Official Test Results: Five Ways to Heat a Tent

[mmp3823]

Hey guys,
This has been an interesting 18-page read-a-thon, plus countless detours to links (good and the dreaded "404-errors" too!) to learn a lot in a short period of time. I'm glad I found the OCD-Therapy group. I'm finally at home!
I guess my main question is this: are we totally against these??

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They seem very portable, and provided you bench test them (and possibly tinker with them before you really need them!), I think they are a very decent option. It's suspect to me they were not really proposed, so I'm wondering if I'm missing the obvious "Duh-moment"

Thoughts??

I met a guy at Expo East a few years ago that was running one of those diesle heaters (not sure what brand) in his homemade trailer. He said that it worked great to heat it up but he would run a CO2 detector. His had a separate diesel tank and so he had to get creative with the tank location so that he wasn't smelling diesel fumes all the time.

 

[john61ct]

IMO all these type units should be outside the living space. Why bring them inside?

 

[86scotty]

I met a guy at Expo East a few years ago that was running one of those diesel heaters (not sure what brand) in his homemade trailer. He said that it worked great to heat it up but he would run a CO2 detector. His had a separate diesel tank and so he had to get creative with the tank location so that he wasn't smelling diesel fumes all the time.

A majority of tractor trailers on the road these days have an Espar or similar diesel furnace. They are arguably the most 'tried and true' of any heat source for a small cabin. Basically none of them have a CO2 detector. I don't and I've been sleeping in mine for years. Is adding one a bad idea? Of course not, any safety measure is a good thing. I've been meaning to get one forever but just never have gotten around to it.

This is also the most efficient heating setup by a huge margin. It's not perfect though. They don't like high altitude and you do have to mount a diesel tank if adding to a petrol vehicle. I had a small fuel cell mounted in the back of a Transit van, inside. No diesel fumes ever unless you weren't careful filling the tank.

 

[JCS2179]

...so "worth" the $160-ish to TRY one of these Chinported units?? Its the usual 'buyer beware' thoughts. I saw a great YouTube video where the guy could not get to stay running for his life, then tried gas (instead of the diesel fuel) and it worked perfectly!

Even if you had to tinker with it or even replace a pump or display unit with something better quality, its several HUNDREDS less than the nearest well-known German or Japanese units

 

[sourdoughben]

My RV has a Espar diesel heater. I derated the burner with their kit(a lower flow pump) for above 3500 ft. elevations. It still is amazing how much heat for so little fuel.

 

[MattJ]

1) Absolutely LOVE this thread. Thanks to everyone who has contributed (and lurked) - we're all happy members of the Arctic OCD Club
2) I'm spending most of this winter in the tipi tent - am getting really skilled at converting wood into heat, boiling water and single-pot meals - next project is a hand-pressurized hot water shower system
3) At night I let the stove go dark, put on a fleece hood, crawl into the 0F-rated bag, and cinch it around my face to keep the breath vapor out of the bag - hopefully that keeps me on side with the purists here!

 

[JCS2179]

Well, to be very honest, we are NOT big fans of camping in the (actual) cold. IF its snow at altitude or we get caught on a pass or whatever, then it is what it is, but we try to plan NOT to get nailed with big snow or low low temps. That being said, mid-May and late-September/October trips quickly turn cold after the sun disappears. So this is the basic fabric of my search. We JUST got our 1st RTT. We were using a pretty nice Ozark tent that was big enough to move around, easy to set up, and of course, difficult to heat up. We used a Mr. Buddy which worked great. Very little condensation cuz' of the overall size of the tent, but went through bottles quick.
So now the search is on for a PARKING DIESEL HEATER, which is the reason why I posted before about them. Great thread. I don't think we want to go German or Japanese, purely based on cost of course. I'm thinking of a (decent?) fully self-enclosed Chinese model, if that is even possible, and I'm more than willing to replace SOME critical parts with the original German/Japanese parts (namely the exhaust and the fuel pump?) while setting it up at the bench. I might end up at $300-$400 all-in. Who knows....but I think we've settled on this particular way of heating the RTT up, if needed.
The CO2 comments above are right on. Never hurts to have it, and it costs only a few bucks.
Anyway, I'll take any leads or recommendations you guys have tried or know of when it comes to these units. Certainly "$160" on Amazon or Chibay feels suspect LOL
Thoughts??