looking for tent heater

[Morrisky]

Hi. My girlfriend and I will go camping with my friends recently, this is our first time to camp, we are sooooo excited now :)
Because we are the newbie of it, we have read many "camping guide". We have prepared many things for this camping.
We have bought a tent from amazon,

and we bought a sleep inflatable mat,

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But even with sleep mat and bag, it's not enough in the night. we are still looking for a tent heater, do you have any recommendations? We need a heater for two people.

 

[UtahRnr]

Connect your sleeping bags and “make your own heat”

 

[BlueRidge150]

I use a buddy heater. Use it before going to bed to knock the chill off, and right when we wake up, to get ready.

There have been a few times where a set an alarm to turn it off a few hours after going to sleep, I’d REALLY cold.
These things can be found used, or cheap all over the place. Craigslist, Facebook, all the selling apps. I think we paid $30 for one a guy never even used.

 

[UtahRnr]

I use a buddy heater. Use it before going to bed to knock the chill off, and right when we wake up, to get ready.

There have been a few times where a set an alarm to turn it off a few hours after going to sleep, I’d REALLY cold.

Buddy Heaters (or any propane heater) will produce a lot of condensation, and toxic CO. Ventilation will help with this, but will also make the heater work harder.

 

[BlueRidge150]

I’d have to read back up on it, and I know there’s been a lot of discussion on this site, but I believe the buddy heaters do not put off CO, could be wrong.

However that’s part of the reason for only use it before falling asleep or set an alarm. Precaution.

And yes they do create condensation

 

[UtahRnr]

They do put off CO (carbon monoxide) because they are burning a flame. Small amounts are tolerable but it is lethal and odorless. You can purchase a CO detector to bring along with an audible alarm. They are inexpensive and battery powered ones are available everywhere. Don’t be cheap get a good one.

Some heater units have their own CO detectors built in with a safety shutoff. I’m not sure about Buddy Heaters though.

 

[Downs]

They put off a little but you'd need a pretty well sealed cab to hit levels high enough to kill you, you'd probably run out of O2 in a sealed space before a buddy heater put out enough CO to kill you.

I've got a Drager CO monitor I keep hanging off the spare tire in my XJ. The highest I ever saw was about 35ppm and that was with the Jeep fully sealed up in really cold weather typically I might see 10 PPM out of it. I'm not saying not to take precautions. I would shut it down going to sleep personally. With a ventaliation setup to help with condensation you'll probably see very low CO readings.

FWIW we don't even do mandatory evacuations on buildings unless the readings are 100ppm or greater and anything 50 or higher we only recommend evacuation. Anything less than that we advise of what the reading is the danger CO causes and try to find and stop the source of it as well. It's typically a malfunctioning furnace.

 

[M Rose]

Hi. My girlfriend and I will go camping with my friends recently, this is our first time to camp, we are sooooo excited now :)
Because we are the newbie of it, we have read many "camping guide". We have prepared many things for this camping.
We have bought a tent from amazon,

and we bought a sleep inflatable mat,

Best inflatable mat, buy inflatable mat at iMeshbean - iMeshBean

Buy the best inflatable mat at iMeshbean online, we have a car air mattress, self inflating camping mat, inflatable gym mat for you to pick up. iMeshbean will be your best choice.

www.imeshbean.com

But even with sleep mat and bag, it's not enough in the night. we are still looking for a tent heater, do you have any recommendations? We need a heater for two people.

First, I would like to welcome you if I haven’t already. Where at here in the Great Beaver State are you located? How much winter camping do you plan on doing?

I use a buddy heater. Use it before going to bed to knock the chill off, and right when we wake up, to get ready.

There have been a few times where a set an alarm to turn it off a few hours after going to sleep, I’d REALLY cold.
These things can be found used, or cheap all over the place. Craigslist, Facebook, all the selling apps. I think we paid $30 for one a guy never even used.

this would be my choice if I were getting a heater.
I usually start camping here in The Northeast side around April Fools Day up into Turkey Day and haven’t felt the “need” for a heater. They are nice when you wake up in the morning, but if you have good sleeping bags and decent inflatable sleeping pads, I find myself quite warm. But then again, in the Army we would sleep in -0 weather with just a sleeping bag on top of a tarp.

 

[Morrisky]

They do put off CO (carbon monoxide) because they are burning a flame. Small amounts are tolerable but it is lethal and odorless. You can purchase a CO detector to bring along with an audible alarm. They are inexpensive and battery powered ones are available everywhere. Don’t be cheap get a good one.

Some heater units have their own CO detectors built in with a safety shutoff. I’m not sure about Buddy Heaters though.

Thank you. It seems the CO detector will provide some help.

 

[zuccaro]

Mr. Heater...only way to go!

 

[RoyB]

If you have a battery and a way to charge it.....might look at a self contained hot air diesel heater. No condensation and the furnace staysboutside the tent.

 

[wstark54]

I’m going to start by saying you shouldn’t do anything that you feel uncomfortable with. I’ve used a MrBuddy heater this winter in a tent with absolutely no problems. There is quite a bit of condensation but that’s the only down side I found so far. Mr Buddy heaters do not produce CO because of the catalytic system used to process propane they will however use up the oxygen in a tightly enclosed area and they have a O2 sensor for this reason and will shut off before it becomes a problem. So in the average tent that’s nearly impossible. They do need free space around them so at least 1ft in back and 2-3ft in front as there is almost no heat radiating on the back or sides. I used mine in a Gazelle T4 with an outside temp of 20F and on low the interior was in the mid 40F . I use it with a 20lb propane tank and it works well . I don’t think I’d try it in a RTT unless it was in a annex and the heater was on the ground and I’ve read that others have had good results. Lastly if you use the heater in a tent make sure to move the zipper on the door of the tent up to the top. When they are at the bottom they may be frozen shut, ask me how I know!

 

[RoyB]

I just placed an order for this portable diesel heater......Should be a good solution...

Portable Diesel Heater

 

[wstark54]

I'm interested in one of those as well. It seems it would eliminate the condensation problem. Let me know what your order and how it works.
Thanks

 

[RoyB]

Will do...Full report once I get it.

 

[Downs]

I’m going to start by saying you shouldn’t do anything that you feel uncomfortable with. I’ve used a MrBuddy heater this winter in a tent with absolutely no problems. There is quite a bit of condensation but that’s the only down side I found so far. Mr Buddy heaters do not produce CO because of the catalytic system used to process propane they will however use up the oxygen in a tightly enclosed area and they have a O2 sensor for this reason and will shut off before it becomes a problem. So in the average tent that’s nearly impossible. They do need free space around them so at least 1ft in back and 2-3ft in front as there is almost no heat radiating on the back or sides. I used mine in a Gazelle T4 with an outside temp of 20F and on low the interior was in the mid 40F . I use it with a 20lb propane tank and it works well . I don’t think I’d try it in a RTT unless it was in a annex and the heater was on the ground and I’ve read that others have had good results. Lastly if you use the heater in a tent make sure to move the zipper on the door of the tent up to the top. When they are at the bottom they may be frozen shut, ask me how I know!

They most certainly produce CO but in very low amounts compared to other means of heat.