Diesel heater for tent

Wyo_Roadhunter

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Don't make to much fun of me for this, I'd rather know if it's gonna work at my house and not in the middle of nowhere Arizona this fall on dad's elk hunt haha. But anyways has anyone ran these diesel heaters in their tents and have any tips or tricks (this is a 10x14 kodiak)? According to the weather tonight we are supposed to get to 20 or a little less. Thought if I can stay warm in there in those Temps Arizona shouldn't be a issue haha. I plan on getting a set of solar panels to charge my power bank while we are out hunting during the day.

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Looks great, keep us posted.
I have been thinking about doing something similar. Just research sizes, battery, and solar charger for batteries, etc. Also some kind of generator cover/tent. Ones I was looking at could not be left out in the rain and snow.
 
Looks great, keep us posted.
I have been thinking about doing something similar. Just research sizes, battery, and solar charger for batteries, etc. Also some kind of generator cover/tent. Ones I was looking at could not be left out in the rain and snow.
I think I'll probably build a box to cover it that has carpet inside to help deaden the noise. The pump isn't to loud but I'm sure the ticking could annoy some people
 
Don't make to much fun of me for this, I'd rather know if it's gonna work at my house and not in the middle of nowhere Arizona this fall on dad's elk hunt haha. But anyways has anyone ran these diesel heaters in their tents and have any tips or tricks (this is a 10x14 kodiak)? According to the weather tonight we are supposed to get to 20 or a little less. Thought if I can stay warm in there in those Temps Arizona shouldn't be a issue haha. I plan on getting a set of solar panels to charge my power bank while we are out hunting during the day.

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That’s not a very big tent. They make 12’ hoses to hook up the buddie heaters to a 5 gallon propane tank. Won’t need power with that. Just a thought
Those make carbon monoxide. Diesel heaters have heat exchangers so the fumes aren't inside the tent with you.

I'd never sleep in a tent with a Mr Buddy, even the ones with CO sensors on them, IMO.

PS. There are some silent fuel pumps out there to avoid the ticking, too
 
Those make carbon monoxide. Diesel heaters have heat exchangers so the fumes aren't inside the tent with you.

I'd never sleep in a tent with a Mr Buddy, even the ones with CO sensors on them, IMO.

PS. There are some silent fuel pumps out there to avoid the ticking, too
In it now, its 27 degrees outside and it's 50 degrees in here with the heater on low. I'm the same way with the propane heaters have always been nervous about the carbon monoxide.
 
Those make carbon monoxide. Diesel heaters have heat exchangers so the fumes aren't inside the tent with you.

I'd never sleep in a tent with a Mr Buddy, even the ones with CO sensors on them, IMO.

PS. There are some silent fuel pumps out there to avoid the ticking, too
They make a tent safe one. Ones out in my garage right now. Spent many a night in the tent with it
 
Anytime I use a flame inside, I not only worry about the carbon monoxide but I worry about burning all the oxygen out of the air as well. I’d make sure I had some fresh air intake too. If the canvas will hold out water, will it hold out air too. The Kodiak has a rubberized floor.

Just a suggestion, for what it’s worth.
 
Those make carbon monoxide. Diesel heaters have heat exchangers so the fumes aren't inside the tent with you.

I'd never sleep in a tent with a Mr Buddy, even the ones with CO sensors on them, IMO.

PS. There are some silent fuel pumps out there to avoid the ticking, too
I agree with grizzly. The Mr buddy heaters scare the **** out of me and I would never go to sleep with one running in the tent.

I recommend good sleeping bags and shutting off any heat before bed. You would be surprised in a tent setup like yours how much heat a Coleman lantern puts off. Have it on before bed and then turn it on in the morning. Of course a lantern puts off carbon monoxide too, but no harm using it before bed and when you get up. You’re elk hunting so you should be getting up well before light anyhow. Have it in a position to light so you don’t have to get out of your bag. In those tents we hang them from the center to just a few feet off the ground with some p cord.
 
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They make a tent safe one. Ones out in my garage right now. Spent many a night in the tent with it
It's only as safe as the sensors. No way I'm sleeping with one running.

I'm with SS, I keep it nearby and turn it on before I crawl out of the bag in the morning. It takes the chill out of the air quickly.

I've been looking at the diesel heaters though. I think those could be awesome, just trying to decide the right setup.
 
Your guys tents must be hyperbolic chambers. All the ones I own have some sort of ventilation. I don’t run one all night but only because I think it’s a waste of fuel. But I’ll run it while I’m laying in there reading or whatever before going to sleep. Sometimes hours at s time. To my knowledge I haven’t died yet
 
Your guys tents must be hyperbolic chambers. All the ones I own have some sort of ventilation. I don’t run one all night but only because I think it’s a waste of fuel. But I’ll run it while I’m laying in there reading or whatever before going to sleep. Sometimes hours at s time. To my knowledge I haven’t died yet
all irrelevant as it’s something that can, has, and will happen again to people using heaters and stoves in tents. Take a few mins and google it.
 
Well it worked pretty good last night. Everything is in Celsius since it's a cheap Amazon Chinese heater so I run all the settings on Hz. It was 27 degrees in the tent when I came out and after an hour with the heater on 2 Hz it was up to 48 in the tent. When I woke up it was 42 in the tent and 17 outside. I turned the heater up to 4 hz and it's 51 in here in 5 minutes. The heater goes from 1.7 hz up to 5.3 hz. So if you had a bigger power supply you could run it at max all night and be way warm. I think the cheap Amazon power supply I have would run it at 4 hz all night and have no issues. It only used maybe 1/3 of a gallon of diesel too so thats nice. In the time I've written this the inside of the tent is up to 56 now.
 
Well it worked pretty good last night. Everything is in Celsius since it's a cheap Amazon Chinese heater so I run all the settings on Hz. It was 27 degrees in the tent when I came out and after an hour with the heater on 2 Hz it was up to 48 in the tent. When I woke up it was 42 in the tent and 17 outside. I turned the heater up to 4 hz and it's 51 in here in 5 minutes. The heater goes from 1.7 hz up to 5.3 hz. So if you had a bigger power supply you could run it at max all night and be way warm. I think the cheap Amazon power supply I have would run it at 4 hz all night and have no issues. It only used maybe 1/3 of a gallon of diesel too so thats nice. In the time I've written this the inside of the tent is up to 56 now.

Did you run it last night off of your power supply or shore power? Power supply efficiency goes down drastically in cold temps as you likely know.

One thing for sure is a Chinese heater and all the other gadgets could add to one hell of a hunting story 😂

I’m leaving for a trip in two weeks where the temps will average -30. Similar tent setup too. Getting excited!
 
Did you run it last night off of your power supply or shore power? Power supply efficiency goes down drastically in cold temps as you likely know
I'm also interested in this.

I always figured I could keep the battery in the tent so the heater would keep itself running. The new LiFePO4 batteries deliver full voltage until their shut-off temp, which varies, and the costs are getting much better through places like Vatrer & EG4.

I've kind of been looking at diesel heaters for a year or so, just haven't narrowed down the best way to do it.

I've heard some people prefer kerosene too, and some heaters will burn both 🤷
 
Did you run it last night off of your power supply or shore power? Power supply efficiency goes down drastically in cold temps as you likely know.

One thing for sure is a Chinese heater and all the other gadgets could add to one hell of a hunting story 😂

I’m leaving for a trip in two weeks where the temps will average -30. Similar tent setup too. Getting excited!
Awesome good luck! And yeah hopefully half way through the hunts it doesn't burn up 😂.

I did run it off my power supply. This morning it was at 34% and I shut the heater down at 12 hours of run time. I ran the wiring into the tent from the heater and kept the power supply in it to hopefully help with the cold efficiency loss. The power supply I have is only 266 wh. They make one that is 892 wh that is $300.00 I'll probably get.
 
I'm also interested in this.

I always figured I could keep the battery in the tent so the heater would keep itself running. The new LiFePO4 batteries deliver full voltage until their shut-off temp, which varies, and the costs are getting much better through places like Vatrer & EG4.

I've kind of been looking at diesel heaters for a year or so, just haven't narrowed down the best way to do it.

I've heard some people prefer kerosene too, and some heaters will burn both 🤷
This is the power supply I have I like it because the display tells me how much power the heater is pulling and how much the power bank has of run time left in hours. I just run diesel in mine. Really once it starts up there is no diesel exhaust smell. Also the wiring I got for my heater has about 10 feet of cord and has the cigarette lighter end on it.

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This is the power supply I have I like it because the display tells me how much power the heater is pulling and how much the power bank has of run time left in hours. I just run diesel in mine. Really once it starts up there is no diesel exhaust smell. Also the wiring I got for my heater has about 10 feet of cord and has the cigarette lighter end on it.

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If you can run 12 hours on <200Wh, that's fantastic. I had no idea what to expect for power draw and would've gone way overboard so that's very helpful. Thanks
 
Great thread! Thanks for sharing the intel on the power supply. Pretty impressive results.


Normally on my hunts I go UL but on our spring bear hunts we roll in heavy. Check out this setup we use on our spring bear hunts. The charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter regulates the voltage/amperage to prevent damage to devices. Whole setup costs less than $100. And its multipurpose. Always want to pack gear that has more than one use when you have to fit it all in a super cub :D

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Great thread! Thanks for sharing the intel on the power supply. Pretty impressive results.


Normally on my hunts I go UL but on our spring bear hunts we roll in heavy. Check out this setup we use on our spring bear hunts. The charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter regulates the voltage/amperage to prevent damage to devices. Whole setup costs less than $100. And its multipurpose. Always want to pack gear that has more than one use when you have to fit it all in a super cub :D

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Thats how we are to but the hunt dad drew there's a million roads so we are going for luxury 😂😂. That looks like it would work good!
 
Off subject of the diesel heater but has anyone used one of these pellet stoves in their wall tents. They have extended hoppers also so you can add basically double the pellets.

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I have the same tent i use a propane heater in mine works good there's vents in the top corners on both sides so it's pretty safe can buy a sensor too if you're worried about it
 
I have the same tent i use a propane heater in mine works good there's vents in the top corners on both sides so it's pretty safe can buy a sensor too if you're worried about it
A good….. simple sensor is a great idea. They should come attached to every indoor heater, so stupid people, like me, would always have one available.
 
The problem with the sensor idea is carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in your blood 300 times stronger than oxygen so it builds up over time. Even if the oxygen levels stay relatively high, your body's ability to extract oxygen from the air lessens over time.

That's the purpose of hyperbaric treatment, to force the CO out of your blood so oxygen can be utilized.
 
Alright last post I'll do on this little heater for now until I get my solar panels. I probably will get a little bigger power supply than the one I have. When starting the heater it usually trips once because of low power, I unplug it plug it back in and start it again and then don't have any issues. I did check the watts it uses when running. Low temp = 1.7 hz and high = 5.4 hz.

1.7 hz = 8 watts and 27+ hrs of continues run time.
2.5 hz = 11 watts and 21+ hrs of run time
3.4 hz = 16 watts and 15+ hrs of run time
4.5 hz = 22 watts and 10+ hrs of run time
5.4 hz = 34 watts and 8+ hrs of run time

All of these are with the little 266wh/72800mAh power station.

I think this will be a pretty sweet setup if your just road camping. I know propane works good to but just having the peace of mind not worrying about carbon monoxide is really nice.

The heater is a silvel 8kw
 

This is a good video on explaining building your own power station. I'll probably build one just because I'm bored and like messing with this kind of stuff haha. I did end up buying a small 800 WH power station to use.
 
Can you share a picture of the diesel heater in this thread? It sounds different from the one we used in CO last year. It was an old thing that supposedly could burn diesel, propane, kerosene and maybe even wood or corn whiskey as well. Anyway, it seemed to burn a lot of fuel, leaked, and was hard to control. Other than that, it worked fine! :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
Can you share a picture of the diesel heater in this thread? It sounds different from the one we used in CO last year. It was an old thing that supposedly could burn diesel, propane, kerosene and maybe even wood or corn whiskey as well. Anyway, it seemed to burn a lot of fuel, leaked, and was hard to control. Other than that, it worked fine! :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
This is the one i have

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Got the new power station. This one is 768 WH. I also got 2 120w solar panels with it. Initial charge I used a wall charger to get it from 59% to 100% which was only about 45 minutes. I ran it with the diesel heater for almost 5 hours last night until it got down to 80%. This morning the sun was good so I set up the panels and charged it up which only took around 30 minutes. The panels were actually doing better than they are supposed to and was doing 270 watts.

The heater I was able to get into the settings and adjust how much fuel it was using and for the elevation here I dropped it quite a bit and am still getting the same heat using probably 1/4 less fuel as when it was at factory settings. You can also change the fan speed but for what I'm using it for the factory speeds should be fine. I also checked with a heat gun and the heat coming out of the tube is around 250°. In the close up of the power station that is the heater running on high which looks like I'll get around 21 hours of run time. I can't remember but on low it was like 70 something hours.

Now I have to figure out how to keep all this crap from getting stolen when we are out hunting.

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all irrelevant as it’s something that can, has, and will happen again to people using heaters and stoves in tents. Take a few mins and google it.
I have the Mr. Buddy set up w. CO sensor (and separate backup sensor) and it works fine for it's intended purpose. It gets turn off before anyone goes to sleep and the Kodiak is always fresh air vented. Never does the Buddy go on while we're asleep, never! It's a viable system to take the chill out from the tent. I respect your position on this matter, although I think it's a bit inflexible.

In any case, I've done extensive research on the diesel heater system and that's likely what'll I run next year if I draw my mid-season trophy bull tag. It'll save a ton of propane cost on a 2 week hunt

Good discussion, everyone.
 
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Would a smaller wood stove in a Kodiak canvas be too much heat ? In larger wall tents they seem to work great.
 
Great looking setup. I need to try and do something similar. The biggest benefit I see is the saving of room inside a small tent. Wood stoves take up a lot of room. Even in really cold weather I have had to run 2 Heater Buddies in the morning to get our Kodiak warm enough for my daughter. Be nice to have the extra room and not have to worry about her hitting the heater with her sleeping bag or something.
 
Great looking setup. I need to try and do something similar. The biggest benefit I see is the saving of room inside a small tent. Wood stoves take up a lot of room. Even in really cold weather I have had to run 2 Heater Buddies in the morning to get our Kodiak warm enough for my daughter. Be nice to have the extra room and not have to worry about her hitting the heater with her sleeping bag or something.

I'm guessing she makes you get up and turn it on just like my wife does to me while she is snuggled up in her warm sleeping bag! lol
 
I use this one in one of my cabins.

I also run all my heater diesel through a centrifuge to remove impurities which helps eliminate nearly all odors.

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Would a smaller wood stove in a Kodiak canvas be too much heat ? In larger wall tents they seem to work great.
A woodstove in a small 10'x10' Kodiak would be an overkill. Besides I hate screwing around and wasting time chopping wood when I could be scouting or hunting. I just need enough heat to take the edge off early mornings, evenings before hitting the sack, or when socked in during inclement weather.
 
Decided to give the diesel heater a try in the camp trailer. ITS AWESOME! Granted it's not super cold. When I got it set up the trailer was 55° inside. After about 45 minutes it's up to 70. I'll have to figure out a way to rig up the the thermostat that's on the heater inside the trailer so it'll auto start and shut off. The trailer is 26' for reference on size and a toy hauler so alot of open space. Oh and I threw in a picture of the comet to.

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There are a lot of articles about diesel heaters on different ice fishing forums as well. I would definitely go with a diesel heater over a buddy heater any day. Propane heaters create a lot of condensation, unlike the diesel heaters.
 
Ok I won't post anymore after this haha. Last night was the 1st night using just the diesel heater for the trailer. It was 31 degrees when I pulled into camp. I ran the heater on high for an hour and the needle on the thermostat on my trailer got to around 55°. I turned it down to medium and slept really comfortably with my face never getting cold. Another huge plus is it's way quiet. The other night when i ran the actual trailer heater i woke up every time it kicked on. The diesel heater you can barely hear the air blowing in. When I got up it was holding at 60° in the trailer and 21° outside. It had ran for 10 hours straight at that point and it used about 1/4 of a gallon of diesel. I used my bluetti power supply to run it and it was at 75% battery left which takes about 15 minutes to get to 100% when I start the generator up. As cheap as they are i'll definitely be buying a 2nd one for a spare.
 
Ok I won't post anymore after this haha. Last night was the 1st night using just the diesel heater for the trailer. It was 31 degrees when I pulled into camp. I ran the heater on high for an hour and the needle on the thermostat on my trailer got to around 55°. I turned it down to medium and slept really comfortably with my face never getting cold. Another huge plus is it's way quiet. The other night when i ran the actual trailer heater i woke up every time it kicked on. The diesel heater you can barely hear the air blowing in. When I got up it was holding at 60° in the trailer and 21° outside. It had ran for 10 hours straight at that point and it used about 1/4 of a gallon of diesel. I used my bluetti power supply to run it and it was at 75% battery left which takes about 15 minutes to get to 100% when I start the generator up. As cheap as they are i'll definitely be buying a 2nd one for a spare.
I've thought about this same type of setup for the wall tent and ice fishing. When it's extremely dry and I don't want to chance it with the wood stove, the diesel heater would be nice. I'm glad to hear the battery/power usage is minimal. That would be my biggest concern, especially if i used the same setup in the ice shelters. Please keep us posted and give us an overall review after using it longer term.
 
Ok I won't post anymore after this haha. Last night was the 1st night using just the diesel heater for the trailer. It was 31 degrees when I pulled into camp. I ran the heater on high for an hour and the needle on the thermostat on my trailer got to around 55°. I turned it down to medium and slept really comfortably with my face never getting cold. Another huge plus is it's way quiet. The other night when i ran the actual trailer heater i woke up every time it kicked on. The diesel heater you can barely hear the air blowing in. When I got up it was holding at 60° in the trailer and 21° outside. It had ran for 10 hours straight at that point and it used about 1/4 of a gallon of diesel. I used my bluetti power supply to run it and it was at 75% battery left which takes about 15 minutes to get to 100% when I start the generator up. As cheap as they are i'll definitely be buying a 2nd one for a spare.
Don’t stop Wyoroadhunter. Seriously, your reports on the diesel heater are fantastic. I have looked forward to each post, with your pictures and narrative. Please keep us posted as you have something further to share. It’s will worth itt, imo.

Also, others who have used the diesel heat products, I would very much appreciate your progress as well. Failures are worthwhile sharing as well. What not to do is equally important.
 
Awesome sounds good! Mines also the 8kw. For tents and camp trailers I think I'd stick with the 8kw.
I got the 8kw a few months ago after reading this thread and seeing your experience. I'd been looking at some of the other brands and had watched videos for a while, but it's so hard to get reliable info. Thanks for sharing 🙏

Mine is still in the box, but I figure I'll get it set up and running this winter. It'll give me something to do when it's cold out.
 
Back home from the elk hunt, so after 6 nights of using the diesel heater atleast 12 hours a night/ into the morning running non stop I used a total of 3.5 gallons of red dyed diesel. I ended up running it at 2.5hz at night whatever that means in Chinese diesel heater logic but will just say that was on low to keep it from being to hot to sleep. The nights were anywhere from real feel 19 degrees up to 30. One day we forgot to shut the vents and windows when we went out for the evening hunt so when we got back we did turn on the actual trailer furnace for maybe 5 minutes just to get some quick heat then swapped over to the diesel heater. The trailer never dropped below 60 degrees any of the nights most of them it was actually to hot in the trailer to sleep and would end up kicking the blankets off until i found the 2.5hz happy spot. Running it at 2.5 hz I was basically only using 10-15% of the power stations battery. The power station showed it was only using 10 watts at 2.5 hz so barely anything. So far no issues at all with mine. But I'll add some of the issues I have read about.

Some of the things I have read is the fuel line from the tank to the injector people have had issues with that cracking or coming off but just upgraded to a new one from any auto parts store. Some have had the injector go also but that's a cheap easy fix so just a good idea to have a extra on hand which I plan on having that for next time. Another is go into the advanced settings and adjust the burn to you're elevation. There is a bunch of charts with elevation ranges so it's way easy. I saw some that hadn't did that and the burn chamber sooted up really bad so they had to take it apart to clean it. Again more annoying than hard it looked like.

Id say overall I've ran this heater between messing with it and actually using it for heat for probably close to 200 hours now and haven't had a single issue. The heat is dry and there is no smell to it at all. I might have gotten lucky with mine but I really think it's one of the best purchases I've made.
 
Great report. Thanks again.

So…… your opinion would be very helpful.

I have a shop next to my home. It’s 24’ by 34’ with a pitched roof on 10’ high walls, and an open ceiling. Insulated but not crazy thick. Quite a lot of space to heat.

I’ve tied traditional propane, diesel space heaters……… propane is way too loud, diesel is way too to loud, smelly and makes my head ache. Both are expensive to run, on top of the other issues.

Would the heating system your using heat this size shop up to 50 degrees, from, say 30 degrees F.

Are there larger models of the heaters you’re using, that have greater heating capacity?
 
Great report. Thanks again.

So…… your opinion would be very helpful.

I have a shop next to my home. It’s 24’ by 34’ with a pitched roof on 10’ high walls, and an open ceiling. Insulated but not crazy thick. Quite a lot of space to heat.

I’ve tied traditional propane, diesel space heaters……… propane is way too loud, diesel is way too to loud, smelly and makes my head ache. Both are expensive to run, on top of the other issues.

Would the heating system your using heat this size shop up to 50 degrees, from, say 30 degrees F.

Are there larger models of the heaters you’re using, that have greater heating capacity?

I honestly don't think it would heat something that big. I'm not 100% sure if they make bigger ones or not. If they don't now I think they will at some point due to the popularity now. I have seen some YouTube videos of people heating garages but it takes a long time to heat them up it's definitely not instant like a big propane heater. One thing that might be worth trying is get the initial heat in the shop with the propane or something like that then kick on the diesel heater to try and maintain the heat
 
I honestly don't think it would heat something that big. I'm not 100% sure if they make bigger ones or not. If they don't now I think they will at some point due to the popularity now. I have seen some YouTube videos of people heating garages but it takes a long time to heat them up it's definitely not instant like a big propane heater. One thing that might be worth trying is get the initial heat in the shop with the propane or something like that then kick on the diesel heater to try and maintain the heat
Thank you. Preheating would definitely be a possibility.

I wonder how it would hold up to leave it on 24/7. I don’t recall, does it have an auto off/on temperature switch.

3.5 gallons for 72 hours comes to about $12.00 is a very reasonable price….. I think.
 
Thank you. Preheating would definitely be a possibility.

I wonder how it would hold up to leave it on 24/7. I don’t recall, does it have an auto off/on temperature switch.

3.5 gallons for 72 hours comes to about $12.00 is a very reasonable price….. I think.

There is after market parts that can make them a on off type unit but from what I've looked at they don't come that way. I almost bet it would do good 24/7 I'll have to look at some videos on that
 
@Wyo_Roadhunter
Have you tried running the unit on kerosene?
Is there a filter system on the unit?
Tried a large diesel heater years ago (no power needed) but could never get it to burn correctly on low at higher altitudes.
 
@Wyo_Roadhunter
Have you thought about adding an extension and hose to the intake air to use the warmer air in the tent? Canvas tents breath very well and in cold weather might be able to keep the tent warmer heating the air already in the tent.
 
@Wyo_Roadhunter
Have you thought about adding an extension and hose to the intake air to use the warmer air in the tent? Canvas tents breath very well and in cold weather might be able to keep the tent warmer heating the air already in the tent.
I haven't, mostly because I haven't had a issue with it not putting out hot enough air. The main thing is they just aren't big enough to produce a ton of air. It probably would he something worth trying though
 

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