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USB or Battery Powered Tent Heater?
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Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Gear (General) › USB or Battery Powered Tent Heater?
- This topic has 12 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 1 month ago by Franco Darioli.
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Dec 14, 2016 at 9:20 am #3440398
I’m almost embarrassed to ask but I’m obviously doing it anyway…
I’ve been on some cold weather camping trips but usually for just 2-3 nights and temps haven’t gotten much lower than the teens. The day after Christmas I’ll be going up to the US/Canadian border for a week-long snowshoeing, ice fishing and cross-country skiing trip. I’m sure daytime highs won’t be more than the teens and night time lows are easily sub-zero (windchills -20 to -30F). I want to take advantage of the new Anker 21 watt solar charger and Anker Astro E7 26800mAh Ultra-High Capacity 3-Port 4A Compact Portable Charger External Battery Power Bank that I’ve ordered through Amazon. Originally, I bought the solar panel to recharge GoPro and other camera batteries but now I’ve started wondering, “Does a USB powered heater I can use in my 2-man tent at night exist?” If not, is there a good battery powered one you’d recommend?
Dec 14, 2016 at 9:32 am #3440400Someone smarter than me can address the actual physics and thermodynamics here, but I believe that the energy density of batteries, especially small portable batteries, is simply woefully inadequate of an energy storage medium for heating. Liquid or solid fuels and combustion are the way to go. Invest in a tent with a stove jack and a wood burning stove if you want to be toasty and happy for the part of the night when you are awake, and put some bottles of hot water in your bag for sleeping.
Dec 14, 2016 at 9:44 am #3440401Here’s a rough analysis of cooking in the backcountry with batteries and other electric sources:
https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/80795/
Short version: It takes many pounds of batteries and accessories to bring two cups of water to boil. You really don’t want to heat a tent that way.
I bought my wife a combo USB battery / hand warmer recommended by The Wirecutter:
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-hand-warmer/
A couple of hand warmers might help for short periods.
— Rex
Dec 14, 2016 at 10:01 am #3440402Both Rex and Philip are spot on.
Your 26800 mAH battery stores about 26.8 amp-hours at 12V potential. Assuming one could draw all 26.8 amp-hours, one would have about 1.16 MJ of energy available.
But that’s not very much energy. The specific energy of wood, for example, is about 15 MJ/kg. So, a 75 gram (3 oz) stick has about as much useful energy as your battery (as it pertains to heating–don’t run outside and try to plug a stick into your cellphone to charge it).
Another caveat is the limited power distribution over USB. I thought it was limited to ten-ish watts, but a quick Google informed me that 100W is possible. So, you could run a 100W heater, but remember, you’ve only got 26.8 amp hours available, at 12V. Ignoring the inefficiencies of the power electronics that would be required, you’d only be able to run your 100W heater for a little over 3 hours, assuming you took your battery from full charge to zero.
So, a 100W heater, for about 3 hours. 100W is pretty small for a space heater.
However, a minor tangent: I grew up in WI, and we always used electric blankets in the winter months (August through June). It seems like one could design a relatively lightweight, small electric blanket to go in your bag with you. This could draw USB levels of power, and produce a noticeable amount of heat, since the heat is produced within your down cocoon. (edit to add: Rex basically mentioned this above with his wife’s hand warmers).
That’s mostly a thought experiment; the practicality of doing so based on the premise that you have extra, “free” electrical energy available–you are already carrying the charger and battery. Otherwise, it would be undoubtedly more efficient (in terms of weight carried) to simply bring a bag with another ounce or two of down.
Dec 14, 2016 at 10:13 am #3440404Also batteries lose capacity as the temperatures goes down. In those temps, who/what is going to keep the batteries warm???
Dec 14, 2016 at 10:23 am #3440405It won’t heat the whole tent but a Nalgene bottle with some hot water in your armpit or next to your femoral artery will provide a ton of warmth.
Dec 14, 2016 at 10:45 am #3440406As Mark notes, batteries will lose a lot of efficiency in those temperatures. Also, even on a sunny day the sun won’t be in the sky and above the treetops for very long in late December, so getting a full charge could be a challenge.
Putting the equivalent weight into insulation, or even into chemical hand warmers might be a better bet.
Walt
Dec 14, 2016 at 11:06 am #3440408The closest battery powered option I’m aware of is the Rumple Puffe on Kickstarter; this approach would focus on heating you instead of your shelter. Â I’m sure I overlooked it but I can’t find the weight. Â Looking at their other non-electric blankets of a similar size and taking the weight of the battery bank into consideration, I very much doubt that it’s under 4.5 lbs for a device that can in ideal situations run 10 hours on low and adds multiple points of failure to a sleep system. Â For the same weight penalty, you could bring an expedition worthy sleeping bag (eg MB -20*f @ 60.5 ounces) and a down jacket that don’t rely on batteries.
Dec 14, 2016 at 11:27 am #3440412Hawt nalgene …. Youll likely be melting snow anyways for watah
;)
Dec 14, 2016 at 12:13 pm #3440418“Does anyone here speak Puffay?”
“I speak some Puffay.”
“What does ‘Hawt nalgene …. Youll likely be melting snow anyways for watah ;)’ mean?
“Ah! Â Eric is explaining that you will need to melt snow to make water anyways so you can use your Nalgene bottle to keep you warm.”
“Thanks Eric and Mr. Puffay translator!”
Dec 14, 2016 at 12:42 pm #3440426POOFAY !!!
Wrapping ur hawt nalgenr in yr poofay when in da pack means u gotta nice warm jackets at stops …. N it keeps da watah HAWT
Just make shure dere r no leaks n that the outside is dry n free of snow
;)
Dec 14, 2016 at 12:49 pm #3440428Ha ha! Â Touche!
Poofay. Â Poofay. Â Poofay.
I’ve written it three times to burn it into my memory so I won’t screw it up again.
Dec 14, 2016 at 1:30 pm #3440432Rumple Puffe :
“Both the natural down and the synthetic fill versions are 54″x80” when laid flat and can easily cover even the tallest travelers. The down version weighs just 2.1 lbs and compresses into a stuff sack that measures 6×12″, while the synthetic version weighs 3.4 lbs and packs down to 8×16″.’
That is the blanket only, no battery or charger.
Estimated delivery : July 2017
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