Heating a tent for outdoor gigs

Favorite heat source?

Ceramic? Fan? Open roaring fire whilst roasting chestnuts with one hand and painting with the other?

Any fuelled heaters (propane etc) will have fumes, and depending on the event, you could run into fire hazard issues etc.. or bylaw? I forget how it was worded when someone else asked this question...but along the same lines of health and safety...heaters can be a risk...wish I could be more specific...sorry...

@Gamezgirl - I was thinking more along the lines of a plug-in electric heater/fan/ceramic reflective light than anything using butane or fuel! I'll be at an outdoor event in my walled-in tent with access to electricity.

The people at the markets next to me last winter had a mini outdoor gas heater - like the ones at cafes but a tabletop version. I will be investing in one for next year for sure. Other than that..fifty million jumpers and fingerless gloves and toe warmers in my shoes!

There clauses like this in alot of vendor contracts...this is what I was referring to earlier

-. According to Ohio Fire Code Section 2404.7 Open flame of other devices emitting flame, fire or heat shall not be permitted inside or located within 20 feet of the tent, canopy or membrance.

I have an EdenPure-Personal Heater but it is a bit on the expensive side. It is an infrared heater and works very well. So even if you don't want that brand I would look into the infrared heaters, as they seem to work nicely.

When need we use a propane tent heater.

Hate most fuel heaters, they either stink or are noisy or worse let off fumes you can't smell! Also take a lot of situating do they don't melt you, your kit, the tent and can't be touched accidentally or not by the public... pain in the bum...

If I have to work outdoors (and I had a regular Christmas gig in snow last year), I layer up, zip a hot water bottle in amongst them and either take a thermos of hot water to top it up or beg water from the tea/coffee vendors. And those wee re-useable handwarmers are great, tuck into your pockets now and then.

Cat x

We don't have any smell from our heater, and a seasoned pros are careful in what we do and how our booths layout. For years I would not use one but now it depends on the event and weather. We really use it only at one major festival where we are in the booth 11-13+ hrs a day and the spring event in Yosemite can get snowy. Def we do hand warmers and such for those short cold evening or wintery gigs. We have been having a very cold winter - it's the wind that's a killer!

Heating a canopy aka tent is dependent on a number of factors. The written rules of the event (who is governed by and better be informing you of the laws upheld by the fire marshall, size of your work area (how many people work in the booth, how close are customers to the heat source), material (is you booth fire proof, do you have a fire extinguisher) and air flow to name a few. If I had to use a heater quite a bit I not opt for anything flame related.

In my area I'll need a cooling system far more than heat!

Due diligence can not be stressed enough.
If you are insuring yourself as a painter with say something like Specialty Ins - this is liability - it will not replace your tent if you burn yourself down!