Big Buddy Heater Junk!!

[jltimm]

I recently used my Big Buddy heater on 2 seperate outings,and today the pilot light would go out ,then the unit would shut off!It did this about 10 times and it was REALLY ANNOYING!I have a 5ft hose from a 20lb tank and had it on high the whole time.Maybe I'll have to go back to the heater cooker,something I can trust!!Also I noticed the heat from this unit didn't have as much as the sunflower type heater?I used it in my Eskimo QF 3,and it wasn't as warm as when I've used the suflower heater!I had the house banked good to with no drafts coming in.

[minnesota mac]

Hey lund duck boat. Stay safe and hope you are back with your family soon. Have a safe and happy holidays. mac

[orngruffee]

What kind of filter are you talking about? I have a five foot hose and a five or eleven pound tank.

[tomfromblaine]

That filter unit screws into the regulator, I got mine at fleet farm.

[Dakota Iceman]

I posted a positive remark about the big buddy in the main forum today. If anyone is still researching this topic. Iceman Out>

[woodsmanmn]

I've had problems with my regular buddy running off a 20# tank. Emailed the company, here's what they told me:

I suspect that, when using the 20# tank, you may have turned off the heater before turning off the tank. If that’s correct, you probably have some oil inside the heater. When the heater is shutdown before the tank, you trap 110-120 psi of propane in the hose. This propane, under pressure, will cause the hose to release an oily material. This material gets inside the heater and will eventually affect its operation. If you can call us at (800)251-0001, we can walk you through the diagnosis.

Thank you,

Bill Sisley

Tech Service Manager

Haven't gotten around to calling and trying to fix it yet.

[HoleHopper]

LundDuckBoat,

Thanks!!!!

[Norsky]

I took the Big Buddy out for another try in the cold weather and the unit would NOT stay running now. I tried switching tanks, using 1lb tanks, new hose etc. The pilot light would burn but then go out when trying to turn up the heat a little. It worked great the first couple times, and now JUNK!!! I need a reliable heat source on the ice, and I won't let a bad heater ruin a day of fishing, I'm sticking with the good old sunflower unit for now until something better comes out.

[Surface Tension]

OK I called the Service department and heres what I was told. The regulator on the Big Buddy requires 20 psi to open the valves, A full 20 lb tank when -0 or colder won't have the pressure to open the valves in the regulator which seems to be the problem. To get around this use the quick connect fitting instead of the regulated fitting which is the fitting you would screw your 1 lbers to. That quick connect isn't regulated and only requires 2 psi to operate. If you go this route you'll need the 271803 hose which has the quick connect fitting and a regulator that would attach to your bulk tank.

[JBinSD]

The same thing happeded to my little buddy and it turned out to be a bad regulator. Changed that (company sent me a new one free) and it works great. I always have my heater cooker with me though cause I don't want to be stuck without it working.

[shorefisher]

I fished with the BB Heater last night for the first time. It worked great. Never went out even with going in and out. Burned very clean and quite and heated the two man we were in just fine. Never cold and I never even turned it to high. I hope you all get yours working because it is a nice heater (if it works for you). Did not do anything different just took it out of the box and added two 1 pound tanks and off it went. Did not even empty one tank in 5 hours on low/med. setting.

[JIM C]

ST...Did they say the internal regulator was "defective" in any way? Why would the external, tank mounted regulator be any different? I'd like to pick up a Big Buddy to replace my Mr. Heater heater/cooker when I'm using my Otter. The h/c limits the use of longer rods, extra holes, and is just too much of a fire hazard if it's windy.

[Northlander]

Ya same as the Buddy Heater. By this product then by more stuff to make it work. No Thanks!

[cliffy]

I got a Big Buddy heater from my wife for Christmas and used it this past weekend. I used two 1LB tanks and it put off enough heat to keep my 3-person Polar Sport portable nice and warm on the med. setting. I think it will work just fine as long as its not too cold outside…when it drops below zero I will bring along my “sunflower” shaped propane heater just in case. I also used it in a well-insulated shelter and it worked great…probably the only heating source needed on even the coldest of days.

There were a couple of things that I didn’t like about the Big Buddy. It sure didn’t take much of a bump to shut the heater off….just had to learn to handle it gently. Also, it seemed a little cold-blooded to get started. I had to use the start button several times before the pilot light would come on. I have a Coleman Lateran that is the same way…it always starts but might take half dozen tries to get it going. No big deal but a little annoying.

[ZapBranigan]

I am coming around to your side on this. I had great success with my Big Buddy Heater until last Sunday. It ran great on Medium but when we switched it to high it would shut itself off over and over again. Very frustrating. We were in a small Clam 2 seater so maybe the oxygen level switch is way too sensitive. We had the side portals open and I felt no effects of CO2 but there was no good reason for this to shut down on high that I could figure out.

[Surface Tension]

Jim, Theres 3 fittings on the BB. The 2 fittings that the 1 lbers screw to take 20 psi to open there valves. A cold 1 lber won't put out enough pressure to open these one-way valves. Either will a bulk tank when very cold with the same throw-away fitting. The BB has a third fitting, thats the quick connect fitting and requires much less psi to open its valve. You would use a bulk tank and the 271803 hose Assembly that comes with the 12' hose, quick connect coupler and a 2 psi regulate. The regulator attachés to your bulk tank and gets regulated there. So the old hoses we've been using on Buddies, Mr Heater Cookers and so on are not recommended for the Big Buddies.

Hope that all makes sense.

[Duffman]

Frank,

"271803 hose Assembly that comes with the 12' hose, quick connect coupler and a 2 psi regulate"

Is this all in one packaged unit??

Do you think by doing it the way described, it will eliminate most problems with the Big Buddy???

Thanks,

Duff

[Dano2]

what do they want for that setup?

I will be converting mine over soon I reckon, but will probably stick with the 1#ers for awhile.

about how lond do these 1#ers last if your your running on medium most of the time?

I've only had it running in the garage a few times, and everything seems to work fine, I even had the door open with a slight breeze coming in, and it didn't go out, plus I moved the thing around too, and would bump it on purpose to see if it would knock the thing out, but everything is fine, (SO Far). we'll see I guess, once I'm on the lake.

thanks

[JIM C]

ST- Thanks for the reply. Have you used this new setup yet and do you have any idea where you can buy this new hose assembly? I will be using mine with a bulk tank 95% of the time.

Also, has anyone hooked up there BB blower to a 12 volt battery yet or am I going to the first? You would be stepping the motor up from 6 volts and I'm thinking it's really going to crank out some heat. Comments?

[Surface Tension]

Duffman, yes thats all one unit. (12' hose, quick connect and regulator} They run around 25 bucks. I returned my BB and I'm waiting for more to come in. Once they do I'll get the hose and give it a try.

[Duffman]

Thanks Frank!

I'm probably going to go get that setup tonight, I'll let you know how it performs over the weekend. I like my Little Buddy, and I prefer those type of heaters over the sunflower type. So here I come Big Buddy. (please God, don't let me be the screwed-over-consumer with this product this time )

[Jaypo]

I'm tired of not rippin lips during the cold season and am going to load up on Ice Fishing gear including house and all the trimmings needed to stay toasty. I'm hearing that the Big Buddy isn't the greatest based on your experiences. What brand and make of heater would you recommend for a 3 person portable?

Jaypo

[Surface Tension]

Jaypo, I haven't given up on the BB heaters. I like them because they're quite and give off less carbon monoxide.

The alternative is putting up with that noise from the Mr Heater Cooker, which isn't all bad when its well below zero and the BB isn't working.

For your 3 man you'll need at least 18,000 BTUs when the temps get into - 0 temps.

[Moose-Hunter]

Hi Frank...

Thanks for the info on the hose set-up. I've been using the same hose from my Lil' Buddy without problems. INSIDE a garage... On the ice will probably be a different story. I'll be getting the new hose kit ordered up post haste in case I ever get rid of this head cold.... And the lakes re-freeze....

[ZapBranigan]

Jim C Let us know how that 12 volt works I really wouldn't do that with mine. 6 v system attached to a 12 v power supply can't be a good idea. You might want to check with Radio shack or someone as to a power inverter to change the 12 v out put Dc to 6 v output Dc before attaching this. I will try a bulk tank with the regulated hoe into the 3rd input spot. thanks for that idea gentleman. I hate to bail out on this heater this soon.

[iffwalleyes]

The quick connect hose is pretty slick. But it is so new not many places have it. So I had to order it from Mr Heater cost 50 bucks. So it is considerable more than the old hose that most of us have. I plan on using it for the first time this weekend I hope it works proper otherwise all the stuff it is going back to Mr Heater.

[jltimm]

So your telling us the hose costs $50?WOW,I thought the heater was expensive enough,not to mention that it has all the problems,and you have to buy the hose,batteries,and a 6 volt plug in as accesories!This is starting to look like a $200 heater that's a pain in the %^#$!

[cliffy]

That is why I took mine back..a person spends 120.00+ and it still needs more equipment to work in cold weather..??...I would call it JUNK.

[cloudfisher]

Lundduckboat,

Would it be the Hot Spot from Reddy Heater(aka "trash can" heater) 15/20/25k btu?

[Gus]

My big buddy worked flawlessly for the last 15 or so hours. Darn furnace in the house broke last night! I hope people are getting things sorted out with theirs. I was sure glad I had it last night.

[Guest]

This just in guys-

Mr. Heater has recently discovered a potential safety issue with the valve in the Big Buddy heaters. Under certain circumstances, the valve (manufactured by Chant Group Zhongshan Chant Gas-Appliances Co., Ltd.) may leak and may constitute a fire hazard.

Mr. Heater has reported the issue to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and will work with the Commission on an appropriate corrective action.

You should immediately stop sale and quarantine any of the units listed above.

Mr. Heater is in the process of obtaining improved valves, and producing replacement heaters not affected by this issue.

Please note: this “safety notice” does not effect any of the other quality products produced by Mr. Heater, including the “Portable Buddy.”

That pretty much answers all your questions.