Electric blankets for cold weather camping

[Jeffrey Dill]

Does anyone have any experience with using portable electric blankets for staying warm in cold weather camping? Either one that's actually made to be portable via a rechargable battery pack or a "normal" one plugged into something like a Jackery or a GoalZero.

I've been researching a lot of different methods that people use for keeping warm (in addition to, obviously, having the proper sleeping bag) - the most popular method seeming to be using a Mr. Heater Buddy/Little Buddy. But I don't think I want to go that route for a number of reasons - not least of which being that you're most likely going to be burning through an entire canister of propane for each night that you use it.

Any thoughts or experience?

 

[Flipper]

We just use a regular heating pad between the sheets on low. Throws off plenty of heat and very low current draw. More economical with electricity than heating the entire sleeping area.

 

[Wandering Bison]

We use and love our 12V Electrowarmth bunk mattress heating pad.

It plugs in a 12V cigarette lighter plug, is thin and comfortable, lives on our mattress year round (it’s setup in a van), is very energy efficient and because it sits under you, your covers trap the heat. Think heated seat but with a more gentle heat.

We’ve slept in the van, without heat, well below10°F comfortably.

We’ve never done a power consumption analysis, but after a very cold night, it will have used 5-7% of our 200 ah battery, so very low consumption and easy to recover from. It’s thermostat based so you pick a level and the heat comes on and off gently throughout the night based on the cabin/outside temperature.

You can’t go wrong!

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

We just use a regular heating pad between the sheets on low. Throws off plenty of heat and very low current draw. More economical with electricity than heating the entire sleeping area.

We use and love our 12V Electrowarmth bunk mattress heating pad.

It plugs in a 12V cigarette lighter plug, is thin and comfortable, lives on our mattress year round (it’s setup in a van), is very energy efficient and because it sits under you, your covers trap the heat. Think heated seat but with a more gentle heat.

We’ve slept in the van, without heat, well below10°F comfortably.

We’ve never done a power consumption analysis, but after a very cold night, it will have used 5-7% of our 200 ah battery, so very low consumption and easy to recover from. It’s thermostat based so you pick a level and the heat comes on and off gently throughout the night based on the cabin/outside temperature.

You can’t go wrong!

Heating pad! That's brilliant.

So @Wandering Bison , you're in a vehicle. That makes a lot of sense but my use case would be slightly different since we'll be in a tent and will need to power it using something portable.

@Flipper , are you using yours in a vehicle as well or are you tent-based?

 

[Wandering Bison]

Heating pad! That's brilliant.

So @Wandering Bison , you're in a vehicle. That makes a lot of sense but my use case would be slightly different since we'll be in a tent and will need to power it using something portable.

@Flipper , are you using yours in a vehicle as well or are you tent-based?

Agreed, that would make a difference, both in insulating value and in power supply.

That said, a good insulating camping mattress or RTT mattress on the bottom and a good upper later would do the same. I would not want to have too much between the mattress/pad and my body however.

As for power, with an auxiliary battery of some kind, I would feel very comfortable trying this.

You can purchase them from Amazon which would give you a chance to try and return if it doesn’t work for you.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

Agreed, that would make a difference, both in insulating value and in power supply.

That said, a good insulating camping mattress or RTT mattress on the bottom and a good upper later would do the same. I would not want to have too much between the mattress/pad and my body however.

As for power, with an auxiliary battery of some kind, I would feel very comfortable trying this.

You can purchase them from Amazon which would give you a chance to try and return if it doesn’t work for you.

Awesome, thanks for the idea! I love that approach.

It almost makes me hope that it's freezing cold this weekend so I can go ahead and give it a shot.

 

[Wandering Bison]

Awesome, thanks for the idea! I love that approach.

It almost makes me hope that it's freezing cold this weekend so I can go ahead and give it a shot.

Look what you’ve done now ... ;)

You welcome!

 

[Flipper]

Heating pad! That's brilliant.

So @Wandering Bison , you're in a vehicle. That makes a lot of sense but my use case would be slightly different since we'll be in a tent and will need to power it using something portable.

@Flipper , are you using yours in a vehicle as well or are you tent-based?

We are in a van. Its amazing how little heat you need in between the “sheets” we have to keep the pad turned on low, high or even med. would be way too warm. Whats a nice bonus is turning it on a couple minutes before bedtime so its nice and toasty! I have back issues so I use it on the drivers seat for long drives also.
I see you are based in SC, we go to Lake Jocassee and Fontana, beautiful country up your way.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

We are in a van. Its amazing how little heat you need in between the “sheets” we have to keep the pad turned on low, high or even med. would be way too warm. Whats a nice bonus is turning it on a couple minutes before bedtime so its nice and toasty! I have back issues so I use it on the drivers seat for long drives also.
I see you are based in SC, we go to Lake Jocassee and Fontana, beautiful country up your way.

Very cool. Yes, Lake Jocassee is gorgeous. I've actually never been up to Fontana Dam/Lake. I'll have to venture up that way this summer.

 

[Anak]

I could see this working well in a teardrop too.

The Bride is a most reluctant camper. This could be a big help.

Thank you all for the discussion.

 

[Gustavo Amaral]

Very cool. Yes, Lake Jocassee is gorgeous. I've actually never been up to Fontana Dam/Lake. I'll have to venture up that way this summer.

Hi Jeffrey, did you buy your Electrowarmth Twin, Heated Mattress Pad? What's your opinion about it? I'm considering to buy one plus 240 Jakery Portable Power Station. Did you figure out what will keep you warm on your tent?

 

[madcratebuilder]

I've looked on Amazon for some type of heating I can put in my sleeping bag, nothing has stood out yet. I have ultra cold feet and have been using heavy duty hand warmers to heat the bag, been working but I do wake up cold. Has anyone tried one of the USB powered heating blankets? I have usb on my jump start pac.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

Hi Jeffrey, did you buy your Electrowarmth Twin, Heated Mattress Pad? What's your opinion about it? I'm considering to buy one plus 240 Jakery Portable Power Station. Did you figure out what will keep you warm on your tent?

I haven't bought a heated blanket yet but I did just buy the Jackery 240. Last week it was randomly on sale on Amazon - $70 off! So it was like $180 instead of the usual $250. Fastest $180 has ever left my bank account.

And it's awesome. I can't wait till it gets cold enough to try it out with a heated blanket.

 

[DrivingTacoLoco]

heating pads make sense but 12 volts on amazon seem very small, enough for the bottom of the seat. I'm leary of blankets as I had one catch on fire as the wires frayed and sparked enough to catch the material on fore. That was 1975 or 6 and I'm sure they are better today. I have a heater for a water tank that would do the job. Water Tank Heaters for RV Concession Trailer

 

[Flipper]

heating pads make sense but 12 volts on amazon seem very small, enough for the bottom of the seat. I'm leary of blankets as I had one catch on fire as the wires frayed and sparked enough to catch the material on fore. That was 1975 or 6 and I'm sure they are better today. I have a heater for a water tank that would do the job. Water Tank Heaters for RV Concession Trailer

Good point. We have a smoke/carbon monoxide detector in the truck to be on the safe side. Plus the one we have has a auto shutoff.

 

[Gustavo Amaral]

I haven't bought a heated blanket yet but I did just buy the Jackery 240. Last week it was randomly on sale on Amazon - $70 off! So it was like $180 instead of the usual $250. Fastest $180 has ever left my bank account.

And it's awesome. I can't wait till it gets cold enough to try it out with a heated blanket.

on my research, I was very impressed by how this combo is praised for all. I'm considering to buy a heated mattress pad instead of a heated blanket. It seems to be more efficient. Do you know anything about it?

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

on my research, I was very impressed by how this combo is praised for all. I'm considering to buy a heated mattress pad instead of a heated blanket. It seems to be more efficient. Do you know anything about it?

I don't know anything about the efficiency of any particular heated mattress pads vs. any particular heated blankets. Most likely, I'll be getting something like this:


It's a 12-volt travel blanket (designed to be plugged into a 12V cigarette lighter socket, which is also available on the Jackery 240) and it draws 4.6 amps – so 55 watts. Compared to the other heated blankets I looked at on Amazon, that wattage is extremely low. With that wattage, the Jackery 240 should be able to power it for nearly 4.5 hours, which is awesome.

You'll see some heated blankets advertised as "low voltage" but keep in mind that they're running off of AC, not DC. So in your house, it'd be plugged into a 120V wall outlet and on the Jackery 240, it'd be plugged into the 110V AC outlet. Using one of the "low voltage" blankets as an example, which only draws 1.5 amps, that would equate to 165 watts. So you'd only get about 1.5 hours of use with that blanket on the Jackery 240.

 

[DrivingTacoLoco]

I don't know anything about the efficiency of any particular heated mattress pads vs. any particular heated blankets. Most likely, I'll be getting something like this:


It's a 12-volt travel blanket (designed to be plugged into a 12V cigarette lighter socket, which is also available on the Jackery 240) and it draws 4.6 amps – so 55 watts. Compared to the other heated blankets I looked at on Amazon, that wattage is extremely low. With that wattage, the Jackery 240 should be able to power it for nearly 4.5 hours, which is awesome.

You'll see some heated blankets advertised as "low voltage" but keep in mind that they're running off of AC, not DC. So in your house, it'd be plugged into a 120V wall outlet and on the Jackery 240, it'd be plugged into the 110V AC outlet. Using one of the "low voltage" blankets as an example, which only draws 1.5 amps, that would equate to 165 watts. So you'd only get about 1.5 hours of use with that blanket on the Jackery 240.

I read the first review and it scared the crap out of me.
" It is NOT WASHABLE, but not for the reasons previously stated (getting the wiring or plug wet). Evidently, the material that keeps the wires in position inside the blanket will deteriorate and distort if saturated with water, causing the wires to short and the blanket to fail. Lastly, this was the tipping point for me, this blanked DOES NOT HAVE A AUTOMATIC SHUTOFF/TIMER. If it is plugged in and receiving power it is ON. So, if your cigarette lighter is not tied to your ignition and you forget to unplug it overnight...You might have a cold blanket and a dead battery in the morning... While this blanket will let you sleep without interruption, make sure your battery can handle the power draw if you are going to take a long snooze or get one with a 30-45 minute timer and take shorter naps!"

Sounds like a problem to me. But then I'll probably use a Mr. Heater.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

I read the first review and it scared the crap out of me.
" It is NOT WASHABLE, but not for the reasons previously stated (getting the wiring or plug wet). Evidently, the material that keeps the wires in position inside the blanket will deteriorate and distort if saturated with water, causing the wires to short and the blanket to fail. Lastly, this was the tipping point for me, this blanked DOES NOT HAVE A AUTOMATIC SHUTOFF/TIMER. If it is plugged in and receiving power it is ON. So, if your cigarette lighter is not tied to your ignition and you forget to unplug it overnight...You might have a cold blanket and a dead battery in the morning... While this blanket will let you sleep without interruption, make sure your battery can handle the power draw if you are going to take a long snooze or get one with a 30-45 minute timer and take shorter naps!"

Sounds like a problem to me. But then I'll probably use a Mr. Heater.

That's actually not a problem for me. If we ever do use it in our car, all my 12V outlets are ignition-switched (as all 12V outlets should be), so there's no possibility of it draining the battery if we leave it plugged in.

But I won't be running it off my car battery anyways. I'll be running it off of my Jackery 240 and will only be running it for an hour or so before I go to bed. It won't continue to run while we're sleeping. We'll just be using it to get that initial heat under our covers, because the covers will retain that heat.

 

[DrivingTacoLoco]

That's actually not a problem for me. If we ever do use it in our car, all my 12V outlets are ignition-switched (as all 12V outlets should be), so there's no possibility of it draining the battery if we leave it plugged in.

But I won't be running it off my car battery anyways. I'll be running it off of my Jackery 240 and will only be running it for an hour or so before I go to bed. It won't continue to run while we're sleeping. We'll just be using it to get that initial heat under our covers, because the covers will retain that heat.

But you can't wash it. That's a problem. If you sit around a fire wrapped in it it will smell like smoke. Sleep in it and you will sweat. Hard not to get everything covered in dust on the trail.