-- [ From: Thomas D. Hanlon * EMC.Ver #2.3 ] --

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Charles writes, " When camping, I usually wish I had a  little more heat 
(w/o starting engine) after I turn the stove off and get ready to  sleep. 
Most of my weekend warrior excursions take place near home where  it is not
too cold. "

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I once saw a Vanagon Westy set up in a campsite in which the owner had
placed on the grate of the Westy stove a large ceramic block. The block was
glazed in a Delft blue color, much like the tiles used on the exterior of
heating stoves/furnaces in Europe.  I once saw a similar stove in Mozart's
birthplace in Salzburg,  Austria, for example.  The ceramic block was about
4" x 6" x 10" and heated before the owner turned in for the night. The
heated block retained some heat for a while. 

I couldn't find a similar block.

A "matured" West Texas cowboy suggested to me that in the "old days" he
heated rocks, wrapped his socks around one of them and placed the bundle in
his bedding. "Get yourself a few glazed or ceramic bricks from the salvage
yard," he suggested. We did.

Works fine for us to heat up the bricks on the Westy range and turn in with
the heated bricks on the grate for the night. The radiated heat in our mild
climate keeps the chill off until we warm up our sleeping bags, of course,
sans the socks.

Tom Hanlon
Palm Springs, CA