How to stay warm car camping -10c/14f temperatures with a portable power station
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- Опубліковано 19 кві 2023
- How I stay warm car camping -10c/14f temperatures ⤵️
🔋Portable Power Station: POWEREPUBLIC T-1200 (1200W/1110Wh)
🔥 Electric heater: Konwin heater and fan $30 from Walmart
🧶 Heated blanket: Eopecles $62 from Amazon
The nights are still cold here in Canada and I recently upgraded my power station to 1200 watts. The most basic electric heater at Walmart on its low setting needed about 620 watts - and 1220 watts on high, which was too much for the battery station so I kept it on low. Even still, it would have died in just over a hour. For this reason I’d recommend a heated blanket instead. Mine can last through the night 8+ hours. The next day I plug my power station into my car’s cigarette outlet and charge it as I drive to the next spot.
You can also just use a ton of blankets on top of your sleeping bag to make a super insulated sleeping environment
Yeah
Low temp sleeping bag, proper attire, and a heavy blanket. You’ll be sleeping like a baby.
never a better sleep than below freezing
Oh man, stuffing a poncho liner/Woobie in your sleeping bag is effing amazing. My fave Army gear ever
Yeah turn that polyester coffin into a sauna lmao
have you tried insulating your window? it’s safer and would help a lot
She probably does but it’s not enough
@@jin_cotlit's enough, good iso on the windows dog + human= appx 1500-2000 watt space heater.
As long as you are trapping that heat rather than lossing it three the glass.
In such a small space body heat is more than enough.....it's the losses three the glass that really effects the temperature
@@JackTalyorD"Three the glass".
@@qwertykeyboard5901 yes it's one better than double glo
Mhm that air inside.
As someone who has been living in their car for 7 months now and three of those months were in the dead of winter in Utah and Colorado here are my tips:
1) make some window covers with reflectix for all your windows. Yes, ALL of the windows.
2) get a decent sleeping bag, I have the Teton tracker 5 and I use it like a quilt
3) get a lofty Queen sized comforter and fold it in half length wise and use that over the sleeping bag if it gets really cold
4) get a down blanket (on sale) I got mine from Eddie Bauer on sale for 45 dollars-it was on sale and an old print pattern.
5) wear some fluffy synthetic pajamas to bed
6) if you really need to, blast the car heater for a few minutes AFTER you’ve put up all the window covers and get it so warm that you are almost uncomfortable.
I never needed the down blanket, but a few nights I would need the comforter over top of my sleeping bag. I regularly slept where the outside temperatures were below 10 degrees Fahrenheit, many nights at 1 or 0 degrees and I was never cold. Also the water under my sleeping platform never froze.
This is the most helpful comment. Thank you for your knowlege that you gained through an unfortunate and obviously difficult period in your life.
@@samneibauer4241 thanks for the love, but i am very blessed and this time around it’s been by choice. 🙏🏻 I wanted to save money and be able to travel more at the same time. I realize there are so many who don’t have a choice and I am extremely fortunate to be able to choose it this time and be comfortable.
Thank you so much! This knowledge not only is really helpful for car campers but could save someone’s life! You definitely seem to have led a very interesting life and with that tons of wisdom many of us don’t have! If you haven’t already you should start a UA-cam channel if you want to! I think it would really blow up ^-^
@@drivingmissmolly
That's amazing. Usually I have very little desire to live in a vehicle, but the thought of traveling full time in Utah makes me want to sell everything and go buy a van.
It's a balancing act not getting too hot and sweating while sleeping. So two layers of wool works a treat.
We used insulated window covers. That made the temp rise by a few degrees without blankets and padding
An old fashioned hot water bottle can be enough if you have a good comforter. Even a plastic bottle if you make sure the lid doesn't leak.
A wool blanket works well too. But, I would need heat to breath warm air so I would not get sick.
Breathing in cold air doesn't make you sick..
@@achannelhasnoname5182 exactly. Thats a domestic myth. I used to live outside in the winter for a month and a half in the woods and i never got sick
@@achannelhasnoname5182 it can cause asthma flareups though
🙄
Funny how every time my dad forgets to turn on the heat on a winter night I wake up coughing with a sore throat and congestion then for days after... 😅
dogs under blankets r soooo cute
All you need is a sleeping bag. Go look for a sale. They have backpacking bags that’ll keep you warm at -15 degrees F
Insulate your windows. You are losing tons of heat
I live in a prius but I imagine this works with other hybrids:
I just leave the car on which lets me run the heater/ac as needed. Since its hybrid, it idles with the engine off and just uses the battery.
Every 45 minutes or so the engine will kick on for 3-5 min to recharge then turn back off.
It uses 1/2 a gallon of gas per night.
For real cold temps, I also fabricated some insulated window covers out of that corogated plastic used for lawn signs, and reflectix (then covered in black cloth to darken the windows).
The idle times meet DoT standards even in strict states like California (although most states have exemptions for heating).
Covered head to toe cover windows, flash that heat on blast. Bundle up and I'm out. I prefer sleeping in colder. But, if it's just hot enough, and I'm hydrated, I can just die a little from exhaust in the heat. That sleep is great
That’s really cool. Do you travel all the time?
@@poopedonyourchest799 when I was full time in the Prius I did most of the time. Driving all over the country for work and saving money on hotels.
I still live in a vehicle but I drive truck now and live out of that. A real living space upgrade.
I use a 12 x 12 inch electric heating pad with Reflectix insulation on all the windows. Keeps me warm and toasty all night and uses little power from the LiPo power station.
Same here! Works like a charm.
I thought those heaters can cause damage long term to the skin?
I've never heard of that being an issue. You should always have some layers of clothing or a towel between your skin and the heating pad.
Another benefit I didn’t see coming when I used an electric blanket (on lowest level) was it stopped my Restless Leg Syndrome in it’s tracks!
Honeywell makes a heater that maxes out at 250 watts, and has a low setting that operates at 175 watts. It helps cut down on condensation and won’t kill the power station nearly as fast. 1200watts is overkill and not necessary if you use window covers. The window covers are HUGE.
I just sleep in a union suit, with a wool blanket, socks and hat.. and end up sweating at -10°f because of it. winter is easy to beat with the proper clothes, summer is where I'm most miserable.
The doggo is the best! Keep him/her happy!
If the dog rips ass it over for the blanket 😂
Watch out for using a heated blanket for long periods of time it can result in toasted skin syndrome it’s like permanent heat scarring of skin tissue
Or use it as a top layer.
I've never heard of that syndrome, though I don't use heating blankets so that could be why.
@@kayesdigginit1519 Here is a source on it, it doesnt have to be from heated blankets, that is just one of common causes. In general it is caused from prolonged exposure to heat and infrared radiation in general. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7971733/#:~:text=Erythema%20ab%20igne%2C%20also%20known,in%20the%20release%20of%20melanin.
It can actually paralyze you like a hot tub. I had an old one without a safety shut off. Took some sleeping pills and fell asleep with it on high. When i woke up i wasn't able to move my body and it was hard to breathe. I had to try to hyperventilate myself while getting as upset as possible for adrenaline, then i was able to slightly move one arm. I used that arm to get part of the blanket off and it took a few minutes to get cool enough to get the rest off. It was freaking terrifying lol
@@gingerlee726 I mean that sounds more like the sleeping pill side effect
Yo you need to insulate and black out those windows Man they'd be creeps out there And it'll help you stay warmer
Never mind a heater, my hot flashes do the job with no batteries.
Warm pupper is a happy pup
just do some research into the fabrics/cloths that work the best for you. i bought some insulating blankets for camping that were FAR too hot for me but were perfect for others. you end up using less power and money in the end.
Samantha Dodds got it going on. 12 volt electric blanket extends length of battery power.
I never plug into car, always use my Jackery 1500.
Great tip;
Even for a tent or Regular Camper;
Heat consumes a lot of Amp/hrs of stored energy.
Thanks.
Small ice chest with 2 liter bottles of bot water. Super effective and easy.
Ok I made two sleeping bag liners for myself and here’s the best thing you can make if you want it too - get a fleece blanket (a fluffy one) and a polar fleece once (the soft but warm ones) use the fluffy one nearest to your body and the polar one over that. I have slept with just those two for a lot of spring and autumn nights.
Not just any blanket, but wool. Wool everything will save your life in the winter. Feather down, if you’re not allergic, will also do wonders to help. Birds shed those naturally as babies so there’s never a reason to not want to wear down or have it in a duvet. Plus, if you have vacuum-sealing storage, it compresses to be very small. Same as wool. When wool gets wet, the wet doesn’t help leech body heat. The wool traps body heat. This is why football players who get in those freezer tanks for pain relief wear socks and gloves. They’re a tight-knit wool to protect their coldest limbs.
Electric heating pads are a great invention especially for chronic pain havers
🔋Portable Power Station: POWEREPUBLIC T-1200 (1200W/1110Wh)
🔥 Electric heater: Konwin heater and fan $30 from Walmart
🧶 Heated blanket: Eopecles $62 from Amazon
The nights are still cold here in Canada and I recently upgraded my power station to 1200 watts. The most basic electric heater at Walmart on its low setting needed about 620 watts - and 1220 watts on high, which was too much for the battery station so I kept it on low. Even still, it would have died in just over a hour. For this reason I’d recommend a heated blanket instead. Mine can last through the night 8+ hours. The next day I plug my power station into my car’s cigarette outlet and charge it as I drive to the next spot.
Try a sleeping quilt for you and the pup with heated sleeping pad or even regular heating pads. They use around 15watts for human pads and 6watts for pet pads. Really saves power
The electric blanket is awesome and my cat loves it
This is EXACTLY what I’ve been wondering about. Thanks! Stay cozy out there.
I never understand why people have these portable charger things. I get the concept but they are HUGE and don’t last long at all. Whilst at the same time you could just take a lithium battery 1/4 the size that will keep on working for days.
yep! this lady is one smart cookie! even the smallest of heaters or fans will kill even the best battery
What a cozy pupper
I did this during the snow storm in Texas that knocked out power for days and it worked so well. It was easy to recharge the power station with rolling outages (when available) and with someone's generator.
Yep. Good Advice !!! Definitely the correct move !!!
Omg doggo is so happy in his warm blanket 😭🩷
SweetPea those pants you’re wearing are awesome!
That pupper looks cozy!
If you'd passed high school physics, you'd have easily known the power bank was a terrible idea.
Thanks! Not sure why I didn’t think about this 😅
Cool. Useful info!👍
I looooove cold weather camping in my car!
Really good tip! Thanks for sharing!!
Genius. Thank you for that.
Electric blanket does make the most sense.
Great tip.❤
Good tip, thanks.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing!!!
I'm with u. I have a 12 volt blanket.
Great tip, one of the best
You should look into a diesel heater. Installed one in my boat last year, it's amazing.
I needed this video
Low power resistance heating is def good. Only thing you can change is like space blanket and more layers. Good job.
The big metal box you’re in is the reason it gets so cold 😂
That is the best advice
I like that battery bank
Fab idea!
I use an electric heating pad. Just enough to keep cozy.
Thanks 🎉
I've camped down to about 10 degrees fahrenheit. I sleep on an insulated sleeping pad with one of those "space blankets" under it. (And it actually makes a difference, I get cold without it)
I also have a teton sleeping bag which I keep unzipped and use it as a quilt, I do not lay on it.
One particularly cold night in Wyoming, maybe 15°F, I kept waking up because I was too warm. Get the right gear and you'll never be cold. And it wasn't that expensive, maybe 30 for the pad and 70 for the bag. The mylar was basically free at Walmart.
This is a really good tip
Perfect
Excellent idea.
Putting the heat underneath as a mattress pad is even cozier.
My cat and I love our electric blanket.
Electric Blankets are energy efficiency. Thanks
I've used electric blankets to stay warm when the heat is off in the house. They work very well.
Properly insulated windows will also help a lot. Very much.
You can also use an electric heater pad which is more efficient. 👍
That is the cutest doggo ever! How did you train him to do this with you?
Very helpful, have often wondered about the consumption of an e-blanket compared to e-heater.
If you get a 12v blanket it won’t drain much, but a regular blanket does pull more energy. However most heaters pull 1500 watts. Try to look for a low wattage mini one.
They have this amazing invention called a sleeping bag.
I typically light a fire or start a bed of charcoal in my vehicle. I stay toasty all night. Something about a natural flame that makes me sleep so good. Sometimes I am out for 24 hours. Sleeping that long does cause me to have a bad headache when I wake up. That's life.
finding a nice BFF who is handy with his hands be a good deal
Your car most likely has a built in heat pump, a heat pump (in semi optimal conditions) use 4x less power than an equivalent resistive heater (something similar to what you were showing in the video before).
Now, if you can find a way to power the heat pump in your vehicle via the power station... You could have yourself an efficient means of heating.
Pop in a thermostat and you have an over engineered (but working) heating system.
I call bull shit. If the car is an EV it might have one and you might be right. A diesel engine might have an additional electric heating system and a gasoline car in most cases won't have one. All electric heating system have about the same efficiency. Even if the car had one it wouldn't change anything
@@user-vo8ij2jj4rIm not entirely sure on how common or uncommon heat pumps in cars are over there, but a heat pump can be 4x more efficient compared to standard resistive heat and by that i mean 400%, which is quite a bit more efficient than resistive at roughly 100% due to heat pumps using refrigerant in a closed loop system with a compressor, allowing it to harvest heat from outside.
The efficiency falls quite a bit on standard heat pumps when temps go below -7°c
Some cars also syphon engine heat but i don't have much more info on that aspect.
Also an AC is essentially a heat pump.
Technologyconnections made quite an informative video on most of what i mentioned here.
@@trappedkunai I installed a few ACs myself, they are very efficient and all. All I am saying is, this car doesn't have one. Most if not all combustion engine cars don't have one. If you bought an EV and paid extra you might have one. Those cars often have a camping modus, using it as a parking heater
@@user-vo8ij2jj4r aah, got it
I was more referring to how you can modify car AC units to act as a heat pump as a heat pump is basically a backwards heat pump (the principle of which some manufacturers take advantage of)
I don't have much experience in modifying these types of units but have seen a few people do it with some cars (not sure on models or tyoes, maybe the examples I've seen were very specific).
Though my reasoning is more extreme, the modifications needed would often be quite... "Extreme" depending on the car.
Heat pumps are no good in Canada since 7 month of the year is winter….. and you can’t pull any heat from freezing air
Happy doggo
big brain. Efficiency is key
Cool 😎
Nice 👍
Thanks. that's not bad advice
Portable diesel heater is your best friend
I gave a electric blanket to my buff for his boat. The savings on battery have been HUGE
I use my jet boil as a heater when it gets in the teens or lower.
Make sure it's in a safe area so it can't get knocked over and sleep well. 👍
Windows cracked for ventilation of course. 😊
Many people don’t know this but keep a candle and a holder, with a proper holder (or preferably metal tin in a proper spot it’s perfectly safe and it heats up the car a lot more the. You’d expect you just might need to filter some air through by cracking the window
This is horrible advice! Open fire in a car where you sleep in is the worst idea anyone could have. I would bet money on you knocking it over in your sleep some day. Also, fire consumes oxygen! What use does it have if I need to open a window to not suffocate when I actually want to heat my space?
if you insulate your windows with a foam board that you can get at Walmart similar to the one they use at school but they don't fold out. me and my mom cut those up fit them to the window and it helped immensely with the insulation in the car.
Immediately yes!
Electric blanket always on medium-:,no higher. Cover with several blankets to keep warmth in. Toasty city!
There are electric blankets made for cars. They plug into your 12 volt ⚡️ and are amazing. Goodyear has one and it is super soft!
Yes but you risk killing your car battery right? Don't want to run the car all night.
@@mef12727they don’t pull much, and my battery has a 12v option anyway. Eco flow
Boil water and fill a Nalgene and throw it in your sleeping bag like 15 mins before you go to bed. :) then you get to snuggle with the warm bottle!
Careful with that heater , we had the same one. Ours started smoking one random night as we turned it on.
But you said camping? Im so confused 😩
In the sense of energy management bigger isn’t always better, having a convection heater can wasted energy as is dissipates into the surrounding atmosphere. Relying on conduction is effective in this case as the energy will be more concentrated into your intended target as apposed to wasting heat energy by heating up a cold atmosphere.
Allowing more energy resonate in the fabrics of insulated objects (this being blankets and soft skin) is more likely to keep you warm.
The only risk you will take now is being burned by a heating blanket but that rarely happens as most modern devices as such will have a safety feature installed. if one or more heating elements burn up in the blanket it will stop working so insure your security then you will need a new one.. So carry spares
Same for at home honestly
I love you😊
Efficiency between heating yourself vs heating the room. That's also why you should get a cooled mattress instead of an air conditioning unit if you have problems sleeping in the summer heat.
With a 1200 power bank and a 150-300watt heater you could get 4 to 8 hours plus if you insulate the windows and get crafts anything is possible
as many 100 watt solar panels mounted to your roof as you can fit and link all the power in through the side seal the hole with silicone so no leaking just a short extension through the sode glued in so you can connect to outside or inside swap out move around etc but then at least with daylight you can charge and use your lil spare battery windmills work great morning and afternoon as temperatures change set up a squirrel cage style one as it doesn't need a wind vane anda good charge controller will help steady the incoming power so device is even less likely to be harmed from use you're gonna wanna get as near to 2000 watts as possible but with more battery storage you can charge with even a smaller system and just have longer hold capacity but still it's good to have enough to match what you generally use every day plus a bit extra for losses
There's also an indoor outdoor alcohol heater that a lot of van campers use instead of electric if I find it I will re-edit it and leave it company & origo heater pal 5100
Recommend getting a used electric car instead. Put it in park and run the heater all night. Insulate the windows and it will go for days.
Cold air is dry air.
Dry air will make you feel colder.
So add some humidity to the space to feel warmer thus requiring less heat.
Put a blanket over the electric blanket and u can run it at lower temp for longer with the same if not more comfort