# Mr. Heater Big Buddy



## RNprepper

Does anyone have one? Do you think it would work for me to hook up a methane line to run the heater? I would use a filter to avoid water contamination. Does there have to be a minimal gas pressure for these units to run?

Big Buddy Heater - Mr. Heater F274800 - Propane Heaters - Camping World


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## Kauboy

Can a propane heater use methane as a fuel source?
They are molecularly different, and react differently.


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## Auntie

I have one but I use propane so I can't answer your questions. I can say that I do really like it a lot. It uses less propane than any of my other heaters.


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## RNprepper

Kauboy said:


> Can a propane heater use methane as a fuel source?
> They are molecularly different, and react differently.


I have read that methane can be used in propane devices - such as a cooking stove, and that it can be used in tri-fuel generators. Pressure wouldn't matter in a cook stove - the flame would just be as high as the incoming gas supply. I just don't know enough about how these heaters work and if they are dependent on a minimal gas pressure. If I could use methane in a heater like this, it would provide a free source of heat for my winter cricket colony.


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## RNprepper

Auntie said:


> I have one but I use propane so I can't answer your questions. I can say that I do really like it a lot. It uses less propane than any of my other heaters.


I read that it has an O2 sensor for safety and will turn off if ambient O2 is too low. Do you feel safe using it indoors? Ever had any problems with it?


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## paraquack

Methane gas is a large component of natural gas. When a natural gas appliance is switched over to bottle gas (LPG) a tech has to change out the metering jets. Same for LPG to natural gas. major appliances are designed with interchangeable jets. You would have to contact the manufacturer to find out if you could switch out jets to use home made bio gas.


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## rickkyw1720pf

I have 3 of them, the O2 sensor is actually the pilot lite, if the O2 level gets low the flame will not hit the thermo couple dropping out the gas valve. The way they regulate gas is with a small orifice, it has such a small hole that you can't hardly see through it and would be pressure sensitive. I doubt unless the methane is pressurized that enough gas would go through.


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## Auntie

RNprepper said:


> I read that it has an O2 sensor for safety and will turn off if ambient O2 is too low. Do you feel safe using it indoors? Ever had any problems with it?


I have never had any problems. I can tell you if it is bumped with a foot or, if it is tipped it will turn off. One time it went off for no reason so I presume it had to be an oxygen issue. I have used it in a room with my nephews, I wouldn't do that if there was any doubt in my mind that it is safe.


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## Slippy

We have the Mr Buddy Heater and it works very well. Like others have said contact the manufacturer to make sure your conversion will work, but I assume they will void all warranties if you convert. Its made to run off of propane and you can buy a conversion kit to hook it up to 25lb propane tanks (BBQ sized) or use the small disposable tanks.


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## Stick

I have the portable Buddy, a little smaller than the Big Buddy, I think. Love it. In fact, I went out and got another, just in case. Run em off 20 lb (2), 30 lb, and 100 lb propane tanks. So far, I've only used one 20 lb tank this year. My first winter here it got to -20 and colder and stayed that way for several weeks. Nice and toasty throughout. They will go out as mentioned above (only once in my experience), I simply don't sleep with one of them on. I think I'm pretty well set for heat nowadays, with two Heater Buddys, three kerosene heaters, a couple dozen kerosene lamps, five Coleman camp lanterns, three propane lanterns, and a wood stove. All in a one room 16'x24' cabin. Bring on the winter weather.


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## rickkyw1720pf

I love my Mr. Heaters 
My furnace broke down late at night last winter. I just grabbed the Mr. Heater screwed in a 1 lb tank, put it in my room and went back to sleep. I can worry about the furnace in the morning.

I have used them camping in a tent in the winter but they actually put out more heat than you need and I kept the tent door open the entire night which may not be a bad thing.

If using a 20 gal tank be sure to get their filter. The little orifice in them can be clogged very easily and is the most common problem they have.


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## Arklatex

I have a big buddy and the regular one. They are excellent and I have no hesitation using them indoors. I don't know about the methane though I would be interested if you find out.


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## GTGallop

So I read this thread and thought, "Now that's interesting, but I live in Phoenix, so I'll never need one of these." And besides, I have a Coleman Catalytic Heater that works like a CHAMP!

And then just one week later we book a spur of the moment trip to Greer AZ in January - Greer is in the White Mountains at 8500 feet above sea level. And we are staying in a cabin that was built in 1960. And my Coleman Heater is AWOL.

So there I was in a Sportsman's Warehouse looking at heaters From large to small, red to camo, all manner of fuels. I settled on the Portable Buddy Heater. It is rated to 200 square feet and the cabin is a whopping 550 square feet. I thought if push came to shove we would all be in one bedroom (100 sq ft) and the heater would make a great emergency heater.

The cabin had been uninhabited for a few weeks prior to our arrival. With lows in the 20's and highs in the 35 to 40 range the cabin was COLD. On the first night we burned the fireplace, and old direct vent LP Gas heater from Rinnai, along with the Mr. Buddy Heater. Just 6 hours of burning was enough to consume one whole canister of gas from the Mr. Buddy - and the cabin was still as cold as a witches tit in a cast iron bra.

We kept the fire going all day the next day - the Rinnai Heater was plumbed in and ran on HI as well. *And it was still cold.* I was beginning to suspect that the drafty old cabin was pulling in cold air, heating it in the fireplace and then blowing it out the chimney. Late on the second night, in an attempt to get warm, we cranked up the second bottle on Mr. Buddy. I rotated him in and out of each bedroom hoping that in the smaller spaces he would be more effective - and he was. Noticeably but not as much as I would have liked.

By morning, the cabin was finally warm - 36 hours to heat it up. But... Mr. Buddy had finished that propane tank some time in the night. Probably in about 6 hours like the first tank.

Thankfully the whole cabin was warm now because that was the last propane bottle we had. If the cold had comeback on the third night, we would have had no heat. Thankfully we didn't have that issue.

Here is what I learned:
A. It takes a lot of energy to hear up the mass of a structure. You are better off maintaining that heat then trying to warm it up after a cool down.
B. Mr. Buddy is a thirsty bastard! Get the 20lb bottle and adapter if you plan on running him for any length of time.
C. in a 100 sq ft room, Mr Buddy is a valid heater but only minimally. It is still freakin cold. Cabin was usually about 20 to 30 degrees above outdoor ambient temps every morning. 22 outside meant about 45 to 50 inside. Do NOT expect this to be like living in a resort with a heated jacuzzi to dip into.

I think, if you have the luxury of planning ahead, there is no substitute to insulation and sealing out the cold. Our cabin had more leaks than the Nixon administration. The door was a hollow core door like yo would see on the closet of a home built in the 70's. Doing it right from the ground up would greatly help. And I would never count on Mr. Buddy to be a PRIMARY heater. Look to something uber efficient like a Rocket Mass Heater. Mr Buddy is a good Plan B or C. But I'd not plan on having him saving your arse.

In the end, I asked a lot of the Mr. Buddy - admittedly more than he was meant for - and he didn't even come close, even with two other far superior sources of heat helping him out. When I scaled back to 1/2 the space he was rated for, performance was mediocre at best. Was this because of the altitude? Less oxygen? Or just more than Mr. Buddy could handle? Your dollars, you decide. Now that I've got one, I'm keeping it, but I wouldn't recommend it to a friend.


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## sideKahr

I've seen the conversion to methane question before on other boards, and no one ever had an answer. Call the company.

I have one of these heaters. I wouldn't be afraid to run it inside, but I'd keep a battery powered carbon monoxide detector there just to be sure.


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## Seneca

I have two buddy heaters, one is a larger unit that mounts to a 20 lb. tank via a bracket and the other takes the small Coleman style tanks common to camping stoves and lanterns. First off let me say that propane is not all that expensive, so I'm not sure why I would want to switch one over to another fuel source. 

The larger of the two buddy heaters is useful in heating outdoors or areas that are bot closed in, it's not for indoor use. It will eat through a 20 lb. bottle in short order yet it puts out some serious heat. 

The other Mr. Buddy I have runs on the Coleman propane canisters and was purchased because the heater in our camper decided to quit working during a late season hunting trip to the high country. It did take the chill off in the camper yet did not put out enough heat to thaw the water lines. It worked in that it kept us from freezing our butts off, yet it never really warmed the camper up to the point that it was comfortable.


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## Illini Warrior

you just might get one of the older less sophisticated propane heater to work with methane ... I think the chances of getting a Mr Heater to work is zero to none .... as someone already mentioned .... a gas filter is definitely recommended when the 20lb propane tanks are used - too much crap residue .... methane would be very dirty .... and then you get into the more complicated pressure issue - bottling and pressurizing methane would be more problematic than the whole project is worth ....


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## RNprepper

To keep my cricket colony going during the winter, I need a heater. I can produce methane for free, so I need a heater that can utilize methane. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'm open to all ideas. Right now, the little hoppers are in a small tack room with an electric heater. It's working fine for now, but I need an alternative that can be self sustaining - like methane.


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## 8301

I've used 2 of the Big Buddies in my shop for years now and highly recommend them. They are fairly easy on the fuel, have very little odor, and are safe for use in an enclosed space although the bottom gets hot so you want to put something down under them if you plan on using it on carpet or linoleum.... a piece of plywood works...

While handy the 1 lb cartages don't hold enough fuel to be useful unless you simply want the heat for a short term power outage. At 18,000 btu they are easily large enough to heat a living room (assuming minimal drafts) but these are still fairly small heaters so one isn't going to heat your house in a blizzard. The fans on these heaters are pretty weak but do help spread the heat around; especially if you use the wall plug instead of the batteries. However the fans on these heaters die after about a winter or two. Replacement fans are available online for about $10.

I recommend using the 20+ lb propane tanks if you plan to use the heater on a regular basis. You must get the inline filter (about $12 but lasts for years) if you plan to use an external tank unless you always shut the heater off at the tank (which I do). If you shut the fuel off at the heater and leave the line from the tank pressurized after a year the pressure in the line stretches the rubber line liner and it releases bits of oil into your fuel. After a year or two this oil plugs the ceramic burner. Putting the $12 filter inline assures many years of trouble free service from this great little heater. 

Once again I highly recommend the Big Buddy heater. On cold mornings I sometimes use a forced air propane heater for an hour (55,000 btu and loves to eat the fuel) and let the Big Buddy help maintain heat in the shop. By itself the Big Buddy simply isn't large enough to heat my 2200 sf uninsulated shop.


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