Wall tent condensation with propane heater?

[Gumbo]

I am borrowing my father-in-law's wall tent for an eastern Montana safari this fall with a couple buddies. Problem is it doesn't have a hole for a stove and he won't let me get one installed. I am aware that propane will cause some condensation because water and carbon dioxide are created in its combustion. If I go with a Mr. Buddy heater how much can I expect if I run it on low all night? What about on high? FYI I don't plan on running it much unless it gets really cold, probably just before bed and again in the morning.

Thanks!

 

[dog812]

A wall tent with no stove Jack??
I have used buddy heaters in small tents, small trailers, back of trucks...the condensation isn't that bad....just don't touch the walls.

 

[ianpadron]

Make sure you vent that tent or you and your buddies won't wake up in the morning.

Propane heaters in enclosed spaces are no bueno, Carbon Monoxide is odorless.

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[Bubblehide]

Make sure you vent that tent or you and your buddies won't wake up in the morning.

Propane heaters in enclosed spaces are no bueno, Carbon Monoxide is odorless.

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The type of heater he is referring to is designed for indoor use.

I have never used a propane heater in a tent. However, canvas breaths pretty well, so condensation is seldom an issue. I would imagine that on low, you would burn about 1 pound over night. So if you use the portable small bottles, you would go through one in a night, if you left in on low. If you have the larger Mr. Buddy, it will likely burn through more due to producing more BTUs. I doubt you'll have any issues.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I'd buy, rent or borrow another tent. Your friend's a fool for not letting you install a jack for him. Maybe he's a tool. I dunno...they are hard to tell apart.

 

[Bronc]

I run propane heat in mine all the time without any condensation. When it's real cold out, it runs 24 hrs without any problem. I do use a CO2 detector so I can sleep without worry of carbon monoxide.

 

[Savage99]

I run propane heat in mine all the time without any condensation. When it's real cold out, it runs 24 hrs without any problem. I do use a CO2 detector so I can sleep without worry of carbon monoxide.

Do you have one for both CO2 and CO? I'm preparing to camp in the back of my topper covered bed this fall, and coming from a warmer climate, I'm considering a heat source.


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[Schism]

I used a propane heater once when borrowing a tent from a friend. The heater was only used to take the edge off first thing in the morning but the condensation was significant. The experience was enough that I bought my own wall tent with a wood stove.

 

[muddydogs]

The type of heater he is referring to is designed for indoor use.

I have never used a propane heater in a tent. However, canvas breaths pretty well, so condensation is seldom an issue. I would imagine that on low, you would burn about 1 pound over night. So if you use the portable small bottles, you would go through one in a night, if you left in on low. If you have the larger Mr. Buddy, it will likely burn through more due to producing more BTUs. I doubt you'll have any issues.

The heater might be designed for indoor use but theirs always a chance that the sensor will fail. More then one person has went to bed with a propane heater on and not woken up in the morning. I run the Big Buddy heater in my Kodiak Canvas tent but only when I am awake, I take the chill off before bed and warm the tent in the morning before getting out of the bag. I figure its better safe then dead.

 

[tlowell02]

I run the big buddy propane heater in my wall tent with no condensation issues. While it may not be as "romantic" as a wood burning stove and the smell of a wood fire, it is far easier and means I spend more time hunting and sleeping better instead of collecting firewood and stoking the fire all night. I always keep a carbon monoxide detector in my gear bin just for added piece of mind.

 

[fishslap]

I run the big buddy heater all night in a 10x12 Davis tent with no problems. I
maintain good ventilation and run the fan on the heater. I've never had condensation issues. Make sure you follow the instructions to only set them at the specified heat settings (not in the middle) and you shouldn't have any CO worries. They're designed for indoor use as others have mentioned. Wood stoves are more dangerous IMO since I had the spark arrestor soot up once while I was sleeping. Everyone has their opinions though...

 

[elkduds]

I bought my 10x12 wall tent w the idea of installing a stove jack, even bought a wood stove. In a pinch I used a tank top propane heater. It worked so well I did not install the stove jack, loved the propane heat. Never had any condensation in Colorado, but I never ran heater all night. Now my tent is for sale in RS classifieds. Downsides of wood stoves are wood, stoking @ night, cinders burning fly or tent, spark arrestor clogging, tent/clothes/people smelling like wood smoke. I'm glad I decided to Keep It Simple, Sonny.

 

[Dromsky]

Total threadjack but will I have problems with a Mr Buddy heater functioning at 10000' elevation? Higher?

 

[fishslap]

I run mine at 9500 ish with no issues. I've run my little buddy at 10k ice fishing with no problems.

 

[Bronc]

Sorry, I always get CO2 and CO mixed up. I just use the common type carbon monoxide detector that you can buy at Walmart or Home Depot.

 

[Wyoming Shooter]

I have used a Big Buddy in a 10 X 10 Cabelas XWT without condensation problems. I do not run the heater while sleeping. The heater runs fine at 7500 feet. Best, ELN.

 

[5MilesBack]

The only time I run my tank top heater is first thing in the morning. I never run it all night, that's what my sleeping bag is for.

 

[muddydogs]

Total threadjack but will I have problems with a Mr Buddy heater functioning at 10000' elevation? Higher?

Myself and a buddy have had problems running our Buddy heaters at elevation off a 5 gallon propane tank, what we found that solved the problem was running a green bottle on one side of the Big Buddy and the bulk tank hose off the other side. Doesn't matter if the green bottle is full or empty either way to took care of the issue. Without the green bottle the heater was hard to light and the flame would go out, kind of weird but it works.

 

[UtahJimmy]

I've used the Mr heater tank top (single) on a 5 gallon tank the last two years in Montana in my 10×14 without any issues. Turns the tent into a drying room in about 10 mins. Great to take the chill off in the evening and mornings too

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[Michiganhunter]

We had an old army tent a gp medium 16'x32'. Our one friend (yeah we all have that guy in our group) is always cold no matter what so he brings his super big propane heater with a 100# cylinder because we will be in the tent a week in northern Michigan in mid November. The first time he turns it on( after we all told him not to) it literally starts raining in the tent. He thought it was actually raining out and right away starts complaining about the weather. We had to open the doors to show him it was his heater because he didn't believe us