Gas Stove for Heat

[stewartlittle]

Not that I would recomend using it all the time,but last year I did use it some to knock off the chill in the morning.
How bad is the fumes from the stove?

Carbon Monoxide,is it heavier than air?Is that why to CM detector is on the floor?

We cook in our pup,so why not use it for heat if you dont have anything else.But I dont think I'ld go to bed with it lit.

[uploon]

From what I understand from reading, the detector in the pup is a propane leak detector, not a CO detector.  I had thought this for a long time also.  

I too thought that CO was heavier than air, but in some posts people have talked of putting the detectors on their ceiling.  I would think that you would want it lower than bed height, so as it would sound before it could build up to the ceiling.  It seems that if it had to go to the ceiling to sound the alarm, you would have been breathing in CO for awile, and may never hear the alarm.  I'm still trying to figure that one out.

I would never go to sleep with the propane stove on for heat as you suggested.  As far as taking off the chill, I suppose you could, but it's not advised as the manufacturers say not to be used for heat.

I used to use a lantern to take the chill off before bedtime, but never really felt quite comfortable with that either.

Cheers!  JC

[AustinBoston]

Not that I would recomend using it all the time,but last year I did use it some to knock off the chill in the morning.
How bad is the fumes from the stove?

It depends on how much ventilation you provide.

Carbon Monoxide,is it heavier than air?

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is very slightly heavier than air.  The controlling factor in where it goes is going to be the temperature of the CO.  If your stove produces cold CO, then it will go to the floor.

Is that why to CM detector is on the floor?

Are you sure that is a CO detector?  In my PUP, it's a propane detector.

Austin

[fallsrider]

While it is never recommended by the manufacturers, I once lit all 3 burners to take the morning chill out of the PUP. I opened a couple of windows a little to bring in fresh air. NEVER use a stove while sleeping, and stoves are intended to always be tended. In other words, stay inside the PUP and in an awake state of mind if you do that. Caution is the key. Also, keep in mind that anything that gets too close to the stove can potentially catch fire. So keep anything flammable well away from the open flames.

Flame potential and also smells is the reason that I never cook in my PUP. I set the stove up outside as part of the setup process upon arrival at the site. A grease fire in a PUP would be very bad news!

[spicetrader]

We have never flet safe with the stove burning.

We use a $10-20 heater fan...that is IFyou have an electric site....

You can get them at Target for $9.97 the one we got at Wallyworld was about $20, they work wonders and have safety turn offs if they tip and a thermometer to turn them on and off.

[flyfisherman]

All the propane cook stoves I've ever had always caution against using for heating, in fact, there's a big label on mine saying not to do so. However, like others posted here, I've sure used it to take the chill off, especially in the mornings when brewing a pot of coffee and it usually does just that. For the most part I do all my cooking outside and use a different camp stove. The inside stove is for coffee, tea, just heating up some water and I have used it for maybe re-heating some soup.

Open L/P flames do not consume all the fuel. Same for the older type L/P radiant heaters, where there's a shinny piece of metal behind the flame. Newer type radiant heaters, like the Mr.Buddy Heater, use a more current and better technology. Easy to tell the newer ones, they have a ceramic cube in front and the open L/P flame flows over the cube, which becomes red hot, and the total consumtion of the fuel is something like 99.9%. The danger here is if there is not enough oxygen to support the flame and so to that end they are equiped with an automatic shutoff system.  

I've used a Mr.Buddy Heater since they first came out (at least in this area, seven years ago) and have used it many, many times in my little Starcraft. But I take precautions, make sure there's ventilation so the heater gets enough air; and most important, being mighty careful where it's placed so as not to get a fire started. Popups can burn to the ground mighty fast!


Fly

[stewartlittle]

I thought of a Mr. Buddy,but aint never got one.

I believe yaw are right,I think it is a propane detector,and propane is heavier than air so it will go to the floor.

I am always awake and dont leave it on for a long time.Long enough to make coffee and for the wife to get warmed up,then we go sit by the fire.

Nope,never have camped at a site with power.

[wavery]

I think that the CO scare may be a little over-cooked IMO.

I AM NOT recommending this but I will tell you what I did on my sailboat for many years. I lived aboard for 14 years. For the first 6 years, I had no heater on board.

We carried 2 - 6" ceramic flower pots. We put 1 or 2 on our propane stove burner, up-side-down. That would help disburse the heat far better than an open flame. That way, we could have the flame very low and still capture quite a bit of heat. In fact, we still carry one in our PU now......just in case.

I had a CO detector (a must) on the boat and only had it go off one time (in Antarctica). A PU is far more open than a sailboat but I would still recommend opening a window.

Having said all that.....please be aware that CO is very dangerous. If you fall asleep with the burners going, you may never wake-up :yikes: .

We now have a Mr Buddy heater and it works great. We leave a window cracked and sleep with confidence :sombraro: .