Heaters Unleashed

At times you may wish the camping season to last longer! In case you like to go out and camp when the season is chilly, you would love having some kind of a portable heater. You can have an extended season for camping by going out with a Coleman catalytic propane heater, which is safe and efficient too.

Since a catalytic heater emits no flame, there is no worry of your tent catching any fire. Using a platinum catalyst, the heater combines oxygen and propane. You certainly need to light up propane to start with but subsequently heat is produced as a result of chemical reaction that takes place between oxygen, propane and platinum. The bye products of the chemical reaction are chiefly water vapors and carbon dioxide.

The Coleman ProCat catalytic heater produces 3,000 BTU of heat through an easily available propane canister of one pound that will last for six to eight hours. You don’t require any matches for lighting the heater as it comes with InstaStart piezoelectric igniter that lights up the unit by the mere flip of a button. The heater is provided with a built- in fan that works on batteries to uniformly circulate the heated air and thus keep the place warm.

Though the Coleman ProCat is bigger than what you might have seen in pictures, it remains quite portable. It should also be added here that despite there being no flame, the mesh of the heater becomes sufficiently hot to melt synthetic items, which makes it imperative to keep the heater away from the walls of the tent. You should also know that there is a small burst of flame at the time of ignition that exits from the front of the heater till the catalytic reaction starts, so care needs to be taken that it points away from the holiday group and other objects.

Be cozy and safe in your tent. With proper ventilation, you can run the ProCat all night, but it is safer and more cost effective to use the heater only when you are awake. Light it up to warm the tent just before bed, and then snuggle down in your sleeping bag. It’s a simple matter to reach out to light it again an hour or so before you get up in the morning.

Feel safe and comfortable in your tent. If you are keen to keep your ProCat on for the entire night, make sure that you have proper ventilation. But, it works out economical and safer too, if you leave the heater on while you are awake. You can warm up the tent before it’s time to retire for the night. You can light it up once again a little before it’s time to leave bed and huddle back in your bed for a while.

The Coleman SportCat catalytic heater offers safe and flameless heat in smaller areas. Heater rated for 1500 BTU can keep you warm for about fourteen hours using a one pound propane heater. The InstaStart electric ignition requires no matches, and comes with a practical built-in handle allowing you to conveniently take the SportCat to any place.

Generally, the users complain of a smell on using the heater for the first time. You should not ignore that almost any new heating device emits some smell initially. The smell is because the components of the heater are subjected to different treatments at the time of manufacturing, and any residues as a result would get burnt when you use it for the first time. A good solution to that problem is to take the heater out and burn one canister of propane that clears all the residues and then start using it indoors.
It’s very important that you buy the right sized heater for heating any given area. The thumb rule for determining the right sized heater is to calculate the volume of your tent by multiplying its length, width and height. On multiplying the volume with four, you get the right size of the heater you should have. If you are going to use the heater in an enclosed and insulated place, multiply the volume by three. . The Coleman SportCat keeps those smaller rooms warm.

Coleman Tent Heater

Another portable model is PowerCat. This catalytic heater is rated for 3,000-BTU. This also comes with InstaStart ignition and has a quiet fan that circulates the warm air. It works for about eight hours on a one-pound propane canister. Those having used it report that it keeps the tent warm even when it’s freezing outside.

Many people are apprehensive of using such heaters for fear of carbon monoxide that may be emitted when the heater is used in an enclosed area. Tests conducted on use of catalytic heaters by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission confirm that these heaters release negligible amounts of carbon monoxide and pose no threat for healthy adults.

However, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that catalytic necessarily require oxygen. Since heat is generated as a result of a chemical action and not by producing a flame, the catalytic heater can operate even when oxygen levels are low. This could cause oxygen deficiency and lead to hypoxia. It should also be understood that the lower the level of oxygen, the lower is the efficiency of the heater, which means there is an accumulation of unprocessed propane hydrocarbons, causing the hazard of hypoxia.

You can avoid all the associated risks by ensuring sufficient ventilation in your tent. It’s not much of an effort. An opening of the size of 3×3 inches suffices to solve the purpose. Normally, tents have larger mesh-covered openings. As an additional safety measure you could avoid using the heater while sleeping. Light up the heater well before bedtime so that the area gets warm. Apart from playing safe, you will also be saving your fuel.

Though electric space heaters prove to be more efficient, propane heaters are necessitated when power source is limited. Propane continues to be an efficient and economical fuel for heating, especially for smaller enclosed areas.

Where to Heat

One of the most important considerations for buying a propane heater is the area to be heated. The output of a heater is measured in terms of BTU. The larger the area, the more powerful the heater has to be and thus the higher its BTU rating. Heating of large open areas, like say a warehouse will call for a heater with a capacity of 8000-12,000 BTU. A model like DynaGlo-PRO 70k-100k BTU Propane FA Heater would be appropriate for heating of barns, warehouses, indoor sporting events, patios, garages, campers, cabins and even hunting blinds. Such a unit combines radiant and convection heat for utmost efficiency. With a twenty pound tank of propane this would keep heated an area of 2,500 square feet for about six hours. For a small area of say 400 square feet a model like Heater Model # MH18B will work for about 110 hours from a tank of the same capacity of twenty pounds. Homestead Portable Liquid Propane Heater is a popular choice of homeowners who opted to add an enclosed patio without heating arrangements. In case you have small room a heater of 2000 BTU should suffice.

Great Advantages

The most helpful feature of propane space heaters is their portability. You can carry them with you anywhere you may like to. Small propane heaters could be used in a tent when you go out camping, in your recreation vehicle (RV) or even in a rustic cabin.

Check out the tank

In their case it is the capacity of the tank that’s the point of concern. Suppose you intend carrying it with you to a camp in the wilds and there are no means to have a refill of the tank! So, before venturing into such a heater, you should fairly well anticipate your requirements of fuel. However, for domestic use you may have two smaller tanks, of which you may continue using one, while the other is kept in reserve for immediate use after one is exhausted. Nevertheless, you should have a tank capacity that does not need too frequent refills to be inconvenient. And, while camping out make sure that you have some fuel to fall back upon in case of an emergency and always start with a full tank. Ideally, you should be carrying at least a twenty-pound tank and if you have been using a tank of the same capacity at home you would have a good estimate for the duration of time it could be expected to last.

Always consider safety first

Irrespective of the kind of fuel used, the most important consideration is the safety of its use and that is equally applicable in case of propane heaters. Insist on buying your tank and its refills from an authorized dealer and don’t ever fall prey to ad-hoc arrangements of buying the fuel in home made tanks, the quality of which is never reliable and you’ll be under constant fear of some unfortunate mishap or accident that may hurt you or somebody else. Make sure to check the safety measures and understand their functioning.

A propane space heater is basically used for small rooms, offices, or any small area that needs to be heated. While there are several types of space heaters available, propane is one of the most popular. While you shouldn’t expect to be able to warm an entire house with these heaters, if you have a cold room, or for those chilly Autumn nights, using a propane space heater instead of turning on your entire heating system is a perfect solution. This is a very inexpensive way to heat that cold room in your house.

It is important to know what when you’re looking to purchase a heater, then you must first ensure that your house is insulated and the home’s main source of heating is working properly. This ensures that you’re using your space heater only when it’s needed. This way you’re certain to use the heater when it’s convenient, which will also be important to keep the costs down.

There are a few types of propane space heaters available. There are radiant space heaters and parabolic space heaters. Radiant space heaters have hot metals plates that radiate heat, and are great for small places such as beside a couch. A parabolic heater can be used for a larger area, such as a workshop. Whichever one you decide to get, there are many types available depending on the area you need to heat.

The strength of the propane space heater is also important. The first thing you should consider is the size of the area that you want heated. If you are planning to heat a larger room, then selecting a heater that have a large number of BTU’s is probably best suited for you. For a small space less is better. There are many online sources available for you to check the types available. Size, energy emission, and type are all ways to ensure you purchase exactly what you need. It’s also very important to check the usage of the propane heater. Space heaters can come in varying sizes and strengths, so you will need to make sure that you will get one that is powerful enough to do the right job.

Looking around and gathering information is always the most efficient way to find what is right for you. Your local hardware store will have a large selection available for you to peruse. They also have people ready to help you select the right propane space heater for you.