PDA

View Full Version : Mr Heater Buddy Heater Does anybody own one?



Brian Brown
11-22-2013, 10:10 AM
This time of year, the fam always asks what I want for Christmas. I have been trying to find some type of emergency heater just in case the power goes out during the winter. The reviews on this little heater sound good, and it might be useful for camping too. Does anybody have one, and can comment on its use, and quality. I know it only heats a small area, but I want it only for emergency use in the house, and to keep the pipes from freezing. Also, how does this heater handle Carbon monoxide? The manufacturer makes a bid deal about the oxygen depletion safety shutoff, but there is no mention of CO created by the combustion. Last question, they also offer an adaptor for refilling the small 1lb bottles from a larger tank. I heard that it is illegal to refill these small bottles. Is that true, and if not, is it safe to refill the small bottles? Thanks for your help. I have attached pictures of the heater and refill adaptor.



275527275528

Bill Huber
11-22-2013, 11:07 AM
I have one in my shop, Mr. Heater Big Buddy, it is a great little heater. The one I have has a fan that pulls air in at teh bottom and up the back and blows out hot air out the front. I have also added a 6" fan on top attached to the handle to blow more air around and kind of down to the floor, this has helped to heat my whole little shop, (12x16).
It is more of a radiant heater then an air heater, if you stand within 5 foot of it for awhile you will get hot.

I don't know about filling the small tanks, I use one of the larger tanks from my grill that way I don't have to use the little tanks. I can run it on high for about 16 hours on one tank.

The unit has been very good, I have had it now 3 years and it has never had a problem with it.

As to the COs created by the combustion that is a fact of life, it does that and any time you burn anything it will put out COs. So you can not put it in an air tight area, my shop has a roof vent and 2 side wall vents so I get fresh air in all the time.

Matt Meiser
11-22-2013, 11:25 AM
The problem with any portable heater is the moisture that is a byproduct of propane combustion.

Biff Johnson
11-22-2013, 11:33 AM
We have the same Mr. Buddy Heater shown. My wife uses it on her tent camping trips and we use it as emergency heat when the power goes out. We have the adapter to run it off a 5 gallon tank because it will use up the little bottles very quickly. They do come equipped with the low oxygen shut down but always safe practice to run one with a window or vent cracked.

Brian Elfert
11-22-2013, 3:39 PM
I also have one of those. They recommend (and sell) a filter if using it with a bulk tank. The first time I used it in an enclosed space it set off the CO detector. It was supposedly a coating on the grate over the heating element burning off that set off the CO detector.

The heater will make the air smell when used for a while. I would not run it without a CO detector.

Ken Platt
11-22-2013, 8:37 PM
I have one of those units, also for emergency heating if the power fails, and like it a lot for that purpose. I have a battery powered CO detector, as others mentioned, I wouldn't use it without one (but you should have one of those anyhow). I run mine off a 20 gallon propane tank, and got a long hose for this purpose when I got the heater, it has the proper adapters on each end. It has never set off the CO detector, but I am careful about running it too much. I'd worry if it were my only source of heat, but it's a great backup. Mostly when the power goes we heat from the woodstove, but this unit is good for my wife to use because it is so easy, and can be set up and heating much quicker than building a fire. Lighting it takes a few tries, at least on mine. Well worth it for the peace of mind in winter.

Ken

Mike Olson
11-24-2013, 4:39 PM
I have 2 of them bought several years ago along with a long hose that attaches to a Grill sized propane tank.

the one time we had to use one inside during a power outage it did not do a good job of warming the room. You had to sit right in front of it to stay warm, though i'm sure it was a much larger room that it was meant for.

I once used it in my shed/playhouse in late fall when I was painting it and needed to keep it warm enough for the paint to dry. I found out later that burning Propane releases a LOT of moisture in the air. There were streaks all along the wall and the Co sensor had shut off the burner sometime over the night so the paint was just all sorts of messed up.

to me, this is more of a tent/ice fishing shack/tail gating type heater.

Bill Cunningham
11-24-2013, 4:54 PM
I have one of the little ones with the single burner on top that keeps me comfortable in the deer blind during hunting season. Mine burns for about 8 hours on a 16oz small cylinder.
https://redrockstore.com/Catalog/sc_images/products/2460_image.jpg

Wade Lippman
11-24-2013, 5:29 PM
Its not what you were asking about, but i kept the house warm in freezing weather for a week with a kerosene heater. The co alarm next to it didn't show anything. My wife claimed it stunk but i didn't notice anything. Seems like a better choice for your purpose than that little thing.

Mike Cutler
11-24-2013, 7:54 PM
Brian

They're great little heaters, for what they are. The max out at 18Kbtu and if you try to use the little bottles, 16.4 oz., you won't have much run time. At 6Kbtu, they're more functional. You definitely want at least a 20 lb. tank if you plan to use one for extended lengths of time. (I'll probably pick up a 40 lb. tank at Tractor Supply for mine.)
Mine ran all day today in the shop on max. My shop in in an uninsulated part of my garage, that isn't airtight, so I don't worry too much about gasses collecting. The unit also spec's a minimum 4" diameter inlet for sufficient O2. Personally, I'd be hesitant to use one of these in the house without a CO and a Propane detector. Better to get one of their larger wall units. The tank has to be outside anyway.

Mr. Heater actually sells that POL adapter as a refill device? Wow, that's incredible.!
Please don't use it. Whether it's illegal or not, it is definitely unsafe. You place yourself in a very vulnerable position for a propane freeze burn. Additionally the bottom of a propane tank, regardless of size, is where the odorant typically settles out. Inverting the large tank and putting the contents into the small cylinder will just place more of the odorant in the small one and you'll have to smell that crap the entire time it burns. It ain't worth it. Generally when some says says they can smell the heater, their tank is getting low and what they're smelling is the odorant is burning off.
If you need more Btu's look at the 30Kbtu unit by Mr. Heater. It will take a 100lb cylinder, a two stage regulator, and a hose to run, but there is much more run time. Generally filling a 100lb. cylinder is cheaper per gallon that filling a 20 lb. tank.
Don't do the 20lb. tank swap out thing. Just for grins I decided too see what it would be today. $22.00 bucks for a swap which is close to $7.00 a gallon for propane. I had my tank filled for just at $3.00 a gallon at the propane filling station nearby. Blue Rhino and PARACO can keep their tanks.

Brian Elfert
11-24-2013, 9:15 PM
The 30K BTU Mr Heater unit is for outdoor use only. It is not supposed to be used indoors. A friend of mine lit up a heater like that inside a space where a bunch of us were sleeping. If I hadn't installed a CO detector we might not be here to talk about it.

I couldn't imagine using a kerosene heater inside the house. They stink like crazy.

Mike Cutler
11-25-2013, 4:57 AM
The 30K BTU Mr Heater unit is for outdoor use only. It is not supposed to be used indoors. A friend of mine lit up a heater like that inside a space where a bunch of us were sleeping. If I hadn't installed a CO detector we might not be here to talk about it.

I couldn't imagine using a kerosene heater inside the house. They stink like crazy.

Brian
I just saw two "ventless" 30K models from Mr.Heater for indoor use at Lowes.
I still wouldn't burn them in the house for long, and not attended.If it's going in the house, it's venting out a wall, or window.

Brian Elfert
11-25-2013, 8:10 AM
I was thinking of the style that mount on top of the tank and have one to three round burners like in the attached picture. I guess they do make wall mount ventless heaters for indoor use in larger sizes.