Mr. Heater Buddy

[Tommytara]

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[bpfick]

I am gonna ssume this is "ventless", meaning it burns propane and dumps the water vapor, along with the heat, inside the camper.

From our experience, these small units, with sleeping people emitting so much water vapor the the windows fog and the rivets sweat as it is, I do not see how this doesn't compound the vapor problem even more. I run a similar unit (larger) in my shop building and after a day the windows are all sweated up and you can "feel" the moisture and vapor when you enter the shop.

Thus? I just don't know. If it uses propane and is ventless? It'd not be for me. YMMV

[Uncle Cereal]

I'm not able to find the indoor safe version anywhere. Do you have a link to that one?

[Tommytara]

Amazon shows it

[Bobbie Mayer]

I have one. But I can't really comment on it yet as I haven't had to use it. I bought it after a power outage as I wanted some way to warm my indoor space during the day. I would never sleep with it on and have CO detectors (with backup batteries) so am not particularly worried about it being ventless- besides which we go in and out enough during the day to vent a small heater.

[charlsara]

We have one. It works well. The condensation is not that bad. We don't leave it on while we are asleep and only use it when we don't have power for the electric.


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[Harvey]

Our second grandaughter's husband gave me one of the 4K-9K btu, Mr Heater 'Buddy' units for B'day or Christmas some years ago. It set in the box for a few years then 3-4 years ago we used it at a teardrop gathering near the end of October. Didn't use it in the teardrop; had a '1st Up' shelter with side curtains & the heater kept it warm during a very rainy, cold weekend in north Louisiana. Mine has a totally different packaging than the one shown but it definitely says on the box 'Indoor Safe Propane Heater'. Pretty sure I'd not use it inside our Casita unless it was super cold outside & we had no hook-ups (normally use a small Broan brand electric ceramic heater since we have no furnace in the trailer) [heat strip in the AC but we prefer the Broan]. Until my old diesel truck was wrecked a little more'n a year ago, I had a Wave3 catalytic heater permanently mounted in my truck camper. It worked great during the day/evening & for early morning warm-up but I never slept with it 'on'. Somehow I just can't trust an unvented heater inside unless I'm 'monitoring' it... I have a new Wave 3 still in the box that I've considered mounting permanently in my Scamp 13 when I finish 're-habbing' it, again for day/evening use only.

[Tommytara]

Amazon has more than 1000 reviews. You can get a good sense of how and where people have used this heater. Safety issues. What works and what doesn't. **(Moving golf cart not recommended) :-)

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Harvey

... I have a new Wave 3 still in the box that I've considered mounting permanently in my Scamp 13 when I finish 're-habbing' it, again for day/evening use only.

I have the Wave 3 also and the challenge (for it and similar heaters) is to find an acceptable place to put it.

Per the Wave 3 manual:

Clearances from combustible materials must be a minimum of:
4" from each side
4" from the floor (rug, tile, etc.)
18" from the top
30" from the top

[Burro Bill]

I use mine on a regular basis. It gets cold here in Wisconsin!
I do sleep with mine BUT I open the window on the door And run my vent fan
AND have a CO2 detector AND a smoke detector. It has worked well for me so far and I am still here for now. Haven't had a condensation problem.
Have used it down into twenties. I boondock and run the fan off my battery that I charge with solar. If you do sleep with it on PLEASE be over cautious as I at least think I am! Run it off my 20# tank.

[steve dunham]

They pulled 4 guys out of an ice fishing house last week in Northern Minnesota. One died ,one is in the hospital and two survived . The cause , a similar unvented propane heater . I own a Mr Buddy heater
but I do not use it in a confined area. To each their own but I would rather be cold and alive then warm and dead.

[slowpat]

I used a Mr Buddy heater while boondocking. I did not have it on while sleeping and had the roof vent cracked open. The heater works well and we survived. I'll use it again if no power is available.

[Carl V]

Sylvio,
You will not find an indoor-safe Buddy heater in Canada. These units have not been approved for indoor use in Canada. The same units are approved for indoor use in the States with proper ventilation (except in MA if I remember right, different state laws).
It's the exact same unit north and south of the border, but different labeling and user manuals due to different laws.

Not all non-vented heater are equal. Many heater types have been tested and compared by the United States Consumer Safety Commission. They have published two VERY interesting documents that can be downloaded:
https://www.cpsc.gov...103975/CO02.pdf
https://www.cpsc.gov...103972/CO03.pdf

Please take time to read them, you will find how much more safe the Oxygen Depletion Sensor-equipped heaters like Buddy heaters are. Results are totally different for ODS units, as for CO emissions. You will also find why some types of heaters are downright dangerous, and can kill you in no time.

This being said, I have a Big Buddy, I always use a CO detector, never sleep with the heater ON, and never had any issue.

[Uncle Cereal]

Thanks Tommy. The "safe for indoor use" got my attention... I don't have a back up heating system in case the power goes out for a long time. I'm interested in reading about it. The price is reasonable, much cheaper than installing a wood stove for such occasions (that have never happened to us but have for other people during the 1998 ice-rain storm). Using it to keep the water lines from freezing and destroying the house might be a plus. I would certainly open one or two windows and leave the different detectors on if I was to stay in the house.

As far as camping goes, I was told here to use the propane heater in my Boler or a ceramic heater. Two good options in my opinion.