We currently always use EHU when camping and have an electric cool box, induction hob for cooking, mains light and fan heater to take the chill off the tent in the evening, as I really feel the cold.
Now that its just me, hubby and dog camping I would really like to free ourselves from the EHU on some of our shorter trips. We have a normal coolbox and also a couple of suitcase stoves for cooking.
However does anyone have any suggestions for a good camping light and also a way to take the chill off the tent in the evenings without a fan heater. Are gas heaters safe to use in tents? I am a bit paranoid about gas ever since we had a gas leak in a boiler at home and heard horror stories about campers dying from Carbon Monoxide poisoning.
Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated
My first ever camping trip back in 2006 when I was 41 was without EHU, and decided it was not for me.
When I camped in the winter months, I had used a Bright Spark gas heater that uses butane canisters in the living area while the dog hogged the fan heater as his own in the bedroom pod.
The heater is advertised as suitable for indoor use, with trip detection safety cut out, oxygen depletion sensor etc. etc...
I only used it in the living area of the tent on a small table, and did not leave it on unattended.
Ventilation is key, as well as common sense, if one is to use a gas appliance inside the tent, IMHO.
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You will need to move quickly as this is due to end soon but this will solve your heating issue and it is 100% safe. We have the smaller version and they are fantastic.
If it's any help, I think the recent spate of carbon monoxide tragedies have been as a result of people bringing barbecues into the tent at night, not from gas heaters. If you use a heater designed for the purpose, and follow instructions for ventilation, I believe they are safe. I use a Campingaz light, which is excellent, but does cause glare. It has a fitting for hanging it from the tent roof, but we have a tunnel tent, so can't use it that way. Not that I would. I think hanging a gas appliance from tentpoles is rather asking for trouble. So long as I don't sit looking directly at it, it's bright enough to read by.
I use a gas lantern for lighting as it has the brightest light i've found but I am always extra careful about making sure it is in the middle of a large table on a cork mat and we NEVER EVER hang it from the light hook on the ceiling as it does emit a lot of heat from the top. Also we also make sure the tent vents are open a bit. With small children it might not be a good choice but ours is old enough now to understand that he can't run around the tent when its on.
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I've just bought this light of Amazon a steal at £17. It'll light your whole tent no problem it's also sold under the name Ring Cyba-lite or if you want the exact same lantern with Outwell printed on it expect to pay around £40 !!!
Gelert do a small gas lantern with screw fitting - blu tack to the table and make sure there is some ventilation. You could get a small stove with the same fitting which is a useful back up to the stove. They take up very little space.
The "Look what I found" pouch meals are nice and need no fridge. Although meant for microwave, can just chuck it in a pan - useful when weather is foul. Most supermarkets have them and they are usually with the tinned meat
You might want to consider an IceyTec cool box. We have just got one. Although I haven't tried it out yet, it has excellent reviews, and i can't believe the build-quality of it. I get the impression you could safely drive a tank over it. It's supposed to keep stuff very cold for a lot longer than a standard cool-box.
Not cheap though - about £110 for a 25Lt (enough for two people). You would need 40Lt for a family. http://www.coolboxesuk.co.uk/ If you do get one, I'd suggest a lock for the closure - it's less likely to be nicked if the S*****g knows they can't get it open.
We have camped for years without EHU, from our kids being 3 and 5 years old. I love the freedom of being able to be in a remote corner of the site and we have camped on many sites that dont have hook ups - although these are more unusual nowadays.
We have a parabolic heater that screws into the top of the gas bottle. You will never get the same amount of heat as a fan heater but it takes the chill off. I suppose there must have been times when we have been cold but I cant remember it being a problem. We always take lots of warm clothes even in summer!
For lighting you cant beat the Campinggaz lanterns that have the gas cannister that pushes into the bottom. Cooking is done on a double burner stove and we also have a suitcase stove if we just want to boil the kettle. As with everything you need to be careful but people have always camped like this and so long as you have ventilation in your tent and are sensible you will be fine.
We got an EHU set up last year and it is nice to have but it still feels a bit strange to be taking an electric kettle and a fan heater with us.
Oh and as for the cool box we have always just had a standard cool box and ice packs. In fact a couple of years ago we did 10 days in Cornwall like this and it was quite warm weather for once. We just took 4 ice packs and swapped them in the freezer on site every day.
Because of recent events, gas camping heaters seem to be critisised quite a lot,( although i agree, it seems to have been barbecues indoors for recent terrible tragedy) but we have a camping heater, its used carefully in a ventilated area, and its fine. Our tent is a long tunnel tent. We use heater to take chill from living area when we come in the tent late evening. Its switched off and canister is removed before bed. and never left unattended when on. We also have 2 large rechargeable lanterns which give us plenty of light. If my grandchildren are with us they each have small light next to their bed. Take plenty of warm bedding with no EHU. We are always warm.
The little battery operated lantern looks like really good value I'm going to order one of those to see how we get on with it. I also like the look of the bright spark heater.
I don't think we will want to start carrying around a large gas canister so will need to stick to the smaller gas cartridge appliances.
The IceyTec looks great - bit out of my budget at the moment though
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Topic: Camping without EHU
I also like the look of the bright spark heater.
