clean my stove pipe since doing this. Last time I checked/cleaned the pipe, it was basically a waste of time except to inspect. Stainless pipe can really take a lot of heat. One last thing: Using single wall pipe for the first couple of feet lets you get more heat off of the pipe. I went to double wall just a couple of feet from the ceiling so more heat comes off the pipe lower down. Still hot enough to draw well. Nice mods. Thanks!
Great review. I have the GRIZZLY model. To get a better and cleaner burn that lasts a little longer, once you get the fire burning nice and hot, try closing the primary air intake completely and just use the secondary burn air intake to regulate the fire.
Yeah we've got the intake dance down to a science at this point, but as I say, we can only get a few hours of burn out of the wood we have here in Saskatchewan. Maybe if I had a nice oak forest? Anyway thanks for the comment and support!
It's about time I found somebody who does an actual review not just says this is cool I was always wondering about how the creosote buildup was on those 3 inch pipes
LOL Pumpkin seed oil. 8 caps twice/day works well for me. That's a little less than a bottle/week, so I get 4 bottles from Puritan's with 6 free all for 56 bucks. A small price for a full night's sleep. I'm gunna start reducing that little by little to find my minimum. Just try one bottle (from anywhere) and see how it works for you.
@@richio1763 It works by reducing swelling of the prostate which puts pressure on your bladder (If you're male) Read this a long time ago and just had to say my 2 cents,peace lol
You guys got me laughing so hard that the tears ran down both my legs. I'm so grateful that prostrate is only a position to me, and prostate is just bad spelling, like libary. lol
@@jzt999 I'm not sure if you are trying to take a jab at guys,but I know for a FACT I'd rather deal with the problems of being a guy than a girl ANY DAY.
Hello, what a great video!. You have touched upon so many aspects of the stove. Great comprehensive video. Would love to share this on social media and on our site with your permission. Thank you very much. Again, fabulous video. Cheers
I think you should ask Cubic Mini Wood Stove if they will give you a Grizzly woodstove to review to do a comparison. I live in Canada as well and a longer burn time would really help.
Having used one of these on a boat for many years i have a tip for reducing the tar stain on the glass. When you load the wood make sure your layer it so the grain of the wood does not face the glass ! As the wood heats up any residual moisture and especially the resin get forced out like toothpaste tube. The tar then condenses on the glass. It will evaporate off if you get hot enough but that uses more fuel.
Interesting point, i understand and think it could help. Could the secondary combustion plate be another issue because it s facing the front top corner but also the window? Thanks for sharing!
One of the few helpful reviews out there. Living in a camper trailer with about 300 squared feet with my partner in more northern Ontario. Gets up to minus 30 celcius minus 40 even on more extreme. I am in charge of buying the wood stove and I need to figure out an option that can keep us warm.
Your videos have the cozy feeling of watching Little House on the Prairie. I grabbed a cup of coffee so I could sit back and enjoy the ambiance. ☕ New subscriber! 🤗
Thanks! I'm soon to buy a mini for my cargo trailer conversion and this helps a lot. If I can suggest a cleaner method of sweeping the chimney, it is to use a green garbage bag. Put the brush just inside the chimney. Duct tape a green garbage bag to the bottom of the pipe. Poke as tiny a hole as possible in the side near the bottom of the bag, and then add cleaning rods as needed through this hole. Most of the creosote will fall into the bag.
Glad it helps. Typically I clean the chimney from the top down. You can remove the plate inside the stove and then collect the soot with a small ash pan or remove the stove as in the video and tape a bag to the pipe. The method in the video was purely to show the build-up clearly. Thx for watching.
Love these stoves. I like the double wall pipe where it's needed for fire clearance. Where i have fireproofing or enough clearance from flammable materials, i like the single wall pipe. I want that.extra heat the pipe throws, today they make some clip on pieces that pull more heat. Great stuff. I love putting up tile on the wall, I like making a base also. Be safe enjoy
Very thorough review...thanks so much for all the effort you put into this. I live off grid in MB and am looking at building a small cabin like yours. Never knew about these stoves until I saw your video. Not sure if you know about the Kindling Cracker but I'd highly recommend it for splitting your firewood into small pieces...I've tried all kinds of splitters for kindling and this one is fantastic..plus your kids could use as it's very safe! Keep the great videos coming!
Seriously the best video that I have seen so far on the Cubic Mini. Creosote on your cheeks was adorable :) I really like the extra steel top that you added - going to ask my son to make me one like that!
Great info! I like this little thing! One thing you might tweak to cut down on the creosote is actually your start method. Check out the "top down" method. Was a HUGE game changer for me.
@@HayWoodsandWetlands An 8' x 12' cabin. I'm 71 and hoping to avoid climbing on the roof to clean out the flue, but even without a prostate, us old gals are up and down at night. I took that into consideration, lol!
Great review! I was considering the cub for my box truck camper and after watching this im sold on the stove. Nice work on the hanger and heat shield. I have the same wildlife hatchet and while it's razor sharp and handy I've never gotten used to the skinny handle and wish I'd gone with the small forest axe
Thank you for the review . If possible you should try to clean the chimney from the top working downwards and tape a bag round the bottom to avoid ashes everywhere. you have the gain of your mic adjusted to high.
Good video. Good review. I just put my Cub in my camper trailer that I'm spending the winter in. In northern Alberta so will be a cold winter. Just the start of November and the cold hasn't set in yet. I bought the mounting kit. The shelf and back plate for the flew and such. Works beautifully and looks great but very pricey. And your definitely right about constantly having to feed the fire. Its constant. I'm burning poplar right now and its gotta be the worst wood there is for firewood. I'm planning on getting some spruce or tamarack from a wood dealer in town. See how it does. There is some birch for sale but it's hard to find up here.
Hey there! YOU are the person I need to be talking to! I'm planning on moving into a 25' or 27' Airstream in March, and looking into heating solutions for the trailer. In your opinion, is the wood stove effective enough to keep pipes from freezing in very cold (below 20F) weather? Do you think, with skirting, that the heat radiates enough to keep the underside of the trailer above freezing? Thanks!
Great question. The grizzly really puts out some heat. I haven't tested it in this way. The skirting would be a great help. Like most winter camper dwellers they suggest additional heating under the belly. Even in my home my pips freeze if I do not prepare for extreme temps. I would say the grizzly would do much better then propane by far. If you ask me!
Keelan it really is. I was going to do an extensive overnite test but ended up breaking my arm so now testing is out of the question. Please share if you happen to find out more or if you test it for yourself..
I have seen other reviews of this little wood stove but non as comprehensive as yours. Its such a pity that there is no UK outlet for these as I honestly believe there would be a viable market for them amongst the growing prepper community. I would love one...........
Montello Newbie How do you like Montello? I have always been curious, saw some dirt cheap land for sale a couple decades ago and almost bought because it was so cheap it was a cant lose situation (price of dinner out per acre).. Don’t know why I never pulled the trigger, probably cause I never got over there to check it out. I used to drive through elko a couple times a year, and go to Ogden every five years, but was always in a hurry driving to Boise from Vegas, etc.... never felt I had the time on that trip. Oh well, just curious what I missed out on.... I ended up buying land in Alaska for a bit more than what the Montello land cost... but I’m a stone’s throw (literally) from ocean water, and see hump backs and orcas all the time on my trips to and from town. Can’t wait til I’m retired and can spend more time there... at least two more years in Vegas...
@@Rick_Sanchez_C137_ Sounds like a win win situation for you; Montello or Alaska. I like it fine...had my struggles but keeping my head up. Yep, I got 10 acres for $3,500 {with free rattlesnakes every summer. What a deal}. Aug 2019 will be four years off grid. Have to haul my water in. But when there is snow I can cross country ski for miles and miles starting right out side my door. You did not mention Bears and wolves...so maybe Montello is cool because what it does not have...bears wolves. :-) Stay safe in Alaska...and always pack!
I learned a trick (YT) about starting a fire Top down by rolling 1 sheet of newspaper diagonally then tie a knot in the middle. The trick is to think railroad tracks ie 2 (of your middle size sticks) front to back & 2 or 3 crosswise with tiny kindling on top, the np being on the bottom. The end of the paper burns fast until it hits the knot which burns slower lighting the kindling on top (preheating the stove pipe thus drafting faster. The RR tracks allow maximum air flow & the kindling & cross pieces drops down creating a good bed of coals. It sounds crazy but it works. Anyway, great video on the stove
Enjoyed the video! Love your place there, Was a lil worried to learn you didn't clean chimney in two years! Birch is GREAT wood I see... and that's the reason why .. Burn on! ( lol )
Thanks for watching! These little stoves are very efficient and can burn very hot causing little to no creosote buildup, but it's now a yearly routine for us for sure.
It is yes. It's called an EcoFan you can get them at hardware stores or online. We did a video review on ours if you'd like to know more. ua-cam.com/video/uuSCpvvE6LI/v-deo.html
Should be more than enough heat for a little trailer like that, Les. Remember to allow for some fresh air in a tiny space so you don't burn up all your oxygen when the cub is blazing away. Sounds like a fun project.
@@HomesteadAtLast Research that more. If you have to damp it down, to keep from blasting yourself out of there from the heat, you build up the creosote really fast. I'd rather undersize than oversize. I think it's safer from fire, CO poisoning, etc.
Very cool, Green Acres. We've really enjoyed ours. I'm hoping to have a retrospective building video up next week that shows the whole 12 day building process for our tiny abode. If you hit the notification bell beside the subscribe button you'll get a message once it's up. Thanks for the sub and comments and good luck on your cabin build!
When brushing flue from the bottom, clamp a canvas bag to the flue. Create an opening in the opposite side of the bag, just large enough for your cleaning rods to fit through as you push the brush up the flue. Most of the soot will be collected by the bag while the lighter dust will vent out of the flue top. If you want to get creative, you can set a small shop vac outside, bring in a long hose and attach it to another opening in the canvass bag. That will draw the soot into the vac while the fine dust is vented outside!
Thanks Tom. I did it this way just for demonstration purposes so the soot would be easily visable to the camera and people could see the 2 yr build up, but I like your canvas bag idea. It IS fairly difficult to get to the roof on this little cabin so that would work great. Thx for the tip.
@@HayWoodsandWetlands, you are welcome! I owned and operated a chimney cleaning, restoration and rebuilding company for a couple decades. I cleaned many a stove chimney using the canvass bag technique. Just be careful you don't knock the chimney cap off. Normally, for the first time at the clients, I would secure the cap with three screws. In that way, future cleanings enabled me to brush the interior of the cap and tap it a few times with the top of the brush to dislodge any creosote! It was especially beneficial to clean from the bottom, when the roofs were icy!
Im gonna get a Dwarf 3k external fresh air intake from the bottom, and an ash pan and riddling grate a few hundred extra bucks but well worth convenience in my opinion.
Thanks for the kind words and the sub. Glad it helped with your decision. I think I've got the hot audio issue worked out now so fingers crossed. Enjoy the stove!
If he can convert the stove to burn pellets using a pellet basket he could get 2-12 hours of burn time depending on basket capacity. He just has to make he does it right...don't want to burn through the stove bottom.
Great video. When you did your first burn was there an off gassing of your stove? I just bought one, and did the first fire and had smoke coming off the box itself. *edit: I may have has some styrofoam little bits that melted, having been stuck to the stove prior to burning. lol
Some, yup. I did the first burn outside on the ground and just got it raging hot for about an hour. After that it never stunk again. Good luck with it.
What do you think was offgassing off it? I have small birds thay can die on contact from teflon exposure and plasticisers, and can't have contained chemicals indoors other than what's trapped inside the chimney on its way out.
Great review. For the clean out, you should check out Tiny Preppers video on his set up for a clean out without the mess. I have been looking at these videos because looking at one for our camper.
Joan Pavlick I was wondering why he was pulling the brush..... tape a plastic bag around the bottom, go upon top and push the brush to the bottom twice and pull it out. Give soot ten minutes to settle, take bag off pipe and close it up, put pipe back on stove and Bob’s yer uncle.
Use a garbage bag... put a small hole in it to run the long handle thru with the brush inside. You can tape the top of the bag to the chimney, the chimney inside. Then use it, the creosote will be in the bag, no mess. I use this method on my full size wood stove so I can clean it from inside the house.
Yup the garbage bag will be used next year for sure. This time I wanted to make a mess to show exactly how much had collected inside. It was an educated mess...Thanks for watching.
If you run your brush down from the top and leave your stove hook up , Your ash will fall down in to your stove .In turn it will be lost mesh to clean up. Enjoy your little wood stove .I've been heating with wool for about 30 years now
Thanks Gary. I was doing it this way just to show on camera the build up after two years of occasional use. It was for "dramatic effect" haha. Thanks for the tip and comments.
I got these both at Canadian Tire up here in Canada, but you should be able to get them at most hardware stores. The poles are from a standard chimney sweep kit with a 6" brush and then I bought a 3" brush which is marketed as a pellet stove brush. I had to make an adapter to go from the larger threads on the pole to the smaller ones on the brush, but just drilled out the top of a large bolt and tapped it with the proper pellet stove brush threads. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Logs burn longer than split wood, i know you said you cut pieces at 5 to 6" long, but how big is door opening? If you could cut a log 6"x8" and leave it a log and put it on a hot bed of coals i think it would surprise ya. If you have black oak use that it burns hot and slow with low ash.
No black oak around these parts, but you make a good point about whole log pieces. We'll give it a try next winter and see how long it will run for. Thx
In a woodgas stove if you can eliminate the yellow flame and only have blue flame you reach maximum effeciency. Limiting the air supply thru the front at the bottom and opening the secondary air at the back once the fire is well under way will get max heat per unit wood and burn off any soot entering the chimney.
Thanks for taking the time to post about this with all the details - super helpful! I do have one question, though: where did you get your awesome enamel kettle? I'm looking for one for my future Grizzly and really like that style!
Haha. We've got a number of these enamel kettles. Some vintage some new. I believe this one came from McNalley Robinson bookstore, here in Canada. Glad you enjoyed the review. Thanks for the comments and subscription!
Your review seems to be well received ... BUT how about doing a review update using the increasingly popular eco bricks / eco blocks. They are supposed to be so much more efficient than regular wood and it would be interesting to see how long an overnight burn you could in the minis with this new fuel source.
How many cords of wood do you go through in a winter season? I'm building my own cabin that's going to have an interior of 8x8x8 foot with insulation on all walls and flooring.
I guess this works for certain applications but processing that wood into such small sizes is a ton of work. How much wood do you use in a typical winter? Very good review.
It's one of those, "how long is a piece of string", kinda questions, I'm afraid. Tough to answer. The stove is extremely efficient so it produces a substantial amount of heat with one firebox full which is equivalent to maybe a third of a quartered 16" log. So two 16" logs may heat the place for a whole night quite easily. We burn the outdoor fire pit all winter and have a wood fireplace at home in the city as well so it's tough to say how much wood we burn here at the cabin. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching
The reasons stoves have a rear top intake is so you can basically starve your fire that way the fire only uses the air that it needs instead of a blast furnace with a front damper.
Got a Cubic Cub for my camper van! Love it so far but would like to extend the top like you did. It looks like you used 3/8 inch steel plate? Is it attached or does it just sit on top? since my cabin moves a lot, down bumpy roads, I might want to clamp it on....
Did you just make your own shield out of a metal roof scrap? And then did you mount the shield and mount that comes with the Cubic stove on top of that? If not, how did you attach it to the wall? I love the look of your shield.
Honestly the free windows and door we got are leaky enough to allow sufficient airflow. Haha. I do intend at some point to give the stove a dedicated hose to the exterior for air. Thanks for watching
I also have one and they are nice stoves but the need to stock it every hour drives me nuts. I have the grizzly and they say 200-400 sq feet I would say no more than 200. My fifth wheel is older so not the best insulated so there is always some give and take on how much it will heat. I do like the stove but I am in the process of designing a gravity feed pellet stove that fits my needs so I do not have to worry about stocking the stove every 45 min to 1 hr like he said in the video. The stocking issue not to big of a deal in the day but I don't get up every hour in the night to stock you would never get any sleep. Also I feel the design needs to have a direct hook up for fresh air. I know hey have the plate under the stove they sell but I mean a real hook up so you don't have cold air just floating into the house.
I find the Cub has no problem actually heating the 94 sq feet and large lofted ceiling. I suspect that it could heat a much larger space, but it's just the maintaining of that heat that becomes a chore in the deepest of cold temps here on the Canadian prairies. I could see the insulation of a fifth wheeler loosing heat even faster than our 2x4 fiberglass insulated walls. I know we built the cabin specifically because our camper trailer could not keep up with the demands of sustaining us in the minus 20 degree temps using the existing propane furnace installed. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Thanks for this great review! I am debating whether to install the Cub or the Grizzly in my 20ft (drafty and not well insulated) 89 Toyota Dolphin. I’m wondering specifically, how this keeps you guys warm *all night* in north county, without having to wake up and build another fire at 2am? Do you use supplemental heating during cold snaps? Thank SO much!
Yes. We supplement with a propane direct vent heater, not because this little guy cant keep us warm, but it just saves us from getting up in the night.
wow, i hope you are able to see my message... So i am in the planning build stage and was looking at leaving out a bathroom but then thought, could copper pipping wrap around a wood burning stove in order to heat a metal bath tub... its almost pretty much an off grid bath tub set up... does anyone think this is possible or not, and any comments on this idea.i think this will help me plan out my set up more.... sorry for the long essay.... i think it would be a cool way to heat a bath tub.
Yup totally possible. This is how wood fired hot tubs work. The heat creates a natural Venturi that pulls the cool water through the copper and out the other end. Can be used to heat a tub or a hot water heater full of water or whatever. That said, once you’ve got water in the pipes you’ll need to keep it from freezing if you’re in that kinda climate. For me it’d be more work to drain the lines every time I leave for a few days than the benefits of on demand hot water would provide for about 6 months out of the year. Good luck with your build!
No interior box. I just boxed out a safe space between the rafters and then outside used a 3" Simpson PelletVent PRO, DSA Roof Flashing 7/12-12/12 Pitch, 3PVP-F12DS and the 3" Simpson PelletVent PRO, Storm Collar, 3PVP-SC for the install. Then just ran the double walled Cubic Mini pipe up through that and insulated around it inside using rockwool insulation. Outside, I wrapped the 3" pipe in more rockwool and wrapped that with a 5" stovepipe to hold it in. Supposedly that keeps the exhaust from cooling too fast and causing excessive creosote in the last few feet of chimney. I was also then able to just buy a standard 5" rain cap/spark arrest for cheap at the local hardware to cap it off. Thanks for the comments!
Do not burn soft wood, only oak, ash, beech, acacia, hornbeam. These are very dense woods! To make the fire last overnight once well lit, reduce the draft. To avoid getting up at night, synchronize with propane and thermostat.
I watched in another video that a man cleans it from the roof and pushes the creosote down into box. There are 2 screws and a compartment that picks it up. Clean it out and capture it all by that box.
That's adorable. Now that I get up every two hours during the night, it might be just what I need. How often do you have to empty the coals, or does it burn most of it down to ash? I remember not having to do it very often with a large stove, but this, I gotta say, is really the smallest firebox I've ever seen. Toy wood to burn. In previous houses, I got up on the roof, and swept downward, into a cold stove. I think I put a box in the stove to catch the crap, but I don't remember. Is there a baffle in the way? Is it removeable? You had great dramatic/comedic effect, but I'd kill you if you did that in my house. hehehehe That's a real messy job.
Thanks for the comments. The stove is incredibly efficient and burns the coals down to almost nothing. Clean out really depends on how cold it is and how long we've been burning for. There is a bafle that's removable and yes, you can sweep it from the top down, but I thought this method would give a better visual representation. Thanks for watching!
@@HayWoodsandWetlands Oh, yeah, and even though I arise to a call from nature far more often than I care to answer, I still need a longer burning stove. I so appreciate your assessment. Thanks!
THat would be pretty slick. Although I went with the wood stove so that the fuel would be free and if I went with pellets I'd be back to purchasing fuel again. Thanks for watching
I'm not an insurance salesmen. I have no idea. I do know that these stoves are not W.E.T.T. certified and are listed by the company as for "recreational use". You'll have to check with local authorities for your region for more details.
No not a difficult task at all. It's made of brass so very soft metal. I used a pair of pliers to twist the tabs going through the little holes in the top. Once those were twisted they'll pop out through the holes one by one. I wasn't able to do it without completely destroying the brass railing so you'll want to make sure that's how you want it before getting in there with the pliers. Hope it helps. Thanks for watching!
We have a wood burning furance. We use oak for slow burn and more btu's. We load furance full and turn damper down to low setting and we are good for the night. Do use low damper at night? Does your floor area stay warm with stove so high?
Oh if I could only get some Oak around here. I'm lucky to get the birch we use. Most of the wood around here is Aspen or Poplar. Not so good for the BTUs. We do damper down, but again, with that tiny firebox it really only lasts an hour and a half even dampened down. The stove height does make it hard to keep the floor warm, but is necessary once the double bed is pulled out for safe clearance. The cabin is only 96 sq. ft. and ever inch is considered in the design. I installed a fan in the roof that helps circulate immensely and the ecofan on top helps as well. Thanks for your comments!
Not sure, Katherine. I just tipped mine over which seemed to clear any debris that had collected on the plate at the collar of the flue. Didn't see any screws to remove, but could have missed it.
katherine mcilwain btw, my stove is the grizzly, not sure if the cub is different. My only drawback is my primary wood is elm and elm creates a lot of ashes. On a normal work day, I have to clean ashes before the morning fire, and again before an evening fire. If I am home during a cold day, I am removing hot ashes two or three times more during the day.
I don't think so. It's the burn time that is the issue and how long the stove holds the heat. A slightly bigger mini would only be slightly better. But keep in mind that we're in pretty extreme temps like -40 degrees at times and well below freezing for most of the winter.
was it easy to get those little rails off the stove so you could add the metal plate giving more space to heat water and have the fan? I want to add a metal plate as well to mine..looks likes your is 1/4"? thanks
The rail is just brass so it bends easily, but don't expect to ever use it again haha. Yeah the plact is about 1/4" thick, but a 1/8" would probably be fine as well.
I have the rods for a standard size chimney sweep and I adapted one of the rod ends to accept the small sweep brush by JB Welding a nut to the end of it.
I stacked bricks around the back and sides of my stove to add thermal mass and retain a lot of heat. Cheap improvement.
I also do a very hot burn occasionally to create a controlled chimney fire to burn out the creosote. I never have to clean my stove pipe since doing this. Last time I checked/cleaned the pipe, it was basically a waste of time except to inspect. Stainless pipe can really take a lot of heat. One last thing: Using single wall pipe for the first couple of feet lets you get more heat off of the pipe. I went to double wall just a couple of feet from the ceiling so more heat comes off the pipe lower down. Still hot enough to draw well.
Nice mods. Thanks!
Single wall pipe for the first half, sure is the way to go 👍 I don't understand what the logic is to double wall the pipe all the way from stove top?
How do you get it hot enough to burn the creosote?
Great review. I have the GRIZZLY model. To get a better and cleaner burn that lasts a little longer, once you get the fire burning nice and hot, try closing the primary air intake completely and just use the secondary burn air intake to regulate the fire.
Yeah we've got the intake dance down to a science at this point, but as I say, we can only get a few hours of burn out of the wood we have here in Saskatchewan. Maybe if I had a nice oak forest? Anyway thanks for the comment and support!
@larrysmith when you close the primary air intake like that, do you see high amounts of creosote build up? I am!
It's about time I found somebody who does an actual review not just says this is cool I was always wondering about how the creosote buildup was on those 3 inch pipes
Glad you liked it JT. Thanks for your comments.
This is obviously going to work much better when you're 70 and have to get up every three hours to pee.
Well, something to look forward to then. ;)
LOL
Pumpkin seed oil. 8 caps twice/day works well for me.
That's a little less than a bottle/week, so I get 4 bottles from Puritan's with 6 free all for 56 bucks. A small price for a full night's sleep. I'm gunna start reducing that little by little to find my minimum.
Just try one bottle (from anywhere) and see how it works for you.
@@richio1763 It works by reducing swelling of the prostate which puts pressure on your bladder (If you're male) Read this a long time ago and just had to say my 2 cents,peace lol
You guys got me laughing so hard that the tears ran down both my legs. I'm so grateful that prostrate is only a position to me, and prostate is just bad spelling, like libary. lol
@@jzt999 I'm not sure if you are trying to take a jab at guys,but I know for a FACT I'd rather deal with the problems of being a guy than a girl ANY DAY.
Hello, what a great video!. You have touched upon so many aspects of the stove. Great comprehensive video. Would love to share this on social media and on our site with your permission. Thank you very much. Again, fabulous video. Cheers
You bet, folks. Share away!
I want one for my van I'm going to be living in
I think you should ask Cubic Mini Wood Stove if they will give you a Grizzly woodstove to review to do a comparison. I live in Canada as well and a longer burn time would really help.
Great review!
I understand there are two bolts inside the stove to remove the top plate so you can clean the flue without taking everything apart.
Excellent video man. You packed a ton of information into a concise format, much appreciated. The steel plate is an excellent idea!
Thank you. This video is well made, with logically ordered information that is extremely useful
One of the better detailed and in depth reviews. Good job.
Thanks
Much appreciated.
Having used one of these on a boat for many years i have a tip for reducing the tar stain on the glass.
When you load the wood make sure your layer it so the grain of the wood does not face the glass !
As the wood heats up any residual moisture and especially the resin get forced out like toothpaste tube.
The tar then condenses on the glass. It will evaporate off if you get hot enough but that uses more fuel.
Interesting point, i understand and think it could help. Could the secondary combustion plate be another issue because it s facing the front top corner but also the window? Thanks for sharing!
One of the few helpful reviews out there. Living in a camper trailer with about 300 squared feet with my partner in more northern Ontario. Gets up to minus 30 celcius minus 40 even on more extreme.
I am in charge of buying the wood stove and I need to figure out an option that can keep us warm.
Your videos have the cozy feeling of watching Little House on the Prairie. I grabbed a cup of coffee so I could sit back and enjoy the ambiance. ☕
New subscriber! 🤗
Thanks for the support!
Thanks for this, I just picked one up for my Tiny Houseboat and your review was helpful! Best/Roy
Glad to hear we could help. Good luck with it.
Thanks! I'm soon to buy a mini for my cargo trailer conversion and this helps a lot.
If I can suggest a cleaner method of sweeping the chimney, it is to use a green garbage bag. Put the brush just inside the chimney. Duct tape a green garbage bag to the bottom of the pipe. Poke as tiny a hole as possible in the side near the bottom of the bag, and then add cleaning rods as needed through this hole. Most of the creosote will fall into the bag.
Glad it helps. Typically I clean the chimney from the top down. You can remove the plate inside the stove and then collect the soot with a small ash pan or remove the stove as in the video and tape a bag to the pipe. The method in the video was purely to show the build-up clearly. Thx for watching.
Love these stoves. I like the double wall pipe where it's needed for fire clearance. Where i have fireproofing or enough clearance from flammable materials, i like the single wall pipe. I want that.extra heat the pipe throws, today they make some clip on pieces that pull more heat.
Great stuff. I love putting up tile on the wall, I like making a base also. Be safe enjoy
Thx for watching!
Very thorough review...thanks so much for all the effort you put into this. I live off grid in MB and am looking at building a small cabin like yours. Never knew about these stoves until I saw your video. Not sure if you know about the Kindling Cracker but I'd highly recommend it for splitting your firewood into small pieces...I've tried all kinds of splitters for kindling and this one is fantastic..plus your kids could use as it's very safe! Keep the great videos coming!
Thanks for the tip, Paul. I'll check it out.
Love our kindling cracker!🙂
Seriously the best video that I have seen so far on the Cubic Mini. Creosote on your cheeks was adorable :) I really like the extra steel top that you added - going to ask my son to make me one like that!
Patty Martirosian
I agree on the top, but was thinking soapstone would be better and hold the heat for hours if cut a few inches thick.
Great info! I like this little thing! One thing you might tweak to cut down on the creosote is actually your start method. Check out the "top down" method. Was a HUGE game changer for me.
Thanks for the tip, Josh. I'll check it out.
Thank you-good review! I just got my Cub, glad to see something on cleaning the flue. I appreciate your effort.
You bet. Good luck with the cub. What’s it going in?
@@HayWoodsandWetlands An 8' x 12' cabin. I'm 71 and hoping to avoid climbing on the roof to clean out the flue, but even without a prostate, us old gals are up and down at night. I took that into consideration, lol!
You sold me a stove, man. Thanks for the info!
Great review! I was considering the cub for my box truck camper and after watching this im sold on the stove. Nice work on the hanger and heat shield. I have the same wildlife hatchet and while it's razor sharp and handy I've never gotten used to the skinny handle and wish I'd gone with the small forest axe
Thank you for the review . If possible you should try to clean the chimney from the top working downwards and tape a bag round the bottom to avoid ashes everywhere. you have the gain of your mic adjusted to high.
Cleaned it this way just to be able to show the build up better. Wouldn't normally follow this method. Thanks for watching
Great review! thanks so much, gave me the confidence to go ahead and purchase one for my little vardo!
Good video. Good review. I just put my Cub in my camper trailer that I'm spending the winter in. In northern Alberta so will be a cold winter. Just the start of November and the cold hasn't set in yet. I bought the mounting kit. The shelf and back plate for the flew and such. Works beautifully and looks great but very pricey. And your definitely right about constantly having to feed the fire. Its constant. I'm burning poplar right now and its gotta be the worst wood there is for firewood. I'm planning on getting some spruce or tamarack from a wood dealer in town. See how it does. There is some birch for sale but it's hard to find up here.
Great video! Thanks!!
You should try building an upside down fire 🔥 It’s great for wood stoves, just light it and walk away.
I recommend the stove..I use the grizzly inside my 28 foot vintage tin can Avion. Love mine.. tiny house prepper sold me..great review thank you.
Hey there! YOU are the person I need to be talking to! I'm planning on moving into a 25' or 27' Airstream in March, and looking into heating solutions for the trailer. In your opinion, is the wood stove effective enough to keep pipes from freezing in very cold (below 20F) weather? Do you think, with skirting, that the heat radiates enough to keep the underside of the trailer above freezing? Thanks!
Great question. The grizzly really puts out some heat. I haven't tested it in this way. The skirting would be a great help. Like most winter camper dwellers they suggest additional heating under the belly. Even in my home my pips freeze if I do not prepare for extreme temps. I would say the grizzly would do much better then propane by far. If you ask me!
ua-cam.com/video/IgzS1PJCqbw/v-deo.html check this one out!
Balsam Acres thanks for the reply! Good to know. It’s hard to get information about such a specific circumstance!
Keelan it really is. I was going to do an extensive overnite test but ended up breaking my arm so now testing is out of the question. Please share if you happen to find out more or if you test it for yourself..
I have seen other reviews of this little wood stove but non as comprehensive as yours. Its such a pity that there is no UK outlet for these as I honestly believe there would be a viable market for them amongst the growing prepper community. I would love one...........
Thanks much, Gary. Glad you enjoyed the review.
Call the manufacturer and become a dealer
I love my Cubic Grizzly...on my third winter with it in my Fifth Wheel offgrid in northern Nevada.
Montello Newbie
How do you like Montello? I have always been curious, saw some dirt cheap land for sale a couple decades ago and almost bought because it was so cheap it was a cant lose situation (price of dinner out per acre)..
Don’t know why I never pulled the trigger, probably cause I never got over there to check it out. I used to drive through elko a couple times a year, and go to Ogden every five years, but was always in a hurry driving to Boise from Vegas, etc.... never felt I had the time on that trip.
Oh well, just curious what I missed out on.... I ended up buying land in Alaska for a bit more than what the Montello land cost... but I’m a stone’s throw (literally) from ocean water, and see hump backs and orcas all the time on my trips to and from town. Can’t wait til I’m retired and can spend more time there... at least two more years in Vegas...
@@Rick_Sanchez_C137_ Sounds like a win win situation for you; Montello or Alaska. I like it fine...had my struggles but keeping my head up. Yep, I got 10 acres for $3,500 {with free rattlesnakes every summer. What a deal}. Aug 2019 will be four years off grid. Have to haul my water in. But when there is snow I can cross country ski for miles and miles starting right out side my door. You did not mention Bears and wolves...so maybe Montello is cool because what it does not have...bears wolves. :-) Stay safe in Alaska...and always pack!
I learned a trick (YT) about starting a fire Top down by rolling 1 sheet of newspaper diagonally then tie a knot in the middle. The trick is to think railroad tracks ie 2 (of your middle size sticks) front to back & 2 or 3 crosswise with tiny kindling on top, the np being on the bottom. The end of the paper burns fast until it hits the knot which burns slower lighting the kindling on top (preheating the stove pipe thus drafting faster. The RR tracks allow maximum air flow & the kindling & cross pieces drops down creating a good bed of coals. It sounds crazy but it works. Anyway, great video on the stove
Cool trick. Thanks for sharing!
Enjoyed the video! Love your place there, Was a lil worried to learn you didn't clean chimney in two years! Birch is GREAT wood I see... and that's the reason why .. Burn on! ( lol )
Thanks for watching! These little stoves are very efficient and can burn very hot causing little to no creosote buildup, but it's now a yearly routine for us for sure.
Is that little fan powered by the heat?! Bc that would be awesome!! If so, where did you purchase it? Thanks!!!
It is yes. It's called an EcoFan you can get them at hardware stores or online. We did a video review on ours if you'd like to know more. ua-cam.com/video/uuSCpvvE6LI/v-deo.html
Helpful cheers. I’ll have a tiny cabin similar footprint going up in May, this looks ideal
Awesome! Congrats on the build. Let us know how it goes! Thanks for watching!
Great review, we plan on getting one for our bus conversion
Glad you enjoyed it. Good luck with the Bus!
Awesome video!! 🦌
Great video:) thanks so much for the thorough explanation of this stove.
My pleasure. Glad it was useful.
Installed one in my rv Great job explaining , best Ihave seen Thank you
Great thx. I'm in Ontario, Canada so off to Canadian Tire it is. Thx again.
Great review of the Cub! I'm seriously considering the Cub for my 7x14 v-nose camper/toy hauler build that I am starting/working toward. Thank you!
Should be more than enough heat for a little trailer like that, Les. Remember to allow for some fresh air in a tiny space so you don't burn up all your oxygen when the cub is blazing away. Sounds like a fun project.
I’m tempted to get a 4kw dwarf instead of a grizzly cause it’s essential to have too much heat instead of not enough, right?
@@HomesteadAtLast Research that more. If you have to damp it down, to keep from blasting yourself out of there from the heat, you build up the creosote really fast. I'd rather undersize than oversize. I think it's safer from fire, CO poisoning, etc.
I subscribed . I will be building a cabin come spring. I already did the land clearing as can be seen on my channel. Thanks for sharing.
Very cool, Green Acres. We've really enjoyed ours. I'm hoping to have a retrospective building video up next week that shows the whole 12 day building process for our tiny abode. If you hit the notification bell beside the subscribe button you'll get a message once it's up. Thanks for the sub and comments and good luck on your cabin build!
best review on cubic mini!
When brushing flue from the bottom, clamp a canvas bag to the flue. Create an opening in the opposite side of the bag, just large enough for your cleaning rods to fit through as you push the brush up the flue.
Most of the soot will be collected by the bag while the lighter dust will vent out of the flue top.
If you want to get creative, you can set a small shop vac outside, bring in a long hose and attach it to another opening in the canvass bag. That will draw the soot into the vac while the fine dust is vented outside!
Thanks Tom. I did it this way just for demonstration purposes so the soot would be easily visable to the camera and people could see the 2 yr build up, but I like your canvas bag idea. It IS fairly difficult to get to the roof on this little cabin so that would work great. Thx for the tip.
@@HayWoodsandWetlands, you are welcome! I owned and operated a chimney cleaning, restoration and rebuilding company for a couple decades. I cleaned many a stove chimney using the canvass bag technique. Just be careful you don't knock the chimney cap off. Normally, for the first time at the clients, I would secure the cap with three screws. In that way, future cleanings enabled me to brush the interior of the cap and tap it a few times with the top of the brush to dislodge any creosote!
It was especially beneficial to clean from the bottom, when the roofs were icy!
Hallo from Germany,
thanks 4 this Nice Video 👍
I learned so much thank you very much!
Im gonna get a Dwarf 3k external fresh air intake from the bottom, and an ash pan and riddling grate a few hundred extra bucks but well worth convenience in my opinion.
Those look to be really nice setups. Look forward to hearing how it works out for you.
like the extra flat plate good idea
Thx Tim. It does add some functionality to this tiny cook top!
Great review!! You helped us confirm this is what we're looking for. Great channel just subbed! Just work on sound, but great channel. -Moniec
Thanks for the kind words and the sub. Glad it helped with your decision. I think I've got the hot audio issue worked out now so fingers crossed. Enjoy the stove!
Great video. I have one of those stoves, and I really like it. but people need to be realistic. You cannot heat all night with a one cubic foot stove.
If he can convert the stove to burn pellets using a pellet basket he could get 2-12 hours of burn time depending on basket capacity. He just has to make he does it right...don't want to burn through the stove bottom.
I’m wondering how he figured out how to supplement heat on those cold snaps.... without getting up five times a night.
I've read that if you load it up with anthracite coal before you go to bed, it will make it for 6+ hours.
Great video. When you did your first burn was there an off gassing of your stove? I just bought one, and did the first fire and had smoke coming off the box itself.
*edit: I may have has some styrofoam little bits that melted, having been stuck to the stove prior to burning. lol
Some, yup. I did the first burn outside on the ground and just got it raging hot for about an hour. After that it never stunk again. Good luck with it.
What do you think was offgassing off it? I have small birds thay can die on contact from teflon exposure and plasticisers, and can't have contained chemicals indoors other than what's trapped inside the chimney on its way out.
Great review. For the clean out, you should check out Tiny Preppers video on his set up for a clean out without the mess.
I have been looking at these videos because looking at one for our camper.
Joan Pavlick
I was wondering why he was pulling the brush..... tape a plastic bag around the bottom, go upon top and push the brush to the bottom twice and pull it out. Give soot ten minutes to settle, take bag off pipe and close it up, put pipe back on stove and Bob’s yer uncle.
great video, thanks for all the info! love the mod for the top
You bet Rachel. Hope it helps!
Use a garbage bag... put a small hole in it to run the long handle thru with the brush inside. You can tape the top of the bag to the chimney, the chimney inside. Then use it, the creosote will be in the bag, no mess. I use this method on my full size wood stove so I can clean it from inside the house.
Yup the garbage bag will be used next year for sure. This time I wanted to make a mess to show exactly how much had collected inside. It was an educated mess...Thanks for watching.
excellent video!!
If you run your brush down from the top and leave your stove hook up , Your ash will fall down in to your stove .In turn it will be lost mesh to clean up. Enjoy your little wood stove .I've been heating with wool for about 30 years now
Thanks Gary. I was doing it this way just to show on camera the build up after two years of occasional use. It was for "dramatic effect" haha. Thanks for the tip and comments.
Thx for the review. Wondering where you purchased the pole and creosote brush?
I got these both at Canadian Tire up here in Canada, but you should be able to get them at most hardware stores. The poles are from a standard chimney sweep kit with a 6" brush and then I bought a 3" brush which is marketed as a pellet stove brush. I had to make an adapter to go from the larger threads on the pole to the smaller ones on the brush, but just drilled out the top of a large bolt and tapped it with the proper pellet stove brush threads. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Logs burn longer than split wood, i know you said you cut pieces at 5 to 6" long, but how big is door opening? If you could cut a log 6"x8" and leave it a log and put it on a hot bed of coals i think it would surprise ya. If you have black oak use that it burns hot and slow with low ash.
No black oak around these parts, but you make a good point about whole log pieces. We'll give it a try next winter and see how long it will run for. Thx
In a woodgas stove if you can eliminate the yellow flame and only have blue flame you reach maximum effeciency. Limiting the air supply thru the front at the bottom and opening the secondary air at the back once the fire is well under way will get max heat per unit wood and burn off any soot entering the chimney.
You bet. Thx for watching
Great Video Thanks
Fantastic review! Was wondering if you could link me to the brass pipe option? Did you get it from cubic mini or from a different source?
The stainless pipe just gets golden like that after a year of use or so. Thanks for watching
Thanks for taking the time to post about this with all the details - super helpful! I do have one question, though: where did you get your awesome enamel kettle? I'm looking for one for my future Grizzly and really like that style!
Haha. We've got a number of these enamel kettles. Some vintage some new. I believe this one came from McNalley Robinson bookstore, here in Canada. Glad you enjoyed the review. Thanks for the comments and subscription!
Your review seems to be well received ... BUT how about doing a review update using the increasingly popular eco bricks / eco blocks. They are supposed to be so much more efficient than regular wood and it would be interesting to see how long an overnight burn you could in the minis with this new fuel source.
Thanks for the review & information. Have you ever fueled your Mini with charcoal? Thanks
Love your stove top expansion mod. Is that 3 or 4mm mild steel ?
I believe it was just 1/8" mild plate. Thanks for watching
Where did you get the Eco fan? What is bottom of fan made of for heat resistance. Please n thank you Donna B
Very very nice.
Thanks a lot
How many cords of wood do you go through in a winter season? I'm building my own cabin that's going to have an interior of 8x8x8 foot with insulation on all walls and flooring.
Would it heat a 220 square foot space well??
I forgot to ask you how did you attack the steel plate on the top surface of the stove? Thanks
Use the outside air....one inch steel piping..piped in to fit screw piping..abt halfway up....gotahelp.
I guess this works for certain applications but processing that wood into such small sizes is a ton of work. How much wood do you use in a typical winter? Very good review.
It's one of those, "how long is a piece of string", kinda questions, I'm afraid. Tough to answer. The stove is extremely efficient so it produces a substantial amount of heat with one firebox full which is equivalent to maybe a third of a quartered 16" log. So two 16" logs may heat the place for a whole night quite easily. We burn the outdoor fire pit all winter and have a wood fireplace at home in the city as well so it's tough to say how much wood we burn here at the cabin. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching
Take a look at the dwarf 3kw mini stove a bit bigger and gets good reviews ability to use bigger firewood used in school bus conversions
The reasons stoves have a rear top intake is so you can basically starve your fire that way the fire only uses the air that it needs instead of a blast furnace with a front damper.
You bet. Makes the fire far more efficient by re burning the gasses which would normally go up the chimney as stated. Cheers.
Got a Cubic Cub for my camper van! Love it so far but would like to extend the top like you did. It looks like you used 3/8 inch steel plate? Is it attached or does it just sit on top? since my cabin moves a lot, down bumpy roads, I might want to clamp it on....
Mine just sits on top, but you could throw a couple spot welds on there if you needed it to be more permanent.
Did you just make your own shield out of a metal roof scrap? And then did you mount the shield and mount that comes with the Cubic stove on top of that? If not, how did you attach it to the wall? I love the look of your shield.
Explained at 16:26. THx for watching.
Great video! I bought one and am installing it in a van conversion! Is the gold tint on your flue pipe just from the heat over time?
Yes the flue changed from that stainless steel colour to a brassy finish very quickly.
@@HayWoodsandWetlands It's beautiful! I was considering painting mine black but now I'm going to leave it and just let it do it's thing! :)
What do you do to let fresh air into the cabin? Do you have a small pipe coming through the wall near the stove???
Honestly the free windows and door we got are leaky enough to allow sufficient airflow. Haha. I do intend at some point to give the stove a dedicated hose to the exterior for air. Thanks for watching
Great video ,👍
Thanks very much. Appreciate it.
I also have one and they are nice stoves but the need to stock it every hour drives me nuts. I have the grizzly and they say 200-400 sq feet I would say no more than 200. My fifth wheel is older so not the best insulated so there is always some give and take on how much it will heat. I do like the stove but I am in the process of designing a gravity feed pellet stove that fits my needs so I do not have to worry about stocking the stove every 45 min to 1 hr like he said in the video. The stocking issue not to big of a deal in the day but I don't get up every hour in the night to stock you would never get any sleep. Also I feel the design needs to have a direct hook up for fresh air. I know hey have the plate under the stove they sell but I mean a real hook up so you don't have cold air just floating into the house.
I find the Cub has no problem actually heating the 94 sq feet and large lofted ceiling. I suspect that it could heat a much larger space, but it's just the maintaining of that heat that becomes a chore in the deepest of cold temps here on the Canadian prairies. I could see the insulation of a fifth wheeler loosing heat even faster than our 2x4 fiberglass insulated walls. I know we built the cabin specifically because our camper trailer could not keep up with the demands of sustaining us in the minus 20 degree temps using the existing propane furnace installed. Thanks for watching and commenting.
What is the top plate you have on the wood stove ? Is this something you made?
Thanks for this great review! I am debating whether to install the Cub or the Grizzly in my 20ft (drafty and not well insulated) 89 Toyota Dolphin. I’m wondering specifically, how this keeps you guys warm *all night* in north county, without having to wake up and build another fire at 2am? Do you use supplemental heating during cold snaps?
Thank SO much!
Yes. We supplement with a propane direct vent heater, not because this little guy cant keep us warm, but it just saves us from getting up in the night.
Love it!
wow, i hope you are able to see my message... So i am in the planning build stage and was looking at leaving out a bathroom but then thought, could copper pipping wrap around a wood burning stove in order to heat a metal bath tub... its almost pretty much an off grid bath tub set up... does anyone think this is possible or not, and any comments on this idea.i think this will help me plan out my set up more.... sorry for the long essay.... i think it would be a cool way to heat a bath tub.
Yup totally possible. This is how wood fired hot tubs work. The heat creates a natural Venturi that pulls the cool water through the copper and out the other end. Can be used to heat a tub or a hot water heater full of water or whatever. That said, once you’ve got water in the pipes you’ll need to keep it from freezing if you’re in that kinda climate. For me it’d be more work to drain the lines every time I leave for a few days than the benefits of on demand hot water would provide for about 6 months out of the year. Good luck with your build!
How does using hardwoods help with a longer burn? Oak...mahogany?
what did you go with for the roof installation? interior box? what flashing? what top cap? did you use pellet stove certified stuff?
No interior box. I just boxed out a safe space between the rafters and then outside used a 3" Simpson PelletVent PRO, DSA Roof Flashing 7/12-12/12 Pitch, 3PVP-F12DS and the 3" Simpson PelletVent PRO, Storm Collar, 3PVP-SC for the install. Then just ran the double walled Cubic Mini pipe up through that and insulated around it inside using rockwool insulation. Outside, I wrapped the 3" pipe in more rockwool and wrapped that with a 5" stovepipe to hold it in. Supposedly that keeps the exhaust from cooling too fast and causing excessive creosote in the last few feet of chimney. I was also then able to just buy a standard 5" rain cap/spark arrest for cheap at the local hardware to cap it off. Thanks for the comments!
I made up a sheet metal box for going through the roofand lined it with mineral wool. Works like a charm
Do not burn soft wood, only oak, ash, beech, acacia, hornbeam. These are very dense woods! To make the fire last overnight once well lit, reduce the draft. To avoid getting up at night, synchronize with propane and thermostat.
I watched in another video that a man cleans it from the roof and pushes the creosote down into box. There are 2 screws and a compartment that picks it up. Clean it out and capture it all by that box.
That's adorable. Now that I get up every two hours during the night, it might be just what I need. How often do you have to empty the coals, or does it burn most of it down to ash? I remember not having to do it very often with a large stove, but this, I gotta say, is really the smallest firebox I've ever seen. Toy wood to burn.
In previous houses, I got up on the roof, and swept downward, into a cold stove. I think I put a box in the stove to catch the crap, but I don't remember. Is there a baffle in the way? Is it removeable?
You had great dramatic/comedic effect, but I'd kill you if you did that in my house. hehehehe That's a real messy job.
Thanks for the comments. The stove is incredibly efficient and burns the coals down to almost nothing. Clean out really depends on how cold it is and how long we've been burning for. There is a bafle that's removable and yes, you can sweep it from the top down, but I thought this method would give a better visual representation. Thanks for watching!
@@HayWoodsandWetlands I truly enjoyed it. lol Stay warm!
@@HayWoodsandWetlands Oh, yeah, and even though I arise to a call from nature far more often than I care to answer, I still need a longer burning stove. I so appreciate your assessment. Thanks!
My pleasure. Glad it helped.
Have you thought of transforming it to burn wood pellets?
An endless screw should be used to feed it continuously in very small quantities.
THat would be pretty slick. Although I went with the wood stove so that the fuel would be free and if I went with pellets I'd be back to purchasing fuel again. Thanks for watching
@@HayWoodsandWetlands
You can make your own pellets! There are a lot of videos about this. I think the investment in equipment is worth it.
I’m really thinking of getting one for my mobile home. Do house insurance companies still look askance at all wood burning appliances?
I'm not an insurance salesmen. I have no idea. I do know that these stoves are not W.E.T.T. certified and are listed by the company as for "recreational use". You'll have to check with local authorities for your region for more details.
Tip...Leave the stove hooked up and clean from the roof. Lot less mess.
Yup this method was for educational purposes so we could see exactly what had accumulated.
Ty sir
Could you use adapter and do a 5 inch pipe?
What your square footage of the cabin?
Nice Review
Awesome video! Was it very difficult to remove the railing around the top? How did you do that? Thanks!
No not a difficult task at all. It's made of brass so very soft metal. I used a pair of pliers to twist the tabs going through the little holes in the top. Once those were twisted they'll pop out through the holes one by one. I wasn't able to do it without completely destroying the brass railing so you'll want to make sure that's how you want it before getting in there with the pliers. Hope it helps. Thanks for watching!
@Wildlands1 Patent Pending haha
We have a wood burning furance. We use oak for slow burn and more btu's. We load furance full and turn damper down to low setting and we are good for the night. Do use low damper at night? Does your floor area stay warm with stove so high?
Oh if I could only get some Oak around here. I'm lucky to get the birch we use. Most of the wood around here is Aspen or Poplar. Not so good for the BTUs. We do damper down, but again, with that tiny firebox it really only lasts an hour and a half even dampened down. The stove height does make it hard to keep the floor warm, but is necessary once the double bed is pulled out for safe clearance. The cabin is only 96 sq. ft. and ever inch is considered in the design. I installed a fan in the roof that helps circulate immensely and the ecofan on top helps as well. Thanks for your comments!
Thanks! I did read that the top inside portion of the stove had to be cleaned as well, requiring removing screws...not so?
Not sure, Katherine. I just tipped mine over which seemed to clear any debris that had collected on the plate at the collar of the flue. Didn't see any screws to remove, but could have missed it.
Yes the upper side plates come out... I bought new stainless screws at the hardware store as my original where bound tight and did not remove well.
@@PlanePreacher thank you!
katherine mcilwain btw, my stove is the grizzly, not sure if the cub is different. My only drawback is my primary wood is elm and elm creates a lot of ashes. On a normal work day, I have to clean ashes before the morning fire, and again before an evening fire. If I am home during a cold day, I am removing hot ashes two or three times more during the day.
Would your heating situation have changed somewhat significantly if you would have gotten the regular mini instead of the cub?
I don't think so. It's the burn time that is the issue and how long the stove holds the heat. A slightly bigger mini would only be slightly better. But keep in mind that we're in pretty extreme temps like -40 degrees at times and well below freezing for most of the winter.
was it easy to get those little rails off the stove so you could add the metal plate giving more space to heat water and have the fan? I want to add a metal plate as well to mine..looks likes your is 1/4"? thanks
The rail is just brass so it bends easily, but don't expect to ever use it again haha. Yeah the plact is about 1/4" thick, but a 1/8" would probably be fine as well.
@@HayWoodsandWetlands thats what I was thinking..Hate to destroy it, but would rather have the room to do light cooking as well..thanks
I learned as a kid no smoke means the fire is good, if you see smoke it's probably about to go out
Yup. A nice hot burning fire should have pretty clear smoke.
Where did you get the chimney sweep that gets longer?
I have the rods for a standard size chimney sweep and I adapted one of the rod ends to accept the small sweep brush by JB Welding a nut to the end of it.