Ice tent and heater recommendations please.

[sns2]

Gonna be buying some ice fishing gear this year. Want to take out the boy and his buddies. Might even want to stay out overnight on the lake. What tent and heater would you guys recommend?

[calgarygringo]

Get a Big Buddy heater and stay warm. As mentioned in lots of threads you are better to have big for this kind of weather then be able to turn it down for warmer weather. Some buy too small and can't turn it up enough when it gets this cold.
For a tent that is personal choice. Like asking who makes the best pickup. (Chev by the way). LOL.
Go shopping and check out size, weight, , look for features, insulated probably better, sled to pull your stuff or flip over tent if 2 or 3. The major brands are all pretty good and remember you can get a lemon in any brand so go with what you like. Watch for sales as quite often you can get some good savings. I know Cabelas had some for $150 off when I was there last week.

[RavYak]

Sounds like you probably want a 6 man size tent and either a big buddy with hose attachment or a sunflower heater(single is good enough for all but the worst days).

[cschache]

Make sure you have good ventilation if your going to use them heaters, I know the big buddy has a low oxygen sensor shut off and is stated in the instructions and on the box "for outdoor use only"but if you plan on using one for over night heating I would highly recommend having a battery powered carbon monoxide detector. good luck!

[RavYak]

If you open the tent vents you should be good. We use sunflowers and have spent many nights in both a 6120i and a quickfish 6 and haven't died yet ;).

If you are paranoid could use a detector or another trick is to put 1 or 2 pieces of pvc pipe under the bottom of tent so air can enter that way(helps with circulation as the hot air rises up and out of vents while new air is sucked in through the pvc pipes).

[Willowtrail]

Another vote for the big buddy. I run it in an Eskimo 9416i and it's great.
Sounds like you need something in 6' x 12' or the 8' x 16' Eskimo. Insulated is the best if you can afford them but do get heavy. Worth the extra weight on cold days though.

Tip, run 2 - 1 1/2" abs pipes about 16" long under the skirt on both ends. Angle away from wind and open the top vents.

[grouse_hunter]

If you are concerned with safety, you should stay away from the conventional open flame heaters. I'm eyeing up this one (http://store.adventuretrailers.com/portable-furnace-heatsource-hs2000/) At the moment I don't have a tent, a thermos full of hot coffee does it! I wouldn't cheap out if I were concerned about the safety of my kids and their friends...

[Game Hunter]

I've spent nights In my 8'x8' clam shelter.(non insulated)
One cot fits best with all a guys gear. The big buddy 18,000 btu is a must on cold nights. -25-30 gets cold on high
If your needing to sleep a few guys I recommend the big insulated Eskimos tents
The big buddy would be fine I would think as long as it's not too cold (below -20

Always leave your top vents open, use a 4"x16 inch abs pipe and run it under the tent skirt right under big budddy heater. For me a co detector is not optional, just buy one.

[Game Hunter]

Here's a photo, one of my coldest trips :)
Hard to see the pipe but it's under that stool.

[prosnowsk8er]

Sorry what's the point of the abs pipe just fresh air to the heater?

[cschache]

Sorry what's the point of the abs pipe just fresh air to the heater?

so there is a good ventilation draft of fresh air through the pipe and then up through the tent vents so the tent does not fill with carbon monoxide and you die

[Game Hunter]

Yeah the abs pipe is for combustion air.
You can cook on the heaters too lol.
Pizza lasagna, hot dogs hung off coat hangers, hot chocolate

[Moo Snukkle]

Don't get anything smaller than 8x8. Thermal model if funds allow. The 6 sided Eskimo is one I'd look at. You could always cheap out and just get a 2 man for you and your son. Then if he wants to bring friends wait for a sunny weekend and take a crew out on the ice for pike with tip ups. Take a camp stove and boil up some hot dogs for the crew. Makes for a great day. Both my kids have had ice fishing birthday parties like this and they have never forgot it.

[RedLabel]

I have the Mr. Big buddy, got it for $143 on price match with Princess Auto. 20lb tank Hose was another $50 at cabelas - has a reg and quick connect.

The Built-in fan makes a big difference! (4D cells or $25 power adapter)

Quick note to anyone running portable propane heaters from 20lb tanks. If your hose does not have a regulator, the pressure inside the hose can squeeze plasticizers out of the rubber which is the #1 cause of buddy heaters gumming up, (not "dirty" propane as most think) Some newer hoses are built to mitigate this effect but are much stiffer in cold temps.

[Kale 19]

if you want serious heat and I mean serious as in turn your ice hut into a hot air baloon, have a look at the mr. heater hero. It will turn your ice hut tropical within a minute. Only thing about them is you do have to continue to turn them on and off. I have the big buddy and take both. The hero gets things warm quickly and once warm the big buddy on medium keeps the temp just right. If it begins to cool down, on goes the hero for 30 seconds and its warm again lol.

[Game Hunter]

CO monitor with PPM is a good idea if overnighting. It's a very small space and has no dedicated pipe to take the exhaust gases out if using a space heater.

A variety of equipment issues/conditions/wind/lack of wind etc. can cause you to have more CO in your tent than you should have.

Most of the time, you'll get away with it. Sometimes you'll notice there's a small problem and then occasionally you can die.

People still die in houses and cabins from CO with adequate venting due to abnormal conditions, a tent is a more enclosed and more variable situation.

Also don't rely on the Oxygen sensor in the heater to save you. First THERE IS NOT any Oxygen sensor in the buddy heater. There is a pilot flame that shrinks as Oxygen decreases, to the point it extinguishes and the gas supply cuts out.

But that is not a CO sensor. I.E. All it does is prevent burning if there's not enough Oxygen (e.g. Altitude etc.), where you would get a less clean burn. You can still have lethal levels of CO and have the buddy heater still running.

400ppm CO (generally considered the dangerous point in short term exposure) is 0.04% of the air. Oxygen at sea level is around 21%, the ODS Sensor (again not really a sensor), cuts out at 18%. A 0.04% increase is Carbon Monoxide, doesn't imply a 3% drop in Oxygen. Get a CO monitor it could save your life, your buddy heaters ODS won't most of the time, which is why they say don't use indoors.

Where does a guy buy a co detector with ppm displayed? Curious also on price

[sundancedan]

If you are fairly tall, the Bass Pro Shops branded ice shelter has some good height, I am 6'7" and can stand up in it, I built a wooden platform/sled to act as a floor its 6" tall and I can still stand up straight.

The shelter is not insulated and goes on sale every year at Boxing day for <$200, its not a bad hut, and very visible at night.

I have a little sunflower heater I picked up (some no name one) at KMS Tools on sale around this time last year, 15,000BTU I think for under $50...

Overall I am fairly happy with my setup, keep in mind I cannot compare it to any of the bigger brands.

I do plan on picking up Costco's 6 Person Fish Inn, its <$300 right now. I will use this for overnight trips with a few friends.

[tasco]

This may sound silly, and I may scare fish but I was toying with the idea of bringing along an inverter style generator, and using electric heat. Imo propane heat causes a lot of moisture build up, and that's not fun to deal with when packing up at the end of the day, and also drying the tent out when I get home. It's amazing how frosty a tent can get in this weather.

[Game Hunter]

Thanks jet great info

[7magtime]

I have the Eskimo 9416(non insulated) and use a single sunflower off a 20lb propane tank. Usually the only time I need to put it on high is for the initial warmup, low or medium keeps everyone comfortable....

[Kurt505]

Got my tent yesterday! When I came home from shopping last night there it was, standing up against my house next to the front door. In all honesty I'm positive Lloyd and Harry from Dumb and Dumber would have done a much better job of delivering the package. All I could do was shake my head and laugh. The top was ripped wide open, holes all down the side, mud on the tent bag itself even! I don't think there is any damage to the tent itself though. Can't wait to try this bad boy out!!!


http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac13/Kurt505Hunter/3C1EEBFC-FC2F-445D-A0E9-E56A41ED54D8.jpg (http://s881.photobucket.com/user/Kurt505Hunter/media/3C1EEBFC-FC2F-445D-A0E9-E56A41ED54D8.jpg.html)

[saintsix]

I have a eskimo fat fish non insulated. theres room for 2 cots in there. I use a MR buddy heater. that is the minimum I would use for it too. on really cold days you still need a light jacket. if the funds are there go for the Big buddy. they are great heaters never had a issue in the 3 ive owned it. Also invest in some good ice anchors, the ones that come with it are crap.(corkscrew type) the ones I have that work great are hollow like a 5 inch chuink of pipe that has external threads. I believe mec has them but they are not cheap. youll want a minimum of one good anchor for the side wall that the wind hits.