12V heaters

[WarPony]

I went camping this weekend and froze my nootz off in my TTT! I thought the 3/4" pink insulation I have in the walls and ceiling would be fine but the 32* temp told me otherwise. I looked at catalytic heaters but the info I gathered here scared me off that business.

Forget the Atwood heaters.... too expensive. I am looking for a 12V heater that I can use when shore power is not available. I've seen the little ceramic heaters that look like radar dectectors but don't know how/if they work.

I don't know how you guys that don't insulate can stand the cold. Me, my GF Anna and her 30# dog couldn't keep us warm. If it comes down to it, I'll pack the sleeping bags but I don't want to................. that's why I built this trailer. KnowhutImean?

BTW, thanks to everybody for all the info I have gathered on this site!! I used to think only nerds/perverts got together via the internet......... until I went to Minden, NE. It changed my life!

Now I have to figure out which one I am

[Cutterpup]

WP 12volt heaters just don't put out enough heat without a very large bank of batteries. I have used a hot water bottle ie. near boiling water poured into old gator aid bottles to warm a tent. So I think two or three would keep a TD warm. I know that enough people have discused the amount of electricity that a 12 volt heater would need so I won't go there.

Dan

[len19070]

I agree with Dan. Not enough heater-Not enough 12v-for not enough time. I got a Coleman survival heater. 800BTU's It doesn't get real hot, its a nice low & slow heat. A 1lb bottle will last 2 nights and with a cracked window its fine. Just used it last night, worked fine. I placed it in my cabinet at the rear of the cabin.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dl ... n+survival

Happy Trails

Len .

[WarPony]

Im curious....Did you insulate your floor?

Kinda sorta. I have an elevated floor (click on my link to see) that has dead air space underneath. The area under my head is insulated with fiberglass but the spaces at midbody and feet are open because I will cut out the floor and make the spaces usable for storage. My 5 X 8 trailer is pretty much 5 X 8 because I don't have a galley in back. I like cooking on the fire or Weber grill !!

[GeorgeTelford]

Hi Powder

Insulated only under head section of the floor, I am curious though what is this pink stuff any idea of its r Value.

The electric heater's are about 120w if I remember right thats 10 Amps and a very rapidly depleted battery, if used overnight it will probably kill the battery beyond repair.

War could you stick some insulation to lid of storage would probably help a lot.

Hot water bottles neat Idea need to do a few experiments there !! kettle filled radiator hmmm...

Btw this heating and insulation is being discussed in the minimalist thread too.

[Q]

One option that works great and is low in cost is a standard drug store heating pad like this one:
http://www.medsupplyco.com/Products/Pro ... ber/SUN756
I plug mine into a little inverter like this one:
http://www.vectormfg.com/catalog/vec040 ... p-295.html

Just put the heating pad inside your sleeping bag and turn it on. You'll be toasty warm in a few minutes. During the night it is probably on only 1% of the time so even though it draws 50 watts, you can go several nights on a single battery charge.

I also use this setup while flying my ultralight and while riding my motorcycle in cold weather by putting it inside my jacket. It works great.

Q

[Chris C]

I used to use a matress heating pad under my sheets when camping in my converted van. It draws 80 watts...............but it works off DC voltage. It would sure take the chill off a mattress before getting into bed. A cold mattress will suck your body heat quickly. I'd turn it off when I got into bed and depend on the covers and my own body heat to keep me warm the rest of the night. Problem solved, for me at least.

[JLaman]

I have a 12V, 120watt ceramic heater that I plan to try in Nov on a trip to NY. I know it will not be able to run all night due to the 10amp consumption, plut the thing is pretty noisy. In anycase, some have survived a flame in their camper, but burning fuel in a 100cuft space to stay warm could be dangerous. The idea of hot water is excellent -- I will use this one! Also, all the insulation in the camping world will not do much is there is no heat to conserve - there needs to be a temperature difference for the insulation to have an effect. So, I am going to heat up my insultated tear with one of those nice Coleman heathers before I turn in, then keep warm with the insulation, 12V and hot water. I will let you know how it goes in NY!

Jeff L.

[Rob]

I spent this past weekend alone in the Sierras. Friday night it rained and hailed. Saturday night it got down below freezing - water was frozen and frost on car. I have a standard mattress, sleeping bag with a 12V car blanket http://tinyurl.com/9n4qx, http://tinyurl.com/brqp5 inside, and a polyester comforter on top. The blanket took about 10 minutes to heat up the bag then I had to unplug it. Friday night I had to open the doors because there was not enough breeze coming through the screens. Saturday night I just pushed the comforter and sleeping bag back a bit and cooled right down.

Rob

[mikeschn]

Just put the heating pad inside your sleeping bag and turn it on. You'll be toasty warm in a few minutes.
Q

Q,

I know you have a forced air furnace in your teardrop... why are you recommending a tiny little heating pad?

Mike...

[Q]

Mike,

I like my forced air propane furnace, mainly because I hate to have something on my head to keep it warm while I'm sleeping. The problem with the forced air heater is that it's expensive. The heating pad does work but it doesn't keep your head warm.

Q

Just put the heating pad inside your sleeping bag and turn it on. You'll be toasty warm in a few minutes.
Q

Q,

I know you have a forced air furnace in your teardrop... why are you recommending a tiny little heating pad?

Mike...

[Jonkayak]

Your post got me thinking alot. My wife freezes everytime the air drops below 70 and I love to camp in the winter. So you got me thinking. I like the forced air idea. But what about a raident floor heater. Sounds fairly simple and cheap. It could be build for $30 - $50. It would be something to just take the chill off. I'm just not sure of the praticality of it. You could easily run the piping through the floor, above a layer of foam insulation, use an exterior propane heater to heat the water, and a 12v pump to move the water threw the piping. The pump wouldn't need to be very big. It could be a small live well aerator like found on boats. I would use flex pipe and the heater section would have to have a steel or copper section for the water to be heated up in. This idea would be more of a closed loop system. You could even set a bucket on a camp stove and the water could be pumped out and returned to the same bucket. I'm not a pro by any means in the HVAC area but maybe someone could give me some input on this though. Not trying to hijack your thread you just got me thinking (out load). I might have to try this.

Jon

[Jonkayak]

I don't disagree with you at all. I knew that the idea has several flaws but with the minds on this board there is normaly a good solution. The whole bucket on the stove idea is deffently not the smartest thing to leave running all night but it could be ran a few hours before bed to warm the place up. You could also run the pipes through one of the bulkheads to get the heat above the mattress and act kind of like a radiator heater. If i where to do a closed loop heating system i would make a closed in container that the heating would take place in (like a mini propane powered furance) that way the fire would be contained in a safe and stable place.

Jon

[Jonkayak]

Powderburn

once again I'm


Instead of propane I would use IsoButanePropane for my gas source. It burns much much hotter than propane and can be bought in almost any camping department now. There for the flame could be much smaller and burn all night on a small amount, and once the ideal water temp was reached the flame could be adjusted to only maintain a constant temp rather then increasing the temp.

Or the propane source could come from a larger 5lbs or 20lbs tank instead of the 1lbs throw aways.

Jon[/code]

[madjack]

.....02cents worth

TD Builders Prime Directive #1...K.I.S.S.

ZODI makes a forced air tent heater that sits OUTSIDE
Atwood makes a very compact forced air furnace
Coleman 800btu catalytic heater
Assorted 12v heating pads/blankets

these are all for dry camping, if shore power is available there are more miniature ceramic heaters than you can fill a catalogue with(not talking about 12v "radar detector" type)

There is nothing wrong with thinking outside the box...that is how new products/processes come about but no matter how you try to roll it down the road the wheel just is reallly hard to beat

madjack

p.s. remember, never ever sleep in a totally closed upTD