Has anyone ever used a Mr buddy heater in conjunction with the heater in the tc to conserve battery. I have a 815 with a single batteryThanks Jeff

Yes, you will see it said that quite a few people do. However, really, it's a poor idea. Mr Buddy is a "Blue Flame" heater, and creates a measureable amount of carbon monoxide. Yes, people do die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning.The Olympic Wave heaters are safer, but do create water and carbon DIOXIDE when they are working right. Deprive them of oxygen, which they use when they convert propane into heat, and they can create carbon monoxide, too. Or when the catalyst becomes poisoned. Safer, but still can kill you. There are some portable catalytic heaters. On here sleepy installed a "platCat" vented catalytic heater. It does use some electricity, but I would guess you could go a few days without charging. 25 pages on good info and arguments!Afte researching it, I decided to upgrade my batteries and charging system and continue to use my noisy, constantly cycling, really annoying built in furnace.

Hi,Please consider using a vented heater such as the Platinum Cat.

HUNTERJEFF wrote:Has anyone ever used a Mr buddy heater in conjunction with the heater in the tc to conserve battery. I have a 815 with a single batteryThanks JeffHere are ten pages of posts from folks who've actually used the Mr. Buddy and evidently lived long enough to talk about it.There'll be a liberal mixing-in of posts from the sky-is-falling crowd...you decide who makes the most sense.

I grew up with the Coleman catalytic heaters in the 50's-60's tent camping. The Mr Buddy heater came along after that was the greatest heater going then...Then the more closed-up campers started to become popular and the Mr buddy heaters posed their biggest treat to life then. They are deemed safe if you follow all kinds of operations procedures.I still use the Mr Buddy heater as a plan B back-up source of heat in my off-road POPUP setup but the heater has its perfect spot to sit which is on a high shelf arrangement right under an slightly opened fantastic ceiling fan. I also vent an additional window to allow fresh air to keep replacing the burned up oxygen hazard of the Mr Buddy heater. After doing all of this it just doesn't make sense using the Mr Buddy heater where you must open up outside vents letting alot of outside cold air coming into the trailer using this type of heater. The few times I have used the Mr Buddy heater was to heat up the inside as best we could then shut it down before we go to sleep. To me it just is NOT worth the risk to leave "ON" unattended all night.I would go for a more permanent solution of mounting a vented CAT HEATER or use a hydronic type heater that uses hot water from the trailer water heater through a heat exchanger using low current fans blowing thru it. These unit work great for the smaller floorplan like the TC or smaller TT units.This is the general idea of HYDRONIC TYPE heater setup.These google photos show what this simple setup might look like These google photos would be a perfect install idea for a vented CAT heater.. There was some recent conversations about the propane hose might get kinked feeding the CAT heater in this photo. The idea of beefing up your battery bank is also a better idea to me then thinking along the line of using the Mr Buddy heater.I would put some good thought before using a Mr Buddy type heater in a closed up trailer with alot of necessary precautions.Roy Ken

if you do decide to use one, for God's sake keep a vent open.

Mr buddy heater | Good Sam Community

42 Replies

pianotuna
Nomad III
Nov 09, 2013
Hi,

Please consider using a vented heater such as the Platinum Cat.
BeatCJ
Explorer
Nov 09, 2013
Yes, you will see it said that quite a few people do. However, really, it's a poor idea. Mr Buddy is a "Blue Flame" heater, and creates a measureable amount of carbon monoxide. Yes, people do die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Olympic Wave heaters are safer, but do create water and carbon DIOXIDE when they are working right. Deprive them of oxygen, which they use when they convert propane into heat, and they can create carbon monoxide, too. Or when the catalyst becomes poisoned. Safer, but still can kill you. There are some portable catalytic heaters. On here sleepy installed a "platCat" vented catalytic heater. It does use some electricity, but I would guess you could go a few days without charging. 25 pages on good info and arguments!

Afte researching it, I decided to upgrade my batteries and charging system and continue to use my noisy, constantly cycling, really annoying built in furnace.

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Mr buddy heater

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