All ready for this years January bow hunt except a tent heater. They have some at Northern Tool on sale and of course e-bay. I want one with an oxygen depletion sensor. I bought a Eureka Timberline Outfitter 4 tent so output around 10,000BTU's should be ok, shoudln't it. Is there a big difference between the radiant heat and blue flame? Would like to keep this under $100. Is it better to sleep up off the floor on a cot even w/ a sensor? All suggestions are appreciated!

 

I have a $40 radiant mini-heater and it gets really hot. It's a single heater that sits on a 16.4 ounce propane bottle. http://www.paulinproducts.com/...rs/outdoor_heaters.htm No sensor on it. I used it in the back of my truck too and melted my dome light and sleeping bag. It works better in the tent where the roof is twice as high. Once I get the chill out of the air I turn it down and it lasts one night. I would sleep in a cot of folding bed just because it's going to be a lot warmer. Heat rises and a foot or so makes a difference.

 

I was checking those out too. Just didn't like the bottle in the tent. I went ahead and got this one. <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&it em=300263636172
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I perfer being safe with propane, especially when sleeping. I was surprised to hear the death toll from Ike that came from people using heaters incorrectly. It was more than the storm itself.

 

I know guys who use the Mr. Heater Buddy series of heater and they like them. One fellow I know has a really elaborate deer blind that overlooks a large field and he heats it with their Big Buddy model. You can sit around in a tshirt even during the late doe season. He keeps it like 80 degrees in there.

I think all of the new ones have a Carbon Monoxide and Oxygen shut off on them.

 

Just my opinion...I've had 2 buddy heaters and one big buddy in the last 4 years, Both are garbage IMHO. The O2 sensor will shut the things off nonstop. My big buddy will go good for 10 minutes then shut off, once restarted it will last for 5 minutes, that's it. The regular buddy is a little better, but not much. They are just finicky. If you want to MAKE SURE you have heat, go a different route. The buddy heaters had me pulling my hair out for to long.

Last fall I purchased the Mr.Heater(heater/cooker)...FINALLY smartened up!! Used it all deer season and ice fishing season...NEVER went out once, kicks out more heat and is dual purpose with the cooker. The cooker gets used often with a little pan/cover, I don't bring along the coleman stove anymore, no need.

Just keep the screen open and door unzipped a few inches. Good rule of thumb...keep as much fresh air coming in as you do burner space and you won't have any issues. I keep a lighter handy and light it several times a evening, never once has it not lit...so there's plenty of O2. I just spent 6 nights in a tent while bow hunting with my heater/cooker, kept me toasty warm and I'm still breathing. Like mentioned, I just kept the door zipper unzipped from the bottom for 8-10" and I also kept a window open about the same. ALWAYS give yourself some fresh air, do that and you will have no issues. Just be smart about it. The reason we hear about all the people dying with heaters...they don't give the heater plenty of fresh air to burn.

For any of the heaters I use a 20lb or 10lb tank with the filter and the hose. Can keep the tank outside that way. I also use some tinfoil underneath the heater to reflect the heat up and away from the floor as the bottom gets warm.

Good luck on the bow hunt!!

 

I was basing a lot of my decision from what I read on Cabelas. There's a good 250 reviews on the single and double propane bottle heaters. My rough estimate of the big buddy reviews was 8% dissatisfied, 1 or 2 stars. Another 7% 3 star. And the rest 4 and 5 star. Almost 85% 4 or 5 star. Got to start somewhere. I thought this might be a relatively inexpensive solution til I find a better one. Thanks for the tips. I will be testing this unit in my 8x12 wooden insulated shed. It's more of a dog house now for my 3 pups. But it has no windows. These units seem to inhale propane too so I'll be getting the fitting to refill the 1lb bottles from a 20lb tank. I can't wait!!! This will be my first hunt from a long absence. And I won't go back to hunting the road with the friends. Can't find many ppls that want to invest/prepare for this. Gonna go it alone for a while see how I do. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I've read the reviews at cabelas...that's where I bought mine. They can be decieving. I think most of those reviews the guys get home, open a shiny box, fire it up and leave a review. They all worked good for me for the first few weeks, thought they were the cats azz. Until I realized they were so finicky. I think if a guy uses them for the shed, gargage, and around the house they woud be fine. But for the outdoors where they get some real use...they just aren't tough. Although they call it the "tough buddy".

As far as the refill fitting goes, don't waste your money!! I have one if you want it? The bottles only get about half-3/4 full and half of those will leak till empty. But being honest, the cans don't fill up and it's more trouble than it's worth. I found it easier and less hassle just to go buy new cans.

 

Ya, your hittin all the negatives right on the mark. Read that about the bottles too. I haven't even priced 1lb bottles yet.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img]

 

When 1 pound propane bottles are on sale for $1.99 I buy a case or two and store them on shelves in my basement. No way I'm buying them at the regular price when they only last one night. I always buy the short fat 16.4 ounce bottles that don't tip over as easy as the tall skinny ones. If I used propane in a bigger tent it would have to be a 20-30 pound tank for economy. I have a stove/heater (or stove?) too. The other just plain heater has a plastic base to hold the bottles and the fat ones are fairly snug. My tent leaks enough air through the screen top under the rain fly and through the door that I never worry about fresh air.

If I had a big cabin tend I might use a wood stove instead of propane. In the army we had coal stoves with a diesel fuel conversion. A 5 gallon jerry can was on a stand outside and the last guy up put a fresh can up and cranked the hnob on the stove way down low so it might last all night. The fuel just dripped into the stove and burned - nothing fancy. Army surplus stores sometimes have them. I see similar looking stoves for burning wood in catalogs like Cabela's.