Mr Heater Buddy Heaters on Sale at Lowes

[kellymoe]

I found out the hard way. 10,000 feet in the White Mountains at 25 degrees I go to fire the heater up to pre warm the tent for bed and the thing wont start! It got down to the single digits that night and all that heater was good was a paper weight.

Got a Big Buddy and a small buddy. They are terrific. Don't know why you'd get the little one when the Big Buddy has a "low" setting.

BUT THE DARN THINGS WILL NOT WORKL OVER 7,000 FEET! NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE ELSE SEZ - THEY ARE NOT DEPENDABLE OVER SEVEN GRAND. They may work right around seven depending upon the pressuer at the time.

I DO LOVE MINE!

 

[tremors834]

I found out the hard way. 10,000 feet in the White Mountains at 25 degrees I go to fire the heater up to pre warm the tent for bed and the thing wont start! It got down to the single digits that night and all that heater was good was a paper weight.

Anyone know if this is this due to the low oxygen sensor or is it propane pressure related?

 

[AlexJet]

But this not involve Canadian Lowes network...

 

[Rando]

Oxygen depletion sensor. Other propane appliances work just fine at this altitude.

Not that I would recommend this, and I am sure this voids the warranty, but I am considering trying to adjust the ODS in mine to work at higher altitudes. I never camp below 4000' so it seems that he baseline for oxygen depletion should be moved a little higher.

Anyone know if this is this due to the low oxygen sensor or is it propane pressure related?

 

[cruisertoy]

They still had both models on sale in Lehi Utah last night. Lowes is funny. If they are still there in two more weeks they will most likely drop the price in half again. I bought one of those $50 oil radiator home heaters last year for $6. They had a whole pallet of them. I kick myself for not buying 10.

 

[earthmuffin]

Got one this morning in Longview, Wa.
They still had about 3 or 4 left.

A note for 1st time buddy users.......don't have your arm over the top of the thing while you light it, the fireball took half the hair off my forearm...sure stunk the kitchen up! LOL!
:ylsmoke:

 

[tremors834]

Not that I would recommend this, and I am sure this voids the warranty, but I am considering trying to adjust the ODS in mine to work at higher altitudes. I never camp below 4000' so it seems that he baseline for oxygen depletion should be moved a little higher.

I picked up a tough buddy heater also. It doesn't look as if you can adjust the Oxygen Depletion Sensor.
You may be able to modify and eliminate the ODS completely. But I'm speculating that using the heater in an enclosed space over 7000' ALT with already lower oxygen levels, the heater may not leave all that much oxygen left for your own personal needs.

Here's a drawing of the ODS and Pilot assembly from the manual-

Here you can see the ODS and Pilot assembly towards the bottom-

The pilot light lit prior to igniting the heating element-

The rear of the unit has mounting holes should you want to hang it from a wall-

Overall the unit heats fantastic, Depending on space size and ambiant temperature, I can't imagine having to use the High setting much- other than when first warming the space. Especially if using it to heat a 2-3 person tent and such.

 

[TimS]

Just grabbed the big buddy today. Should be nice for work. Its a "write off". It will also be used in the cobalt.
Messing with the O2 sensor for higher altitudes may also void your life warrenty. Becareful.

 

[Rando]

Thanks for the photos.

I did a little reading and testing with the ODS. It is a lot less sophisticated than you would imagine. The little hole on the pilot tube lets in air, as the amount ff oxygen goes down, the flame becomes more vertical and pulls away from the thermocouple, which eventually cools down enough to allow the gas valve to switch off. There are two ways to adjust it, ream out the hole in the pilot tube (tough to get right) or move the thermocouple up slightly. I plan on moving the thermocouple up a little. I will be up at ~10,000 this weekend, if pilot won't stay lit I will adjust the thermocouple just to the point where it will stay lit.

The risk is not a lack of oxygen directly, but that there will not be enough oxygen to ensure complete combustion leading to CO. I have a CO monitor and plenty of ventilation in my wildernest and have no intention of running this overnight. This is very much an "at your own risk" modification and not something I would recommend to anyone else.

I picked up a tough buddy heater also. It doesn't look as if you can adjust the Oxygen Depletion Sensor.
You may be able to modify and eliminate the ODS completely. But I'm speculating that using the heater in an enclosed space over 7000' ALT with already lower oxygen levels, the heater may not leave all that much oxygen left for your own personal needs.

Here's a drawing of the ODS and Pilot assembly from the manual-

Here you can see the ODS and Pilot assembly towards the bottom-

The pilot light lit prior to igniting the heating element-

The rear of the unit has mounting holes should you want to hang it from a wall-

Overall the unit heats fantastic, Depending on space size and ambiant temperature, I can't imagine having to use the High setting much- other than when first warming the space. Especially if using it to heat a 2-3 person tent and such.

 

[lostissues]

I wonder if they price match? I picked mine up a few weeks ago for 59.25 and now its 39.50

 

[wcdu]

I have never used a Big Buddy Heater below 5,280'. I have used it mostly in the 6,800-7,000 foot range but have used it a few times in the mid 9,000's. Mine are the red ones from sporting good stores. My first one was from the Cabella's Bargain Barn in 2002. My latest one from BIG R Ranch supplies has the dedicated hose for bulk tanks. I think they are an excellent value and although I don't need any more, the temptation to go buy a couple is great.

I think they have a new "indoor" model for homes and I think we will be seeing something new & spiffy for camping season.

Just a thought.

Steve

 

[James86004]

We have the older model of the smaller one, and it works well. We have used it at 8000 feet with no issues. It has a pretty robust tipover shutoff - I can bump up against it and it shuts off.

It will empty a 1 lb propane cylinder in 6 hours on low. The bigger one uses a lot more propane. It is better to hook it to a bigger tank.

It heated our Dormobile to tolerable levels when we camped at 7000 feet and it was well below freezing, although we needed to run it on high. It also heats our little popup tent trailer fairly well.

We bought ours 4 years ago and it still works perfectly despite being bounced around in the tent trailer a few times.

 

[compactcamping]

I've had a small one for 4-5 years now, still works great.

Got to love a tanked economy, I paid $79 on sale for mine back then.

Was in the Salem, OR Lowes yesterday and they still had some.

 

[rusty_tlc]

We picked one up yesterday at the Sparks NV Lowes, the Reno store was sold out.

I used it last night while I was working out in the garage.

My take on it is that while it's a good deal at $40, I wouldn't pay $80 for it.

 

[Romer]

Got one for $39 at the Lowes in South Aurora (Colorado). They had them packed away fro the season so they had to go dig for it. There were 4 left


Thanks for the Tip