heaters

[ReelTimes]

I'm new to ice fishing and hope someone can give me some good thoughts on heaters. I have the Mr. Heater Buddy and was using it to heat a 6 x 8 Clam 6800 portable. I was somewhat disappointed in how warm we were able to get the portable. One day it was 6 degrees above with no wind and the other aboutr 25 degrees with 20-30 mile an hour winds. It took the edge off and was much better than outside but no one was warm. Any recommendations on different heating units or something that can get the portable quite warm even on cold days? Thanks.

[Northlander]

Buddy heaters arent good for bigger houses. They work best for small 1 or 2 man houses.
Go get a Mr. Heater Cooker. Great heat even on low and you can flip it over and warm up coffee, cook burgers in a pan, fry bacon whatever you want. Put it on a 5, 10 or 20 pound tank and its even better.

[Jimmy]

Realtimes,
The Mr. heater model:mh12t is a good unit. It should heat your portable very easily. We used to use one in our old 2 man portable and it would almost cook us out on the lowest setting.

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Jimmy
Marcum

[Freewheeler]

ReelTime
Another option you may want to try is to use a small battery operated fan in your house.
they sell them in the auto section of K-mart for five bucks, they use one D cell battery and will run for aproximatly 20 hours. Plastic 2blade design and quiet. Tape a string to it and hang upside down from a pole in your house and you've got good air movement. Enough to use slip bobbers and keep holes ice free. Been using them for a few years now and wouldn't do the portable house thing without it. Best 5 bucks you'll everspend for your house!

[Big Dave2]

I'll put my vote in for the Mr Heater/cooker too. I have had one for many years and I wouldnt ever part with it.
The new buddy heaters would probably be the shizit if they went up to as many BTU as the sunflowers but still went down as low as they do now for those warm days
Dave

[havok12th]

For a Dad with small kids (4 of'em under 9yrs.) Does the BTU output and Price of a cooker type out weight the saftey features of a Buddy(oxygen sensor/tip over switch)

love my kids and fishin,
havok12th

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Hunt or Fish when you can, Pray and Work when you can't!

Eph 2:22

[Dennis Steele]

I have been wanting a Mr Heater cooker for some time now.
I like the little rack sytem.Might prevent a few canvas burns.
I have only been able to find the ones that use the disposable propane bottles.
Can you hook a 20lber to them,or are you asking for a world of pain when doing this?

[Guest]

Dennis,
I hook all of my bottle-type gear onto a 20lber. They sell an attachment for this. Its also a good idea to install a quick release valve on the hose as well so you can switch between items without having to unscrew the adapter every time.

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[Surface Tension]

By all means get the hose and use a 5, 10 or 20lber. Leave the tank outside and flip your shack over the hose.
havok12th if you have a shack big enough for yourself and 4 kids the Buddy wont have the BTU output to keep it warm. You could get added heat from a lantern or use 2 buddy heaters. Mr Heater will give you enough heat just keep it away from the wall and door flap. Kids are fascinated by the glowing sunflower so you'll be keeping a close eye on them too. A lot of winter clothing has a nylon shell and can go up in a fireball in an instant.

[Animal]

I had a Buddy and gave it to my son after one outing. It would not keep my Otter Lodge warm. I went back to my Mr. Heater sunflower which works fine even in temps -10 to -20. I mount it on top of a 20 lb tank.

[Gus]

I could be wrong but I'm almost positive that the new MR. Heater/Cookers have a low oxygen and tipover shut off as well. I know it has the tipover shut off because I have had it happen to me once or twice while moving it around in the shack. Check the box at the store to be sure. Get the hose to connect it to a 20lb tank and it'll last much longer and take up less space.

[Big Dave2]

Yes I do think that the btu output of the cooker out weighs the safety features on a buddy, at least for me. I have never had it tip over, it is on a pretty wide stand, and I use it in a fish trap, so the low o2 sensor is not an issue for me. If you are fishing in a sealed up house you may want to consider a buddy, but personally I would just crack a window open.
I used to use mine with the hose and a 20# tank but I found it to be too much of a hassle, plus I almost burnt a hole through the hose. So I went back to the 1#ers and I just try to buy them in quantity when they are on sale.
Dave