Heating you Tent/Camper

[mje1]

Remember to keep youre detectors up high since carbon monoxide is lighter than air. Having good ventilation is very important, when the heater is running it is using up the oxygen in the room, when there is a lack of oxygen the flames burn improperly and float around searching for oxygen thats when they impinge against other surfaces which actually cool the flame and thats what creates CO. I get the pleasure of staying in an outfitter style tent during the week of the rifle Bull hunt not looking forward to it and i dont think my brother in law has a CO Detector so ill be purchasing one or ill be bundling up thats for sure.

[Stallone A.]

Thanks for the info guys.

[desertyankee]

My camping is about as low-tech as you can get, and I've never run any kind of heater inside a tent, but here's a few thoughts on staying warm from some fairly long experience:

1) Old wool blankets from the secondhand store are great to have along-- as a tent floor, as a cover for your air mattress, and over your sleeping bag. They seal all those little cold air leaks, and allow you to unzip your sleeping bag for some comfort of movement. Plus, they keep all that nylon from slipping around, so your bedding stays in one place.

2) Take off as many clothes as you can stand to when you crawl in for the night, and pre-heat your morning clothing at the foot of your bedding. It makes the morning chill a lot easier to take if you can put on a few layers of already-warm clothing.

3) On a really cold night, just heat a few rocks around the campfire-- not nuclear hot, just warm them up. Wrap 'em in an old towel or game bag and use them to heat the tent, or even inside the sleeping bag for a few minutes before crawling in. They'll radiate heat for quite a while.

4) Some kind of a night cap really helps too, along with a pillow. If your head is warm, the rest of you will be too.

5) Have that morning firewood all split, covered against the dew/frost, and ready to roar. Happy hunting.

[Pine Donkey]

I agree that a night cap helps...I prefer bourbon, but tequilla works well also.

[fido]

+2 on the "Nite Cap"!

Liquid is a good start but wool is better.

I just dragged my really big "cap" out that I can adjust as needed, (ears/neck as needed)... those boys are correct about keeping the brains warm. You will sleep much better.

The older I get, seems the smarter (more wussy) I get. I added an "oversized" cot this year instead of the air mattress and lots of comforter/blankets. Martha Stewart would be proud.

I have been looking for heaters for the last week and this thread is perfect timing. Thank you!

My big 'ol tent breathes ok but you never really know....

Seriously, good points!

Joe

[Coach]

+1 on the beanie, aka, night cap. I wear one even at home when it gets chilly. Guess that's what happens when your hair migrates down your neck, across your back...well you get the picture.

 

I guess it's somewhere around 80-90% of your body heat that escapes through your head. If you're blessed with curly locks, that number may drop a bit, but if you're bald as a cue-ball, like me, a little headgear while sleeping cold goes a long way.

 

As for heaters, I know the catalytic heaters are "supposed" to be safe...I won't sleep in any enclosed area where anything is burning. Don't mind starting up the Buddy Heater or whatever once awake, but I'd rather bundle up warm and not take any chances with carbon monoxide poisoning.

 

Stay safe out there guys.

[stanley]

+1 on the beanie, aka, night cap. I wear one even at home when it gets chilly. Guess that's what happens when your hair migrates down your neck, across your back...well you get the picture.

 

I guess it's somewhere around 80-90% of your body heat that escapes through your head. If you're blessed with curly locks, that number may drop a bit, but if you're bald as a cue-ball, like me, a little headgear while sleeping cold goes a long way.

 

As for heaters, I know the catalytic heaters are "supposed" to be safe...I won't sleep in any enclosed area where anything is burning. Don't mind starting up the Buddy Heater or whatever once awake, but I'd rather bundle up warm and not take any chances with carbon monoxide poisoning.

 

Stay safe out there guys.

 

Yes, + 1 to several of the past few posts!

 

I never run the heater in the tent. The kids and I stay plenty warm with a combination of a beenie (or hoodie for the kids.... ) and WOOL BLANKETS! They will make any sub-freezing rated sleeping bag a whole lot warmer by just draping over your bag as you sleep! Huge difference IMO.

 

S.

 

[cbryant11]

i remember when i was a young man our family went to utah deer hunting and we had a heater in the tent to keep us warm, we had the windows on the tent open but during the night it dumped alot of snow on us and the tent sealed up air tight ,,,, we are lucky i was sleeping in my clothes and started freezing because i woke up so cold they tried to light the heater but the matches would light there was no oxygen in the tent at all.....needless to say i sleep with as little clothing as possible on now and no heaters in the tent

[pirogue]

I use the Mr. Buddy in my 6 man tent, but turn it off after the tent is warm at bedtime. It gets too hot if left on.

[buckykm1]

I have use a propane heater in my Wall Tent for years, the first couple years i always kept a tester in, but it has never been a problem, with the 2 peak holes, and i don't cover the sod cloth, you get plenty of vetilation. and i run a small battery operated fan at night, to circilate the air.

 

Kevin

[Outdoor Writer]

I spent 5 days in an RV on the late Kaibab hunt. It was pretty danged cold, and since we had planned to stay the full 10 days, we tried to conserve the 10 gals. of propane in the 26' RV. For the first few days, we ran the furnace on low at night, about 50 degrees, and I raised it a bit during the day. Plus in the morning, we occasionally supplemented it a bit by running the truck engine with the heater and fan on high, which quickly heated the entire RV.

 

About the 3rd day, Duwane's cook, Tim, brought me an extra 4K-9K BTU Mr. Buddy heater and a 5-gal. tank. The Mr. Buddy is touted for INDOOR use. He had another one in his 8'X8' tent, which he ran day and night on low as he has done for a couple years. He said it really kept it toasty. Soooo...we ran the one in the RV on low at night, and during the day, I turned it up to high. The furnace rarely clicked on at night, and during the day, it truned on for like 5 mins. maybe one every two hours, even though I had it set at 65-70 most times.

 

I don't recall seeing it mentioned, but the Mr. Buddy does have a low-oxygen cut off. It will shut down automatically if the oxygen drops below a safe level. Also, the RV had a carbon monoxide monitor. Despite having no windows open in the RV, it never buzzed.

[Kelney]

I use the Mr. Buddy in a tent all the time. Being in the insurance business, if it killed people, they would not be in business today.

[Coach]

Wanna bet they have more lawyers than you do? LOL, just kiddin. I've used Mr. Buddy heaters, and they seem to do just fine. Not sure I'd run one all night in an enclosed space, but that's just me. I'd rather bundle up than trust anything that heats with flame and claims not to give of carbon monoxide. I've slept cold enough not to trust my life to some gizmo, no matter how convenient it is.

[sjvcon]

This is a GREAT reminder for everyone, but especially for folks who have not camped a lot. About 10 years ago, a friend of my mom lost both her son and his fiance to CO poisoning (basically asphixiation) on a camping trip. We've always been careful, but especially since that occurrence.

 

One of my friends has the Mr. Buddy, but he's never had great luck with it ... he might have gotten a dud or something. He has a devil of a time keeping it running. I never use anything in my tent for heat ... just a really warm sleeping bag that usually lets me sleep in a T-Shirt and shorts. Funny thing is I paid about $50 for it years ago and it works better than any of the expensive bags some other folks I know have. On occasion I have to sleep in sweats, but infrequently.

 

Be safe all.

[db cooper]

I find that taking my girlfriend and her best friend hunting keeps me plenty warm at night, then that's a whole other story and a bit off topic!