Mr heater buddy heaters in tents overnight

[TwinStick]

Was your friend using the Mr Heater Buddy?

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Nope. Something that is supposed to be even more reliable, a 3 year old furnace in their house.

I mentioned it because carbon monoxide is carbon monoxide. Buddy Heaters also produce carbon monoxide. Tents and campers & truck caps are a LOT less square feet, so bad things can happen a lot faster. We have a brand new big buddy heater. Used it once, in a tent and it made us sick even before we went to sleep.

A super quiet generator at idle 50' from your sleeping area is about 10,000x less likely to cause a carbon monoxide issue than a propane heater in the sleeping area. Safety, pure and simple, is why I shared that.

To each their own. If it works for you, go for it. Which is why I also said YMMV.

 

[PlacidWaters]

A group of us almost died in a single walled tent in Algonquin park in 1977 simply because the tent was airtight. No heater involved. Sadly, a couple of years later, a couple of young lads died under exactly the same circumstances--rainwater slicking the vents tight against the tent. So don't assume just because you are not using a heater, that you will be just fine in a tightly enclosed space.

I googled "carbon monoxide in tent" to find out if CO is a danger in a small closed tent without a stove. All the articles I found involved stoves and heaters. Do you have source with more information about this? Sounds important.

 

[billiebob]

yep....

 

[billiebob]

Well as you say, it's simple- they aren't designed to kill. Man has heated inside his living space for thousands of years, you just have to provide enough ventilation for fresh air and venting of exhaust. Do people die from failure to do so? Sure, some by accident, i.e. snow blocked vent, others by stupidity, i.e. lack of ventilation, but neither is the device's fault- not that it's ever stopped unscrupulous lawyers (is that redundant?) from suing so that companies like Coleman quit producing their excellent little Coleman fuel and propane heaters.

I agree completely but today we think air tight building envelopes are good efficient design. And no modern tent is designed to exchange air.

The TeePee was.


So was the Igloo.


But nothing sold at Cabelos or REI or MEC is designed to vent gases from a fire...


On the thing, if you want to believe it the internet will show you how to do it.... I could not believe this nugget...
Sorry but EVERY aboriginal Igloo has a vent hole in the roof..

 

[john61ct]

No heater that does not vent to the outside

should be used without vents explicitly opened to exchange fresh air

nor without CO alarms, frequently replaced

 

[NatersXJ6]

I agree completely but today we think air tight building envelopes are good efficient design. And no modern tent is designed to exchange air.

The TeePee was.
View attachment 704103

So was the Igloo.
View attachment 704104

But nothing sold at Cabelos or REI or MEC is designed to vent gases from a fire...


On the thing, if you want to believe it the internet will show you how to do it.... I could not believe this nugget...
Sorry but EVERY aboriginal Igloo has a vent hole in the roof..
View attachment 704105

? This is great! Brings back the memories. As a kid I had the bright idea to use one of those Boy Scout cardboard/paraffin tuna can candles they used to teach you to make inside my snow cave. There is a certain art to matching the size of your fire to the size of your cave, and a certain irony to being trapped and potentially burned INSIDE a snow pile by your own fire! Good times!

Im pretty sure the vent holes in igloos and snow caves are also needed because your body heat ices and seals the interior walls to the point where you could suffocate without them, fire or no fire.

 

[PlacidWaters]

I realize that this is an old thread and just about everything has been said about the topic. I just want to add this. The OP didn't mention the temperature but he posted in October, which is not winter in the continental U.S. A simple nalgene bottle filled with hot water and the right sleeping bag will do avoid needing a heater in the temperatures that most people camp at.

I did this experiment once to test sleeping bags. I put a 35F bag inside a 20F bag, both down. The temperature was 5F and I slept out on the porch on a cot, no tent, regular pajamas, and put a nalgene bottle inside my sleeping bag. Within about 15 minutes I had to remove the nalgene bottle, it was so hot. The I had to unzip the outer sleeping bag because it was still too hot. The problem that finally drove me back in the house after a few hours was my nose was cold. The rest of me was warm.

Most people don't camp outside at 5 degrees (some do). If the temperature is above 20 degrees, I don't think a heater is necessary, especially given the risk. Certainly at 30 degrees and above it's really not that difficult to stay comfortable with the right sleeping bag, mattress, and clothing.

 

[sonarman]

Sounds like we should be worried about wearing masks all the time!

 

[TwinStick]

That picture of the person with a mask on with their head inside the bag is friggin priceless !!! Only thing I have seen at that level is : a video of a person swimming in a chlorinated public pool and also wearing a mask, both above and below the water line .

People are awesome !!!

It will only be for 2 weeks, they said. It will go back to normal after people invent a vak see n, they said.

How long ago was that now ? I forgot. Lol

Every outdoors person has different life experiences. I think it is great that we can discuss our experiences and share them with others, to help them avoid little mistakes and big mistakes. That's what makes the internet and this forum so educational and awesome.

Everyone has their "line in the sand" that they just won't cross when camping. Some people like me have more than others.

I will not heat a small area with anything other than electric. I will not cook inside or right next to my sleeping area in bear or mountain lion country. I will never, not ever go camping without some way to defend ourselves. But that's just me.

 

[Grassland]

Nope. Something that is supposed to be even more reliable, a 3 year old furnace in their house.

I mentioned it because carbon monoxide is carbon monoxide. Buddy Heaters also produce carbon monoxide. Tents and campers & truck caps are a LOT less square feet, so bad things can happen a lot faster. We have a brand new big buddy heater. Used it once, in a tent and it made us sick even before we went to sleep.

A super quiet generator at idle 50' from your sleeping area is about 10,000x less likely to cause a carbon monoxide issue than a propane heater in the sleeping area. Safety, pure and simple, is why I shared that.

To each their own. If it works for you, go for it. Which is why I also said YMMV.

I'm curious to furnace model and general design on this one.
As an HVAC Mechanic I see lots of improperly installed and poorly maintained equipment, which are the main risks.
There aren't too many particularly unsafe designs out there now.