heating a tent

S

stl

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Gonna be in a tent this weekend for deer season and it is supposed to be pretty cold. Has anyone ever used a portable propane heater in a tent? I have a Mr. Heater Portable Buddy brand heater that I have used outdoors for trout fishing and it works great. I am just a little leary about using it in my tent, even though the specs say it is ok for tent heating. In my younger years I would not have thought twice about it. Just fire it up and let her eat. But now that I am getting older I am a little bit of a woose, or maybe just a little bit smarter. I know you have to open a screen to provide proper ventilation. I am more worried about a fire in my tent. The manual does say to not operate while sleeping but that does not do much good . Any thoughts?
 
ne7800

ne7800

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Re: heating a tent

what about a electic blanked a marine battery and a power converter
 
W

WizeOne

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Re: heating a tent

stl said:
... Has anyone ever used a portable propane heater in a tent? .
Click to expand...

I am really afraid that if anyone had they would likely not be around to tell about it. I'd be real skeptical about the tent use claim. Maybe if you had a carbon monoxide alarm.
 
X

Xcusme

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Re: heating a tent

I've used a Coleman catalytic heater (white gas type) and propane heaters. Both do the job. The propane is easier to start. The gas Cat. gives off petrol smell until it gets fully going.
Use common sense...be sure it's mounted where there's no chance of either tipping over or rolling into it and have some ventilation. Camped many times in the Northern weeds of Wisconsin with both , slept like a baby and I'm still here to tell the tale.
 
T

ThumbPkr

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Re: heating a tent

I found that in my military days a candle did a pretty good job heating a pup tent.Not saying that you should use a candle but my point is that it does not take much coupled with your body heat.I also used my kerosun heater one time when camping but that was way overkill.We had to leave the tent flaps open as I remember.
I would think that a small propane heater would be just the ticket.I don't see a tent being so airtight that the depletion of oxygen would be a safety factor.
If it is a concern then leave something open or bring a parakeet.Ron G
 
tashasdaddy

tashasdaddy

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Re: heating a tent

is the parakeet going to wake you before it dies? good sleeping bag, little propane heater, warm up the tent, turn it off, then warm tent in morning.
 
Caveman Charlie

Caveman Charlie

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Re: heating a tent

You probley won't have time to pick one up before the weekend but, there is a type of tent heater out there designed to set outside the tent and then it just uses a duct to move the warm air into the tent. Sorry, I don't have time to find it for you but, with a little Internet searching it should show up.

I've considered using one of those buddy heaters in my camper. Which has a carbon monoxide detector. The furnace in the camper is getting questionable. So, I always take the buddy heater as back up. So far I have not had to use it. This winter I'm thinking of taking up ice fishing. Some of the local county parks allow you to camp in the winter. I might pull the camper out for a winter trip. Then walk out of the ice, after parking in the campground, and chop a hole to do a little fishing.
 
Bob_VT

Bob_VT

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Re: heating a tent

A simple candle will do fine and two are better. Get's the chill out geves you a chance to dress and get your butt out in the woods.

A couple of dancing girls may get your mind off the chill!
 
jay_merrill

jay_merrill

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Re: heating a tent

I wouldn't use any type of heater that has not been specifically designed for heating a tent. Since there are safe products available, however, that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I also think the carbon monoxide detecter idea is a good one. I know that the tent heaters are built in a way that separates the combustion chamber from the warm air ducting, but buying and using a detecter seems like an inexpensive and wise bit of insurance.
 
X

xxxflhrci

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Re: heating a tent

The Coleman catalytic heaters are safe for a tent. Keep the tent vented a bit. Buy a 10 buck carbon monoxide heater to be on the safe side.

I use one of the old 60's era Coleman liquid fuel catalytic heaters to heat my camper and am still around. It cranks out great heat and is much cheaper to operate than propane models.
 
M

marquette

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Re: heating a tent

having deer hunted out of a tent in Minnesota for about 25 years i have heated them with just about everything that makes heat. i started in a teepee with an open fire and moved up from there. for me deer season starts Thanksgiving weekend and goes until mid December. depending on the year (or weekend) tempatures range from +20 to -20 every year. so first what kind of tent do you have? nylon or canvas? i have a canvas wall tent with a stove jack. (that's the place where the chimney goes through the canvas) i have a small wood stove that does fine but you can only bank it to last about 5 hrs. so it requires stoking during the night. anybody that gets up to go to pee stokes the stove. we have used a keroseen heater to augment the wood stove but i doubt if it would do the job below 10-15 degrees. as we have gotten older we replaced the wood stove with a big propane heater and a 100lb propane tank. the tent is 11ftx 16ft and it will cook you out. one of the big keys about heating a tent below freezing is condensation. we have found that if we cover the tent with a big blue tarp the snow will slide off and that it creates an air gap between the canvas and the tarp. that will solve 90% of the condensation problem. there are so many air leaks or people going in and out we have never had a problem or worry about CO2. i use a Mr Buddy heater in my tent camper and never had a problem with CO2. it keeps my small tent camper warm enough to sit around is shirt sleeves down to about 20-25 degrees. (just tested that therory about 2 weeks ago). i have used my Mr buddy in my eureka tent down to about 30 degrees. it has a rain fly over a breathable roof. i skip the rain fly and put a blue tarp down tight over the roof and it works ok but builds up condensation inside. it's a 10x10 tent. it would be tough to use a Mr buddy in anything smaller than an 8X8 because of keeping gear or people from having to be directly in front of it. i worry more about something getting too close in front of it or touching it and catching fire than CO2. get the hose and connect it to a 20lb bottle and you will get 80-90 hours on high from it.
if you have never deer hunted from a tent in the winter before there is one other thing you need and that is an awning of some kind. you need a place for stuff to set outside and a place to pull boots on and off so as to not track snow inside the tent. you will be amazed at how much time you will cook outside under it or just hang out. we rig ours out of a blue tarp and some 2x2's. we haven't cooked inside in years. you've never seen a 55-60 yr old standing outside at 15 degrees cooking in his long underware, boots and an orange hat on a cooking show but the food could'nt be any better.
get out there and do it as the Nike commercial says. you will love it. have a great hunt!
 
mthieme

mthieme

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Re: heating a tent

I have used a propane radiant heater in a large dome tent before and froze my butt off. I have also been in a popup with a 5000 btu kerosene heater and sweated my butt off.
I haven't been in a tent in decades and don't ever plan on going that route again. ever.
The last time I used a tent was hunting in the middle of 11,000 acres of public land. Mostly swamp. Day two - watched two DNA guys froma distance snooping around my tent, nobody around for miles, no road, not too many dry spots. There were no signs for miles until these guys showed up. As I approached they were hammering a sign in the ground in front of my tent. When I got there, the sign read "No Parking". They told me I had to move the tent. My truck was next to the tent, that was not a problem.
I thought I was on Candid Camera. (BTW This would be the same crew that checks the bajeebers out of me on the water). After some minutes of discussion (and disbelief on my part), they assured me I had to move my tent. Not far mind you, 15 feet would do. Now, it's dusk, there's a good gust blowing at least 25 mph, the tent is loaded with gear. I figure I could pull the pegs and drag it over. Never pull the pegs on a dome tent with a stiff breeze. It took off rolling towards the swamp. DNR had left buy this point. Needless to say I was pissed. That was my LAST tent experience.
Now, camping to me is the Holiday Inn.
If that were to happen again today, they would have to haul me in, feed me and throw me in a warm cell with a commode and TP.
 
C

CatTwentyTwo

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Re: heating a tent

We used a catalytic heater in the tent while hunting in the 60's and 70's and I remember waking up with a splitting head ache a few times. Looking back, I am sure that it was caused by carbon monoxide and we were lucky that the tent was not well sealed. The carbon monoxide detector sounds like a great idea if you decide to use your present heater.
 
S

stl

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Jan 22, 2005
Messages
346
Re: heating a tent

Thanks for all of the replies, and input. I think I will give the heater a try, and pick up a cheap co2 detector..At first I laughed, but I kinda like the idea quoted below. Do you think that will work. How long do you think it would last on a fully charged battery?

ne7800 said:
what about a electic blanked a marine battery and a power converter
Click to expand...
 
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