# Campsite heating options during winter



## chrismhaase (Oct 29, 2010)

With the winter approaching, I was trying to come up with ways to camp out in the woods.  I had a few ideas;

1. Buy a Honda EU1000 or 2000 and power a space heater for my tent and the other guys tents.  
2. Buy a car battery and hook up an inverter.  
3. Buy a small propane heater http://www.basspro.com/Mr--Heater-Base-Camp-Buddy-Portable-Propane-Heater/product/10209944/-1626613

   It says it has an oxygen depeltion sensor, a tip over sensor, ect


If I go with #2, do you think this would work, which I think it will, but how long would it go for? 

If I go for #3, would it be safe?  Anyone have any experience with it?

Thanks in advance, Chris


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## Coastie (Oct 29, 2010)

Why not the old standby, build a campfire. Otherwise go to a motel.


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## Deerhead (Oct 29, 2010)

I just bought the small Buddy heater for my 13' camper.  That thing puts out a "lot" of heat.  I will not get cold this winter.  Yes they do have low O2 sensors.


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## chrismhaase (Oct 29, 2010)

Coastie said:


> Why not the old standby, build a campfire. Otherwise go to a motel.



Agreed, however we cant close to our campfire due to other stuff that is always around it.  Good idea though.


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## chrismhaase (Oct 29, 2010)

Deerhead said:


> I just bought the small Buddy heater for my 13' camper.  That thing puts out a "lot" of heat.  I will not get cold this winter.  Yes they do have low O2 sensors.



So you feel safe using this in your camper?  That is more sealed than a tent, so I would assume I should be fine.  Have you used this product or anyone you know?


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## Jeff Phillips (Oct 29, 2010)

To power a space heater you will need more run time than you can get from the small Honda's. I have the 3000 and it will run a heater all night.

The Big Buddy Heater is the way to go.


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## chrismhaase (Oct 29, 2010)

Thanks Jeff.  What about a space heater hooked up to an inverter on a car battery?  I was thinking of going to Wally World and getting a battery and an inverter with alligator clips and let that power the space heater.


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## Jranger (Oct 29, 2010)

chrismhaase said:


> Thanks Jeff.  What about a space heater hooked up to an inverter on a car battery?  I was thinking of going to Wally World and getting a battery and an inverter with alligator clips and let that power the space heater.



Average space heater is about 1500 watts... You'll end up needing a generator to run it.

I run the buddy heater as well and I love it. My only gripe is they run out of lp after about 6 hours on low. I just bought the 12' hose and filter kit for mine. This will allow me to run it for 120+ hours on a 20lb tank of lp. You should be fine in a tent with the buddy heater. I would be sure to keep it centered though. A lot of heat comes off the top, if you put it on the edge you may melt your tent.


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## mudpuppy928 (Oct 29, 2010)

i use the buddy heater .but recomend buying a co2 alarm (cheap insurance )


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## 7Mag Hunter (Oct 29, 2010)

#3...I have been using the small propane heaters in
tents and campers for years....Hook it to a 20lb tank
with 6' propane hose and run on low all day/night...

Keep a window/flap slightly open for fresh air...

I would be worried about a generator and
carbon monoxide blowing toward tents/campers.


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## chrismhaase (Oct 29, 2010)

mudpuppy928 said:


> i use the buddy heater .but recomend buying a co2 alarm (cheap insurance )



Great idea, I would imagine they can't be more than $10-15


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## merc123 (Oct 29, 2010)

Inverter will kill a non-charging car battery in about an hour with that kind of amperage.  

We used the propane thing that went on a gas grill LP tank and it would just about run you out of the camper.  The alternative was to turn on one or two stove eyes on low to kill the chill in the air and vented one of the windows (popup) for oxygen.  Also had a carbon monoxide detector.  Also no noise from generators this way.


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## 8pointduck (Oct 30, 2010)

Mr. Heater for me. It .works great in my camper.


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## 8pointduck (Oct 30, 2010)

How big is your tent? If its a wall tent you will be fine anything smaller you will need something smaller.


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## Flaustin1 (Oct 31, 2010)

we heated out bus with a 3 brick vanguard wall mount propane heater. It would run ya outta there went through about 50 gallons of propane a season and we wher there atleast three nites a week.


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## NCHillbilly (Oct 31, 2010)

Uh.......get a good sleeping bag? I camp in the winter sometimes with the temps down in the teens and twenties without electric tent heaters  and stuff. Get you a bed that's warm enough, and build a fire to warm up when you get out of it, like people have been doing forever. Or get a good wall tent that's set up for a small woodstove if you're going to be doing a lot of winter camping.


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## Nicodemus (Oct 31, 2010)

That`s one reason why I do love a tipi.


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## george hancox (Oct 31, 2010)

I use the big buddy heater in my tent.Just make sure u get the filter kit for the propane hose kit I didn''t it cost me my first big buddy.It will last ok if you don't have a bulk tank to becouse it holds two of the small bottles.


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## george hancox (Oct 31, 2010)

Nicodemus said:


> That`s one reason why I do love a tipi.



how hard is it toset up a tipi for one man.


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## Nicodemus (Oct 31, 2010)

george hancox said:


> how hard is it toset up a tipi for one man.



You can set one up in in about 45 minutes. This includes puttin` in the liner. Without it in place, you can`t have a fire inside.


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## ben300win (Nov 1, 2010)

I have a big buddy for my slide in camper and it works great. Have the extra hose to hook to a 20 lb cylinder. I start getting a headache when the oxygen gets too low, but as soon as I do the heater kicks off. The other good thing about the big buddy and the regular buddy heaters is that you can carry them to the stand with you without any noise. Hunted in a tent blind in Kentucky one time where the temp was about 5 and the wind was blowing about 30 mph. You did not want to be anywhere without a heater. Worked great.


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## pcrouch (Nov 1, 2010)

I use a big buddy with a 20lb tanked hooked to it in my camper.  It's great.  More heat than you would ever need and a 20lb tank lasts for a good long while.


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## jmfauver (Nov 2, 2010)

I have several of the small propane heaters...I upgraded my tent to an Outfitter tent w/ the wood burning stove insert...I cannot wait to get the stove in and running to stay warm all night ( BTW I used the small heaters in MD.they worked great you just have to keep an extra bottle in the tent for the second night depending upon what you run it at)


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## dirtysouthracing (Nov 2, 2010)

The Big Buddy Heater is great we use it in our camper as well. I even have 1 in my hunting blind . But get the adaptor to hook it up to a regular propane bottle the small bottles go very quick .


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## djackson67 (Nov 2, 2010)

55 gal drum up on 4 cinderblocks, and cut a chimney in it.
a little safer than an open fire, it'll put out good radient heat outside your tent.
i wouldn't run anything in your tent.


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## Camokid (Nov 3, 2010)

Coleman ProCat heater works great.......i do keep a CO2 alarm in the trailer just in case.


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## kno3mike (Nov 4, 2010)

mudpuppy928 said:


> i use the buddy heater .but recomend buying a co2 alarm (cheap insurance )



+1......excellent advice....put the 20lb tank outside too.


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## chrismhaase (Nov 4, 2010)

I am off to buy a Buddy Heater tomorrow as I go see clients in Orlando.  Bass Pro here I come!  I am going to take the advice and buy the tank hook up.


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## Ohoopee Tusker (Nov 5, 2010)

No way I'm putting a heat source inside a flammable tent. I camp in temps down in the mid teens and feel fine in a 0 degrees rated sleeping bag. I also take a thick blanket to put on top of the sleeping bag, this allows me to keep my arms out of the sleeping bag and under the blanket making sleep more comfortable. A fire outside the tent will also add a great amount of heat inside it.


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## Thetoolman (Nov 5, 2010)

I have an old army wood stove ,the round one made for tents .,small & uses small chunks of wood . (ebay has them)I have a buddy heater but have not been brave enough to go to sleep with it on.


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## Dead Eye Eddy (Nov 6, 2010)

I am probably one of the most cold-natured sleepers you'll ever know.  I have two standard bags that zip together to make one large bag.  I also have two fleece sleeping bags that zip together that I use as liners for the big bag.  Down to about 45 degrees, that's all I need.  I've also got a military mummy bag.  I can't stand zipping up in it (claustrophobic) so I put the zipper opening down, stick my feet in the bottom of it, and wrap up in it.  I'm good with just the military bag down to about 30 degrees, unless it's really windy.  When it gets colder than 30 or really windy, I put the military bag inside the big double bag.  Sometimes I even put on socks and polypropylenes.

The only time I've needed a heat source in recent years was this past January.  Pudge and I were trying to sleep in a popup camper in teens weather with wind.  We liked to have froze.  We went through 2 16.4 ounce bottles of propane each night with my Coleman Focus 5 heater.  I have since drilled a hole in the back of the F5.  If I need it again, I will hook it up to a 20lb tank so that I don't have to get up at 2 a.m. and change the bottle.


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## david krehbiel (Jan 18, 2013)

yesterday you had 2 coleman focus 5 propane heaters for sale.  I don't see them now.  Are they gone?


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## sothunfried (Jan 18, 2013)

i got that propane heater for my camper from bp i thinks its a mr buddy heater,(the red one).
yes if you kick it over it cuts off and it really puts out the heat.


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## miles58 (Jan 19, 2013)

NCHillbilly said:


> Uh.......get a good sleeping bag? I camp in the winter sometimes with the temps down in the teens and twenties without electric tent heaters  and stuff. Get you a bed that's warm enough, and build a fire to warm up when you get out of it, like people have been doing forever. Or get a good wall tent that's set up for a small woodstove if you're going to be doing a lot of winter camping.



What he said!  I have slept outside in a lot lower temps than that without have to get real serious about keeping warm.  A good bag is the easiest way to stay warm, and when it's not cold outside, you just unzip it and use it like a blanket.  At deer camp I sleep with the windows open and inside the cabin come morning it's often 30-40 degrees.  I never zip up the bag there.  You do need insulation between you and the ground though if you sleep on the ground.  If you're on the wussy side, a bag liner in a warm bag will add another 15-20 degrees to what you can be comfortable in.

Dave


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## XIronheadX (Jan 20, 2013)

Back in the day, I used the eye of the stove on low with a clay pot over it and cracked the window open near my face. I've slept in my sleeping bag at 20. I pushed the button on my old motel heat/ac unit in the cabin as of late.


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## klfutrelle (Jan 20, 2013)

I say bring enough clothes and a good sleeping bag and your good. You can always dig a pit for the fire, stack some rocks up and scrape away anything flammable around it.


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## W4DSB (Jan 20, 2013)

if you look for an alarm get a CO one for carbon monoxide not co2 for carbon dioxide


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## Canyon (Jan 21, 2013)

ben300win said:


> I have a big buddy for my slide in camper and it works great. Have the extra hose to hook to a 20 lb cylinder. I start getting a headache when the oxygen gets too low, but as soon as I do the heater kicks off. The other good thing about the big buddy and the regular buddy heaters is that you can carry them to the stand with you without any noise. Hunted in a tent blind in Kentucky one time where the temp was about 5 and the wind was blowing about 30 mph. You did not want to be anywhere without a heater. Worked great.



Start to get a headache and the unit kicks off?? aka carbon monoxide poisoning.


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## BamaBart (Jan 29, 2013)

I use a Buddy Heater in my shooting house!


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## Bam Bam (Mar 2, 2013)

The Buddy Heaters are the Way to go! I have the Big Buddy Heater and i've used it tent camping several times, it's a very safe heater made for inside or outside use! I also have a couple of the coleman sportcat heaters too, they are lightweight  and perfect to use in hunting blind or stand!!!


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## bfriendly (Mar 3, 2013)

I think someone else mentioned it....Campfire

Whats wrong with that?

we aint in AlaskaNo No:


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## 7MAGMIKE (Mar 6, 2013)

We have a 32 X 20 army tent at our lease with a Fisher Grandpa Bear stove in it.  It will run you out on all but the windiest, coldest nights.


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## saltysenior (Mar 10, 2013)

used something like this years back.......can't find them anymore for some strange reason..




http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/simply-beautiful-0.jpg


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## littlewolf (Mar 22, 2013)

saltysenior said:


> used something like this years back.......can't find them anymore for some strange reason..
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes those are by far the best.


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## HunterFF (Mar 22, 2013)

grew up using this, still have it.


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