Mr. Heater : do you use?

[Bobby Kirk]

Anyone use a Mr. heater ( propane catalytic heater) in their trailer to take the chill off before bed and in the morning when electricity is not available.
I am thinking of getting one but wonder what your experience is with them?
Do they give off any noxious fumes that may effect any breathing problems?
How safe are they? Probably a good idea to have a carbon monoxide , co2 alarm installed as well.
Prickly

[John in Santa Cruz]

I have a Mr Heater tank-top that I use outdoors as a 'virtual campfire' primarily at music festivals where we are dry camping and fires are prohibited. it is by no means safe for indoor use. I understand the small 'buddy' heater supposedly is but I wouldn't trust it. combustion uses oxygen, as the oxygen levels drop, CO (carbon monoxide) production increases, there's no getting around that.

my trailer has a forced air propane furnace, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

[floyd]

For years I have used my Buddy heater for heat when I travel to recover used trailers.
It is quiet effective and efficient, with no odor or fumes.
I always heat fiberglass trailers with the roof vent opened about a 1/4".
Not because of fumes but to allow moisture to escape.

[patrick crawford]

i have used a wave3 propane heater for a long time. it's the same as the buddy in that it's unvented. i always have the roof vent open a bit along with a window. i also have working alarms installed as a precaution. very seldom do i sleep with it operating but, will admit to a few times in bitter cold conditions. i think it's like any other potentially dangerous device and the recommendations of the owners manual should be taken seriously.

i realize that by posting this i'll be chastised by the other half for flaunting disaster but...

p@

[Darrell O]

As off-grid and off-season campers I find it remarkable that a worthy substitute for the gravity furnace hasn't been developed yet. We've looked at newer and larger trailers than our 1976 Ventura, but only see us shivering inside more contemporary surroundings.

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Darrell O

As off-grid and off-season campers I find it remarkable that a worthy substitute for the gravity furnace hasn't been developed yet. We've looked at newer and larger trailers than our 1976 Ventura, but only see us shivering inside more contemporary surroundings.

Closest thing I'm aware of... but it takes a lot more space than most RV furnaces... Model 2000 - Nu-Way Stove

[trustyrusty436]

There is a site on youtube called CheapRVLiving, that has a lot of info on heating an RV and keeping warm, surviving in the cold in a RV. It would be well worth you time to check it out, there are some reviews of cat type heaters and just about anything you can think of cheap RVing wise. Good luck!

[Nancy]

Our brand new Mr Buddy gave off a bad smell at first. It burned off after some use. You might need to use it outside for awhile before trying it inside.

We have used it to heat us up inside, not all night. I tried to run it during the night for a few minutes to get warm again, but my tank was empty. That won’t happen again. The buddy warms us up a lot faster than trying to put stove burners on for awhile. We have no furnace.

Yes, keep a window and vent open.

[k corbin]

if you have breathing difficulties or chemical sensitivity then a Mr. Buddy might not be your best heating buddy. In such cases you would want a heater that has an exhaust vent to the exterior and uses a fresh air intake.

A built in RV propane furnace has that feature as do some of the diesel fueled heaters.

There are also propane heaters made for marine use that have that feature including the ones that have glass in the front for a fireplace effect. But those tend to have bulky exhaust fittings for the exterior that need to go through the roof.

[Joanne B]

Check out the Wave 3 catalytic safety heater