Buddy Heater at Higher Elevations?

[Stevan]

Hi all,
I'm new to the forum and am soon to be the owner of a Ranger II shell!!! Psyched!!!

Anyway, I am going to have to use it in some colder conditions. Getting a factory furnace installed is out of the question due to time, travel, and $$$. I was looking at the Olympian Wave and Buddy Heaters. Seems like the Wave heater is a really nice option, but again, $$$.
So it came down to the Buddy Heater. I was looking at some reviews on Amazon. They were mostly pretty positive, but one guy said he had troubles with it at altitude. Upon further reading, others said that the O2 sensor safety feature on it is the culprit. the bad review said that the heater doesn't work well above 7000'.
Has anybody else had this problem? I live in Crested Butte, CO which sits at almost 9000'. Thanks, All!!!

 

[Overland Hadley]

From what I have read, it can have problems above 4,000-5,000 feet. Not good.

The Wave heater works up to 12,000!

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Little Buddy heaters have an automatic shut off when 02 levels get low and so will not operate and any altitude if the space is unvented. While running they use up the O2 and produce H2O which will condense on the windows and walls of your camper.

In my ATC, I open a little door near the floor and a roof vent when running the Buddy, but still would never sleep with it left on.

I can't say what's the highest elevation I've use the Buddy at but I used it above 7,000 ft. Remember to keep it well vented!

Stew

 

[Crickert]

We have one and it worked great this spring when it was 18*F. I believe we were in between 8500-9000 feet. Like the said on prevois posts just crack you roof vent and do not leave it on when you go to bed.
Happy Camping
-Chris

 

[chnlisle]

Like Stew and Crick, I've used mine at altitude (Prescott 5500', White Mts. 9000', White Rim 4500' etc.) and it was perfect. Its common sense to make sure you have enough ventilation. Like Crick says a vent at the floor and the roof vent works just fine. Another option is the Origo Heat Pal. It uses cheap stove alcohol. Origo has been making marine alcohol stoves for years and I've had them on several of my boats. They have no moving parts and work great. They can be had on eBay for far less ($50+/-) than retail ($190+) all the time.

http://shop.ebay.com/items/origo%20heat%20pal?_dmd=1&_sop=12&rvr_id=135469885116&MT_ID=69&crlp=4964243678_1&tt_encode=raw&geo_id=1&keyword=origo+heat+pal&adgroup_id=1727255018

I used one when I had the T100 and just a SnugTop in Saline on Fathers day of '05. It dropped to about 15 degrees and the Heat Pal kept me very snug all night. Of course I cracked a window for ventilation.