Gawd - I am in a pickle. I am ready to start camping and I just gotta get out and get some time in front of a camp fire and maybe put my nose in a glass or two. I usually get cabin fever so bad at this time of year that I just can't stand it!!!
When I was a kid and my blood ran hotter and thicker I'd just roll out a fart sack in the back of the truck regardless of the weather because my gear was warm and comfortable right down to -30C. I could comfortably handle weather that made the vehicles cranky and ornery to start. Now that I am an old fart I struggle a bit. I need some heat. And that is the pickle of it... how do I heat the cab high in the back of the truck? I am not interested in the propane or butane heaters out there because condensation is horrible in the colder temps. It was so bad I won't even consider them going forward.
So then I saw the Cubic Mini Stoves. I just love them - they belt out the heat and no bones about it! Forrest has one in his van and he literally stakes his life on it.
I just don't have the room for it. I'd probably set something on fire if I tried to install that in the back of my truck. It's just too cramped!
So with the wood stove out of the picture... what about diesel heaters? Any of you guys use them? (As usual, your two bits are appreciated in the comments). I am hearing all kinds of conflicting consumer reports on them. They're made in China but require electricity to run the fan.
Supposedly they consume about 50W to run... I have a 10 A/hr Jackery that supposedly, under ideal conditions... could power that thing for about 30 hours if I haven't flubbed my math. But damn... I'd have to buy the unit and lug it and the Jackery around! It's feasible I guess. It's dry heat with no vapour generated and for a quick over nighter... it'd be fine. But - they're built in China, and if you get a lemon or have problems you can get stuck with it. Hrrrrmmmmmm.
Another option is electrical space heaters.
I have a couple of these down in the Reclusium and they're great. It gets chilly down there and I like to layer up, plug them in and slowly roast my fat ass in comfort as I putter about. They scare the shit out of the slow kids because I have so much gun powder stored down there, HAR HAR HAR!!! The Jackery will run one of these for about half an hour... if it can run them at all.
But I DO have a puny 2200W Honda generator that I think will run them. But again... lugging around the heater and the genny...?
The little gennie will run the big 1500W space heater but what an utter bitch to start! I fired some carb cleaner down the little shit’s gullet and she finally farted into life. I don’t run it enough and maybe some camping will clear the varnish out? Most Honda’s will start and purr like kittens… but this one has always been cranky…
Gawd. I’d like to think there’s a better way to do this...
If it's cold, I generally wrap oily rags around my ankles to keep the ants from biting my candy ass.
ReplyDeleteSitting out winter in soggy pull up diapers is no way for a man to live, A…
DeleteI picked up one of these light portable woodstoves, they are great for taking the chill off. https://www.winnerwell.com/product/204.html
ReplyDeleteChutes Magoo
I suppose a guy could go to a hot tent…but that’s even more equipment…
DeleteAny form of resistance heating (electrical) is an energy hog. You learn very quickly trying to do off-grid RVing. The only thing worse is trying to heat water. It's thermal mass is huge.
ReplyDeleteI have that very Honda genny, and I store it thoroughly drained of fuel, and only fuel it up to use it, and then ONLY high quality gas without any moonshine in it. The advantage of using the smallest possible genny for the job is that you'll get so much more run time for your fuel. The Honda is one of the quietest out there, and can be even quieter with an acoustic box around it as long as you're VERY careful to give it all the cooling ventilation it needs. And on the subject of cooling, I've seen conversion kits to run it on propane, but unless it is engineered for propane, you'll burn up valves in short order. Propane burns a lot hotter than gas, so cooling is even more critical.
Greg--can't seem to sign in otherwise, but I'm not a nony.
They are great little machines for the most part…
DeleteSeems to me renting a cabin in the woods with a wood burning stove and an open fire pit outside to roast anything, would be a lot less work, IMO.
ReplyDeleteTrue… but the places I like to go don’t tend to have cabins around… thanks for stopping by, S…
DeleteYou're having issues starting a HONDA??? Your gas is probably going sour between uses. I used to leave fuel in my generators with the good intention of running them and topping them every month like a good prepper boy. My Subaru 5Kw was more forgiving of my inevitable forgetfulness. My little Yamaha 1Kw, on the other hand, was merciless. Miss one month, and I was tearing apart the carb to clean out the jet on that thing. You should store your genny DRY AS A BONE when not using it, Glen. Dump as much of the fuel out of the tank as you can. Then run the thing down to nothing. I've never used the Hondas and don't know if they have a manual choke. If yours does, wait for the engine to start sputtering as it runs out of gas, and then go full-choke on it until it dies. This will ensure that EVERY BIT of fuel has been sucked out of the carb fuel bowl. It takes surprisingly little left-behind fuel to gum up the jets on small engines! If your genny doesn't have a manual choke on it run it until it dies. Then shoot some starting fluid into the air intake and fire it up again. Do this a couple of times, and the carb bowl will be sucked dry. I do this with ALL my small engine-powered stuff. On my lesser-used equipment I pour a little Sea Foam into the gas when I DO run it to keep the carb gooping to a minimum.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had an answer for you on the heater. The genny/electric heater setup looks to be your best compromise, as it keeps the combustion, C0, and humidity outside the vehicle. You can probably get a little more time out of the genny if you drop the output of the heater to its low power setting. You should still be able to warm the space, and the genny will like the 750W load better than 1500W.
I'm thinking Turdo La Du would like NOTHING MORE than to have something... or someone... rear-ending him 24/7... Maybe he can get together with our Pete Buttpirate to suck on his "man-titties..."
Yeah I was blown away too, Pete… I think I’ll start draining it as you suggest. I’ve never had much to do with generators other than the big industrial trailer mounted units they have on construction sites. I only ever saw these little guys in campsites and you barely hear them. Their owners swear by them….
DeleteIf space is an issue, I suggest an Asian gal, they're usually small.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately they eat a lot more than their size would indicate.
DeleteI have a Hcalory diesel heater that I bought for my 24’ enclosed trailer that is used for my caribou and moose hunting camp. I haven’t had a chance to try it out in that application yet because I didn’t buy it until after last season closed. I have had it in the garage and used it for drying out some ice covered firewood. After last year and dealing with the mentioned issues of propane and condensation I chose this to resolve the problem. The one I got is self contained in its own tool box. So far just playing around with it I think it will work very well for my intended use. I know that this style heater is being used by the “ overland” camping community and it is very popular with them.
ReplyDeleteYes! That is the exact model I was contemplating DR! How was it to set up…? The guys on OyTube made it look easy, but…
DeleteI added an inline fuel filter. It is very tight inside the box and I had to take the unit apart to get it in there. Not really any problems just a matter of time.
DeleteYou've ruled out propane and butane, but have you looked at kerosene? We ran a large indoor kerosene heater when I lived in WV and by God it would heat the whole house. They got small ones that are indoor safe. Not sure if they sell kerosene where you're at, but in WV every other gas station would have a single kerosene pump off to the side.
ReplyDeleteDon’t they stink, Don? And fumes? The back of my little truck is a very confined space…
DeleteThey burp a little kerosene smell when you first light them, but clean up really well once they get going. I have three of those things in my house. We prefer to use them over the furnace, as they only heat the area we're using. Even a small one will throw a ton of heat!
DeleteWell...
ReplyDeleteInsulation is a primary concern. If the box you'd like to heat isn't insulated, good luck with that.
The only outfit I'm familiar with is a propane rig with one stove and one light. The gas light would throw out enough heat to keep the whole place warm, and being insulated it would stay warm for hours after you shut the light off.
I gotta say that Forest really has the set up, but he mentions insulation at the end of the video.