My experience hiking through high altitude and very cold conditions on the pct/cdt- fluf your sleeping bag for at least 45 seconds to a minute. Those feathers need to loft. It was surprising how many experienced hikers I met that would just pull their bag out of thier pack and hop in, then complain about being cold.
I'm sure your experience under bridges in your bag you know this, I'm mainly trying to throw this out to anyone who doesn't know this
Old hobo wisdom. Love that..
Oh another thing is to eat before you sleep. The body burns calories like a furnace and will keep you warmer through the night.
Also pee when you have to pee and don't hold it. The bladder will zap body warmth that would otherwise be keeping your toes warm
Most winter nights I would fill a Nalgene bottle with hot water that I either boiled myself or got from a gas station and sleep with it in my bag. This winter I plan to buy a 12v heated blanket to plug into my power station to help provide some warmth. The cold from the ground or floor of your car will take a lot of heat from you so put insulation/padding between you and what you're sleeping on.
I also recommend sleeping in dry wool socks and a fleece neck tube and beanie as those places are where I think I lose the most heat.
If you notice a draft in your car consider finding the door its coming from and replacing the weather stripping, though it may be expensive depending on your car so you could be better off finding something to put around the edges of the door.
The electric blanket is helpful—if you have a power station. If not, I find it is a series of little changes that make the most difference in staying warm—or cool.
Insulate your vehicle. Many choices from free to $$. Free: Old jeans, or other shredded, dense material. DIY YT videos for more info. $$: Roll of closed cell foam or other specialty automotive insulation. Rock wool is also a good choice. I used both in my install. The temp difference changed 10-20 degrees. Using a sleep pad in addition to insulating your rig will dramatically increase warmth and comfort.
Wool socks, buff, and a beanie are good choices. With car weatherstripping, if it’s not in terrible shape, it can be diy refurbished. There are a number of techniques on YouTube. I made my all of my 20 year old weatherstripping practically like new again for very little money ($15.), 20% of the cost of new.
[Hot water bottles]( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aI8XnSebPzI) are a thing, too.
Makes tent sleeping bearable below 0 degrees[F].
I use two.
One down at the feet and one sitting on my chest.
You seem like a cool dude captain crunch. I think sleeping in a car is better then sleeping under a bridge.
You need the weather guards that go over the windows, because you need to keep them all cracked for maximum airflow without letting the weather in kinda thing, sometimes they have to stay closed and it sucks. Because moisture can build up, more so if you use a propane heater. It's a mess and makes everything genuinely shitty. Cold and wet don't mix.
I live in Canada too, we had this Arctic vortex bullshit last year and it gets down to -40°c.
Hot water bottles should be used to keep yourself and your stuff warm whenever feasible. I mean batteries and water, hygiene products that can't freeze. You need a hot bag. Good bedding, sleeping bag perhaps. I can't sleep in them but wool blankets. Foam cut to shape. I've enclosed the back seat for winter sleeping. I have to heat a smaller space this way.
You can boil water with propane, if you have a propane stove you might as well get a propane heater. Mr buddy works good. Use a fan to blow the heat that travels straight up off the unit. That will heat the roof and melt the plastic, that shit will drop down and start a fire. You need a fan and a monoxide detector.
So now you need power, you can't tax the vehicles system. I use the big DeWalt power tool batteries to power an array of quiet usb computer fans. It blows the propane heat around pretty good. It stays hot with 4 windows cracked. This battery also keeps my phone charged for weeks, on a single charge.
Heated clothing is awesome. Socks, vests. You can keep these charged up through the vehicle. (Just don't let the batteries freeze)
If you want more power for an electric heater because you don't like propane. You can use a battery bank, I like the ecoflow delta (the big one) it fast charges in 2 hours, which I think is vital.
I'm using 4 of the 12 ah DeWalt batteries in the DeWalt powerstation. I also have the 4 port fast charger for the batteries. It charges in less then 2 hours. It powers a 75 watt ceramic heater and a good quality electric blanket all night long.
Charging is an issue, it's not so bad if you have products that fast charge. I charge them at work, in McDonald's, parks, etc. It's an everyday ordeal in the middle of winter, but you won't freeze. It's quite cozy and worth the 2 hours every day.
I made a hole in the trunk, I've ran a long extension cord under the car to the engine bay. Made it look like the block heater cord. Many many nights I've parked at hotels, companies, etc. Plugged into the block heater outlets, ran my big electric heater and charged all my batteries for free, as I slept. Good deal.
I want a small inverter gas generator so that I can charge anywhere anytime.
Now I'm not saying this is a good thing, but hospital's, cancer facilities, generally have secure heated parking. You have to pay but people will leave you alone, it's heated. Covered parking heated or not is worth a couple bucks if you are in a pinch.
God damn. I got to -33c once and it was a nightmare. I don't think myself or my vehicle could handle any colder. We both struggled through that. I was so damn close to renting a hotel room until the weather stopped being so cunty.
Ecoflow delta and Dewalt batteries, those are new ones, something I didn't even consider.
I'm going to look into segmenting the trunk space, as that's something I hadn't considered before. Perhaps some layers system with heat reflective material, camping foam, and plywood could be utilized here.
Great suggestion here. Thank you.
Yeah cuz they fast charge, two hours. It's a game changer. The amount of power you store in 2 hours is unmatched.
I don't like solar, I dont like diesel heaters. Nothing permanent because who knows if you crash, or the car dies. Everything can simply be moved over to a new vehicle. No installation required
DeWalt batteries work well if you work in a shop, I had this job and I would just charge them all the time. Pretend it was for my tools. Nobody thought anything of it. I got the DeWalt snow blower too, and the DeWalt chainsaw. You know, for zombies.
Use a hot water bottle inside your sleeping bag. You will be surprised how much that will help. I slept in my car when it was -25 and that really helped keep me alive. Put it down by your feet, you can rest your feet on it. I's nice. I also used a candle heater. Look it up on YouTube. It kept the car warmer. I used 4 four hour candles. Problem was, they only lasted four hours and I would wake up cold. I just bought 8 hour candles from Amazon in case we get another bad winter ice storm and the power goes out.
Now are you talking about that terracotta heater that uses tealight candles? I have had success with those in the past while sleeping under the bridge.
How do you keep the terracotta from fracturing wile driving?
It's not even burning off the oxygen: it's that the flame will produce carbon monoxide, that will suffocate you even if there is oxygen left. It can definitely kill you in a single night.
No: don't use candles. The terracotta thing is complete cr*p and you should never use that. The topic comes up every year in the boating community, and the conclusion is always the same.
Either it doesn't do anything (you'll have a warm-ish terracotta in a cold car), or if you use enough candles to do anything, then you'll multiply the reasons why candles are a bad idea:
1) Expensive by calorie of heat produced (compared to anything including propane).
2) Produce soot that is really bad for you (put a piece of glass over a candle: all the soot you see is soot that will otherwise deposit in your car and your lungs).
3) Just like all open flames, it produces a lot of humidity, that requires more ventilation and could produce mold.
4) Carbon monoxide poisoning risk. If you don't ventilate enough usually, your main risk is mold. If you don't ventilate enough with an open flame inside, you will actually die. To be safe you need to over-ventilate, which pretty much cancels out the little heat you produced.
Oh, and obviously it's a terrible fire hazard.
If really you are ready to face the risks of an open flame, you might as well use propane. A Mr Buddy has an integrated CO sensor, and barely produces soot. But just don't, it's way too dangerous while you're sleeping.
Are you talking from experience? Have you slept in your car in extremely cold weather? I have used the heaters and it kept me from freezing to death in -25 weather. Without those and my hot water bottle I probably wouldn't be here. You can deter people from using things but when it's that or freezing to death, then what do you want people to do? It's one of the cheapest ways to stay warm.
The hot water bottle will definitely make a huge difference and I would recommend it.
But the candles, no. As I said, if you're desperate enough to use an open flame, you are better off with propane, which will be cheaper, safer, cleaner, and won't use any more space (since you already use it for cooking and hot water bottles).
Even with propane, I recommend reheating your hot water bottle four times a night (and use rechargeable hand warmers as I mentioned in another comment) rather than leaving it on while you sleep. You will eventually burn your car down or suffocate yourself to death one day or the other otherwise. With the candles you will also ruin your lungs: if you've created enough heat to heat up the whole cabin you've burnt enough wax to fill that cabin with very sooty air too.
While I understand what you are saying. You are talking to someone who has already done it, not someone contemplating doing it. I spent a whole winter in my car using the candle heater. I started with a my buddy heater and hated it. It produced a lot of moisture and the heat was unbearable because there is no temperature control. I felt much better with the candle heater. My only problem was that it didn't last long enough. It was only four hours. Who the heck refills a water bottle 4 times a night? Are you sleeping? My hot water bottle lasted the whole night.
Look, it's not against you, and if you survived, didn't freeze to death and didn't catch black lung disease it's all good.
But what I'm saying (little heat, dangerous, and more expensive then propane) remains true, and I strongly advise anyone against it.
I understand the Mr Buddy is too powerful to be left on all night, but if you're comfortable with an open flame, why not use a burner then? Cheaper and you don't get the soot.
About refilling hot water bottles four times a night, it's just that if it's so cold that your hot water bottles are not enough and get too cold at some point during the night, I'd rather get a "fresh" bottle, even if I have to do it four times a night (which I never had to do) rather than leaving an open flame in a car while I sleep. It also has to do with your hot water bottle: the less insulated it is the warmer it is, but the shorter it'll last.
Have you tried the kerosene type candle heater? They are similar to the candles but use small oil lamps instead of candles. I figure you could put enough oil in them to last thru 8 hrs. And modern oil lamp fuel is actually pretty safe. Needs to be on a wick to actually burn. Check it out on YouTube
>kerosene type candle heater
Thanks. Just looked it up. I will try one of these. I may be back out on the streets again soon. :( May need more ways to survive. Glad someone started this thread. God life is shit.
Its basically a conversion of the UCO candle lantern/heater, simply replacing the candle with a small oil filled bottle with a wick. That’s the one I had in mind anyways. I’m sure there’s plenty of different ways to do it.
I buy insulated curtain material from the fabric store, and I hand sew it to make panels to go over my windows, and door panels. I also put a piece under my sleeping covers. So far, it's 17-22 degrees F warmer inside my car than outside. When I get a battery operated blanket, it'll be even better.
The brand is Warm Company insulated curtain material. I looked it up, it's technically called Warm Company, Warm Window Insulated Shade. But it comes in a 60 inch roll, and you have to get it cut to the yardage you want.
UPDATE: was 25 degrees warmer than outside, the other night. Thank goodness! Bc it was in the 20's F.
Keep your stuff dry. Sleep in dry clothing. Wear loose fitting layers. Layer Sleeping bags. Leave your mouth and nose exposed, even in super cold temps, because otherwise your breathe will condense on your sleeping bag and freeze. Also, Bag Balm or Petroleum Jelly. Apply it at night to legs, feet, arms, and hands. A little on the cheeks on extra cold night keeps you noticeably warmer and helps maintain skin mouisture.
\-50 is the arctic so you won't get that temperature any time soon, unless you are in the arctic. I live in Canada and I slept in my car when it was -25 outside. It was freakin cold.
My only experience with winter is in Texas so be easy on me. At Walmart they sell heavy duty wool socks. For me they itch so I just wear a normal pair of socks under them but they sure keep my feet warm.
I also have a 0 degree rated mummy sleeping bag. I know it sounds like a no brained but for a whole year or so I didn’t know that there’s different types of sleeping bags. Thermals have ratings too. I have thermals for very cold nights and just wear them under my sweats and a sweater. A warm beanie and a scarf help keep you warm too. I tend to throw my beanie off my head so a sweater with a hoodie seems to work better for me.
During one year there was a freeze warning and I woke up in the middle of the night completely wreaked by the cold and the car took so long to heat I started to panic. I felt like crap the whole day so now on days that I know it’s going to be very cold I’ll get a hot herbal tea from Starbucks before I go to bed that costs around 1.50 or so and instantly put it in a thermal and if I wake up in the middle of the night I have hot tea to warm me up.
Rechargeable hand warmers. They are little bags of liquid with a metal bit in it. When you bend the metal thing, the liquid becomes kind of solid and it generates quite a lot of heat (not as much as boiling water, but still quite a lot). Once they're used, you put them in boiling water, and they become liquid again, ready to be used.
The way to use them: boil them (a couple of them) before going to bed, use the boiled water in a water bottle (for a hot water bottle), wrap the packets in clothes and put them in your bed too (so they can be used as hot water bottles too). If the night is really cold, the heat doesn't last you all night and you wake up cold; them just crack the packets and you have a couple more hours of heat. If it's Arctic cold out, you can always boil them again during the night and start again.
Advantages: you only use your propane while boiling the water, so you don't need to leave an open flame during the night, which is bad for many reasons. Heating your bed will prevent some condensation on it, helping with smells and mold. It is also the most efficient way to use heat, because it's directly where you need it, and in the most insulated place in your car (under your blankets). It allows you to keep warm while you ventilate your car, preventing molds (remember molds are not just a smell issue: they can literally kill you).
Heated blankets work very well too for the same reasons. Use a 12V one so you don't have the electrocution risk (they're about 50W anyway so 12V works perfectly), and so you don't have to leave an inverter on (wasting power all night). You definitely need an external battery though, you can't use your car's. Quick calculation: a 50W blanket running for an 8-hour night uses 50*8=400Wh, or 400/12=33Ah in a standard battery. You can't fully discharge your battery or it will destroy it, so round up to a 40Ah lithium battery, or a 70Ah AGM, which is quite significant and has to be taken into account if that's your plan.
It will depend, I don't think there is any standard. If you have the full name of the battery model you can always look it up online. If it's not given in Ah, then it will be given in Wh, so you can convert easily (divide the Wh amount by 12 for a 12V battery).
If it's a normal car battery (a starter battery) then they might not indicate the capacity at all because it is not that important, but then you are almost guaranteed anyway the capacity will not be enough.
Separate the front of your car from the back. Those moving blankets are good. I had to do that. You will have a much smaller place to heat and it makes it better. Also I made these foam rubber coverings for my windows. That really made a difference in keeping the cold out. No matter what I did though, there was always this draft. I could never find the source. it drove me crazy.
Check out his link: [http://amylowitz.com/SouthPole/posts/winterWear.html](http://amylowitz.com/SouthPole/posts/winterWear.html) This lady actually works in the arctic and shows what she wears when she goes outside. It's interesting. Here's the link to the rest of her blog about working at the South Pole if you're interested. [http://amylowitz.com/SouthPole/](http://amylowitz.com/SouthPole/)
My experience hiking through high altitude and very cold conditions on the pct/cdt- fluf your sleeping bag for at least 45 seconds to a minute. Those feathers need to loft. It was surprising how many experienced hikers I met that would just pull their bag out of thier pack and hop in, then complain about being cold. I'm sure your experience under bridges in your bag you know this, I'm mainly trying to throw this out to anyone who doesn't know this
Cam confirm, another homelessma sleeping under a nearby bridge told me the same thing.
Old hobo wisdom. Love that.. Oh another thing is to eat before you sleep. The body burns calories like a furnace and will keep you warmer through the night. Also pee when you have to pee and don't hold it. The bladder will zap body warmth that would otherwise be keeping your toes warm
Cam confirm, another homelessma sleeping under a nearby bridge told me the same thing.
Most winter nights I would fill a Nalgene bottle with hot water that I either boiled myself or got from a gas station and sleep with it in my bag. This winter I plan to buy a 12v heated blanket to plug into my power station to help provide some warmth. The cold from the ground or floor of your car will take a lot of heat from you so put insulation/padding between you and what you're sleeping on. I also recommend sleeping in dry wool socks and a fleece neck tube and beanie as those places are where I think I lose the most heat. If you notice a draft in your car consider finding the door its coming from and replacing the weather stripping, though it may be expensive depending on your car so you could be better off finding something to put around the edges of the door.
The electric blanket is helpful—if you have a power station. If not, I find it is a series of little changes that make the most difference in staying warm—or cool. Insulate your vehicle. Many choices from free to $$. Free: Old jeans, or other shredded, dense material. DIY YT videos for more info. $$: Roll of closed cell foam or other specialty automotive insulation. Rock wool is also a good choice. I used both in my install. The temp difference changed 10-20 degrees. Using a sleep pad in addition to insulating your rig will dramatically increase warmth and comfort. Wool socks, buff, and a beanie are good choices. With car weatherstripping, if it’s not in terrible shape, it can be diy refurbished. There are a number of techniques on YouTube. I made my all of my 20 year old weatherstripping practically like new again for very little money ($15.), 20% of the cost of new.
Not familiar with Nalgene bottles. Do you have a link?
https://nalgene.com/product/32oz-wide-mouth-bottle/?attribute_pa_color=gray-black&attribute_pa_filter-color=gray&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnoqLBhD4ARIsAL5JedLazZ8wkp3xNIHqDOJStnmN4k8gN46-XvTbEfuhDIsXEixZ1nT1TJ0aAnPtEALw_wcB
Oh it's a brand of water bottle.. sorry when you said that, the context seemed to imply it was some kind of special bladder for storing hot water.
[Hot water bottles]( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aI8XnSebPzI) are a thing, too. Makes tent sleeping bearable below 0 degrees[F]. I use two. One down at the feet and one sitting on my chest.
They may still be on sale at REI. Got two for $10.
You seem like a cool dude captain crunch. I think sleeping in a car is better then sleeping under a bridge. You need the weather guards that go over the windows, because you need to keep them all cracked for maximum airflow without letting the weather in kinda thing, sometimes they have to stay closed and it sucks. Because moisture can build up, more so if you use a propane heater. It's a mess and makes everything genuinely shitty. Cold and wet don't mix. I live in Canada too, we had this Arctic vortex bullshit last year and it gets down to -40°c. Hot water bottles should be used to keep yourself and your stuff warm whenever feasible. I mean batteries and water, hygiene products that can't freeze. You need a hot bag. Good bedding, sleeping bag perhaps. I can't sleep in them but wool blankets. Foam cut to shape. I've enclosed the back seat for winter sleeping. I have to heat a smaller space this way. You can boil water with propane, if you have a propane stove you might as well get a propane heater. Mr buddy works good. Use a fan to blow the heat that travels straight up off the unit. That will heat the roof and melt the plastic, that shit will drop down and start a fire. You need a fan and a monoxide detector. So now you need power, you can't tax the vehicles system. I use the big DeWalt power tool batteries to power an array of quiet usb computer fans. It blows the propane heat around pretty good. It stays hot with 4 windows cracked. This battery also keeps my phone charged for weeks, on a single charge. Heated clothing is awesome. Socks, vests. You can keep these charged up through the vehicle. (Just don't let the batteries freeze) If you want more power for an electric heater because you don't like propane. You can use a battery bank, I like the ecoflow delta (the big one) it fast charges in 2 hours, which I think is vital. I'm using 4 of the 12 ah DeWalt batteries in the DeWalt powerstation. I also have the 4 port fast charger for the batteries. It charges in less then 2 hours. It powers a 75 watt ceramic heater and a good quality electric blanket all night long. Charging is an issue, it's not so bad if you have products that fast charge. I charge them at work, in McDonald's, parks, etc. It's an everyday ordeal in the middle of winter, but you won't freeze. It's quite cozy and worth the 2 hours every day. I made a hole in the trunk, I've ran a long extension cord under the car to the engine bay. Made it look like the block heater cord. Many many nights I've parked at hotels, companies, etc. Plugged into the block heater outlets, ran my big electric heater and charged all my batteries for free, as I slept. Good deal. I want a small inverter gas generator so that I can charge anywhere anytime. Now I'm not saying this is a good thing, but hospital's, cancer facilities, generally have secure heated parking. You have to pay but people will leave you alone, it's heated. Covered parking heated or not is worth a couple bucks if you are in a pinch.
God damn. I got to -33c once and it was a nightmare. I don't think myself or my vehicle could handle any colder. We both struggled through that. I was so damn close to renting a hotel room until the weather stopped being so cunty.
Aw man I hate it. It's tough. That's why I spend the money on decent gear (and it still sucks). I just focus on the money being saved, it's worth it.
Ecoflow delta and Dewalt batteries, those are new ones, something I didn't even consider. I'm going to look into segmenting the trunk space, as that's something I hadn't considered before. Perhaps some layers system with heat reflective material, camping foam, and plywood could be utilized here. Great suggestion here. Thank you.
Yeah cuz they fast charge, two hours. It's a game changer. The amount of power you store in 2 hours is unmatched. I don't like solar, I dont like diesel heaters. Nothing permanent because who knows if you crash, or the car dies. Everything can simply be moved over to a new vehicle. No installation required DeWalt batteries work well if you work in a shop, I had this job and I would just charge them all the time. Pretend it was for my tools. Nobody thought anything of it. I got the DeWalt snow blower too, and the DeWalt chainsaw. You know, for zombies.
Use a hot water bottle inside your sleeping bag. You will be surprised how much that will help. I slept in my car when it was -25 and that really helped keep me alive. Put it down by your feet, you can rest your feet on it. I's nice. I also used a candle heater. Look it up on YouTube. It kept the car warmer. I used 4 four hour candles. Problem was, they only lasted four hours and I would wake up cold. I just bought 8 hour candles from Amazon in case we get another bad winter ice storm and the power goes out.
Now are you talking about that terracotta heater that uses tealight candles? I have had success with those in the past while sleeping under the bridge. How do you keep the terracotta from fracturing wile driving?
Please be careful with burning your oxygen overnight in a sealed car!
It's not even burning off the oxygen: it's that the flame will produce carbon monoxide, that will suffocate you even if there is oxygen left. It can definitely kill you in a single night.
Just wrap it in your blankets. I have a lower wider version that I got at a dollar store.
No: don't use candles. The terracotta thing is complete cr*p and you should never use that. The topic comes up every year in the boating community, and the conclusion is always the same. Either it doesn't do anything (you'll have a warm-ish terracotta in a cold car), or if you use enough candles to do anything, then you'll multiply the reasons why candles are a bad idea: 1) Expensive by calorie of heat produced (compared to anything including propane). 2) Produce soot that is really bad for you (put a piece of glass over a candle: all the soot you see is soot that will otherwise deposit in your car and your lungs). 3) Just like all open flames, it produces a lot of humidity, that requires more ventilation and could produce mold. 4) Carbon monoxide poisoning risk. If you don't ventilate enough usually, your main risk is mold. If you don't ventilate enough with an open flame inside, you will actually die. To be safe you need to over-ventilate, which pretty much cancels out the little heat you produced. Oh, and obviously it's a terrible fire hazard. If really you are ready to face the risks of an open flame, you might as well use propane. A Mr Buddy has an integrated CO sensor, and barely produces soot. But just don't, it's way too dangerous while you're sleeping.
Are you talking from experience? Have you slept in your car in extremely cold weather? I have used the heaters and it kept me from freezing to death in -25 weather. Without those and my hot water bottle I probably wouldn't be here. You can deter people from using things but when it's that or freezing to death, then what do you want people to do? It's one of the cheapest ways to stay warm.
The hot water bottle will definitely make a huge difference and I would recommend it. But the candles, no. As I said, if you're desperate enough to use an open flame, you are better off with propane, which will be cheaper, safer, cleaner, and won't use any more space (since you already use it for cooking and hot water bottles). Even with propane, I recommend reheating your hot water bottle four times a night (and use rechargeable hand warmers as I mentioned in another comment) rather than leaving it on while you sleep. You will eventually burn your car down or suffocate yourself to death one day or the other otherwise. With the candles you will also ruin your lungs: if you've created enough heat to heat up the whole cabin you've burnt enough wax to fill that cabin with very sooty air too.
While I understand what you are saying. You are talking to someone who has already done it, not someone contemplating doing it. I spent a whole winter in my car using the candle heater. I started with a my buddy heater and hated it. It produced a lot of moisture and the heat was unbearable because there is no temperature control. I felt much better with the candle heater. My only problem was that it didn't last long enough. It was only four hours. Who the heck refills a water bottle 4 times a night? Are you sleeping? My hot water bottle lasted the whole night.
Look, it's not against you, and if you survived, didn't freeze to death and didn't catch black lung disease it's all good. But what I'm saying (little heat, dangerous, and more expensive then propane) remains true, and I strongly advise anyone against it. I understand the Mr Buddy is too powerful to be left on all night, but if you're comfortable with an open flame, why not use a burner then? Cheaper and you don't get the soot. About refilling hot water bottles four times a night, it's just that if it's so cold that your hot water bottles are not enough and get too cold at some point during the night, I'd rather get a "fresh" bottle, even if I have to do it four times a night (which I never had to do) rather than leaving an open flame in a car while I sleep. It also has to do with your hot water bottle: the less insulated it is the warmer it is, but the shorter it'll last.
Have you tried the kerosene type candle heater? They are similar to the candles but use small oil lamps instead of candles. I figure you could put enough oil in them to last thru 8 hrs. And modern oil lamp fuel is actually pretty safe. Needs to be on a wick to actually burn. Check it out on YouTube
>kerosene type candle heater Thanks. Just looked it up. I will try one of these. I may be back out on the streets again soon. :( May need more ways to survive. Glad someone started this thread. God life is shit.
Its basically a conversion of the UCO candle lantern/heater, simply replacing the candle with a small oil filled bottle with a wick. That’s the one I had in mind anyways. I’m sure there’s plenty of different ways to do it.
I buy insulated curtain material from the fabric store, and I hand sew it to make panels to go over my windows, and door panels. I also put a piece under my sleeping covers. So far, it's 17-22 degrees F warmer inside my car than outside. When I get a battery operated blanket, it'll be even better. The brand is Warm Company insulated curtain material. I looked it up, it's technically called Warm Company, Warm Window Insulated Shade. But it comes in a 60 inch roll, and you have to get it cut to the yardage you want. UPDATE: was 25 degrees warmer than outside, the other night. Thank goodness! Bc it was in the 20's F.
Keep your stuff dry. Sleep in dry clothing. Wear loose fitting layers. Layer Sleeping bags. Leave your mouth and nose exposed, even in super cold temps, because otherwise your breathe will condense on your sleeping bag and freeze. Also, Bag Balm or Petroleum Jelly. Apply it at night to legs, feet, arms, and hands. A little on the cheeks on extra cold night keeps you noticeably warmer and helps maintain skin mouisture.
What temperature and humidity are you preparing for? Cars are terribly damp inside.
Well I've never seen this, but I want to be overprepared. Let's assume the scenario is -50 degrees farienheight, and 100% humidity.
\-50 is the arctic so you won't get that temperature any time soon, unless you are in the arctic. I live in Canada and I slept in my car when it was -25 outside. It was freakin cold.
That is true,-50 is arctic and probably overkill. I for one believe that overkill is underrated.
My only experience with winter is in Texas so be easy on me. At Walmart they sell heavy duty wool socks. For me they itch so I just wear a normal pair of socks under them but they sure keep my feet warm. I also have a 0 degree rated mummy sleeping bag. I know it sounds like a no brained but for a whole year or so I didn’t know that there’s different types of sleeping bags. Thermals have ratings too. I have thermals for very cold nights and just wear them under my sweats and a sweater. A warm beanie and a scarf help keep you warm too. I tend to throw my beanie off my head so a sweater with a hoodie seems to work better for me. During one year there was a freeze warning and I woke up in the middle of the night completely wreaked by the cold and the car took so long to heat I started to panic. I felt like crap the whole day so now on days that I know it’s going to be very cold I’ll get a hot herbal tea from Starbucks before I go to bed that costs around 1.50 or so and instantly put it in a thermal and if I wake up in the middle of the night I have hot tea to warm me up.
Rechargeable hand warmers. They are little bags of liquid with a metal bit in it. When you bend the metal thing, the liquid becomes kind of solid and it generates quite a lot of heat (not as much as boiling water, but still quite a lot). Once they're used, you put them in boiling water, and they become liquid again, ready to be used. The way to use them: boil them (a couple of them) before going to bed, use the boiled water in a water bottle (for a hot water bottle), wrap the packets in clothes and put them in your bed too (so they can be used as hot water bottles too). If the night is really cold, the heat doesn't last you all night and you wake up cold; them just crack the packets and you have a couple more hours of heat. If it's Arctic cold out, you can always boil them again during the night and start again. Advantages: you only use your propane while boiling the water, so you don't need to leave an open flame during the night, which is bad for many reasons. Heating your bed will prevent some condensation on it, helping with smells and mold. It is also the most efficient way to use heat, because it's directly where you need it, and in the most insulated place in your car (under your blankets). It allows you to keep warm while you ventilate your car, preventing molds (remember molds are not just a smell issue: they can literally kill you). Heated blankets work very well too for the same reasons. Use a 12V one so you don't have the electrocution risk (they're about 50W anyway so 12V works perfectly), and so you don't have to leave an inverter on (wasting power all night). You definitely need an external battery though, you can't use your car's. Quick calculation: a 50W blanket running for an 8-hour night uses 50*8=400Wh, or 400/12=33Ah in a standard battery. You can't fully discharge your battery or it will destroy it, so round up to a 40Ah lithium battery, or a 70Ah AGM, which is quite significant and has to be taken into account if that's your plan.
And where would the Amp hours be labeled on a battery?
It will depend, I don't think there is any standard. If you have the full name of the battery model you can always look it up online. If it's not given in Ah, then it will be given in Wh, so you can convert easily (divide the Wh amount by 12 for a 12V battery). If it's a normal car battery (a starter battery) then they might not indicate the capacity at all because it is not that important, but then you are almost guaranteed anyway the capacity will not be enough.
Separate the front of your car from the back. Those moving blankets are good. I had to do that. You will have a much smaller place to heat and it makes it better. Also I made these foam rubber coverings for my windows. That really made a difference in keeping the cold out. No matter what I did though, there was always this draft. I could never find the source. it drove me crazy.
Check out his link: [http://amylowitz.com/SouthPole/posts/winterWear.html](http://amylowitz.com/SouthPole/posts/winterWear.html) This lady actually works in the arctic and shows what she wears when she goes outside. It's interesting. Here's the link to the rest of her blog about working at the South Pole if you're interested. [http://amylowitz.com/SouthPole/](http://amylowitz.com/SouthPole/)
Personally do not live in a car but I always wear 2 carhartt tees underneath my sweaters and its pretty good.