Mr Buddy Heater?

I use a MR BUDDY heater for my backup heat source but have to open a couple of vents to insure all of the oxygen is not used up over night and poison gases get vented out. Seems like a waste of heat if you have to open vents to use it safely.

The only way I would do this on a permanent basis would be to install a WAVE/CAT propane heater that has outside venting capability...

Here is a couple of photos from google showing a CAT Propane heater installed on a cabinet door that has external vent capability...



I recently read a Truck Camper install on here built a wall across the bottom of the passage way to the truck rear window to house a WAVE Propane Heater. Looked pretty neat and was out of the way... After thinking about it you probably would burn you legs getting out of bed in the mornings haha...

Roy Ken

I used the Portable Buddy for a couple years. It provided heat and is fairly inexpensive to purchase. But it operates very hot (fire and pet risk), emptied the little (expensive) bottles very quickly, and had a "smell". The heat it produces is both radiant and convected (it heats the air directly) which is nice, but I was never comfortable leaving it on overnight.

Last year, I "bit the bullet" (they are expensive) and switched to a Wave heater. Not too hot to touch (quickly), uses my on-board propane (cheaper to operate), seems to keep the cabin much dryer than the Buddy (I can't explain this, just my observation), has no "smell" what so ever, and very comfortable (radiant only) heat (air is heated indirectly by first heating objects in the trailer). After several experiments with a digital CO monitor running the heater in the completely closed up trailer, I am comfortable leaving it on overnight. Though I do make sure I have a window cracked open and the ceiling vent open.

For both of these heaters, you have to have both a window and vent open, but "so what". Winter camping requires ventilation no matter what the heat source to remove the moisture that people and pets exhale.

There are safety concerns with either heater though. Namely, running a gas (oxygen) consuming appliance that has the potential for generating CO in an enclosed space. So don't skimp on the ventilation. There is a heater, similar to the Wave heater, that exhausts combustion by=products outside (still uses cabin air for combustion), but do some research on it first.

I have a Mr Buddy heater but haven't used it in the camper. It seems to produce quite a bit of moisture and you need to keep the area ventilated due to that as well as to provide oxygen.

It is kind of a big item and would take up a sizable portion of the available floor space. I would suggest one of the smaller Wave heaters over the Mr Buddy for TC use.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.