Mr. heater buddy heaters

[telebrewer]

Does anyone use one? I have one and am a little afraid. I have my wife, two sons, and two dogs inside. I don't want my family to die from asphyxiation.

 

[TGK]

I've had a Mr. Buddy Heater for quite a few years. Possibly 10 or a bit less. My wife and I have used it many times in tents, our FWC and a 23ft Airstream trailer. The key thing is that we never operate it without having windows and roof vents cracked to allow for circulation of air and we never go to sleep with it on. We tend not leave it on for long periods of time. Mostly to take the chill of in the morning when getting up and sometimes in the evening prior to hitting the sack. We find that covers us during most of our camping season in Oregon. In the winter months, we primarily use the trailer down at the coastal state parks and we plug in with our electric heater or use the propane trailer furnace. However, we alway carry it with us in case we are dry camping and not hooked up, even when using the trailer, as the forced air furnace in the trailer will suck the battery dry pretty quickly if not plugged in.

It's rated for indoor use with the disposable one lb propane canisters. They advise that if you hook it up to a 20lb propane tank to never bring the tank inside. Would be best to buy a 20ft hose and run it though a window. We bought a hose for that purpose but have never used it. They also advise not to sleep while it is operating. It comes with a low oxygen sensor that will shut it off if the oxygen drops below safe levels. In fact, the literature that comes with it advises that it may not reliably work at elevation above 7,000 feet due to the thinner air. We used it successfully at about 7,500 feet in Yellowstone a few years back, but have never tried it at higher elevations.

In summary, we've been happy with it and feel it can be used safely if one follows the instructions and uses common sense. If you get one and don't like it, you could probably sell it fairly easy on Craigslist.

TK

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

What TGK says is correct. I've been using a Heater Buddy for five years but always with plenty of ventilation and I don't sleep with it running.

I have also used it with an external tank by running the hose through a rear, open turnbuckle port, which I also use for ventilation. A special in-line filter for the propane hose screws into the heater.

Heater Buddies produce water vapor during burning so I did have heavy internal condensation in very low temps. It was -3F when I took this photo at El Morro Nat Mon one February a few years ago. There was plenty of frost on the windows and walls.

 

[MarkBC]

My 2¢
(Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor nor HVAC expert)
The greatest danger of harm/death in this situation is from carbon monoxide build-up, dangerous because CO has no odor and it puts you to sleep before you die...so you don't know it's happening. So, it's important that you have a working CO detector -- standard in campers, but it needs to be working...and they have expiration dates on them.

I don't have a Buddy, but I have a Wave catalytic heater -- exact same issues in general, but slightly different features, apparently (mine doesn't have a low-oxygen switch, for example). Here's an example of the value of a working CO detector -- my own experience:
On my first trip with the Wave (late October at 8500' in the White Mts of California), one morning I got up before dawn to take photos...but it was heavy-overcast (no good for photos) so I turned the Wave on High (High = 6000BTU) to heat up the chilly camper and went back to sleep for a bit. Some time later (45 minutes?) I was awakened by the camper's screeching CO detector. I turned off the heater and opened the camper door. "Hmmm...well, good", I thought, "the CO detector works and it's loud enough to wake me up!"

What I had done wrong, what caused the CO build-up (I think) is that I didn't open the vents wide enough for that High setting. I usually run it at Low or Med, only run it on High for the first 10 minutes or so to get the catalytic material heated up and functioning...but this time I went to sleep and didn't turn it down. So, not enough oxygen was coming in (from the slightly-open vents) to feed the heater for complete combustion so CO was produced, AND the CO that was produced was not being vented well. CO detectors are set to alarm at a level WAY below the dangerous level -- I felt fine.

I still use the Wave all the time in cold weather -- I love it; completely silent (unlike the noisy-fan forced-air furnace) and consumes no electricity. I vent the camper by opening a turnbuckle port at the bottom and the roof vent at the top. I use it on High, too, when it's really cold, but I open vents wider.
When it's really cold I do leave it on overnight, but only on Low -- and with enough ventilation.
And I haven't died yet from asphyxiation.

Your situation, with 4-6 air-breathers in the camper consuming oxygen in addition to the heater's consumption, is different from mine. For example, when I don't use the heater -- when it's cool but not cold -- I frequently close all vents/windows of the camper overnight, while sleeping...I bet you don't do that. So, you'll want to vent more than I do. The heater includes recommendations for how much vent-area is required, I believe. Use that as a minimum.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

I think this is sound advice . . .


<< The key thing is that we never operate it without having windows and roof vents cracked to allow for circulation of air and never go to sleep with it on >>


I think they are safe to use for short periods of time, with pleanty of fresh air.


With a family and dogs inside the camper, you will be using up some air inside the camper.

See thread here . . .

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3924/page__fromsearch__1



I think it is OK to take the chill off from time to time.

Just follow the instructions and use some common sense.

And make sure that you install a carbon monoxide sensor inside the camper.

I think there is a new state / federal law (at least here in CA) that ALL homes are now required by law to have carbon monoixde sensors installed in them ?

It makes sense. It is very cheap life insurance to have one.




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