keeping warm in January-tent camping

[campers]

As our trip is nearing, I'm starting to wonder about taking an electric blanket or heater. The thought of either makes me nervous but since we have the option with an electric site I want to make sure I've thought it thru.
Background info: We live in Western New York and normally go camping when the average night temps are in the 40's. We normally camp at State Parks at a site without electric, so we've always relied on long johns and a warm sleeping bag to keep us warm...it's great at night but does make the morning coffee making interesting! My DD (2 and a half) is hot natured... she only sleeps in light pj's during the winter without a blanket and we keep the house at 63 degrees. We rented a cabin when she was a few months old so we'd be able to have a fire to keep warm and then this past year we went tent camping with her, but waited until June so the nights would warm up a bit. I think the night temps were in the low 50's and she was comfortable in fleece pj's. She sleeps in a pea pod which is a little tent with an air mattress...so she's basically in a tent within a tent.
My concern: The average night temps in Orlando are 50 degrees...warmer than we are used to camping in. However, I realize that 50 degrees is just the average and it could be in the 30's at night. I want to be prepared for that...just in case. If we were camping without electric, we'd just toss in a few more blankets and hope for the best...and that someone with electric at their site would magically appear with a hot cup of coffee for us so we wouldn't have to get out of bed!!! Since we have electric, I'd like to hear what other people have used to stay warm. Wouldn't using an electric blanket or a heater pose a fire hazard in a tent...aren't they flammable?

 

[we3peas]

I would use one of the new ceramic heaters. We have one for our RV and also use it tent camping. If tipped over it turns off. We leave it running on the lowest setting in our RV. In a tent I would turn it off when I went to bed because of the condensation it would cause inside the tent. When you wake up just flip it on high until it feels relatively warm to you and then you can get dressed and go out and make your coffee.

Our temps right now are in the 30's-40's at night. Here in Orlando last night was 43.

 

[des1954]

I too hale from WNY, but have lived in Fla all my adult life. January weather is a crap shoot here. It could go either way - cold or hot - so as they say "prepare for the worst & expect the best". If you're driving down - pack both a fan and a ceramic heater. Seriously - you might need one on Monday and the other on Tuesday. While I doubt you will need your serious winter garb here, do pack at least 2 sweatshirts and long pants for each person, as well as tee's and shorts. Both pools at FtW are heated - so a swim suit is in order, too. Dressing in layers is key in January down here.

Last January while we were at FtW, the temps got into the teens two nights in a row. If that happens this year, you'll be glad for a ceramic heater!

Also - we are in an "El Nino" weather pattern - which could mean a lot of rain. Make sure you bring ponchos for everyone and extra shoes in case of rain. The dryers at the Fort are kind of pricey - IIRC - $2.00 per 15 minutes.

 

[clkelley]

I always used an electric mattress pad and electric blanket when tent camping in the winter at Disney. Never a problem.

The new ceramic heaters are very safe, but I've never used one in a tent.

One thing you have to consider in FL is humidity!!! Even though it is cold the humidity will be higher than other places and it will feel colder!!

So also bring a fan, open that tent up during the day and run the fan during the day to dry things out.

As you probably already know, also don't close up the tent completely at night, you will create more humidity just by breathing and make yourself colder!!

 

[mamaloya]

I have used a ceramic heater in our tent a few times and many times in our popup when we had one. We never had a prob with condensation because of the way our tent is vented, but in our popup camper we did.

If I had had electric blankets at the time, I probably would have slept with the blankets and just turned the heater on in the morning to take the chill off.

I think Carol also said something in another thread about putting a blanket UNDER an air mattress to keep the cold from reaching you. Carol, will you please refresh my memory on that.

A few years ago, we bought these AWESOME wool blankets at the Mexican pavilion in Epcot. They are soooo warm. They saved us that trip. They weren't very expensive either.

Happy Camping.

 

[jwpaul]

We use a Lasko Ocillating tower heater/fan with thermostat. Well worth the 40-50 bucks. You can set it to 63 if you want. It also has auto shut off for safety.

 

[campers]

Thanks for the replies...I've decided on a ceramic heater. My Father in law owns an Ace Hardware so I can get a really nice one for cost. We wont use it while we are sleeping, but it will be nice to have for the mornings since we are early risers. Our tent is the Copper Canyon 1610 with sleeping quarters and a screen room (aka: the living room/play room). After hearing from all of you, I feel good about having the heater for our "living room". I'm sure it will help make morning coffee so much more enjoyable!!!
As for our sleeping quarters...we sleep on a 2 and a half inch thick foam mattress pad. It fits perfectly in our Slumberjack Jack n Jill sleeping bag, so us and our mattress pad are all zipped in together. We also add a few blankets for trips that are going to be a bit colder. I guess I'm still debating the electric blanket...I should just pick one up...just in case.
Thanks for the great advice!

 

[kaguilbeau]

We use a Lasko Ocillating tower heater/fan with thermostat. Well worth the 40-50 bucks. You can set it to 63 if you want. It also has auto shut off for safety.

I only have once experience sleeping in a tent when it was cold. We brought the same heater as mentioned here. My son was concerned about sleeping while it was running, so we only used it prior to going to bed. UNTIL I woke up and it read 43 degrees inside the tent! I was freezing cold! I turned it back on and in no time it had taken the chill out of the air.

Others no this already, but I was surprised at how cold the ground is when sleeping in a tent. I sat on the tent floor to put on my shoes and it was so cold.

I also agree about taking a fan too - if room permits.

 

[mamaloya]

Holmes makes a heater they call a bathroom heater. It is fan forced. It has a GFCI plug in case it gets wet. It also has a timer and it has an alarm clock so you can set it to come on at a certain time each morning. It also has a programmable thermostat that can be set from 65 to 75 or 80. In the home, it is also wall mountable. It also has a fan setting, although it doesn't blow that strongly, but would keep the humidity down during the day. It stays cool to the touch as well. I have this heater and like it. The alarm feature makes it nice so that you don't have to get up in the cold to turn it on. It turns itself on and it will be nice and toasty when you are ready to get up.