Chimney Draft Bed

[ozark caveman]

Has anyone here ever built one of these? I've read about it in Larry Dean Olsen's book but it's not real descriptive. I've done stone warmed beds but thats not practicle for long term living. I'm going to build on of these soon but would like some help if I can get it

[Minuteman]

What is it? Do you sleep over the underground chimney of a pit fire or something?

[ozark caveman]

Yes! You build a fire in a pit and the chimney runs under your bed. Thats putting it short. I heard it takes about 8 to 10 hours of pretty hard labor to complete.
  If nobody has done this I'll document mine this spring and post it on here.

[Justin Snyder]

That would be interesting to see.  I prefer to build a big fire and throw rocks in.  Bury the rocks in about 6" of sand and sleep on that.  Just don't use rocks that were in the water, they explode.  Justin

[ozark caveman]

That would be interesting to see.  I prefer to build a big fire and throw rocks in.  Bury the rocks in about 6" of sand and sleep on that.  Just don't use rocks that were in the water, they explode.  Justin

Yeah. the stoned warm beds are fun but a lot of work if you have to do it every day. Does'nt leave much time for trapping and hunting. The theory behind the draft bed is once you build it all you have to do is start the fire to warm your bed

[jamie]

im used to the cold so mayby this doesnt count but i prefer an open shelter with a something to reflect the heat back to me. lot less work.  for me to dig through all the rocks in our soil would be wasted energy. seems it would be bettter to spend the time building a permanent shelter like a hogan or bark shelter.  first thing i would find out is what the natives of the area did on hunting and scouting missions to stay alive.

[Justin Snyder]

Jamie, around here there are lots of little cubbies or small caves in the rocks 2-4 feet deep.  Lots of soft sand too.  We throw up a little wind barrier, and have a ready made house.  You build a little fire in front and the rock behind reflects all the heat back at you.  Since the fire is going anyway you throw a few rocks in it and let them warm. Then you take the 2 minutes to bury them in the sand under your bed and go to sleep.  Wake up nice and warm in the morning.  Justin

[Hillbilly]

you throw a few rocks in it and let them warm. Then you take the 2 minutes to bury them in the sand under your bed and go to sleep.  Wake up nice and warm in the morning.   Justin

I keep visualizing the scene in the Jeremiah Johnson movie where he wakes up in the middle of the night with his blankets on fire and the old mountain man says
".....Yep, seen it right off..... you didn't use enough dirt.........."

[Justin Snyder]

  Forgot about that one.  I have woken up feeling like I was on fire, but I'm pretty sure I was a long way from actual flames.  Justin

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

 hilbilly, yup thats a good part, i was invisioning that aswell.   except just for good measure, i believe the quote goes"    yep, saw it right off....didnt put enough dirt down    just had to be difficult...lol

[mullet]

 The wife and I went to a Civil War fort, Ft Drummond,  just north of Ft. Knox. It was on top of a mountain overlooking the Ohio River. The fort was rebuilt the way it looked back then. The sleeping quarters were for two men and were buried trenches with wooden roofs and stone slab floors. The floor was dug out under the slabs. They had a fire pit outside and a chimney at the back. The heat was drawn under the slabs and up the chimney. I thought it was a pretty good idea to survive those nasty winters.

[ozark caveman]

Like I said before. I'll build one this spring and post it. Jamie you are supposed to build this bed in a permanent shelter like a hogan. This is a long term living skill not survival. I live in the Ozarks and there are plenty of bluff shelters and lots of rocky soils. I've done the stone warmed bed and I always build a good reflector. I think a good fire is not happy without a reflector. I've also slept many cold nights between a fire and a reflector.
   Heres how my stone warmed bed experience go's. I use to go out when the temp's would fall into the single digits to test my skill. I would go to a good bluff shelter and start to find enough stones to fill a pit 6' long by 3' wide by 8" deep. now if any of you have prepared a good sweat lodge you'll know that this is a lot more stones than what it takes for a good sweat. " LOTS of HARD work! The next step is to find enough wood to heat these stones until they are glowing red and last through the night so you'll have wood in the morning. If the stone's aren't glowing red they won't stay warm all night. This is one MASSIVE pile of wood!
   Start the fire and find a digging stick. I don't know if you guy's have ever dug a hole 6'x3'x8" with a stick but it's not that easy. When the stones are done you have to get them out with wooden tongs and start filling the pit. When your done you have to cover the pit with dirt. DO NOT IMMEDIATLEY LIE DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will BURN! Also you have to let the moisture bake out of the ground for about 1 hour or you'll get wet.
  This will keep you very toasty for about 10 hours but the total time of construction is about 6-7 hours of really hard labor. As you can see this would not be practical to do EVERY DAY. That is why the draft bed is better suited for long term living because you spend one day building it in your long term shelter and all you have to do is maintain the fire! Also let us remember that if you are not sleeping comfortably like you do at your house you will develop chronic hypothermia and die. If you sleep cold at night spend the next day making sure that you sleep warm the next night.

I promise I'll do this soon!

[Texas Pete]

I've used both the Hot Draft Bed and the firepit in the Sierras.

With the firebed, I would dig a hole 2' 6' long and a foot deep.  From there you build a fire in the pit and let it burn for two hours, getting about 4 inches of coals.  Once this is done, you cover the coal with 8 inches of dirt and let it steam out for about an hour.  I carry a small hatchet that I've used to dig these out, and it can be done in a coupla hours.

The best way to keep from setting yourself on fire is use the 2-4-8, or "tooferate" sytem:

The fire has to burn for 2 hours

The coals need to be 4 inches deep

The coals need to be covered with 8 inches of dirt

The Hot Draft Bed is MUCH more labor intensive.  I built one in a little valley high in the Sierras in Northern CA and used it for six years in a Stack-Walled Lean-to.  Its more than likely still there


Hope this helps


Texas Pete

[flecha]

I fought wildfire for a while.  My first night shift, a career USFS employee told me the best way to sleep was to crawl into the black and scrape out a nest.  The fuels had already burned and the ground was warm from the fire.  Worked well.  Based on those experiences, that were successful, I'd try the rock bed thing being discussed here.  I'd also try the chimney one.

[nugget]

That chimney bed sounds interesting. would love to see a build along