Mr. Heater Buddy Portable Propane Heater

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Since I am about to move into my new "home" and the evening temps are still getting down into the mid 20's F, I need to get cracking on picking up a heater. The 13' Burro shouldn't be too hard to heat, so I am looking for a nice space heater. Has anyone used the Mr. Heater Buddy Propane Heater? I am looking for something safe, long lasting, adjustable and somewhat cheap. I don't need oven like temps, so I am hoping for a heater that has a low setting that won't drive me out of the trailer. It looks like the Mr. Heater lasts quite a while on one 20 # tank. Has anyone had any experience with this heater? Any recommendations or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jim G.

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Hi Jim
I personally don't have any experiance with the Mr Buddy, but there folks here who have and they will report back to you.You can all so go to the top of this screen on right hand side and use the search button.Have fun.:wave

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I have never used one but my folks have one for their pop up and they say it does a good job... FYI... was at Wal-Mart today and they have a Mr. Buddy-esque (a different brand) heater on sale for like 39 bucks...

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here's a thread that talks about **don't believe it "cuts out" at higher altitudes as much as it requires more air to receive enuf oxygen ** incase your going to a high place. :)
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/read.php...719&page=1#6552
I used "buddy heater" in the search function to find all kinds of need thoughts and information. I have a buddy heater, but it's still in the box, PineConeDon has a need quick release set up. he has a picture here somewhere shows where he put his. which brings up another discussion on where should you put it when in use. Happy Camping. :)

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Jim ... a lot has been written in the past on fiberglassrv.com.

As Jana says, try using the search button, up on the top right of your screen.

Try different searches ... Mr. Buddy ... Buddy heater ... Coleman Black Cat ..

The Coleman Black Cat is a different kind of heater.

I own one of each. The Mr. Buddy heater does not work in the mountains about 6,000 ft. (1828 m)

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Jim lives in Michigan, he doesn't have any mountains. :crazy-ii

Jim, if you use the Portable Buddy in the trailer with a 20# tank, you'll have to leave the tank outside. Get a long hose and run it through an access door. Look at PineConeDon's setup for a longer term solution.

None of these little heaters has a thermostat so even on low it may be too much for the 13'. You'll have to turn it on and off. Heck, the pilot light may keep it warm enough. :o On high, you could probably bake pizza. :loltu

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I have a little glow wool heater of some kind that works fine in my 13' Scamp. It uses the small bottles which I refill (soapy water test) with the adapter for refilling. Keep window open a little.

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Orginally posted by e. s. munson

I have a little glow wool heater of some kind that works fine in my 13' Scamp. It uses the small bottles which I refill (soapy water test) with the adapter for refilling. Keep window open a little.

Do you have a picture E.S?? I have no idea what this heater is or looks like. Sounds like a nice little unit.

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FYI:

On my reutrn trip from Springfield Missouri, I used one of these while I slept in the camper at temperatures between 30 to 40 degree weather. Using the little green propane cylinders, I used approximately two tanks a night. Kept me from freezing. But not as toasty as I would have liked it. You do need to keep the roof vent or window open a hair so the unit has oxygen, if the oxygen is depleted in the air, it does goes out. It was a pain to relight the Dyna-Glo in the middle of the night. Being that cold ice developed on the cylinders as they became empty, giving yo an idea of how cold it really was.

- Ray

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<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3eb02f6fcd43411111.jpg/>

- Ray

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The heater is a "Buddy L" by Neosho Co. It's about 25 years old but keeps it toasty here by the northern Pacific lat. 38. I don't use it at night in bed but it's good at 35 F. I think I get 5-6 hours from a refilled tank and no hoses needed.

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I believe the Mr Heater Buddy literature states its operating ceiling is 6,500'.

I just got finished "testing" my Empire heater (ceramic plaque with O2 Depletion Sensor (ODS) in the Great Basin Natl Park at a campground at 7,300' and it worked OK, but I had to keep the vent windows open a little wider than usual (to let in more air to have enuf O2) and the flame seemed more sensitive to breezes if I moved quickly near it. See photos below for views of Test Conditions...

Pete and Rats
<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3eb2c18c8ecd3Nv-sno~1.jpg/> <img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3eb2c287e82d0Nv-sno~2.jpg/>

PS In almost any cool weather, the one-pound Coleman cannister will develop frost because of the heat input required to evaporate the liquid fuel in the tank; the higher the BTU output, the more frost will develop. Those umbrella-looking picnic table heaters will really freeze up a cannister to where it won't produce any gas.

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Oh, man, Pete ... your picture makes me sad that our winter camping season is over!

Hopefully it will snow on us, at least once, in Colorado this summer!

You have to admit, it's pretty neat waking up in the rig to a freshly fallen snow!

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Thanks for all of the input. I did some research and figured that the Mr. Buddy would work for me. While at a local hardware store I found one of the heaters for 89 bucks, so I bought it ( I like to buy locally). Tested it out last night and it seemed to do the job. It took 20 minutes on low to warm up the Burro from a chilly 40 F to a comfy 64 F. The bad thing is that it only took that long to have the temp drop back down to 45F. Guess that there isn't much insulation in these shells. With it likely that we will have freezing evening temps for at most another month to month and one half, I'll get by.:winter

Love the winter camping photos. Reminds me of our winter trips. We fill our water bottles with boiling water and toss them into our sleeping bags an hour before bed. Works great and keeps you warm for almost all of the night. It's pretty tough getting out of those bags though!

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Another update: My Empire ODS (non-catalytic) propane heater is working fine at 9,900 ft in Colorado, altho it does require more ventilation than at lower altitudes.

Pete in the RatHaus, way up in the air in Colorado

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Barbara,
I posted a bunch of pics this P.M. The table is made from prefinished shelving stock from Home Depot. The edges are trimmed out with the iron on trim strip that they sell also.
Good luck
Rick D.

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Where? you ask. here
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/read.php?TID=3859
(just trying to be helpful)