Can you use a camp stove or heater in a tent? Carbon monoxide explained

The CDC calls carbon monoxide an odorless, colorless gas that kills without warning, produced any time you burn fuel in stoves, lanterns, grills or heaters. People who are asleep, drunk or under the influence can die before they have symptoms.

In a 1999 report on six campers who died in zipped tents (one with a propane stove brought in for warmth, one with a charcoal grill brought in after cooking), the CDC said fuel-burning stoves, heaters, lanterns and charcoal grills should never be used inside a tent, camper or other enclosed shelter, and that opening flaps, doors or windows is not enough to prevent dangerous buildup.

The WhisperLite instructions name the vestibule specifically. Compare stoves for outdoor cooking in our Jetboil Flash vs PocketRocket 2 and WhisperLite vs PocketRocket 2 pages.

1. Cook in the open air, away from the tent and out of the doorway, so exhaust does not drift inside. The CDC says exhaust from fuel-burning devices used outdoors should not vent into enclosed shelters.
2. Block the wind the way the maker allows. Use the stove’s own windscreen only if its instructions call for one; MSR’s PocketRocket 2 instructions say never to use any kind of windscreen with that stove, while the WhisperLite comes with one.
3. Bring heat in, not flame. Fill a bottle with hot water outside, close it tightly, and take it into your bag.
4. Plan warmth into your gear. The CDC advises campers to pack adequate bedding and clothing and eat extra calories and fluids rather than relying on fuel-burning heat. Our guide to staying warm in a tent walks through pads, bags and layers.
5. Turn off and cool stoves and lanterns before they come near the tent, and never bring a charcoal grill inside, even after the coals look dead.

No. A battery CO alarm is worth having in a camper or cabin; the CPSC recommends battery-operated or battery-backup CO alarms outside sleeping areas at home. But an alarm does not turn a tent into a safe place for a flame. In its review of propane heaters in tents, the U.S. Forest Service noted that the alarm limits in the UL 2034 standard can still allow long exposures that exceed workplace limits without sounding, and it concluded that unvented propane heaters should never be used inside a personal tent.

The CDC lists the most common symptoms as headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain and confusion, often described as “flu-like.” Breathing a lot of CO can make you pass out or kill you.

If you suspect CO poisoning, the CPSC says to get outside to fresh air immediately and then call 911. Shut off the stove, heater or grill only if you can do it without staying in the tent.

• Cooking in the vestibule “just this once.” MSR’s WhisperLite instructions list the vestibule as an enclosed space.
• Bringing a grill or heater in after cooking. Both deaths in the CDC’s 1999 report followed this pattern.
• Counting on open doors or vents. The CDC says that is not enough.
• Treating a CO alarm as permission. It is a backstop, not a fix.
• Ignoring a headache and nausea at camp. Flu-like symptoms near a running stove or heater mean fresh air first.