One of the biggest advantages of using a tepee is that you can burn a fire inside without creating a hazard. However, one of the biggest problems that people tend to encounter is that their tepees fill with smoke because they’re not vented properly. While there are many tips on how to construct a tepee with good ventilation, one popular alternative is to dig a channel instead. Let’s put this method to the test to see if it can really live up to its reputation.
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Getting Started
The first step is to build a fire pit in the center of the tepee that is at least a foot deep and wide. You can make the base of your fire wider as necessary, but the depth is important because it will serve as the backbone for a channel that will suck smoke out of the tepee later. Once you’ve established your pit, the next step is to create the channel by digging a trench that is a foot deep and wide that extends beyond the outside of the tepee.
Building the Channels
The next step is to search for curved material that won’t melt or produce toxic gases when exposed to heat. Using curved material isn’t necessary, and it may be hard to find large pipes, parts of ceramic pots or tiles in a survival situation. However, these items can make it easy to assemble the channel, and they also help to absorb heat. This can help to warm the ground and contribute to ambient heat inside the tepee long after the fire goes out.
If you can’t find any curved material, you can use some concrete slabs or flat rock instead. Dig out some notches on either side of the channel so that the material can be placed on top while remaining flush with the ground. No matter what material you use, make sure that you are creating a continuous cover that extends from the edge of the fire pit to the outside.
When finished, cover the material with the dirt that you dug up and pat it down. Repeat the process for another channel that extends from the other side of the pit to the opposite side of the tepee. Line the bottom of the fire pit with some flat rock and build a ring out of some bricks or rocks around the edge as well. This will help to contain the fire and minimize the chance of having a fire-related accident inside.
Testing it Out
Build a small to medium fire, light it up and create a torch with a stick and some fabric. Light the torch, go outside and crouch in front of one of the vent holes. Put the torch near the entrance and watch the smoke go in. That’s okay, because when you go to the other side, that hole should draw the smoke out, right? Wrong. It gets drawn in as well, and the smoke ends up filling the tepee. So, at the end of the day, we went through all of that work just to see that this method wasn’t effective.
Remember that it’s really easy to start working on projects that may be more trouble than they’re worth. One of the goals in any survival situation is to find ways to be productive while expending as little time and energy as possible. We used this example to illustrate the importance of putting tips and tricks that we all come across to the test before relying on them in the field. It will save you from wasting a lot of time, effort and disappointment, and knowing what not to do will help lead you to better alternatives.
