I'm looking for some small spacer heating possibilities without getting into a gas generator, to power a small space heater or two

This small space heater for example is 200w

https://www.amazon.com/Lasko-100-MyHeat-Personal-Heater/dp/B003XDTWN2/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=200w+space+heater&qid=1620613698&sprefix=200w+space&sr=8-3#aw-udpv3-customer-reviews_feature_div

This power station provides 200watts


https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Power-Station-Starter-Compressor/dp/B016QR95GK/ref=asc_df_B016QR95GK/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312454010291&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10473174120315995827&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026829&hvtargid=pla-568638335470&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=61179236814&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312454010291&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10473174120315995827&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026829&hvtargid=pla-568638335470


Since these are both 200w...does that mean it will work?

What are you trying to heat up?

ccard257 said:

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What are you trying to heat up?

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Honestly I'm just looking for a game plan in case we lose electricity again like this past winter. We were without electricity in an all electric house for over 50 hours at one point this February during snovid

One idea was to get a small tent to pile everyone inside and at least body heat would make it a little warmer.

Even a little heat from a heater would be welcomed


I'm just trying to figure out if it's a 200watt power station, will that power a 200watt small space heater. I know it wouldn't work for days hopefully that doesn't happen again

I was hoping someone here had some experience with it. I know some of those power stations are solar for those fully off the grid. Thought someone may have tried it

Specs say that it's a 19 Ah battery. 200W/120V=1.7A. I seriously doubt that it will output 1.7 A for very long, without knowing the particular discharge characteristics, there's no way to know. There's probably some overcurrent protection built in that would keep the Amp draw to some thing reasonable.

The portable buddy heaters are the solution here. Electric heat is the most expensive per BTU, and much more so when you throw an inverter in the middle of things.

A heater that small will only be good for warming your hands. It will not heat any appreciable space at all, unless you stick it in a small closet and shut the door. I would agree that a portable indoor gas heater is the way to go. If you decide to check these out, I would recommend starting w/the Mr. Heater Buddy Flex.

Don't forget something to cook on as well. You can get a Mr. Heater propane stove that hooks into the Flex heater too, but of course there are many different types of propane stoves out there too.

Sasappis said:

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Get a Mr Heater buddy. Runs on propane and is safe for use inside. Electric heat take a lot of power.

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This. I ran one in our master bathroom during the storm. No power for 2 nights +.

Did a great job of keeping the room 20+ degrees warmer than the rest of the house. It eats the 1# propane bottles. You can run it off a 20# tank - just make sure you get the inline filter or it will kill the heater at one point.

Anybody ever try something like this, and did it work?

My wife tried that setup. Very little heat that I could tell.

The problem with that candle set up is that your heat source is still a candle no matter what you do. In theory the pots would help distribute the heat better than allowing it to just rise to the ceiling in a narrow column, but that doesn't overcome the tiny heat source.

I have a 300W and it will run a heated blanket for about 9 hours....I don't know the specs on your small space heater, but I can't imagine it could power it.

You'd have to spend A LOT to get one that could - at that price point you'd be better of with a nice generator.

The Mr. Heater Buddy suggestion above would probably be the best way to go, especially if you're just looking to use it in a once every couple year type pinch.

Which one do you have that's 300W?

That makes me think it could run the small 200W personal space heater. Basically just point it towards tent opening.



The My Buddy propane heater sounds interesting. I wonder what the technology is that allows it to be used inside?

The nice thing about having all gas appliances - we have a 5 burner natural gas cooktop. During the storm put 5 large pots of water on the cooktop and kept it running - 5 gallons of 200 degree water will put out some heat.

Why not just go sit in the car for a few hours?

Milwaukees Best Light said:

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Why not just go sit in the car for a few hours?

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Because the family needs to sleep and that's difficult when you can see your breath inside the house.

Also opening the door to the outside 15 degree temperature makes it even colder inside the house

We have a Bluetti AC50S

https://www.bluetti.com/collections/50-100w/products/bluetti-ac50s-500wh-300w-portable-power-station

AgRyan04 said:

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We have a Bluetti AC50S

https://www.bluetti.com/collections/50-100w/products/bluetti-ac50s-500wh-300w-portable-power-station

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I'm just not following the logic. You're $1k with this with solar panels and the max is 300W. It's worthless for a heater.

You could get this and (2) 5 gallon gas cans that would power a good space heater for a week. A long extension cord and you'd hardly hear it.
https://www.harborfreight.com/generators-engines/generators/inverter-generators/2000-watt-super-quiet-inverter-generator-62523.html

Milwaukees Best Light said:

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Why not just go sit in the car for a few hours?

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CAREFUL not to do that in the garage. Carbon monoxide will kill everyone in the car.

Sasappis said:

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Get a Mr Heater buddy. Runs on propane and is safe for use inside. Electric heat take a lot of power.

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Careful with these indoors too...

https://www.rvtravel.com/mr-heater-user-dies-from-carbon-monoxide-could-you/

CSTXAg92 said:

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Sasappis said:

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Get a Mr Heater buddy. Runs on propane and is safe for use inside. Electric heat take a lot of power.

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Careful with these indoors too...

https://www.rvtravel.com/mr-heater-user-dies-from-carbon-monoxide-could-you/

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We used ours inside but made sure the CO detectors were good to go. Kept us plenty warm during the blackout.

Someone on here posted that they had an extra carbon monoxide detector and place it near their Mr. Heater as an extra safety measure. My large buddy Mr. Heater is great, I use the 20lbs can and it seems to run for ever. I did buy a small carbon monoxide detector to keep close by if I need to use it indoors overnight. Can't hurt...

Sasappis said:

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CSTXAg92 said:

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Sasappis said:

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Get a Mr Heater buddy. Runs on propane and is safe for use inside. Electric heat take a lot of power.

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Careful with these indoors too...

https://www.rvtravel.com/mr-heater-user-dies-from-carbon-monoxide-could-you/

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Did you read that article?

It was not a buddy heater. The guy was using a tank top parabolic heater as a stove in his van he was living in. He had intentionally defeated at least 3 safety features and was using an outdoor heater in a confined space.

The buddy heater is specifically marketed as safe for indoor use and has been sold for years. That article does nothing to question the safety of the buddy heater.

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Don't ***** at the messenger. From the article:

"In a story released the same day, KXLY.COM indicated that Dana "Was using a Mr. Heater brand heater, which was hooked up to a five-gallon propane tank, to cook a roast on a skillet inside his van right before his death." "

If you want to use a Mr. Heater to keep you warm, do it.

For using a battery power station, you have to calculate watt hours. You need some pretty big batteries to run a heater. Say the electric heater is 200Wh, and your battery is 500Wh, you'll be able to run it maybe 2.5hrs, depending on the type of battery and what sort of internal protection it has, ie you can't drain lithium batteries 100%.

Then there's the issue of charging them, solar is great BUT you need clear sunlight for most of the day and then it's a matter of the size of the solar panels and what the unit can pull in.

I'm looking into this to run a CPAP machine and basically it has to be oversized to run for several days and then recharge anticipating 4-5hrs of 'good' sunlight per day. Of course you can recharge them using a generator, but in the event of a hurricane/winter storm, it's simply the math of how much fuel you have on hand, what you need and how long you'll need it.

I didn't buy it to run a heater.

We have been to many campgrounds that don't have hookups or allow generators, so when we camp there we can use this for a variety of things.

I got it with the solar panels for well below $1,000

AgRyan04 said:

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I didn't buy it to run a heater.

We have been to many campgrounds that don't have hookups or allow generators, so when we camp there we can use this for a variety of things.

I got it with the solar panels for well below $1,000

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The question was literally how to run a heater.

Electric blankets only take like 1 amp and you don't have to be trying to heat the entire house.

The context makes more sense when the full thread/reply chain is followed

AlaskanAg99 said:

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For using a battery power station, you have to calculate watt hours. You need some pretty big batteries to run a heater. Say the electric heater is 200Wh, and your battery is 500Wh, you'll be able to run it maybe 2.5hrs, depending on the type of battery and what sort of internal protection it has, ie you can't drain lithium batteries 100%.

Then there's the issue of charging them, solar is great BUT you need clear sunlight for most of the day and then it's a matter of the size of the solar panels and what the unit can pull in.

I'm looking into this to run a CPAP machine and basically it has to be oversized to run for several days and then recharge anticipating 4-5hrs of 'good' sunlight per day. Of course you can recharge them using a generator, but in the event of a hurricane/winter storm, it's simply the math of how much fuel you have on hand, what you need and how long you'll need it.

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Thanks, based in that a power station isn't really viable for an electric space heater.


Guess I'll look into Mr Buddy

We have a skid mounted deal that has four half baths on it. Each bath is about 6x6'. Each has a 1500ish watt oscillating heater in it. Temperature is normally in the 10-20 degree range. They make things tolerable.

I agree with the other poster that your proposal would not accomplish what you want.

Here's a new option I would not have imagined

New Ford F150 lightening can power house for 3 days, and up to 10 with rationing


https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2022-ford-f-150-lightning-electric-pickup-intelligent-backup-power-house/