Monday, December 12, 2016

Tent Heater, Propane

For your BOV, [Bug Out Van] you may want a little heat once in a while to keep from becoming ill or simply miserable from cold temperatures, especially if you went to the desert where it can get below 20f degrees at night. In that case to have a small propane heater to take the chill out of the air would be welcome. Yes, they can burn 1lb of propane over 5-6 hours of running, but it would be worth it once in a while.


A Mr. Heater F215100 MH4B Little Buddy 3800-BTU heater may be just what you’re looking for.

Link to Purchase:

Cost: $60.00
Manufacturer Spec’s:
Indoor-safe portable propane heater for rooms up to 95 square feet.
Continuous odor-free heat for up to 5-1/2 hours.
45-degree heating angle.
Simple on/off buttons.
Uses 1-pound disposable propane cylinder.
Low-oxygen sensor and accidental tip-over switch with auto shut-off for safety.
THE USE OF UN-AUTHORIZED ACCESSORIES/ATTACHMENTS WITH THIS HEATER ARE EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED, MAY CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY, AND WILL VOID THE WARRANTY.

Ventilation:
Manufacturers instructions about how much ventilation is needed when operating this heater in a closed space such as my van:
“This heater requires a vent area of 4 square inches (example 2‰ x 2‰ opening) minimum for adequate ventilation during operation. Do not use other fuel burning appliances inside”.
In other words, if I open only my drivers window ¼ inch that is more than enough ventilation to be safe. HOWEVER, I DO USE A ‘CO’ DETECTOR IN THE VAN. I’M NOT TOTALLY STUPID and believe everything I read!

How Much Heat Do You Need Calculator:

You can calculate the amount of BTUs required by using the following method: Measure the space’s dimension to determine cubic feet. (Length x Width x Height = Cubic Feet). Subtract the outside temperature from the desired inside temperature to determine the temperature increase. If you have measured temperature in Fahrenheit, calculate the required BTUs with this formula: (Cubic Feet x Temperature Increase x .133 = Required BTUs) If you have measured temperature in Celsius, calculate the required BTUs with this formula: (Cubic Feet x Temperature Increase x .2394 = Required BTUs).


5 comments:

  1. Mike Coleman discontinued all its catalytic heater that I know of. I have a little Buddy it works ok but like the amazon reviews say it is hard to start the pilot and you have to hold it a while. I got the little buddy as a season clearance for 30$ If you haven't got it yet I would get the Mr heater for 80$ it has high and low setting. My sister in-law used one in her pop up last fall and it worked well.

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  2. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mr.-Heater-Portable-Buddy-Indoor-Safe-Propane-Heater-2-Settings-MH9BX/14710768?action=product_interest&action_type=title&item_id=14710768&placement_id=irs-106-t1&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id&category=&client_guid=d4a71770-d448-41c4-b666-b94c577f8aed&customer_id_enc&config_id=106&parent_item_id=20450314&parent_anchor_item_id=20450314&guid=f894356b-0c2b-48a7-bdff-878e5dba2351&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n

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  3. Mike,

    Maybe something to pickup for fishing? We fish in the cold and huddle close.

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  4. I do like the compactness of the Little Buddy. This is for use inside my van and every inch of storage space is needed. We'll see, probably the next time I'm at the outdoor store I'll just pick one up.

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