This thing saved my life
Written: Oct 24 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Keeps you warm AND makes perfect toast. What more do you need?
Cons: None, provided one uses care using propane products.
The Bottom Line: This is a great product. It goes anywhere, works without electricity, and is reasonably safe. Don't expect it heat a barn, but it can more than handle your tent.
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| petulengro's Full Review: Coleman 5033-700 Gas Utility Heater |
My husband and I were working in our garage last winter. We wanted to finish our job, but it was getting mighty cold. My little electric heater wasn't quite making it in that big, uninsulated space. A friend of mine owned one of these same Coleman heaters, and loved it, so we hopped in the car and off we went to K-mart. 50 bucks later, we were back in the garage, this little gem heating merrily at one end of the garage and a small electric heater at the other end. The garage was toasty and we were happy.
And then the following week, an ice storm blew out our power for a week. Let me tell you something, Constant Reader; it's a sucky day by definition when you can see your breath in your kitchen. We holed up in our living room, closed off the rest of the house, built a fire in the fireplace (not great, because there was no power to operate the blowers. Most of that heat went straight up the chimney.), and fired up our new Coleman Black Cat in the other end of the room. My husband and I, both of whom HATE being cold, weren't perfectly comfortable...but we weren't miserable, either. We had a lot of space to heat, and while it was a little more than the heater could handle, the thing made a pretty good show of it, all things considered. The room was warm enough. I'm sure if my husband and I weren't such wimpy crybabies when it comes to cold, we'd have been downright comfy.
The next morning, I made eggs on my old Coleman stove. I like toast with my eggs, so I'm looking at this limp, cold bread in my hand...and then my eyes drift toward the softly-glowing Black Cat. I walked over there, held the bread to the hot surface of the burner, and inside of thirty seconds, I had a piece of hot, golden, perfectly crispy toast in my hand. Talk about being cheered up!
Mainly, though, we use these things when camping. We were camping in Pennsylvania one summer, where it gets cold and damp at night. I went into my friend's tent where she was using one of these things to heat her tent and dry her clothes, and it was like a Swedish rock sauna in there. And I used one early last spring in my living van (I have a gypsy wagon I stay in sometimes) and it made it wonderfully toasty in there. Otherwise, I'd have been miserable in the cold. When I use it in the wagon, though, I don't leave it lit while I'm asleep. I just crank it up so it's gets good and warm, crawl into bed, then turn it off. That seems to work well enough. The heating surface does get hot...hot enough to make toast, at least... so I'm a little afraid to leave it lit. My wagon has all kinds of hangings and draperies inside, and I'm just afraid of catching it on fire. The claim on this heater is that it is safe to use in enclosed space, and it will not combust things that touch it. That may well be true, but nonetheless, I don't want to find out the hard way that it isn't. But that's just me.
This thing is easy to pack, lightweight, sets up instantly, lights easily, and heats quickly. You just screw in a small propane tank, turn the knob to "start", and hold a lighter to the edge of the heating surface. You'll see the flame flash over the surface and then start to burn. Adjust and place where you wish.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
petulengro
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Member: Regina Petulengro
Location: Columbia, SC, US
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
It will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.
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