Tent heaters
- Thread starter FJ60Cam
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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.
Anybody try one of these?
ORIGO Heater at West Marine
I picked one up from craigs list for $25.00, interested to see how well it'll heat up my 6 man tent in just below freezing temps.
ORIGO Heater at West Marine
I picked one up from craigs list for $25.00, interested to see how well it'll heat up my 6 man tent in just below freezing temps.
Looks like that would be great for boats. But I have to wonder how hot the bottom gets. Alcohol worries me in a tent, but maybe I'm old-fashioned. I'm sure the Origo is a fine heater, but without knowing more than the little that's on West's website, I'd be leery.
I'll also put in a word for the Mr Heater Buddy series. We've got the small one. It does great, very economical on fuel.
It's also safe, as the low-oxygen shut-off works great so it requires only very minimal venting. Ours has a tip-over switch, which maybe the older versions didn't have based on reading this old thread.
But I had an idea to make it safer by making an L-board. There are a couple of screws in it that allow the heater to be attached to it at the top with some built-in hanging tabs on the back of the Buddy. Here's a couple of pics.
I'll also put in a word for the Mr Heater Buddy series. We've got the small one. It does great, very economical on fuel.
It's also safe, as the low-oxygen shut-off works great so it requires only very minimal venting. Ours has a tip-over switch, which maybe the older versions didn't have based on reading this old thread.
But I had an idea to make it safer by making an L-board. There are a couple of screws in it that allow the heater to be attached to it at the top with some built-in hanging tabs on the back of the Buddy. Here's a couple of pics.
For warming my RTT I wanted something small for when family is along, pre-heating the tent a bit before going to sleep and before getting up. I bought a Mr. Heater "Little Buddy" at Gander Mountain and used a $5 coupon (GMTN5) along with free shipping for $54.95 total
Gander Mountain® > Mr. Heater Little Buddy Propane Heater - Hunting > Treestands > Treestand Accessories :
Once I have it I'm thinking of making a hangar from the tent's center support to hold the heater above the bedding.
Gander Mountain® > Mr. Heater Little Buddy Propane Heater - Hunting > Treestands > Treestand Accessories :
Once I have it I'm thinking of making a hangar from the tent's center support to hold the heater above the bedding.
Are there any other styles of tent heaters out there? I've used the Mr. Buddy ones before, and while they do work, they put out a lot of moisture while burning.
When it's really cold, for extended periods of time, any moisture is bad - you can never get items (like sleeping bags) dry. I'm looking for something that will help warm the back of a pickup bed with a topper on it.
When it's really cold, for extended periods of time, any moisture is bad - you can never get items (like sleeping bags) dry. I'm looking for something that will help warm the back of a pickup bed with a topper on it.
I use the old coleman white gas heater. It is like a stone axe, no moving parts and I always keep a spare wick stowed in my camping gear just in case.
Burning any carbon-based fuel produces water as a by-product. The only way to avoid it is to use something electric, like a blanket, which is pretty limited if you rely on batteries.
A pretty good solution is to provide venting. Seems like a bad idea, since you're trying to stay warm, but providing at least a little ventilation is required even with the smaller Buddy and Little Buddy. Making sure you do that is the best way to deal with this problem, although you're always going to get some with such heaters.
I agree the obvious solution to condensation accumulation is ventilation, the problem is that ventilating when the outside temperature is -40 (or colder) quickly negates any temperature increase from a propane heater.
I've long hoped for a gasoline or white gas version of the diesel Webasto heaters used on semi trucks up north. Something semi compact & rugged enough to be mounted under-hood or even under the body of a vehicle, with heating ducts into the cab or sleeping area would be great.
I've long hoped for a gasoline or white gas version of the diesel Webasto heaters used on semi trucks up north. Something semi compact & rugged enough to be mounted under-hood or even under the body of a vehicle, with heating ducts into the cab or sleeping area would be great.
Espar makes petrol (gas) fired air heaters and water boilers. They have a much restricted selection, but they are available. You are restricted to the Airtronic 5 and Hydronic 4 & 5 models. Espar HeateR Systems | A World of Comfort | Coolant Heaters
The boilers I know can be outside mounted, but I think they want the air heater inside. Make a box...
Edit: BTW, I've been tempted to get an diesel fired Airtronic 2 even though my truck has a gas engine. At full blast (7200 BTU) it burns 0.28 liters per hour. A 20 liter jerry can would last 71 hours at that rate. On low it should last 200 hours.
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For warming my RTT I wanted something small for when family is along, pre-heating the tent a bit before going to sleep and before getting up. I bought a Mr. Heater "Little Buddy" at Gander Mountain and used a $5 coupon (GMTN5) along with free shipping for $54.95 total
Once I have it I'm thinking of making a hangar from the tent's center support to hold the heater above the bedding.
how did you have it up in your RTT? how long did you run it, and what is the longest amount of time you ran it in your RTT? i like the idea....
a buddy of mine wired an electric blanket into his RTT with a dash mounted switch.
If its -40 and your not in a montana canvas with the largest wood stove known to man then, STAY HOME! I use the small buddy heater for my tent and for ice fishing, works great, but it does build moisture. During the cold months of rifle season i dont screw around with little propane heaters or nylon tents. Wall tent, wood stove, cant beat it!
Sorry for the delayed reply! I had ordered at the time I posted and I just received the "Little" Buddy heater yesterday. They claim you can run it over 5 hours on one canister. I plan to take some aluminum wire and make a hanger so that the heater is suspended from one of the tent's tubular hoop supports.
I've been shopping around for a deal on the canisters. So far for pricing on one canister and 2 packs:
Ace Hardware $2.99 and $4.99
Target $2.89 and $5.14
For winter camping in north Georgia and Tennessee where the temps range from 32F down to 12F, we simply bring a Mr. Heater two-burner heater Mr. Heater 2-Burner Propane Heater and hook it up to a regular 17lb propane cannister. (We use the propane for cooking too, and you can buy a smaller tank if needed).
We have a basic Coleman 11x13 tent, and we keep one burner running on low all night with the tent flap slightly rolled up. It stays about 70F in the tent and we can almost sleep with no blankets. The tank lasts us more than a week including using it for cooking.
(Try the Zodi portable hot water heaters to wash your arse and dishes enjoy hot water anytime anywhere with zodi on demand hot water and portable hot showers, over 40 camping comfort products - get the gel-filled battery)
There is no concern for C02 poisoning as the tents are very thin and we have leave the tent flap opened ever so slightly.
The plus side is that the Mr. Heater makes for a great garage heater when you're working on your Cruiser in the winter. These little Coleman and other smaller heaters just don't put out enough heat in a larger tent and they run out of fuel too quickly.
We have a basic Coleman 11x13 tent, and we keep one burner running on low all night with the tent flap slightly rolled up. It stays about 70F in the tent and we can almost sleep with no blankets. The tank lasts us more than a week including using it for cooking.
(Try the Zodi portable hot water heaters to wash your arse and dishes enjoy hot water anytime anywhere with zodi on demand hot water and portable hot showers, over 40 camping comfort products - get the gel-filled battery)
There is no concern for C02 poisoning as the tents are very thin and we have leave the tent flap opened ever so slightly.
The plus side is that the Mr. Heater makes for a great garage heater when you're working on your Cruiser in the winter. These little Coleman and other smaller heaters just don't put out enough heat in a larger tent and they run out of fuel too quickly.
PS Zodi makes great tent heaters too, but you have to have a battery source for the fan, and it just seems too much of a setup. We don't take any chances on running down our batteries when we're so far out.
The Mr heater big buddy would be my choice.Have a look at this chart.
Heaters in a small enclosed area seems like a BAD idea-are these things a good idea? Safe?