Mr Buddy Heater?

[Geewizard]

I'm exploring options for propane catalytic heaters for my TC, heaters such as the Wave and Mr Buddy that don't use my battery like the installed furnace does.

Anyone use a Mr Buddy heater? I like the included fan of the Big Buddy.

[billtex]

Geewizard wrote:
I'm wondering if putting money into another solar panel and an additional 100 Ah battery to run the existing furnace might be the better solution.

Although the existing furnace is noisy and inefficient, it is already installed and forces heat into the basement to keep the tanks from freezing. Keeping the basement tanks warm is something that none of the other alternatives will do.

One alternative...that we have done...run the BH while you are awake to save battery. Run the furnace at night.

We carry a BH for backup (after a VERY cold weekend with no furnace!).

The BH is inexpensive and pretty safe, but I still won't sleep with it running...

[Geewizard]

I'm wondering if putting money into another solar panel and an additional 100 Ah battery to run the existing furnace might be the better solution.

Although the existing furnace is noisy and inefficient, it is already installed and forces heat into the basement to keep the tanks from freezing. Keeping the basement tanks warm is something that none of the other alternatives will do.

[Geewizard]

This heater has been mentioned elsewhere and it's a nice one. Don't know how I would mount it in my pop-up TC though.....if I could afford it.

[nightshift]

This.

[mlts22]

The Buddy heater puts a lot of water in the air. I prefer the CAT because it vents the combustion gases to the outside.

There are four downsides of a Buddy heater:

1: Needs to be kept well away from flammables. I was camped at a place where someone's popup tent had a heater that caught fire, blowing up the 1# containers. Having the county sheriff wake you up and get ready to evacuate at 5:00 in the morning isn't a good thing, due to the explosions. Thankfully the owner of the pop-up got away unharmed, but it did leave a crater.

2: Needs ventilation. I don't trust my life to a cheap detector, so I believe in at least two CO detectors, one of which has a PPM gauge. This means ventilation in and out.

3: They put out a lot of water in the air.

4: You can either use the one pound propane bottles which last 3-6 hours, or plumb a LP gas hose to it. If you plumb a LP gas hose, I highly recommend putting a petcock near the tee intersection, just so the heater can be disconnected and the hose capped off for the summer.

The good thing is that the Buddy heater is extremely economical. It puts out a lot of heat... but I consider it a last resort compared to the RV's propane furnace, a plat cat, or an electric space heater.

[crcr]

Snowman9000 wrote:

crcr wrote:
We tried a little Buddy heater, but even though we cracked one or two windows open for fresh air, it still gave me headaches (I have a migraine history so am very sensitive to the oxygen content in the air). We returned it after trying it on one camping trip.

Same here. I felt it was not the oxygen level, but the slight fumes produced. I am very sensitive to chemical fumes. Same with using a kero turbo heater in a workshop, with adequate fresh air.

Maybe you're right -- maybe it was the fumes rather than a reduced oxygen level.

[Snowman9000]

crcr wrote:
We tried a little Buddy heater, but even though we cracked one or two windows open for fresh air, it still gave me headaches (I have a migraine history so am very sensitive to the oxygen content in the air). We returned it after trying it on one camping

Same here. I felt it was not the oxygen level, but the slight fumes produced. I am very sensitive to chemical fumes. Same with using a kero turbo heater in a workshop, with adequate fresh air.

[petrel]

We used buddy heaters for three nights while dry camping in our TT. Two of them really kept our little outback toasty. As long as your CO sensors are working and your TT isn't airtight (ours certainly wasn't) it will work.

[Grit_dog]

I've used one extensively in my snomachine trailer either for camping or just warming up, thawing the machines out.
Other than the obvious open flame they work well.
2 problems with them are being open propane heat they make a lot of water.
The oxygen sensor, which will save you from the "poison gasses" will also shut it down at elevations over 8kft, even with good outside ventilation. So not reliable in the high country.

[crcr]

We tried a little Buddy heater, but even though we cracked one or two windows open for fresh air, it still gave me headaches (I have a migraine history so am very sensitive to the oxygen content in the air). We returned it after trying it on one camping trip.

On the other hand, we have a couple who are good friends who use a Little Buddy heater in their TT regularly and experience no noticeable negative effects.

[Photomike]

I use a Little Buddy for a back-up emergency heater in the Tcer. I figure that if it is -20 or -30 and my main heater fails for some reason then the Little Buddy is a good back-up. It also is great for when it is cold and you need to do something outside like replace a back-up bulb and you need / like a little heat to keep your fingers warm.

[Geewizard]

Thanks everyone. It's a Wave 3 for me if I go that route.

[wvabeer]

I have used the small buddy heater hooked to a 20lb bottle and it works fine in a 30 ft trailer on low. If I were to use in my tc I'd crack a window. If you use it other than the small bottles get the filter they recommend.

[AnEv942]

I use a Mr Buddy MH9BX portable in the shop-8x12. But I can hang a sock and tell which way the winds blowing outside. I have the camper set up to use it as a back up to our permanently installed Wave 3.
But I've only carried once & used once. Likely pull the hose and rerout to use for outside BBQ, just a bit too much for us. (or possibly another Wave 3 to use free standing but havnet bought any lottery tickets latley). We have a bottle top cat heater for em backup.

The Mr Buddy does put out more moisture and it does get a bit fumy compared to the Wave. The Mr Buddy is not a catalytic heater.
The BIG is big.. fan nice but cant imagine the Big in a small TC.