Electric for me as well, much safer than gas in a tent. However, you will need the correct type of power supply unit to plug into the hook up and not just use any old extension lead.
Not aware of any portable gas heaters that are truly considered safe in a tent! - MOST state clearly 'NOT TO BE USED IN AN ENCLOSED SPACE'.
Fire risk aside from a naked flame inside a tent (ALL tents are flammable, 'fire resistant' only means they self extinguish when original flame source removed/extinguished, NOT that they won't catch fire!), Carbon Monoxide poisoning is the great risk, and YOU will be unaware you are being poisoned, no smell, no warning, you just die in ignorance - and sadly enough do die to prove it's not an idle warning!
Electric (mains from a EHU point) with the correct EHU lead with inbuilt safety breakers is the only real option, and then with a heater that has a anti-tip safety cut out. Infra-red types give 'quiet' near instant heat, but fan heaters give more general heat at the expense of being a bit noisy, BOTH need keeping well clear of flammable materials as they can cause 'hot spots' that can cause a fire, Oil Filled Radiators are very good, but tend towards the bulky and heavy, with a little time to warm up themselves and the tent! Not all heaters have a thermostat, I've a Kampa Diddy fan heater, which is a brilliant compact little heater, but sadly no thermostat, so you can sometimes feel too warm and have to switch it off or reduce power to lower setting.
You can get portable Diesel Heaters, which have a balanced flue system, which means all combustion fumes are piped out of the tent, BUT they are bulky, expensive, and require the flue to exit the tent somehow! - probably better suited to larger communal tents/marques than typical personal tents.
As others have said, never use gas heaters inside a tent.
With a camping EHU, we use a Dreamland electric blanket which keeps us toasty warm throughout the night on a low setting. Better to heat your body than trying to heat the air. Or, plenty of layers, a hat, bed socks and hot water bottles!
We also have a small but efficient, low-wattage oil filled radiator (De'Longhi Bambino) which takes the chill off and is silent.
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I have a butane-burning gas heater that is indoor safe in well-ventilated rooms, and had used it in a tent that did not have a SIG or ZIG.
I used it to supplement the electric fan heater, and placed it on a small table in the middle of the living area and the gas canister did not last very long.
I also had another gas heater, again, it was supposed to be used in well-ventilated areas.
I would only use the gas heaters when I was awake, and not in the sleeping pod.
I stopped using them as I worried too much about potential safety issues, and used a fan heater alone, heating up only one area at a time.
The ones I used (I went through about 3) were no more than 2kW output, dual heat levels, thermostatically controlled, a couple had trip prevention.
I forgot about it being on and boiled the kettle and tripped the EHU once during a cold weather camping trip, DOH!
DK
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The only gas heaters that were deemed safe were the catalytic ones. Don't see them much these days though. I believe they were also prone to chucking out a bit of carbon monoxide in certain case.
I always use electric and of no hook up, just wrap up warm.
Quote: Originally posted by cliffbrown on 16/12/2023
oil filled rad with thermostat the only noise is the click of the stat
Agree; the dog hated the blown air of a fan heater & I hated the noise.
There are plenty of other threads on this topic too, including the benefits of a good woolly hat.
Quote: Originally posted by Fiona W on 16/12/2023
Agree; the dog hated the blown air of a fan heater ...... including the benefits of a good woolly hat.
Strange creatures, my dog loves lying in front of the fan heater, I have to move her away to stop her getting burnt! .... just fitted new storage heaters at home, they blow the heated air out of a vent at the bottom, dog's now discovered this, so I've got to devise a way of stopping her lying too close!
..... got to agree, woolly hat, .... socks, gloves even, make a decent substitute for artificial heating, with maybe the exception of a hot water bottle, which got me through childhood in unheated freezing cold (frost on INSIDE of windows!) bedrooms well enough! ... certainly resorted to piling on the clothing when cold snap has caught me out and no heaters available to warm the tent! ... needs must, and it's flexible and free too!
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Topic: Tent heater advice
via mobile 09/12/2023 at 2:24pm
