Learning more about how these heaters work is a great first step in solving problems with camping in the cold. Carry on, and you’ll discover what makes catalytic heaters different from other options and how you can use one in your tent safely!<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can see details about it in my YouTube video, here:<\/p>\n\n\n Gas propane-powered heaters are dangerous. Carbon monoxide and fire hazards are the top two reasons. Make sure you find a heater with the ANSI Z21.103-2017<\/strong> certification<\/strong> as this ensures that the most important safety measures are present. No matter what kind of heater you use, it’s best to follow all of the recommended safety precautions, including making sure your tent is well-ventilated.<\/strong> Even the safest certified heaters produce carbon monoxide. I’ve tested this. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s always wise to double-check the safety tips for any catalytic heater you’re interested in. Contact the manufacturer to ensure it won’t create carbon monoxide in your tent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As always, don’t sleep with your heater running in your tent–many things can go wrong, so it’s best to warm up your tent before you sleep and turn on your heater as needed while you’re awake. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you find the right heater, you’ll be able to enjoy efficient heating while you sleep. The cost of fueling these heaters is often decently low, so your wallet is sure to be pleased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you’re setting up your tent, you’ll want to make sure that it’s large enough for a catalytic heater to work well. Generally speaking, it’s not typically ideal to try to use in a small, 2-person tent. Even if it can heat the area properly, chances are something will be too close to the heater, which creates a risk for fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the many heaters I’ve tested, they demand around 3 feet of clearance from the top of the heater and 2 feet on the sides of the heater.<\/strong> In a small tent, you’ll be pushing that 3 feet of clearance from the top.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, in a small tent, it gets REALLY hot with a heater. While there technically might be enough room for the heater, there certainly isn’t enough room for the heater and for you to lie down in it.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, provide a larger tent with plenty of space to keep the heater away from flammable objects. It’s also a wise idea to keep the heater away from the floor and ceiling for the most part. If you get a heater that is designed to hang from the ceiling, make sure to check the ceiling in that area regularly to make sure it isn’t getting too hot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you need a new tent to house your heater or happen to be new to car camping, then you might want to learn about your tent options! To learn all about the ideal costs of purchasing a tent, take a look at our article on how much you should spend on a tent<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, place the heater somewhere it can get some ventilation. It doesn’t need to be a big, open window or door. Just a normal vent will typically do. Any catalytic heater you purchase will likely come with instructions that let you know how much ventilation is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, the Buddy Portable Heater (this isn’t a catalytic heater, but the same principle applies) states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This heater requires a minimum vent area of 9 square inches, example 3\u201d x 3\u201d opening) at the ceiling and at floor level for adequate ventilation during operation. <\/p>Buddy Heater Manual<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n It may also be a good idea to heat up the tent before you go to bed and turn off the heater when you go to bed. This just helps to keep things safer while you are asleep. For the most part, it should be enough to keep you comfortable through the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Safety is extremely important to pay attention to while you’re using a catalytic heater in your tent. While these heaters are much safer than other methods, they still require some awareness to be used safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before using your catalytic heater, consider these safety tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The right catalytic heater will work wonders for keeping you comfortable. However, you may find that a heater isn’t all you need to stay comfortable while car camping. For the best tips on making car camping comfortable for everyone involved, check out our article on the subject here<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I tested the Martin CH3, which is a catalytic heater. You can find it on Amazon, here<\/a>, or you can see more info about it in our article about the best heaters to use in a tent, here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you’re tired of camping in the cold, a catalytic heater might be the perfect choice for your tent! Generally speaking, catalytic heaters are safe to use in tents if<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7444,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":24,"label":"Camping"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Martin-CH3-lit-1024x768.jpg",640,480,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Peter","author_link":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/author\/outsidedecider\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":24,"name":"Camping","slug":"camping","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":24,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":132,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0","cat_ID":24,"category_count":132,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Camping","category_nicename":"camping","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1532"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1532"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7727,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1532\/revisions\/7727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Martin-CH3-Catalytic-Heater\"](\"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Martin-CH3-lit-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/figure>\n\n\n\nUPDATE: I did a whole bunch of tests with heaters in a tent to see if they were safe:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Are](\"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FAT4CUNHwrfA%2F0.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CH3-gas-test-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nHow To Use a Catalytic Heater in a Tent?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Safety Tips For Using a Catalytic Heater in a Tent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n