Backup heat

[Wasillaguy]

For years we have carried a 6" terracotta flowerpot wrapped in a dish towel. One year, the fan in the propane heater got to squealing in the middle of the night and we finally put it to use.
Turned upside down on a stove burner set low (or on a grate over a sterno can), it will warm a smaller RV quite nicely. Of course good ventilation is required.
I realize not many here are camping in cold weather, but wondered if this is a widely known trick.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Better open a window or you will be dead by morning.

 

[Wasillaguy]

Of course good ventilation is required.

 

[Rene T]

And don’t leave the dish towel on it.

 

[John From Detroit]

Had a boss that tried to heat his trailer (Stupid Trailer Trash Boss.. NOT AN RV type trailer) using the oven ...... I almost became the boss that night.

 

[Jkoht]

In my boondocking trailer I usually run my genny at night and use an electric radiator heater. If that doesn't work, or quits, my backup is a buddy heater.

 

[Ex-Calif]

When tent camping I've put the toast rack on the single burner in the middle of the night. Heats up the tent in like 5 minutes. Go back to sleep for a couple of hours and repeat.

I got stuck in a cold night in Pennsylvania. It was only August so I only had a summer bag with me. It was freakin' cold.

 

[Tuna1]

Have used a terra cotta pot on stove top for 30 years to take the bite off morning chill...I seen a post about using a square pizza stone in the oven for heat dissplacment ..After baking leave oven door cracked so stone will radiate it's held heat..

 

[Wasillaguy]

We have the pizza stone and try to use the oven or griddle on chill mornings. I stock 1/2 cup packets of wild yeast starter in the fridge to use for everything from pancakes to rye bread.
I remember in Boy Scouts we had an annual "deep freeze" camping trip in the Ozarks in February. One year we couldn't get the cooking oil out of the bottle. We broke camp and went home.

 

[Frank B]

Had a boss that tried to heat his trailer (Stupid Trailer Trash Boss.. NOT AN RV type trailer) using the oven ...... I almost became the boss that night.

So propane doesn't ordinarily emit poisonous fumes. It can consume the oxygen in the room. We emergency heated our travel trailer one day with the oven. Please explain the issue and dire warnings.

Thanks.

Frank.

 

[LMHS]

My backup is a little indoor rated Tag-a-long propane heater that I bought 20 years ago. I also have taken it into bathhouses to heat up the shower stall in cold weather. Some places won't turn the heat on in the bathhouse until it is below freezing.

 

[Isaac-1]

I have decided to switch to using an electric personal cube heater as middle of the night backup in case of propane furnace failure, as I now have 420 AH of LiFePo4 batteries (about 5,200 watt hours), I can run a personal cube heater on low (750ish watt draw) for about 7 hours, add in an electric blanket and I should be able to make it until morning when I can start my generator.

 

[John From Detroit]

So propane doesn't ordinarily emit poisonous fumes. It can consume the oxygen in the room. We emergency heated our travel trailer one day with the oven. Please explain the issue and dire warnings.

Thanks.

Frank.

No need for me to explain YOU did it. already It consumes the Oxygen.. and though CO2 is not toxic/poison (like CO) if the concentration gets too high.. and it displaces the oxygen...
Well Oxygen is a good thing. without it you die.. Trees make oxygen. Fires consume it.
That's what happened to my boss.. Low oxygen dang near promoted me .

 

[hemifoot]

i use my little buddy heater when i'm in my insulated ice fishing hut for 6/8 hours at a time all winter long.i see no reason why it wouldn't work in a t/t.just crack a window or a vent.

 

[Wasillaguy]

Many cold mornings growing up we huddled in front of the propane stove to warm up when the furnace was on the blink.
People put beans or a roast in a crock pot on a propane stove all night.
Stoves had pilot lights that were lit 24/7.
A flower pot doesn't suddenly make propane more dangerous.