Official Test Results: Five Ways to Heat a Tent

[Freebird]

What I like a lot about the Wiggy's “ground pad” is it sleeps toasty warm without using any battery power.
We very recently used our 2 zipped together (GPs) under the sheet and on top of a tall queen sized air mattress which was sitting on a unheated floor with the temps below zeroF outside, and the room's floor had that cold air circulating under it.
I was IMPRESSED....

 

[cactusjk]

Much too complicated!

Honestly, the best TD heating method I've seen is this one.

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=62327&start=15

The short version is using a water heater ( either built in, or instant type) with a thermostat and a very quiet pump and a pc Case fan and a heat exchanger to warm up the interior. The install is easiest with a built in water heater, but its been done with a camp chef triton style using an external resevoir.
The electric mattress warmers are also very popular for pre-heating the bedding.
Tom

 

[MANUCHAO]

Doesn't work in the winter time. Each time the heater cycles it blows cold air into the tent before and after burning propane.

I run my propex with the return hose and still get the cold air into the tent before and after combustion......

I bought a 10 foot section of 60 mm hose and some vent fittings that I intend to permanently mount through the cloth part of my RTT. I'll post some pics when done. Let's hope it works. Once I work that out, I'll move on to insulating the return and supply somehow.

Love to see what you come up with for vent fitting through tent fabric...

 

[MattJ]

While I continue to wait for my Propex tubing parts . . . I realized I forgot to mention another do-it-yourself (or go-find-the-parts-yourself) part of the Propex kit:

The thermostat control is shipped with no back on it, since it is made to be mounted to the interior wall of a vehicle. The raw electronics and wires are exposed and subject to risk of damage. So I had to purchase some plastic, cut it to fit and fabricate an assembly with two long screws, washers and insert nuts. I'm actually pretty proud of how it worked out. No sharp edges, and it almost looks OEM. I guess I could paint the screws and insert nuts black, but I figure it looks good enough as is.

 

[jacobconroy]

While I continue to wait for my Propex tubing parts . . . I realized I forgot to mention another do-it-yourself (or go-find-the-parts-yourself) part of the Propex kit:

The thermostat control is shipped with no back on it, since it is made to be mounted to the interior wall of a vehicle. The raw electronics and wires are exposed and subject to risk of damage. So I had to purchase some plastic, cut it to fit and fabricate an assembly with two long screws, washers and insert nuts. I'm actually pretty proud of how it worked out. No sharp edges, and it almost looks OEM. I guess I could paint the screws and insert nuts black, but I figure it looks good enough as is.

I did the same thing...almost exactly. LOL. I managed to house the white six-pin connector inside the box though. Wasn't easy.

I'll grab a pic the next time I have the thermostat out.

 

[MattJ]

Here's a picture of my first failed attempt to make an insulated hose. I used 2.5" vacuum tubing as the external layer and 2" wood stove tubing as the interior layer. As you can see, after a few feet it became impossible to twist the interior layer any further into the hose . . . and it tore apart when I tried to get it back out. I didn't notice until later that I had rubbed two layers of skin off of my fingertips in the process. It took two weeks for the blisters to heal - basically like a bad burn. So I ended up camping that week with a stack of bandaids in my pocket. No fun! Hoping to post some successful tubing construction photos next week. Fingers crossed.

PS - It turned out that the 2" wood stove tubing was great for making a high-heat resistant exhaust tube. I can confirm that the exhaust port gets EXTREMELY hot, so anything other than flexi-metal tubing will melt. You can see in the second photo that I routed the exhaust up over the roof of my Jeep and out over the hood. Next time I think I will route the exhaust tube down to the ground. There was some condensation that collected in the bend, and it had filled with a few ounces of water by morning.

 

[jacobconroy]

I run my propex with the return hose and still get the cold air into the tent before and after combustion......


Love to see what you come up with for vent fitting through tent fabric...

Is your 60 mm return tube insulated? When you say it's still cold...I hope you mean that it's warmer than not having a return line at all.

 

[jacobconroy]

Here's a picture of my first failed attempt to make an insulated hose. I used 2.5" vacuum tubing as the external layer and 2" wood stove tubing as the interior layer. As you can see, after a few feet it became impossible to twist the interior layer any further into the hose . . . and it tore apart when I tried to get it back out. I didn't notice until later that I had rubbed two layers of skin off of my fingertips in the process. It took two weeks for the blisters to heal - basically like a bad burn. So I ended up camping that week with a stack of bandaids in my pocket. No fun! Hoping to post some successful tubing construction photos next week. Fingers crossed.

PS - It turned out that the 2" wood stove tubing was great for making a high-heat resistant exhaust tube. I can confirm that the exhaust port gets EXTREMELY hot, so anything other than flexi-metal tubing will melt. You can see in the second photo that I routed the exhaust up over the roof of my Jeep and out over the hood. Next time I think I will route the exhaust tube down to the ground. There was some condensation that collected in the bend, and it had filled with a few ounces of water by morning.

MattJ...what is the left-hand line coming out of your Propex box for? Are you directing the combustion exhaust somewhere?

 

[MANUCHAO]

Is your 60 mm return tube insulated?

Not insulated.... (see pic)
I dont think it was as cold as the temps outside of the tent, but def... cold enough to notice it....
My issue is not it being cold/cool or what have yah...but it gets too hot in my lil RTT.... I learned to have it at its lowest setting and regulate the heat by keeping one or two side doors open....Also, the good things is that I only have to use it when the lil kid comes along.... Im all for a good sleeping bag, as this is what I used to do on my climbing days......

MattJ I dont think you need to route the exhaust at all....I had frozen water at the top of the cargo box right below the exhaust... As long as the exhaust is pointed away from the tent/vehicle you ought to be alright from CO poisoning.......

 

[jacobconroy]

MattJ I dont think you need to route the exhaust at all....I had frozen water at the top of the cargo box right below the exhaust... As long as the exhaust is pointed away from the tent/vehicle you ought to be alright from CO poisoning.......[/QUOTE

I would agree with this. I put my Propex on top of my Teraflex rack (which is really close to the tent). I monitor the inside of the tent with a quality CO2 detector. It has never detected any iota of CO2 while running the Propex. I trust it.

 

[MattJ]

Yes - the exhaust tube on the left of my unit probably isn't necessary. But I added it for three reasons: 1) I had the extra metal stove tubing from my failed attempts to make an insulated intake/output hose, 2) it was my first time using the Propex system and I had it set up directly under a tarp, so I wasn't sure how much exhaust would pool into a cloud there, and 3) I had my two kids sleeping in the tent with me, so I figured the extra measure of insurance was worth the additional piece of mind.

Without question, the secret to making the Propex system work is to 1) have it very close to the tent, and 2) use well-insulated hoses for both intake and output. I look back at some of my original photos where I had the warm air traveling 15 feet through a hose from the Propex unit to my tent and it is almost silly! All I was doing was heating up the ambient air outside my tent as the heat radiated away from the hose.

 

[jacobconroy]

Not silly at all MattJ. I went through the same tests when I started with the Propex. I think that the most important part about Propex is....they just work. Connecting 12 volts + propane + supply tube = get warm!

The rest is just minutia. The most fun I've ever had in "Overlanding" is playing with my toys and working out the details. You've got a nice setup in/on that Jeep sir.

 

[MattJ]

The most fun I've ever had in "Overlanding" is playing with my toys and working out the details. You've got a nice setup in/on that Jeep sir.

And you sir have a great rig (and license plate)!

A few people at work looked at me like I was crazy when I told them I was heading into the woods in the middle of winter just to "test some gear". Then I watch my kids play with LEGOs for hours at a time, and it all starts to make sense . . .

 

[MANUCHAO]

If are still looking to insulate the duct, a quick ebay search gave me this... and this...
I also think that's something a local to yah AC/Heating outfit might have .....

 

[MattJ]

If are still looking to insulate the duct, a quick ebay search gave me this... and this...
I also think that's something a local to yah AC/Heating outfit might have .....

Thanks - I actually posted a page or two back on the Unico products. A friend mentioned those to me after my initial failures. I have two concerns: 1) I think the Unico products are fragile and would get ripped and damaged after repeated use (packing, unpacking, set up and take down, weather, etc). They are made for internal use as a single-installation product. 2) My Propex kit has a 3-inch opening near the 60mm vent for intake/output. So a 4" insulated tube with an inside diameter of 2.5" would have to be stripped down at the end in order to fit through that 3" opening.

But thank you for the suggestion!

My current (and hopefully final) plan is to build the hose from the EXACT same products that are used in the UK to make the smaller 5-foot segment that gets shipped with the kit. It's only two pieces, but I made some mistakes in trying to find and order the correct products. With NO HELP from the company that sold me the kit (trust me, I asked). Anyway, I hope I can successfully insert the one tube inside the other. I am hoping to make one 10ft long hose for my air return, supplementing the 5ft output hose I already have. I may have to cut the inside tube into two 5ft sections and insert it from opposite ends. Hopefully that works!