How To Heat A Tent Without Electricity

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Best Tents For Cold Nights And Cold Ground

When you are trying to heat a tent in cold air, the first thing you want to do is start with a warm tent.

You can generate all the heat you want, but, if it just gets lost through the structure of a non-insulated tent, you are fighting a losing battle.

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The Naturehike Cloud-Up, for example, has features that are compatible with winter camping including:

• Snowskirt: To keep the ground under the tent dry by diverting rain and snow away from it.
• Double layers: Inner and outer tent layers used together as a waterproof and windproof tent in cold temperatures and use only the inner layer for a more ventilated tent when camping in warm air months.
• Waterproof materials: 20D Rip-Stop Nylon, Polyester with PU 4000 coating.

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Summer Season Tents

If your tent is not designed for harsh wintry weather, there are different ways you can add insulation to three-season tents.

• Ground-based tarps: Place a heavy waterproof tarp on the ground beneath the tent to create an extra barrier between your tent floor and wet/cold ground. Keeping your tent floor dry is the goal so make sure it covers the entire length and width of the tent floor.
• Sleeping pads: Place a sleeping mat, foam pad, tent mat, or an all-weather carpet between your waterproof tarp and your sleeping bag to add an extra layer of insulation.
• External coverings: Use additional heavy waterproof tarps to cover the outside of the tent. You are trying to mimic the outer tent layer of a 4-season tent. Your goal is to block wind and rain by covering the whole tent including the roof, walls, doors and windows.

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Mylar Blanket Facts

Swiss Safe Emergency Mylar Thermal Blankets + Bonus Gold Foil Space Blanket. Designed for NASA, Outdoors, Survival, First Aid

 

A Mylar blanket DOES NOT provide insulation, it DOES reflect heat. It is also waterproof and windproof.

When radiant heat from an external heat source hits a Mylar blanket’s shiny surface, it bounces off from it. An object that is producing heat (like your body heat) can use space blankets to either reflect heat away from the object or back toward it. A great way to use this type of blanket in a summer-season tent is to use it in conjunction with wool camp blankets because of their insulating properties.

So, instead of using a Mylar blanket to attach to your tent, you would use it around your body, wrapping in this order:

• Your body (being the heat generator)
• A wool blanket (being the insulator)
• A Mylar blanket (being the reflector, bouncing the heat back to you)

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Types Of Portable Heaters Used In Tents

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This 4,000 – 9,000 BTU radiant heater is great for spaces up to 225 square feet. The warmest position is right in front of the heater. The heat is directional so it does not do a great job of heating the air inside the entire tent.

The heater may shut off when it is operated at altitudes over 7,000 FT above sea level. This portable gas heater has safety features so it automatically shuts off if…

• the unit tips over,
• the pilot light goes out, or
• if low oxygen levels are detected (this is why you may have problems with it at higher elevations.)

But you also want to have a carbon monoxide alarm any time you are using equipment that has the potential to produce the “silent killer” if there is not enough oxygen inside the tent.

When you burn propane, water vapor is released which can cause condensation to accumulate inside your tent making things wet and cold … which is what you are trying to avoid in the first place. You can see there are pros and cons to this unit.

If you use gear that is powered using 1 lb propane cylinders and are interested in learning how to refill 1 pound propane tanks using an adapter, we’ve got you covered!

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Make sure you are very familiar with how to properly operate your stove, place it on level ground and set it on something that is non-flammable, don’t get it too close to tent walls or the tent roof, clear all flammable objects away from the stove, never leave a lit stove unattended and be sure to turn it off while you sleep.

Only use stoves that have safety features so it automatically turns off if…

• the unit tips over, or
• if low oxygen levels are detected.

But you’ll also want a carbon monoxide alarm when you are using equipment that has the potential to produce the “silent killer” in case there isn’t enough oxygen inside the tent.

Burning propane releases water vapor which can cause condensation to accumulate inside your tent making things cold and wet … the exact thing you are trying to avoid in the first place. You can see there are pros and cons to this unit.

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An effective way to use this heater is by ducting already-warm air from inside the tent into the heater outside and recycling it back into the tent. (This is how most RV heaters work and one of several tips on how to keep moisture out of your RV in winter.)

Alternatively, you can duct colder outside air into the unit to get heated and ducted back in the tent but that is less efficient. It will take about 1/2 gallon of diesel fuel to operate this heater through the entire night. These types of units work great and have been popular in the trucking industry for years.

BATTERY REQUIRED: This unit does use a lot of electricity to get the glow plug started so you will need a car-type battery to use it.

We never use our actual vehicle battery to power any camping equipment because we don’t want to be caught with a dead battery when we are ready to drive back home. We recommend carrying a second battery to use this type of heater.

After the diesel is burning, the battery is just powering the fuel pump to maintain the flow into the combustion chamber and the fan to maintain the airflow. This unit does need to stay out of the elements so you will need to mount it inside some type of box.

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Even though these units are less popular with tent campers, they are occasionally used by them because of the abundance of heat they produce without the need for any electricity. They operate using propane and are started with a built-in ignitor.

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Heating A Tent Without A Heater

The difference between ambient heat and concentrated heat is HUGE.

Even with the best 4-season tents, it is very difficult to heat an entire tent because they have very little insulation. It is easier to concentrate the heat inside a tent to heat your body and your sleeping bag.

If you have the opportunity to camp in an RV during the winter, you may need to know how to heat a camper without electricity if you’re boondocking or at a campground without electric hookups.

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Hot Rocks For Tent Heating

The concept of heating a rock and putting it in your bed is tried and true. In the olden days, people would place their “bed rock” on top of a wood stove in the kitchen, wrap it in rags and stick it down at the foot of the bed to release radiant heat throughout the night.

When you are camping you are heating the rocks near your campfire. The rocks should be dense, smooth and dry … you can usually find cobblestones around your campsite that will work great.

Once they are hot, place the heated rocks in some sort of material before placing them inside your sleeping bag … people use all sorts of things to wrap their hot rocks including towels, wool socks, leather bags etc. They stay warm for a long time and the heat is slowly released throughout the night.

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Two Methods For Heating Tents With Clay Pots

I don’t know too many campers who travel with clay pots but if you do, there are a couple of options to use them to heat your tent.

The first method does not use candles … cover the drain hole in the pots (you can use foil, a coin, a small rock etc), then fill the pots with sand and place them next to your campfire to get hot. Use insulated fireproof gloves to move the pots inside your tent and let them radiate heat to warm your tent.

The second method does use candles … place 4 tea lights on a fireproof flat surface inside your tent and light the candles, place a small clay pot upside down over the candles but off of the ground so the candles get oxygen, place a larger clay pot over the smaller one and cover the drain hole with a coin or some other fireproof material. The heat from the candles will warm the clay pots which will slowly release the radiant heat over time.

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These units use a 12-volt connection to plug into a cigarette lighter … but … BEWARE. Anytime you are generating heat using an electrical power supply you are using A LOT of electricity to do it so you can’t rely on your car battery … or … you run the risk of depleting it and being unable to start your auto when it is time to go home.

Also, batteries are less efficient in cold weather so prepare for this if you choose to use an electric-powered blanket and bring an extra battery with you.

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Warm Food For Winter Camping

Staying warm with warm and hearty comfort food is a great way to help you stay comfortable during cold weather trips. I’ve got tons of winter camping recipes you are gonna love!

Learn how to meal plan in just 10 minutes!

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