~~~~Diesel Heaters~~~~

[Elkaholic523]

I've been thinking really hard about getting a diesel heater for my 14-16 foot wall tent I've been looking at the ones Deluxe wall tents sell do any of u guys have any experience with there heaters. I'll b using the heater during the first week of oct so it won't b super cold out maybe -5 at the coldest but most likely 0 at night do u guys know of any really good ones not looking for something cheap that works ok I'm looking for something I can keep for many years
Thanks for any input. :-)

[Ice Fishing Maniac]

We leave first week of October too. And we have had some cold night years ago and I was glad I had an awesome wood stove. If was back in 2002 I believe and it went -20 to -25 the day we left, huge dump of snow and stayed that way for about 5 days.

We have the Prospector model...dont think we bought it thru Deluxe Wall tents...somewhere in either Calgary or Edmonton. This will be the 4th year with it and the 5th for our tent we ordered from Deluxe Wall tents....16x20x5x9.5h with custom sized porch.

The heater works great...consistant heat. If you need to turn it up, say after we set up the shower in the afternoon, we turn it up a bit. We had one guy get really sick one a couple years back. Got the chills/fevers and it was good to have this heater then for him while he rested at camp when we left and he didnt need to worry about stoking the wood stove.

Before in the older tent and this one the first year I was the furthest away from the stove in my older Woods 5 Star sleeping bag...now in the same spot but the stove is at the back wall of tent. It really hasnt been too cold the past few years, but it will work. I kknow my old wood stove pumped and held the heat great as we had it in my old 14x16 tent and used it in the winter when sledding in the mountains at Kakwa.

Only thing with the diesel is extra 2 jerry cans to pack in as we now have to quad/tub trailer in to camp. If like before someone messed up the trail with a cat a few years back and then our spot getting logged out, we could drive the trucks right to camp. We only need to trailer in about 2-3 miles. We go thru maybe a tank of fuel every 2-3 days...depends on temp setting....most of the time it is on the lowest setting. If we need more fuel, a couple of our trucks have jockey tanks to fill a jerry can.

With the number of guys in our group (6 and gets up to 10 sometimes) , packing the extra fuel initially along with the fuel tank and stove its no big deal.

[Elkaholic523]

Thanks for the info your tent is a little bigger than mine how hot is it at night while turned on low

[Elkaholic523]

Where are u setting up your shower

[Ice Fishing Maniac]

If you have a smaller tent, then go with the next model down. You wont regret it.

Thing I actually miss is the prep work...chores each mid day...chopping wood, stockpile along front and side wall of the tent. This helps reflect the heat inside the tent. Some of the "NEW" guys in our hunting group dont know what it was like for prep work each day in camp.

The temp on our heater was as low as it goes and we slowed the fuel rate down as low as we could. Lets still say I slept on top my sleeping bag most of the time........even debating this year moving to the front side of the tent. Only thing is when my kids start wanting to come out, it will be nice to be in "My Stall" for the cot for them. For an estimated temp....15 to 20 maybe. We never really checked. We have a MAX/MIN temp gauge outside hanging near our cookshack to monitor the temp. May bring another to chech the tent temp for something to do.

Our shower setup is maybe 5-8 metres from the camp. On cool or cold days its a fast run into the tent after you dry off as much as you can to stay warm and get dressed. We heat water in SS pails on the firepit, dump into a 5 gal pail, mix with some cold water for the right temperature, and use a small submersable pump with a hose hooked on with the Kitchen sink style spray nozzle. WORKS AWESOME!! We use to frame up a small area and staple thin poly to the frame. Use to suck when the wind picked up and shook al the cold water droplets on you. Now we have an actual outside portable shower frame/setup. we stand on a plastic pallet that lets the water fall thru.

Its nice to be refreshed after 2-3 days being out hunting....sometimes 2 showers in the week at camp.

[Elkaholic523]

I'm defanately going with diesel from now on I like the steady heat through the night idea.
As for the shower sounds like a cheap but very effective way to shower awesome idea .
Thanks for the info!!!

[sirmike68]

I used to have the Expedition model. After 3 different wood stoves and lack of sleep during the hunting season we switched to the deisel. Constant heat at variable temperatures with little effort was the answer. With the wood stoves I found myself totally fatigued from lack of sleep from hunting all day and stoking all night. We averaged 5 gal every 18 hrs on med heat in a 12x14 at about -10. Expensive to run but well worth when you actually get to sleep.

[Elkaholic523]

Thanks for the info guys looks like its gonna b a pricy addition to camp but I agree 100% with surmike I've spent to many hunting trips burnt out from stoking the fire I always seem to get that job and by day three your burnt out diesel no matter the price is a comfort im willing to pay for.