Wonder if it would drain the battery way down if it was really cold out and you had it cranked up? I'm sure semi trucks have about 10 times the capacity as the standard LC set up.
Tent Heater
- Thread starter nautiq544
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I wouldn't run it off my starting battery. I think the easiest solution is to run it off of a jumper pack insode the tent. I'm not sure how long the battery pack will power it, but at least it's not your vehicle's battery. If I do get one I will be sure to post a review and do some testing. I haven't commited to any cold weather trips as of yet, but I hope to get one in.
Have you used it when it was well below freezing outside? I'd be using in inside my 60 not in a roof tent, the wind blows way to much in Wyoming.
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I used my crappy Cabelas electric blanket in VT in January, well below freezing. It did not seem to be working properly, but it did help. I am sure a high quality one like I posted would really do the trick. My girlfriend used a 0 degree bag and I used a 30 degree bag. We covered with a down comforter, and I was never even chilled. I'm confident I could sleep with this setup in below zero easily. Inside the Cruiser is awesome too, beats the pants off of sleeping on the ground. Make yourself a raised platform to put gear under and sleep on top of. Cover it with carpet, put down a sleeping mat and you're set. You will have quite a bit of condensation in the morning but sleeping inside the truck offers a good sense of security.
Where in Wyoming are you? I love that state, hope to live there at least for awhile someday.
Where in Wyoming are you? I love that state, hope to live there at least for awhile someday.
I have lived in Sheridan, Cheyenne, Laramie and Cody. I'm up in Montana right now but plan to be moving back to Cody. It's a great state especially if you hunt big game. Here is a picture of my friend who was attacked by a Grizzly while bow hunting for elk. His dad shot the Grizzly with a cross-bow while he was being attacked and killed it.
holy moly that is insane, glad your friend made it ok. Yup true wilderness out there.
On the page they tell you the maximum amps it will draw. So the T30 unit, 30" wide by 60" long, uses 4.6Amps maximum at 12VDC. For 8 hours run time that is a maximum of 8 * 4.6 = 36.8 Amp hours. That is roughly half the usable capacity of a 100Amp hour battery. Remember you don't want to drain a lead-acid deep cycle battery more than 80% of full capacity or you will seriously shorten it's life expectancy.
Sounds interesting. Gives me more reason to look into a auxiliary battery setup sooner than later.
Missed the part where they said it most likely will be on less than 50% of the time.
ElectroWarmth® Bedwarmers - 12 VOLT ELECTROWARMTH® BUNK WARMERS
ElectroWarmth® Bedwarmers - 12 VOLT ELECTROWARMTH® BUNK WARMERS
A few years back we used a Coleman Catalytic Heater. It generated quite a bit of heat. It was 17°F outside. Inside it must have been close to 32°F.
They are about $40 and a single propane canister lasts over 12 hours.
Regards
Alvaro
If you look at the zodi, the way it brings hot air in to the tent is some cheap dryer duct and a 12 volt computer fan. so why not use this heater out side the tent and do the same thing. CPU fan prolly use less power too
I had thought about rigging up something similar to the Zodi too. Something that wouldn't melt if the battery died. I havent come up with a fool proof way that wouldnt let CO into the tent as well. In my thoughts a high quality 12v blanket is the way to go, hooked up to either an aux battery or a power pack. If I could just find a deep cycle power pack, as I assume running down a Costco unit all the time isn't the best.
Have you looked at West Marine?
West Marine: West Marine Search Tool
They have many deep cycle battery types.
West Marine: West Marine Search Tool
They have many deep cycle battery types.
I have been using one of these for a few years. They get hot enough to melt sleeping bags. No flame though, it is a catalytic rxn so there is no CO2 or CO produced--safe to use inside a tent.
A few years back we used a Coleman Catalytic Heater. It generated quite a bit of heat. It was 17°F outside. Inside it must have been close to 32°F.
They are about $40 and a single propane canister lasts over 12 hours.
Regards
Alvaro