Tent heaters

FJ60Cam · 03-18-08, 09:07 PM

Anybody have any experience with tent heaters? Currently looking at the smaller Mr. Heater and the Coleman Procat . I probably won't run it all night, just before bed before getting out of the sleeping bag in the morning. Tent is around a 10 x 10, maybe a little bigger.

marius · 03-18-08, 09:12 PM

Mr Heater work great
used it in 10 x10 canvas tent
hook it up to big silinder you dont want to put bottle on at 4am

Bodean · 03-18-08, 09:44 PM

Used my Big Buddy Mr. Heater out at Katemcy TX during the LSLC Round-up recently. I have found that if it's too cold the heater won't work on Med or High. Works great on low. It even has a blower on it. It was 21 degrees one night and it would only work on low. We had 3 heaters among everyone camping with us and all had the same problem. We are checking with the company on this problem. Seems funny to me that the heater wouldn't work because it was too cold?????

Later,

Bogo · 03-18-08, 10:53 PM

Could be drawing propane from the tank to quickly. As the temperature gets low propane is less willing to vaporize. Try it with a 20lbs tank. You'll need a converter hose to hook them up together.

FJ60Cam · 03-18-08, 11:00 PM

Were you using just a single small tank? I'd seen reviews where they ice up on the higher settings when using one small tank, which ends up shutting it down.

rusty_tlc · 03-19-08, 11:08 AM

We used a Coleman Powercat last spring. The forced air heated our 10X10 tent up in a couple of minutes.

I wouldn't run any propane heater all night inside a tent. Just for a few minutes to take the chill off while you get in/out of bed.

The Zodi is the exception to this. It's combustion chamber is outside the tent. A heat exchanger heats the air and blower circulates it in and out of the tent. The bad news is if the battery goes dead they self destruct. With no air flow the heat exchanger melts down.

REKCUT · 03-19-08, 01:01 PM

The mr buddy portable is fine in a tent. It has a low oxygen sensor on it. It advertised that it works in a car or house. The tent is not air tight enough to cause a problem.

REKCUT · 03-19-08, 01:03 PM

As far as the Round-up went, that was beach weather. Why did you need it on high?

airlaird · 03-19-08, 08:01 PM

Rekut your such a man's man ;-)) . My nuts were cold. (my thermometer said 17 degrees.....) I have the Mr. Heater and it was awesome and NEVER went out...except until the propane went out. I was so impressed with it I wrote the company just last week. I highly recommend the Mr. Heater.
airlaird

Vitesse_6 · 03-19-08, 09:51 PM

Just curious how you vent them? or is it not as big of a deal with the lower BTU?
Thanks

informationjunky · 03-20-08, 07:19 AM

wal-mart has the coleman eventcat tent heater on clearance for $20

FJ60Cam · 03-20-08, 09:25 AM

Thanks everyone, looks like I'm leaning toward the small Mr. Heater. Seems like the best compromise on size/weight and heat output. We'll see how it works.

davegonz · 03-20-08, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by informationjunky

wal-mart has the coleman eventcat tent heater on clearance for $20

Info, was that at your local Wallyworld or online as well?

informationjunky · 03-20-08, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davegonz

Info, was that at your local Wallyworld or online as well?

It was at my local.

davegonz · 03-20-08, 12:39 PM

Nevermind....seems to get poor reviews. I'll probably look at the Mr. Buddy heater.

informationjunky · 03-20-08, 01:11 PM

check them for the mr.buddy also....they had them but they were gone before I had a chance to snag one.

fj45lv · 03-20-08, 02:39 PM

The Mr Heater "Buddy" heaters do not require venting. They are part of this latest generation of "safe" heaters that have a built in oxygen depletion sensor. It shuts off when it senses low O2 levels (or is it high CO levels?).
I have used one of these for camping both in my tent at Cruise Moab and in my FJ45 Wagon. Worked great in my tent. I have run them on both the large cylinders (put outside with extension hose leading in) and the 1lb er's. I have a 4lber that I will use in the tent after using a Hazmat leak detector. I am not as concerned about venting fumes in the tent. In the Cruiser they heat so well on the low setting in the small space that I wake up in the middle of the night and shut it off, then wake later and turn it back on. More concern about the sensor working right in the Cruiser.
Only issues I see are that it (mine) does not have a tip over shutoff switch. I worry that due to wind or other factors it may tip over and I wil be so tired from wheelin that I may not wake up in time.. I always secure it on top of a non flammable, metal container. Other issue is that it is designed to work directly off a cylinder without a regulator. It has a small orifice to limit the amount of fuel it can take. This can also clog, they make filters available to put inline, I suggest anyone using one of these heaters to get one.

Hope this helps!

Eric

Vitesse_6 · 03-20-08, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fj45lv

The Mr Heater "Buddy" heaters do not require venting. They are part of this latest generation of "safe" heaters that have a built in oxygen depletion sensor. It shuts off when it senses low O2 levels (or is it high CO levels?).
I have used one of these for camping both in my tent at Cruise Moab and in my FJ45 Wagon. Worked great in my tent. I have run them on both the large cylinders (put outside with extension hose leading in) and the 1lb er's. I have a 4lber that I will use in the tent after using a Hazmat leak detector. I am not as concerned about venting fumes in the tent. In the Cruiser they heat so well on the low setting in the small space that I wake up in the middle of the night and shut it off, then wake later and turn it back on. More concern about the sensor working right in the Cruiser.
Only issues I see are that it (mine) does not have a tip over shutoff switch. I worry that due to wind or other factors it may tip over and I wil be so tired from wheelin that I may not wake up in time.. I always secure it on top of a non flammable, metal container. Other issue is that it is designed to work directly off a cylinder without a regulator. It has a small orifice to limit the amount of fuel it can take. This can also clog, they make filters available to put inline, I suggest anyone using one of these heaters to get one.

Hope this helps!

Eric

Good to know info
Thanks!

Cuerno Largo · 03-20-08, 08:32 PM

another vote for the Mr Heater portable buddy

arcteryx · 03-22-08, 09:10 AM

I just looked into this 3 weeks ago for Roundup. It was COLD. I bought the Procat. I was looking at teh Buddy to. The first night, it got really cold- airlaird said 17. The heater did help a little, but not much. The second night got to 35 and it worked fine. We have good sleeping bags too.

Once I got back from Roundup, I decided to return it. I am going to replace it with the Buddy.

450 DUDE · 03-23-08, 10:52 PM

The mr heater (buddy) is right on.
I used it for the first time in the cruiser and it was great.
The only problem was dealing with the other guys that were cold all nite

ken

mot · 03-26-08, 08:22 AM

They're on sale at the Amazon link at the top for $59.99 (Regular price $79.99 and List $129.95).

That sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

Trollhole · 03-26-08, 07:27 PM

I have a big buddy and love that thing. I wouldn't reccomend it for a small tent. It goes throught little cylinders really fast. Bought a 4lb with hose and it is great. The little fan works great.