Any cheaper alternative to Cubic Mini

[MambaJack]

At the point of needing to put heat in a bus for the winter. I like the idea of the a wood stove since it doesn't fill the cabin with moisture, but am having a hard time finding something on the cheap.

The cubic mini with heat shield has low clearance tolerances which I will need. the space i have to put it is about 2' wide. Anybody use some different wood stove in their conversion that handles the tight tolerances well?

also interested in experience with the mini and if those who have installed found it worth the cost?

Thanks,
dave

 

[brokedown-SKO]

I looked at wood stoves a lot including the cubic mini. I don't really want to be managing Yet Another Fuel though so I'm planning on a diesel heater instead.

 

[MambaJack]

I don't mind dealing with the wood at all, and love the idea of a fireplace type atmosphere, just looking for an more economical option.

 

[Bluesky-SKO]

I had a "trash burner" in my old bus for awhile. I liked that it had somewhat insulated sides. Here's one: https://reno.craigslist.org/atq/d/antique-kitchen-cook-stove/6674602355.html

 

[crowcreekcabin]

I have a cubic mini in my short bus here in Alaska.. I love it. Only heating 14 feet of insulated living space, so my experience might be different than others... Not only do I get lots of good comments about how "cute" it is.. but it really throws the heat and is super easy to control. It is very small, even after measuring out the space, I was surprised at how small it is in person... I got about 2 hours of burn using white spruce.. (not a hardwood), so with some good hard wood I bet you could get 3 hours on just a handful of wood... That being said... It would need to be loaded up and tinkered with several times to get clear through a cold night. So if you like sitting and watching the fire through the glass door and you feel that messing with the fire is "added ambiance" this is perfect. The cool factor is high... BUT, If you need something to get through the whole night, you will have to get a bigger stove... period..

 

[crowcreekcabin]

I looked at numerous other small stoves and considered making one, but am happy with the cubic.. works great, heat shields are very effective, they mailed it to me!.. even in Alaska.. Fit and finish is excellent and it feels safe in how tight the firebox is. You can put the fire out if you close all the air vents, something that I can't say about some cheaper cast iron stove I have had in the past..

 

[Meddle]

I have a cubic mini grizzly. Have not installed it yet but have burned it many times. It really cranks out the heat! The workmanship and materials were also of great quality. My only complaint is the flu. It should be made to accept a 3" stove pipe in the i.d. of the flu. I made an adapter so all is well.

 

[MambaJack]

Thanks, I just need to pull the trigger i guess. I love the idea of it. Is it a nono to have propane appliances in a bus if you also have a wood stove?

 

[Drew Bru]

Is it a nono to have propane appliances in a bus if you also have a wood stove?

I sure hope not! We've got the Cubic Grizzly stove, it's right next to our propane range....but we've installed a propane leak detector as well as a few shut-off valves for the oven, the water heater, and one for the whole system. If you're worried about things going BOOM, I'd suggest putting some valves in where you can shut off the gas.

The Cubic is a nice stove, and we're still learning the ins and outs of it. We've got a much larger wood stove in our home, so we know our way around them. The Cubic takes much smaller chunks of wood, and heats the bus nicely, but we only get maybe 90 minutes of burn time before we need to load it up again. Still playing around with the damper and getting to learn it better....perhaps we'll be able to slow the burn and get more time between loads. We'll find out in the next month or so when we take an extended trip.

 

[crowcreekcabin]

X2 on the stovepipe adapter...

 

[Mgulley82]

I have a cubic mini grizzly. Have not installed it yet but have burned it many times. It really cranks out the heat! The workmanship and materials were also of great quality. My only complaint is the flu. It should be made to accept a 3" stove pipe in the i.d. of the flu. I made an adapter so all is well.

Curious what adapter did you make?

 

[Ourlifeisruff]

Another option

We have been looking at the cubic mini for awhile but I’ve also been trying to find a cheaper option. All of the add-one for the cubic make it pretty crazy, I think over $1000 when it’s all said and done. My husband found the Kni-co Alaskan Deluxe Package. It’s not the gorgeous fireplace look of the cubic mini but it is light, collapsible (so it can be used in the back country outside of the bus if necessary), and significantly cheaper. With this one it really comes down to, are you willing to forgo the prettiness for price. We’re still unsure yet. Our bus could possibly turn into a long term living situation but right now we’re using it to travel every other week when my husband is on vacation so we’re trying to be as practical with our spending on the bus since it’s not our only home yet.

 

[Dirtdoctor]

Google - rocket stoves. There are people
Making great mini rocket stoves. Fb has a rocketstove group or two.

 

[druidwood]

cubic mini

I have had mine installed for about 2 weeks now. I have a 27' bus with the regular low ceiling so it does ok, but if you are in snow or have a bigger bus, I would get the grizzly. I saved money by getting a second hand cabinet, adding cement board and tile, and bolting metal around the edges. Works great. Most the heat goes down or by pipe at ceiling. Trying some power logs (compressed wood) to see if they work longer. Sadly can't get coal here or would use that to drop on the fire before bed.

 

[lemmeskoolu]

mini cubic

have had mine installed for about 2 weeks now. I have a 27' bus with the regular low ceiling so it does ok, but if you are in snow or have a bigger bus, I would get the grizzly. I saved money by getting a second hand cabinet, adding cement board and tile, and bolting metal around the edges. Works great. Most the heat goes down or by pipe at ceiling. Trying some power logs (compressed wood) to see if they work longer. Sadly can't get coal here or would use that to drop on the fire before bed.

would u mind providing a shopping list for the materials u used? infinite love and gratitude!

 

[lemmeskoolu]

I have had mine installed for about 2 weeks now. I have a 27' bus with the regular low ceiling so it does ok, but if you are in snow or have a bigger bus, I would get the grizzly. I saved money by getting a second hand cabinet, adding cement board and tile, and bolting metal around the edges. Works great. Most the heat goes down or by pipe at ceiling. Trying some power logs (compressed wood) to see if they work longer. Sadly can't get coal here or would use that to drop on the fire before bed.

would u mind listing the materials used to make the shield?
Infinite Love and gratitude

 

[MambaJack]

have had mine installed for about 2 weeks now. I have a 27' bus with the regular low ceiling so it does ok, but if you are in snow or have a bigger bus, I would get the grizzly. I saved money by getting a second hand cabinet, adding cement board and tile, and bolting metal around the edges. Works great. Most the heat goes down or by pipe at ceiling.

Thanks for all the feedback! I had planned to get the grizzly, don't have a problem building anything to go around it, just worry about making it safe. Guess I could always look at two different shipments, stove first accessories if needed later.. Seems like they have great clearances when you use their stuff, can you get that somehow without it? Did you buy their pipe?

Thanks

 

[druidwood]

cubic mini

lemmeskoolu - metal is just a sheet I bought from Lowes - not that thick as I cut it with a big pair of tin snips, and bought L shaped metal with predrilled holes and bolted it to bottom and sides, then grouted over and tiled. I bought 2 lengths of pipe from Cubicmini since it fits on the stove (albeit upside down I have been told), then bought a Dickinson stainless H shaped stove top. I cut the outer layer of the stainless so the cap would slip over the inner piece and but against the top. Bought the square silicon cap Cibicmini recommended. I drilled a 4" hole in my ceiling then used a piece of ducting with fold over tabs pushed into the hole first, to protect the pipe. No idea what that piece is called, just wandered about the ducting section of Lowes until I found something that would work. I have another piece of tin spray painted with high temperature black mounted at the top. Hopefully this will all drive well (might be too tight). So things I did wrong: since you have to bolt the stove to the stand, it made a thermal bridge and under the cabinet does get warm, but not to a worrying extent. The vast majority of the heat is radiating downward, so perhaps more than one layer of cement board and a layer of tile. Also found those pressed logs made in Idaho (no wax or glues) work great and last longer than wood. Window needs cleaning after each use - guess fire is just so close to the glass.

 

[rewou812]

Very helpful. I just bought a Logwood Stove 1269E for $125. It is bigger than I want but the price was good. Will have to adjust my interior design for the larger stove. I'm still installing the floor so a little time to continue to make changes.

 

[druidwood]

Yeah you pay a premium for small. Saw lots of very cute little stoves that were way more than the cubic mini (like the hobbit). I have a 27' bus though and wanted a wood burning stove so had to opt for the tiny. If you travel to snowy places you won't regret the big stove as you can't really stoke the tiny ones for the night.