Candle-heater to heat wall tent?

[MD]

I rarely use my wall tent. Last time (first and only time) was on a moose hunt in 2018. I'm thinking of taking it for a longer than a weekend mule deer hunt in Region 8 this October. I have no stove and I'm not afraid of dressing for the cold but still, I was wondering if anyone had tried using candles to warm a tent, even just a little bit. From what I see on the 'net, there are ways to use home-made candle heaters. Any thoughts?

At the very least, people claim they are good against condensation inside.

 

[medvedqc]

he did not work in a camper when the furnace gave up i doubt it will work in a tent with wind and all other issues but good luck on your project.

 

[burnt_servo]

I rarely use my wall tent. Last time (first and only time) was on a moose hunt in 2018. I'm thinking of taking it for a longer than a weekend mule deer hunt in Region 8 this October. I have no stove and I'm not afraid of dressing for the cold but still, I was wondering if anyone had tried using candles to warm a tent, even just a little bit. From what I see on the 'net, there are ways to use home-made candle heaters. Any thoughts?

At the very least, people claim they are good against condensation inside.

how big is your wall tent ?

 

[Butcherbill]

My buddy has a small diesel heater that he heats his tents with, pretty genius little rigs. We were working in March/April in the snow and he was tenting it, the other two of us were in a 5th wheel. He said it was so warm in his tent at night he was sleeping onto of his sleeping bag on his cot.

 

[MD]

how big is your wall tent ?

I have two, a 9x12 wth 5-foot walls and a 10x12 I've never used with 3-foot walls.

 

[burnt_servo]

I have two, a 9x12 with 5-foot walls and a 10x12 I've never used with 3-foot walls.

i'm not sure candles will work ... and i'm thinking that if you did get enough candles to heat it , it would soot up the inside of the tent , and i'd also be concerned with consuming all the oxygen in the tent and / or carbon monoxide .....

i'd look into some sort of wood stove , or other heat source with a actual chimney to vent the "fumes" .... this would get rid of the condensation and help keep things dry .


not trying to sell anything here , but i have in the past built a lot of wood stoves out of propane tanks , and more than a few have been used in ice fishing huts and wall tents ..... some of the testing i've done with a 12 x12 wall tent at - 20 , with the stove running at about 3/4's , a person could run around "nakid" and be perfectly comfortable

 

[MD]

i'm not sure candles will work ... and i'm thinking that if you did get enough candles to heat it , it would soot up the inside of the tent , and i'd also be concerned with consuming all the oxygen in the tent and / or carbon monoxide .....

i'd look into some sort of wood stove , or other heat source with a actual chimney to vent the "fumes" .... this would get rid of the condensation and help keep things dry .


not trying to sell anything here , but i have in the past built a lot of wood stoves out of propane tanks , and more than a few have been used in ice fishing huts and wall tents ..... some of the testing i've done with a 12 x12 wall tent at - 20 , with the stove running at about 3/4's , a person could run around "nakid" and be perfectly comfortable

Thanks but at my current age I will probably never use a wall tent more than a few more times in my life and I don't frankly want to piss around owning, storing, transporting and using a stove and chimney. The amount of times I hunt in cold weather (like never in November for example) I'm willing to tough it out with layers of wool long underwear. I've done it for the last 35 years in the back of my truck, what's a few more years?

 

[diemaco]

My buddy has a small diesel heater that he heats his tents with, pretty genius little rigs. We were working in March/April in the snow and he was tenting it, the other two of us were in a 5th wheel. He said it was so warm in his tent at night he was sleeping onto of his sleeping bag on his cot.

We have these in all of our work trucks, they pump out quite a bit of heat and are pretty compact. Ours are made by Espar or Webasto is another major brand. You can get Chinese knockoffs cheap.

 

[Longwalker]

I've used wall tents with wood heater, and also camped cold. The wood heater is really wonderful to take the chill off when getting dressed in the morning. Of when coming in sweaty from a hunt and needing to change clothes. Or to dry out your socks. But don't expect it to keep you warm all night, you'd get no sleep at all just keeping the darn thing fed. You can accomplish your short-term heating needs by using a portable propane heater. Buddy heater is one brand. Candles won't do enough. But a buddy heater can produce a lot of heat for a short time, which is what you will get the most benefit from with the least hassle.

 

[45ACPKING]

I would go with a mr. buddy heater
I have one and can't say enough good things about them.
There are tonnes of youtube videos on customizing them wth cooking grills, heat activated fans that move the heat around better.
Game changer in hunt camp and a god send in the ice fishing hut LOL

 

[MD]

I would go with a mr. buddy heater
I have one and can't say enough good things about them.
There are tonnes of youtube videos on customizing them wth cooking grills, heat activated fans that move the heat around better.
Game changer in hunt camp and a god send in the ice fishing hut LOL

Thank you for that.

I know for sure you've got the experience to know they work.

MD

 

[huntingfish]

I would go with a mr. buddy heater
I have one and can't say enough good things about them.
There are tonnes of youtube videos on customizing them wth cooking grills, heat activated fans that move the heat around better.
Game changer in hunt camp and a god send in the ice fishing hut LOL

Just don't get the butane version. OMG it's so useless. My FIL bought one..doesn't work below about 8C.

David

 

[savage 110L]

Propane lantern will help. I will loan you a woodstove and pipe too. I have four.

 

[pete dobinson]

MD, I've seen a youtube video on making a wood stove out of stove pipe, I found it interesting. If you have a stove jack in your tent a wood stove is your best source of heat, especially with the amount of fuel in the bush. I love wood heat when I'm hunting I wouldn't be without it. With a bit of searching you can find that video. jmo, cheers.

 

[Potashminer]

MD - I have not done as you propose - but some thoughts - out here in Manitoba, ice fishing quite popular - a neighbour has an insulated rotary molded hut, like mine, but he uses a Mr. Buddy propane unit to heat - has small hole through the wall with hose to a 20 pound tank outside - is warm in there - but is also a sauna - water dripping down walls, on windows, etc. - almost any hydrocarbon fuel is going to produce water vapour - wood stoves are nice because is a great draw to vent that moist air out through the chimney, but also must be able to pull dry cold air in - is as if the radiant heat from the stove offsets that. I built our house very air tight - but it does also have an air-to-air heat recovery unit to bring in fresh air - is the killer, I think - need to get rid of the moisture from you (your breath) and from your burning fuel - propane or candles or whatever. I did spend a couple mornings in a side-by-side cab with my brother - his small Mr. Buddy heater between us - yes was warm, but same deal - water and steam over the windows - had a squeegee thing I was using inside to be able to see out the window. I could not imagine a few days of that - I would think everything inside would be damp if not wet - but, as mentioned, I have not tried it, nor do I intend to.

If anything, I would suggest a propane lantern - the kind with the wick elements - works well for quick warm up - as I recall from the outhouse days - but I don't think that is a good hours long solution for heat in an enclosed space - sooner or later gotta get rid of the moisture ... For ice fishing, I did set up my hut to accept power from a 2000 watt generator that lived on back of my side-by-side - excellent dry heat - but f'n generator just too loud - even with 200 feet of #12 extension cord. Was handy to be able to plug in engine block heater, though ...

 

[Suther]

Has anyone tried rigging up an old RV Furnace in a tent? A friend whos hobby is tearing down junker trailers for parts suggested it to me... With one of those you can vent it outside to avoid the moisture issues associated with most propane heaters. I love me some wood heat, but the idea of not having to stoke the fire or dealing with starting the fire is intriguing...

 

[Norton]

If you have a 20LB propane tank kicking around get one of these from china tire for the size of your tent.
single or double. I'd get the double for your tent size, on sale right now at china tire for $105.
Remington 32,000 BTU Double Tank Top Propane Portable Heater, #076-2131-6
I have an older rectangle style one I've used many times in my smaller tents, have always used wood stoves in my wall tents,
but if I didn't want to bother with a wood stove in one of my wall tents I'd bring my propane heater without a second thought.
Auto shut off if a person accidently knocks them over.

 

[remington jim]

Thank you for that.

I know for sure you've got the experience to know they work.

MD

I too use a BIG BUDDY - 18000 btu heater and it works pretty good ! RJ

 

[45ACPKING]

Has anyone tried rigging up an old RV Furnace in a tent? A friend whos hobby is tearing down junker trailers for parts suggested it to me... With one of those you can vent it outside to avoid the moisture issues associated with most propane heaters. I love me some wood heat, but the idea of not having to stoke the fire or dealing with starting the fire is intriguing...

yes but one that had an electric fan so it required a power source. Tried with a unit that had no fan and the heat just doesn't radiate well without a fan.
My experiments were in a greenhouse but will be the same experience in a tent.

here is a Candelier that can boil water or cook in a metal cup or bowl on top but needs to be sitting very stable.
This unit claims to also throw a lot of heat but I don't have the box and detail sheet in front of me to say how many bTU's it throws. It uses 3 if the long burn emergency candles and in the tubes the candle go into , from the bottom, there are individual springs in each one that keep the candles at the top of the tubes.
Not very effective but they are a handy source of light with a side benefit of heating up a can of food or boiling water for a cup of coffee or tea.
It stays in my shtf emergency bin with 12 x6packs of candles

Then there is the Buddy heater. There are several types but in a tent or camper type area would highly recommend this one right here.
Runs on a 1lbs propane bottle or using an extension hose (they recommend their brand with a filter) and I have a 6ft.
Works well for having the tank outside and the heater in the tent.
MD.... this is the one you should get right here. Has an auto shut off valve if it senses to much bad fumes in the air.

and if you get craft with some sheet metal you can make a base that sits on top of the heater with one of these heat activated fans. Moves the heat around a 6x6 x6 ice hut in -20's no problem. I have a base here somewhere but not hand for pics.
but here is the fan and these are availlable in several styles on amazon

 

[MD]

yes but one that had an electric fan so it required a power source. Tried with a unit that had no fan and the heat just doesn't radiate well without a fan.
My experiments were in a greenhouse but will be the same experience in a tent.

here is a Candelier that can boil water or cook in a metal cup or bowl on top but needs to be sitting very stable.
This unit claims to also throw a lot of heat but I don't have the box and detail sheet in front of me to say how many bTU's it throws. It uses 3 if the long burn emergency candles and in the tubes the candle go into , from the bottom, there are individual springs in each one that keep the candles at the top of the tubes.
Not very effective but they are a handy source of light with a side benefit of heating up a can of food or boiling water for a cup of coffee or tea.
It stays in my shtf emergency bin with 12 x6packs of candles

Then there is the Buddy heater. There are several types but in a tent or camper type area would highly recommend this one right here.
Runs on a 1lbs propane bottle or using an extension hose (they recommend their brand with a filter) and I have a 6ft.
Works well for having the tank outside and the heater in the tent.
MD.... this is the one you should get right here. Has an auto shut off valve if it senses to much bad fumes in the air.

and if you get craft with some sheet metal you can make a base that sits on top of the heater with one of these heat activated fans. Moves the heat around a 6x6 x6 ice hut in -20's no problem. I have a base here somewhere but not hand for pics.
but here is the fan and these are availlable in several styles on amazon

Thank you for that!