Other propane ceramic heaters

Must be that some of these little heaters don't have the propane connection but the one in the pic you posted does. The little brass circle inside the hole on the front of the heater base is where it connects. Way cheaper to run on propane than on those little butane cans.

I think That is a screw on butane hose connection, a European standard
They have adapters that go between the two standards
The ultra tiny pocket size cooking burners use a hose to connect to a butane bottle that looks like the bottom of a Coleman lantern
I suppose there is an adapter that goes from that to propane bottle

I tried one of the Mr Heater inline filters but the heater clogged up with oil anyway. After that happened I cut the filter apart and found that it trapped almost no oil. I've gotten really good at disassembling the heater and cleaning out the oil.

Almot wrote:

hugemoth wrote:
The problem I've had with the portable catalytic heaters is contamination of the pad with oil from the bulk propane. They're toast after about a year of use.

The "little buddy" heater I had was also damaged by oil contamination. It caused the regulator to leak, shooting flame out of the regulator vent hole, lighting the plastic on fire. Scary!

Looks like your bulk propane is dirtier than in other places. People use Buddy and catalytic heaters for years.

You need to install inline propane filter right on the tank - before the regulator. By suggestion of people here at the forum I'm installing one this winter: Inline propane filter. I've been told it's good for 5 years of heavy use. You'll need to do some minor changes of fittings between the tank and regulator, to accommodate the filter.

Btw, Buddy Mr Heater have some inline $10 filter. At that price I don't think much of it, and it looks like its fittings are made to fit the Buddy only.

Catalytic heaters are susceptible mostly to dust. I cover mine when not in use. Olympian catalytic heaters qualify as "portable", but many people (including me) install them permanent on the wall, tapping into propane line.

I have a "blue flame" wall heater at home. It doesn't have a ceramic element, just a regular burner that produces blue flame. Works great for space heating but lacks the infrared radiant heat that feels so good.

Must be that some of these little heaters don't have the propane connection but the one in the pic you posted does. The little brass circle inside the hole on the front of the heater base is where it connects. Way cheaper to run on propane than on those little butane cans.

MrWizard wrote:
Strange
The one we have only use the butane cans
Must be a new version

BTW FYI
The term ceramic is most often used with electric heaters
And the buddies and little portable gas heaters are referred to as 'Blue Flame' heaters
Yes they have ceramic cores, but almost nobody calls them a ceramic heater, not even mfg or retailer

I think this is why some people suggested electric models

hugemoth wrote:
The problem I've had with the portable catalytic heaters is contamination of the pad with oil from the bulk propane. They're toast after about a year of use.

The "little buddy" heater I had was also damaged by oil contamination. It caused the regulator to leak, shooting flame out of the regulator vent hole, lighting the plastic on fire. Scary!

Looks like your bulk propane is dirtier than in other places. People use Buddy and catalytic heaters for years.

You need to install inline propane filter right on the tank - before the regulator. By suggestion of people here at the forum I'm installing one this winter: Inline propane filter. I've been told it's good for 5 years of heavy use. You'll need to do some minor changes of fittings between the tank and regulator, to accommodate the filter.

Btw, Buddy Mr Heater have some inline $10 filter. At that price I don't think much of it, and it looks like its fittings are made to fit the Buddy only.

Catalytic heaters are susceptible mostly to dust. I cover mine when not in use. Olympian catalytic heaters qualify as "portable", but many people (including me) install them permanent on the wall, tapping into propane line.

There are through the wall vented propane heaters that have a thermostat and use no 12 volt power.

I won't use an unvented heater.

hugemoth wrote:
My single element Buddy heater is too much for my little camper so I've been searching for something similar but with fewer BTUs. HeaterThis one looks promising. Has anyone tried one?

Filtration. Motor fuel carburation has a nice cast aluminum filter with cotton replaceable cartridge. It is rated for full liquid or vapor pressure. An EMPTY 100 lb cylinder of mine waiting to be exchanged weighs 54 lbs on a bathroom scale. It's all gooey, mercaptan-laced oil on the bottom. The cylinder is not mine I could care less. It's exchange.

Try looking at IMCO propane parts for the filter you seek.

Strange
The one we have only use the butane cans
Must be a new version

BTW FYI
The term ceramic is most often used with electric heaters
And the buddies and little portable gas heaters are referred to as 'Blue Flame' heaters
Yes they have ceramic cores, but almost nobody calls them a ceramic heater, not even mfg or retailer

I think this is why some people suggested electric models

The problem I've had with the portable catalytic heaters is contamination of the pad with oil from the bulk propane. They're toast after about a year of use.

The "little buddy" heater I had was also damaged by oil contamination. It caused the regulator to leak, shooting flame out of the regulator vent hole, lighting the plastic on fire. Scary!

The "portable buddy" heater as I mentioned can't be turned down low enough for my little camper.

I bought the little ceramic heater and it's nearly perfect for my application. Simple, all metal, and has an attachment for a propane hose. No CO detected after running for several hours in a confined space. It doesn't have the low oxygen or tip over shut off like the buddy so care must be taken. There is no pilot thermocouple so if wind blows out the flame the gas doesn't shut off. That won't be a problem for how I intend to use it.

double post

hugemoth wrote:
My single element Buddy heater is too much for my little camper so I've been searching for something similar but with fewer BTUs. HeaterThis one looks promising. Has anyone tried one?

Small Buddy on the low is 4,000 BTU as I recall.

If this is too much, consider Catalytic Heater Olympian 3.
3,000 BTU on the high, 1.6K on the low.

It's hard for me to understand the reason for heaters like Buddy, other than if you only need it rarely. They eat propane like there is no tomorrow, and consequently eat more oxygen and generate more CO, CO2 and water vapor, so you have to keep windows open which in turn affects the efficiency. Catalytic heaters burn fuel at the rate 3-4 times less.

Coleman has been steadily holding the bottom place in camping supplies for the last 10-15 years.

Btw, the one in your link is butane, not propane.