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Quote: Originally posted by Sammi-Jay on 01/5/2006

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If you were to get fumes from a gas cooker if used in a tent, would that mean that it is not a good idea to use gas heaters or lamps inside the tent also?  Im trying to get my lot into camping but am just confusing myself!!!!

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The 'fumes' that are talked about here are carbon monoxide. This is only produced when a fuel is not given enough oxygen to burn properly to carbon dioxide. In a domestic house a gas appliance requires that there is some form of ventilation in the room, e.g. an air-brick. In my experience, the ventilation in a tent is way more than this!!

Where the use of heaters etc becomes dangerous is when you are in a very small tent, desperate to keep warm and so seal up any possible ventilation, ... and then keep the heater running all night. There was a tragic case a while back where a couple did just this, not with gas, but with the embers left over from a disposable BBQ. The tent was small and they had sealed every possible draft to keep warm, then fell asleep ... never to wake up.

I am personally nervous of gas because of the naked flames, and so we use mostly electric for cooking, lighting and heating ... but then that could start another equally long and contravertial thread about the dangers of electricity when camping!!!!

I think the advice here is "know and understand the dangers", do your own risk assessment, and make your own decision. Let's face it, we are all in far more danger on the roads driving to the campsite ... and yet we quite happily take that risk!!

Tent manufactures will NOT recommend cooking inside your tent.But we like most others do.

Obviously you need to take care and never leave it unnatended but with a little common sense you should be ok.

Somebody died a while back near where we live after using a disposable babrbie and forgetting to put it outside the tent- carbon monoxide poisoning.

Think I will stick to fish and chips on wet ones

Thanks B Chrystie, that was a lengthy but clear answer.  I have decided that as I have 6 kids (ages 11 years - 17 months) that it would be safer and easier to take extra covers to wrap up in if its cold!  At the rate my pack list was going, I'd be better off taking the whole house...lol!!  I think I'd lost sight of the fun to be had in camping and how its not all mod-cons and is about a fair old amount of roughing it!!

It's true what you say about the daily risks we run, but life is there once and once only huh, so lets try and have a good one!

Greetins,

As a rule tent manufacturers will cover themselves by saying DON'T COOK inside a tent BUT and it is a big but as long as the cooker is away from the side of the tent and you are careful and if you want to, fold out of the way the porch groundsheetyou'll be fine.

Most tents now have a flame retardent coating on them to slow down any flame.

Common sense rules!

Quote: Originally posted by dukedog on 02/5/2006

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... Provided you take reasonable precautions and care then cooking in a tent is NO PROBLEM.

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Yeah cooking in the tent entirely depends on you tent

We do it if we have to with vents open etc. and lets face it you don't want to be flambeing a steak or anything just heating up soup, pasta and stuff I don't think your likely to be showered with molten nylon by boiling a kettle or heating a pan of beans in large tent

It's a lot of palava over a very common sense issue!

Hi,

On our first trip in our Khyam Espace, I carelessly set fire to a frying pan with some oil in (to fry onions). Got distracted talking to friends. The flames were licking at the ceiling. I managed to put out the fire and the only damage to the tent was a 50p size hole in the ventilation net. I felt extremely lucky that the tent was still in one piece and that no one was injured.

I still cook in the tent but make sure I stay at the cooker. The kitchen is set up in a very large porch and the children know to keep away. There is plenty of ventilation from two full height side windows and the door is left open in dry weather.

Paula