Do you think it would be safe to operate a coleman camp stove in your fireplace with the flu open? After all, people have gas stoves in their kitchen.

-- Amy Leone (leoneamy@aol.com), September 02, 1999

Answers

I wouldn't do that, not because of the fumes (which should go up the chimney without a problem) but because I wouldn't want the coleman fuel in the house. That stuff is just like gasoline, and I wouldn't want it burning in the house.

-- bob (bobbrown@rev.net), September 02, 1999.

Amy:

Tough one to answer. Depends a lot on the "pull" your chimney has. Most need to be warmed or hot to provide draft. All of the fumes may come back into your house. Personally, I wouldn't do it, but then that's me....

Best wishes,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), September 02, 1999.

in an emergency situation, i say go for it! just leave a window cracked! eddy

-- eddy (xxx@xxx.com), September 04, 1999.

During the Ice Storm (has to be capitalized!) of Jan 1998, we had our coleman stove on the dining room table. I put my precious marble pastry board under it as a fire/heat break. We kept windows cracked, of course, and kept the fuel outside, filling the tank on the stove outside as well.

Not exactly the kind of stuff that follows safety recommendations, but we also had a fire extinquisher next to the stove and one near the door, just in case. We didn't sleep in the dining room, but we spent most of seven days in it!

The trouble with the chimney, Amy, is that with the flue open to draw the 'fumes', your chimney will be busily sucking up any warmth right along with them. We had a fireplace in a the house we lived in during the ice storm of '91, and except for toasted faces, the house was cold!

The stove won't put out anywhere near enough heat to replace what you'll likely loose through the chimney. If you were going to have a fire burning in the fireplace for heat (such as it may be), you might want to set up your stove nearby, since with a fire going, the chimney will really be exhausting whatever's in the air.

Not recommending the stove in the house, just relating what we did. Now we have a wood cookstove.

Good Luck!

-- Arewyn (isitthatlate@lready.com), September 08, 1999.