Cold weather camping gear updates: Firemaple Sunflower heater + Temu 12v electric blanket

[@samanthadodd8112]

Love my 12 volt blanket. Run it 15 mins before going to sleep and 15 mins in the morning, with the blanket wrapped around me as i am making coffee. By the time my coffee is made that heat takes off the chill in the van and life is good.

[@ShoestringMartha]

Sounds cozy!

[@susanjackson1458]

I’m glad you talked about the Cupid. I’ve had it on my shopping list for a while, but haven’t seen anyone talk about it. I think I would be more partial to it, rather than the Fire Maple one.

[@ShoestringMartha]

Thanks! I have an earlier / first impressions review of the Cupid, over here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaHUgHqtgZh2jdEsi=_MzFfBobNPDx9X2k

[@MrLarrysanders]

I use the Kovea Cupid heater and it's a one hand carry when I move from my deck to my porch. My cats love the angle of the heat flow. The heat flows upward and towards the front. When I truck camp, I heat up my bed area prior to entering and in the morning to warm up the area. I do enjoy your videos. You do a really nice job. Thanks.

[@ShoestringMartha]

Thank you! And yes -- the one-handed carry is another benefit of the all-in-one structure of the Cupid that is nice.

[@TheWibbo]

About the slippery grid on that new stove, rough up the surface with some 60 grit sandpaper it really helped my pot from sliding off the optimus 111 i have.

[@ShoestringMartha]

Thanks for the tip! I'll give it a go.

[@cillaloves2fish688]

Hello! Good comparison video

[@karistafford4968]

I love all your videos. Maybe try a omnia, wonderbag or thermal cooker! None of those are super expensive and I’d love to see recipes you could come up with those! Plays you can hike while it cooks….(for the latter two) or get go sun to send you a solar cooker!

[@ShoestringMartha]

Thank you! Somewhere in my ideas notes I have plans to DIY a stovetop oven like an Omnia, maybe involving a bundt pan. 🤔

[@ramonapuckett3059]

Thank you for the updates! Great information ❤

[@conniewaite1371]

Fire maple makes very good stuff

[@conniewaite1371]

There is an electric,low watt heater used for baby chicks,looks like a large ipad or tablet.no worries about fumes or fire.great for small spaces.

[@ShoestringMartha]

I have heard of those; they sound nifty!

[@jackwalsh1468]

Martha, you're certainly cooking with gas and have yourself well covered, too. Pun intended. Cheers, Mate.

[@ShoestringMartha]

Thanks - I love a good pun! :D

[@54bonkers]

Check out the new Rock Pot. Seems like something right up your alley!

[@ShoestringMartha]

That’s is neat! I’m not sure I’d spend $250+ on a cooking device 😅 , but I do have “cooking with hot rocks” on my culinary punch list 😃

[@LindaLager-z1n]

We also like fleece pjs bottoms and socks and bathrobes and jackets. If you put the fleece blankets inside your sleeping bag you will stay warmer

[@suzmaca650]

Like the 12v blanket idea….it’s not difficult to add a switch to cord if you feel the need. A hot water bottle is also an option :)

[@roamingcali]

The list of items to order never ends. How long did the Target blanket last on the Ryobi inverter?

[@ShoestringMartha]

LOL! I did a longer test over here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYSTaJt9dp2ChMU but if I recall, it was about 4 hours, on low, using the bigger Ryobi batteries. I do remember I had to swap it out in the middle of the night -- I brought 2.

[@nomansvan827]

Thank you for the reviews and ideas. Happy Trails.

[@offroadrover]

I've been waiting for this video for a long time 😊. I had a cupid for my van. It was great but I broke it. Came across the Sunflower as a heater plus a backup stove. But Firemaple said I couldn't use butane with it😢, so I didn't get one. You just proved what I wanted to know. Also did it work OK with your butane cannister standing up? Did you get any flare ups. Always understood that they had lie down. Thanks for the video

[@ShoestringMartha]

I didn’t experience any flareups, and was unaware that was an issue 😯 BTW Camping Moon also sells an adapter that has little feet, so you can lie the can down and it won’t roll away. I wanted that one, but the shipping time was too long for this video. 🫤

[@tracker5849]

Think i would be partial to cupid

[@LindaLager-z1n]

Get yourself some soft fleece blankets. They will definitely keep you warm. They come in various sizes and prices. Some are very cheap depending on size and store. They are the only kind of blankets that I own. I take one with me if I'm staying in a motel or with family or friends. My girls have them for themselves and their kids

[@tjfm59]

this is one area i am still working on after 3 years. don't want any fuel burners in with me even with a window or 2 open. have restless legs. i fear i would be kicking it over & have a fire. found 1 guy last fall who put a electric house floor mat in his truck an wired it into his power supply. even with your comments of the blanket getting too hot. the debate over a floor mat (whole bed truck heater) or blanket (in bag heater ) is in process now. the one test i did do was a small space heater(electric) on a shelf (led issue). this got the air at heater height an up warm, but over heated the insulation on the ceiling i had put in. the issue with the floor mat heating system under a floor is they pull around 55 watts an hour. so the power supply needs to be fairly large for this at 1500 watts storage.

[@ShoestringMartha]

Totally get that. I'm nervous using heaters, even with all my precautions. I try to avoid using them unless I really have to. The 12v electric blanket has been a real game changer. Lots of heat for minimal (when it comes to heating devices) draw, but even so, quite a burden for a power station.

[@tjfm59]

@@ShoestringMartha went looking at their site. think i want the a smaller unit. with maybe a additional battery pack. for me i have a extend cab ranger pickup. the unit you have would fit the space, the 70lb weight of it makes getting the power pack in position difficult. while the smaller uint is half that weight. plus i would want the 120 watt solar panels, do to there length. up on the roof of my topper.

[@jayburke1601]

I really enjoy your videos I have a minivan no build very similar set up to your 4 runner... I just got one of those uso candelier 3 candle lanterns I was able to find the parts to do the little oil lamp hack you can buy these tiny oil lamps that fit inside of the lantern so you don't have to buy the candles and the oil lamps burn for about 20 hours instead of 9 hours and no waxy mess.... 3 candles burning together it is rated at 5000 BTUs and I think the oil lamps will burn hotter than the candles so hopefully it will put out some decent heat but I have other solutions I have a plug-in fitted heated sheet for my bed it takes about 30 Watts on the low setting and it does not have an automatic shut-off so I don't have to wake up cold also I have two rechargeable hand warmers I can always use one while I have the other one charging I'm working my way up to trying out one of these gas stoves but I might skip all that and just try the diesel heater they are pretty cheap by now with lots of reviews to help pick out a nice one. Thank you for sharing all your tips and knowledge and you are a great content creator as well thank you so much

[@ShoestringMartha]

Thank you so much! That all sounds so very warm and cozy -- digging the oil lamp hack 👏

[@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN]

Don't believe the trickery of the marketing Jay, those spec's for those 9 hour candles is the overall heat produced... 5000 ÷ 9 = 555 btu per hour, divide this by three and you get 185.1 btu per hour per candle...this equates to 54.2 Watts per hour. This is no different to any other reasonable candle...tea lights are around 2/3 as good so would 4 decent tealights keep you cosy and warm in the cold? I've tried this and it's a Very poor way to get a Little heat...you'll be wasting money and your time is my opinion (I hope you don't mind) Anyway, I'm only trying to help by sharing how they get away with somewhat deceptive advertising...I don't think this is right and folk could fair better by knowing the real btu per hour and not the whole energy value of the candles 👍 Sharing is Caring, well, when it's done with Good intentions 🙂🚐🐕👊

[@judyshorrock7368]

Are you using your EcoFlow River Power station to run your 12V blanket? If so, does the EcoFlow DC output show consistent wattage output? Thanks again. 😊

[@ShoestringMartha]

I am! It’s fairly steady at 35-40 watts.

[@judyshorrock7368]

@@ShoestringMartha Thanks for responding so quickly. I have the River 2 Pro and my DC output watts are fluctuating a lot more -like 5 to 20 watts. I had the same blanket. Not sure it was caused by blanket or DC output port. Maybe it’s this new battery technology but driving me bonkers 🤪😂. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[@ShoestringMartha]

Oh no, that is a pretty wide variance. Hopefully, the fluctuation isn't causing any problems.

[@judyshorrock7368]

@@ShoestringMartha I did get a quick reply from Ecoflow service dept and they they suspect there’s a problem. So I’m just waiting to get a return label and further instructions to return and replace. Happy it is still under warranty. 😁

[@rhocellesamson1453]

Where did you get your adapter please?

[@ShoestringMartha]

Amazon! amzn.to/3xaoPCY Though if you can swing it, highly recommend the one with the feet, so your butane can is oriented correctly, which should prevent flare ups. It was out of stock, when I was shopping: amzn.to/3Vg7T6e

[@DeniseLudwig-h3h]

Didn't the Sunflower Maple flare flames??? Can you link me to that video?

[@ShoestringMartha]

It did, but it wasn’t the heater’s fault; just user error. Pretty sure it was because A) I added an adapter to switch it from propane to butane and B) had the fuel bottle oriented incorrectly kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3LWin6ld8lpaLcsi=YIVe7ZPB2CrNoeNE

[@DeniseLudwig-h3h]

@@ShoestringMartha it was still scary! I was glad you were outside when it did this!