Product Review: Remington 18,000 BTU Portable Propane Heater

The Stealth Van Dweller has been in existence for about 3 years now. The collection of information gathered has all been created in a more or less hypothetical situation because up until this point my main dwelling has indeed been along the lines of a permanent structure.

Due to miss-judgment, mostly on my part, I now find myself in a situation where I, like many of you, are now permanently mobile. I'm in the process of becoming a full-time van dweller. The unique part of my particular situation is that it is the end of January, and the temperatures here in Northern Minnesota recently have been as cold as -30 below zero. Nasty cold, this is extreme van dwelling.

Is this kind of existence possible? Yes, it is. There is some planning involved, and a certain level of investment, to avoiding turning into a polar popsicle.

The first investment was to amp up the heat to make my little cocoon warm and toasty. For this, I invested in a portable propane heater. I already had a Mr. Buddy heater with one heating element. During the recent cold snap, it barely took the chill off the interior of my van.

The fallacy of the Mr. Buddy came to light when the spin on propane canister went empty in a few short hours. As Tim the Tool Man always says, "More Power", I needed a better alternative.

A trip to the local home center got me a Remington portable propane heater with 3 elements and 3 heat settings. The nice part of this unit is a 20# propane tank fits inside the unit. It also comes with a set of casters making it movable with ease.

This 18,000 BTU heater took my frigid van from frozen to balmy in less than 5 minutes. With all three elements radiating it quickly came up to temperature where upon I cut it back to one burner to maintain a comfortable heat level.

Now instead of a few hours per canister, I can have heat for at least 65 hours continuous. Plus there is no disposal issue because you just have the tank refilled.

The investment amounted to $103 on an end of the season sale (January, Minnesota, Hardly end of season) for the 18,000 BTU heater. Another $24 for a 20# propane tank, with yet another $20 to have the tank filled.

On the plus side, winter bring it on. I have more than enough heat for whatever comes my way in the way of frigid temperatures. Not only does this make Van Dwelling a comfortable alternative, it could also heat an ice house for fishing, a drafty basement, or even much of a house during power failures.

The Remington 18,000 BTU Portable Propane Heater gets 2 thumbs up from this Minnesotan.