camping is generally associated with cool to cold nights and in winter, these nights will be long and much colder
the traditional method of staying warm at night outside the tent is with the wood fire, but these impact the environment in many ways, risk bushfires and are banned in many camp areas such as most commercial camp grounds and National Parks
do NOT use fuel burning devices (including gas) inside your tent unless it is appropriately flued as there is a major risk of lethal carbon monoxide poisoning, let alone the tent rapidly catching of fire!
Personal wear heaters
chemical type "pocket warmers"
single use air activated iron and salt-based oxidising pocket warmers take 15-30minutes to start
Coghlans Disposable Hand Warmer last 6hrs, $AU1.50 each
Flexeze 10hr hand warmers $AU2 per pair
Hot Hands Hand Warmers (Chemist Warehouse) last 10hrs $AU2 for 2 pack
Kathmandu Pocket Hand Warmer $AU12; sodium acetate; lasts 1hr; Reactivate by gently boiling in water for 5 minutes
USB rechargeable heat pad pocket warmers
multiple devices available with lithium batteries
eg. Thermacell Heat Pack
$AU63 200g; Lasts up to 6-hours of constant heat per charge and can recharge in approximately 4 hours
USB heat pads within clothing or scarves
just connect to a USB power bank
many options including DIY
Electrical heaters which can be used in tents with care
USB powered heat pads
these can be powered by a small USB power bank or via your auxiliary 12V battery
given the power output limitations of USB (around 5-10W), these are generally limited to smallish pads up to around 30cm square and average around 8W
great for pets to sleep on!
USB rechargeable glove and boot dryers and sanitisers
wet gloves and boots will not be great when you have another cold day ahead
these devices insert into the gloves or boots and dries them out overnight by heating them plus uses UV to sanitise
Sidas Drywarmer Pro USB
pair packs to 19L x 10W x 7H cm; 200g; 10W USB power input required; 4hr timer; $AU43;
12V cigarette lighter socket devices
most cigarette sockets in cars are limited to 12V 10A 120W but you can get a 15A rated socket and connect it to an Anderson plug if you need more power output of up to 180W
12V heat pads such as car seat heaters
these are often rated at 48W (4A) but this maximum output often is limited to around 2 minutes and then there is no output for some 5-6 minutes meaning the averaged heat output is around 24W (2A)
one to two such heat pads (~2A per hour) plus a person in a full fabric 2-man tent will raise the air temp from 9degC to 15degC within 1hr and keep it at around 6deg higher than outside if there is minimal airflow from the outside
these tend to have max output of 48-65W and often have a timed automatic off as a safety measure
12V fanned air heaters
these are usually sold as car window demisters and often are rated output of 150-160W
most only have one heat setting and one fan setting (without heat)
provide rapid heating of a small tent (temp from 13 to 19deg in 10 minutes) but does use a lot of power so may be best used with a thermostat or just intermittently as needed
not useful for larger tents
air conditioner units - heating and cooling
these are heavy, big, expensive and use a LOT of electricity!
EcoFlow Wave 2
14.5kg; included battery only runs a fan, needs external power from AC (820W max), DC (200W max), solar (400W max) or an expensive EcoFlow battery (max 700W) for heating or cooling
cooling mode runs at about 540-600W although is rated at 1500W and will need a drain tube connected if humidity is > 70%
heating mode runs at about 540-600W although is rated at 1800W heat output and will need a drain tube connected
$AU1799 plus you need a massive, heavy, expensive battery eg. EcoFlow 1800W Delta 2 at $AU1999
Heat output and fuel usage
1000W output = 3500 BTU = 3.7MJ/hr and requires 74g gas/hr or approx. 100mL/hr of diesel or kerosene
each 1MJ/hr requires 20g gas per hour
Gas heaters (not for use inside tents)
small gas canister heaters
there are a range of heating devices that can either attach:
43.2 (H) x 25.4 (D) x 21 (W) cm (including propane cyclinder)
2.26kg; $A89
doesn't heat your feet as it faces upwards, is prone to tipping over as top heavy but it does have a tip over auto-off but the hot element may still create a fire and there are quality issues 1)
NatureHike Ri Yan 2 Outdoor Heating Stove
uses standard 110g, 230g or 450g butane/propane canister
360deg 2400-2700W heating using ~115g/hr;
1.5kg w/o gas; 215x325mm; can boil water on top;
CampMaster gas cartridge heater stove
ceramic heater can be rotated to face upwards to function as a stove or vertically to function as a heater
220g butane gas cartridge or LPG gas cylinder via adapter
there are a range of portable gas heaters which allow a gas cartridge to be attached, and often can also be used attached to a traditional gas cylinder
these use 450g BOC gas cartridges or optional adapter for gas cylinders
heaters which attach directly onto Companion gas cylinders
Companion gas cylinders have a vertical 3/8“ LH BSP adapter and thus allow devices to attach directly above the cylinder
examples:
Companion LPG Radiator Reflect Heater
5500 BTU with 206mm wide reflector; Gas Consumption: 5.8Mj/Hr or 116g/Hr; manual lighting only, no piezo;
27 x 21 x 12 cm; 0.76kg;
$AU49
heaters which only connect via hose to a gas cylinder
Companion Portable LPG Gas Heater
10,800 BTU; Gas Consumption: 13MJ/hr-260g/hr; supplied with a POL gas hose and regulator
41(L) x 19(D) x 33(H) cm;
4.21kg; $AU140
Industrial high output air heaters for large areas:
DETROIT 20KW LPG Heater HLPG20
9kg; 52 x 27 x 48cm;
20kW – 70,000 BTU; 1.40kg/hr Gas consumption
500m3/hr Air flow and should heat a 200m2 space with 2.5m ceilings
requires 80W 0.5A 240V input for fan
$AU269 include hose and regulator
Gas heaters designed to heat up tents
these are potentially the safest and least hassle heating options (not used inside tent and thus no added condensation, no fire risk, no CO risk, no smelly liquids to spill) HOWEVER they do still require a decent amount of battery power which limits the utility of the Companion and Gasmate models!
may not be approved for use in Australia as per note for the HS2000 model here
Diesel heaters
these are larger units which run on diesel, have exhaust pipes and tend to be noisy hence many have silencers to reduce noise
designed to be outside a tent with duct into tent:
Gasmate Diesel heater designed to be outside a tent:
2kW; 12V DC;
4.25 Litre fuel tank which allows up to 7 days of typical usage (based on 4hrs use per day, on power level 2-3)
23 W x 40 L x 30 H; 9kg (plus fuel)
$AU549 on special
caravan heaters
maXpeedingrods 12V 5KW Air Diesel caravan Heater
49 x 49 x 21 cm; 9.78 Kilograms
$A149
1 INCHHOME 2KW/5KW/8KW Air Diesel caravan heater 12V
$AU149-199
Autoterm Diesel Air Heater 100-02502 12V KW Kit with Rotary Controller
“Silent pump”; computer controlled stepless fan speed; air intake silencer included;
fuel Consumption: 0.1-0.24 L/h; Hot Air Flow: 34-75 m3/h; Power Consumption: min 10W to max 29W;
6.5kg excluding 100-02510 fuel tank which is not included in price, and fuel;
$AU1385 on special
Autoterm Diesel Air Heater 100-02504 12V KW Kit with Digital Controller
“Silent pump”; computer controlled stepless fan speed; air intake silencer included; needs PU-27 Digital Controller;
fuel Consumption: 0.1-0.24 L/h; Hot Air Flow: 34-75 m3/h; Power Consumption: min 10W to max 29W;
6.5kg excluding 100-02510 fuel tank which is not included in price, and fuel;
$AU1449 on special
industrial heaters for large areas:
DETROIT 20KW Radiant Diesel Heater
uses 1.9 l/hr (10.5L Steel fuel tank) to give 20Kw output radiant heat; no fan; no electricity needed;
61 x 58 x 38cm;
$AU799
DETROIT 20KW Diesel Indirect Fired Air Heater
uses 1.94 l/hr (38L Steel fuel tank - 12hr Max Run Time) to give 20Kw output heat
Air Output 750m3/hr
83x53x36cm wheel trolley mounted;
$AU799
Kerosene heaters
Charmate Portable Kerosene Heater
9000 BTU; 0.25L/Hour;
4.6L fuel tank capacity
Removable top with trivet for cooking
4.2kg
$AU119
Wood fireplaces and stoves
unless you BYO wood, you will probably need a chain saw and an axe to split the wood - assuming you can find dry wood and you are not decimating the local wildlife's homes
a fire pit or stove reduces risk of fire burn scars on the ground but can kill grass nearby due to the heat
an enclosed stove is safer than a fire pit for spark generation especially if the chimney has a spark arrester, but neither will be allowed on fire ban days or in some National Parks
portable fire pits
these are usually around 6-15kg
Slot Me In The Wedge Fire Pit & Camp Cooker - Ultimate Combo Kit
flat pack 4mm thick Australian BlueScope Xlerplate® steel 14.2kg; $AU589
packs to 660mm L x 460mm W x 25mm H packed in the canvas storage bag
Kamoto Open Fire Pit Large
9.6kg folding powder-coated steel and stainless steel cooking grid
W 550 x D 470 x H 380 mm
$AU419
Kamoto Open Fire Pit
6.3kg folding powder-coated steel and stainless steel cooking grid
53 x 39 x 6cm folded; 46 x 39 x 33 cm unfolded;
$AU379
Darche Stainless Steel BBQ 450 Firepit
stainless steel flat pack foldable design, packs to 56 x 56 x 8cm
11.5kg $AU299
Winnerwell Large Flat Firepit
flat packed to 657(L) x 348(W) x 30(H) mm
4.1kg $AU120
Supa Peg Frontier Portable Folding Fire Pit
2.5mm Heavy Duty Steel; flat packs to 400mm x 310mm x 40mm
6.8kg $AU180
battery powered fan "smokeless" fire pits
adjustable air flow can allow the fire to rapidly become relatively smoke free but you will need to charge it up and use more wood, plus there is a risk the fan system will fail leaving it as a not so good fire pit
incorporates a 12,800mAh lithium battery which lasts 30hrs of fire on low fan (7hrs on hire fan - fan output controllable by smartphone app via Bluetooth) and can be used as a USB power bank as well as being USB rechargeable
enamel coating with “Xray” mesh for high visibility fire;
fan can be noisy, mesh tends to rust rapidly and it is fairly bulky as it packs to 70L x 30D x 28H cm 9kg;
uses wood up to 40cm long and Heat Beads; smallish fire pit and if you put wood in above the air pipes it will smoke; needs constant feeding with small wood
can cook on it via the removable grill grate; opt. grill lid $AU89 and fire poker $AU33
as these have chimneys, some of these may be able to be used inside tents with chimney ducted externally with care - see supplied instructions to ascertain if this is safe!
some of these can be used under the edge of a tarp for shelter from the rain while cooking with the chimney having an angled insert to allow it to pass the tarp (preferably with a cooling pipe cover so contact with the tarp does not cause issues)
using a wood log fire in the snow to heat a metal pipe which passes hot air into the tent without need for a pump - it just uses the temperature gradient to create air flow