Thanks for the comment!
If I had to deal with *real* winter in Colorado, I'd be hurting. As it is, I head to southern Arizona for winter, so I never see seriously cold temps (for very long.) I also have a catalytic propane heater that is a nice compliment to the Tiny Tot. The propane heater puts out more immediate, predictable heat. Unfortunately the catalyst only lasted a year before needing replacement. Olympian doesn't sell the catalytic pad -- I have to send the whole unit back for them to install it.
As for the performance of the Tiny Tot stove...it was 50 degrees this morning in the bus (35 outside), and I made a fire and put a fan on to circulate the air, and it took about an hour to get the air heated up to a more comfortable temp. It's been three hours now since I made a fire and it's almost t-shirt temperatures in here. Of course downing a pot of coffee helps too.
Fortunately charcoal burns quite clean compared to wood (in my experience) so the chimney stays fairly clean. There's no smoke after everything gets going. And with a double-walled chimney, the exhaust gas stays nice and hot until it hits atmosphere, which helps reduce chimney deposits. The downside is that charcoal is expensive compared to wood. An 18-lb bag lasts about 3-4 days during the (thankfully brief) heating season.
One note: the temperature this morning (50 degrees in/35 out) was without having any heat running overnight.
Thanks
Sean