Candle-heater to heat wall tent?

[MD]

A buddy gave me this thing last year but I have not had occasion to use it yet. In fact I've never even tried it out. It screws directly into a 20-lb. tank.

I've got the grill set up in the back yard right now. Before putting it and the tank away for the season I should try hooking this up to see how it works. I think I may need a BBQ starter to fire it up.

 

[Potashminer]

Your "sunflower" heater may serve your needs - but it will be burning propane and oxygen - so there will be exhaust fumes and moisture released, and depleted oxygen, where it is used. It should glow bright red when running properly - is not usually a visible flame. Typically used where drafts dissipate the gases and moisture and replenish the oxygen. Not a good plan to use in an air-tight enclosure, without provision for exhaust and inlet.

Your initial post expressed a concern about condensation - so that is from warm moist air inside hitting the freezing cold fabric - water vapour condenses as the air cools - so quite breathing, and do not burn hydrocarbons, like propane, and there won't be moisture in the air. And, keep it about same temp inside as outside - won't be any condensation. Since you ARE likely to breathe, and will burn some sort of fuel to warm the place - need to rely on a ventilation to get rid of the moist air and bring in dry air. You will also be venting "warm" air and bringing in "cold" air - so need something that has a radiant heat capacity, I think - why wood stoves work so well - is a substantial draw up the chimney that is exhausting inside warm and moist air, and the stove radiantly heats up the cold air that came in to replace the exhaust.

As previously mentioned, for a "quick" warm up, I am a big fan of the two mantle type propane lanterns - easy to light, put out pretty decent light and heat - about ideal for those night trips to outhouse. But I do not think is something that you would leave running all night in a tent??

 

[MD]

Your "sunflower" heater may serve your needs - but it will be burning propane and oxygen - so there will be exhaust fumes and moisture released, and depleted oxygen, where it is used. It should glow bright red when running properly - is not usually a visible flame. Typically used where drafts dissipate the gases and moisture and replenish the oxygen. Not a good plan to use in an air-tight enclosure, without provision for exhaust and inlet.

Thank you.

If I was to use it, it would be in the wall tent before heading to bed just to take the edge off the cold if it was going to be really cold and I sure wouldn't hang around in the tent or go to sleep with it on.

 

[Potashminer]

Is hard for me to visualize your intended use. My Dad and I spent more than one hunt in September in North East Sask - so many degrees past freezing at night - usually got warm enough to melt water during the day. Canvas wall tent seem to "breathe" a bit - but then throw a plastic tarp over top as a "fly" and kind of loose some of that. Our experience was a slowly loosing battle against moisture - clothes do not dry out over night, bedding gets damp - after two or three days gets pretty miserable - so we were not doing it "right" - I read of people that spend whole winters in canvas tents and somehow stay dry and warm - but I suspect is all about wood burning - cords of it. The closest that we got to that here in Manitoba was ice fishing with a generator - the electric space heater with the blower did not introduce moisture - I thought it kept the place warm and dry - even at minus 30 C outside - just the damn noise of the generator was annoying as hell - for hundreds of yards ... My current ice fishing hut is a roto-molded mostly plastic thing - so pretty draft free - and we went back to a small wood stove with a 3" chimney - but we are awake - more or less - all day - to replenish that wood stove, and have to haul fresh wood out there each time that we go. I do know that the wood that I cut for the bonfire pit is 16" - needs to be 12" for that ice fishing stove.

 

[MD]

Is hard for me to visualize your intended use. My Dad and I spent more than one hunt in September in North East Sask - so many degrees past freezing at night - usually got warm enough to melt water during the day. Canvas wall tent seem to "breathe" a bit - but then throw a plastic tarp over top as a "fly" and kind of loose some of that. Our experience was a slowly loosing battle against moisture - clothes do not dry out over night, bedding gets damp - after two or three days gets pretty miserable - so we were not doing it "right" - I read of people that spend whole winters in canvas tents and somehow stay dry and warm - but I suspect is all about wood burning - cords of it. The closest that we got to that here in Manitoba was ice fishing with a generator - the electric space heater with the blower did not introduce moisture - I thought it kept the place warm and dry - even at minus 30 C outside - just the damn noise of the generator was annoying as hell - for hundreds of yards ... My current ice fishing hut is a roto-molded mostly plastic thing - so pretty draft free - and we went back to a small wood stove with a 3" chimney - but we are awake - more or less - all day - to replenish that wood stove, and have to haul fresh wood out there each time that we go. I do know that the wood that I cut for the bonfire pit is 16" - needs to be 12" for that ice fishing stove.

I'm in BC and rarely hunting in November so I'm still not even certain I need a heater. That said, I've been in some pretty darn cold weather in the interior of BC at the end of October!

 

[53moose320Elk]

If you want to stay warm and dry out your clothes , you need a wood heater, it does not create moisture,
I use the little propane bottle in the one pick to start the fire works great, then remove it after its going good
It will dry out your tent if it happens to get wet during a rain when your not there, if you do not have a tarp over top of your tent.
Sorry for side ways picks

 

[45ACPKING]

I'm in BC and rarely hunting in November so I'm still not even certain I need a heater. That said, I've been in some pretty darn cold weather in the interior of BC at the end of October!

last year in our deer spot it rained so hard I was soaked to the bone after a long sit in the stand. I made a clothes line with some cording from the cherokee door out to a tree and hung my wet clothes on the portion of the line under the tarp and set the buddy heater below . The tarp trapped the heat well and dried out the essentials just fine.
Also kind of replaces a camp fire if you are by yourself under a tarp in the pouring rain and a fire isn't an option. With these propane heaters they radiate some heat but most of it is going straight up. On you tube there are many examples of how people have made simple custom add ons to turn the buddy heater like the one in my picture, into a cooking stove and the fan customizations are a really good upgrade.
anyhow..... still sticking to my plans for heading to camp on the 25th but I am watching the weather forcast and if it's too hot I might wait a week...... I'll message you

 

[savage 110L]

Go to princess auto and buy a cheap one. Why suffer?

 

[huntingfish]

It's the radiant heat that cannot be beat with a wood burning stove.

 

[MD]

last year in our deer spot it rained so hard I was soaked to the bone after a long sit in the stand. I made a clothes line with some cording from the cherokee door out to a tree and hung my wet clothes on the portion of the line under the tarp and set the buddy heater below . The tarp trapped the heat well and dried out the essentials just fine.
Also kind of replaces a camp fire if you are by yourself under a tarp in the pouring rain and a fire isn't an option. With these propane heaters they radiate some heat but most of it is going straight up. On you tube there are many examples of how people have made simple custom add ons to turn the buddy heater like the one in my picture, into a cooking stove and the fan customizations are a really good upgrade.
anyhow..... still sticking to my plans for heading to camp on the 25th but I am watching the weather forcast and if it's too hot I might wait a week...... I'll message you

Good point. I'm only using the tent if I end up going to Region 3 or 8 later in the season. I'm usually just truck-camping as you know.

 

[Norton]

If a person is going to be in a tent for a few days in cold or wet weather, you're going to want heat of some sort.
The goal is to have fun and try to be comfortable, not be on a quest for survival.
It's a wonderful thing after slogging around in the bush all day to come back to the wall tent, fire up the airtight & be sitting on your cot
10 minutes later wearing a T-shirt, spiked coffee in hand

edited to add: even better if the terrain allows, is to roll up at the bush site with a truck & box camper, throw a lawn chair out the camper door
and say "camped". 1000 times less hassle. I wish I owned one.