Mr. Heater Buddy SALE $54.99

[Williamtaylor33]

I got mine on sale last year. Its the double burner. Works great for the westy. I wont sleep with mine on though. I'll reach out of my sleeping bag in the morning and click it on.
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89 Bostig powered syncro westy

[DAIZEE]

On m recent trip it was cold everywere. Much colder than I thought it could be down there. Once I got into my bed I warmed up fine. One night it was so cold I wore a hat to bed also. It's an old Irish/British (pre central heating era) trick.

I used the alcohol stove/heater that I had on my boat but it ran out. Didn't use it again. There were times I didn't want to get out of bed. I think the night that I wore the hat I just couldn't brave taking my clothes off. Gotta have a sense of humor for sure.
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[TroySmith80]

[GeorgeL]

[bucko]

" am also looking to purchase a heater for winter camping and looked at the Coleman quick start Catalytic heater.It runs off a small can of propane and also has a battery operated fan. Seems like a good idea to help distribute the heat.
Would be kinda nice to have a built in timer in these type of heaters.
Oh well; wishful thinking"

I've used this Coleman heater in tents for many years, and it works great, as long as the tent is not a mess hall. My tent could sleep 5 to 6 persons, and this heater kept that space comfortable. In a Westy, I'd think it would work even better, since there is more insulation than a thin walled tent!

[thinair]

Thats one of the reasons I bought the "Buddy" it works like a home furnace with a thermocoupling that shuts off the gas flow when the flame is not dectected. It goes further to have an anti-tip valvue as well as the oxygen depletion sensor. I've tested all but the o2 depletion sensor and they work great. If you think about it you are putting your life in the hands of similar technology on a daily basis in your home. But, I still don't think I would use the thing when I sleep. However if I kept the window open an inch as well as the top vent, I believe we could leave it running with no ill effects.

[msinabottle]

These poor devils had a propane heater and forgot to leave a window open at all for it... It burned up the tent's oxygen enough to where it put out the flame, but then the gas kept coming in and THAT was what killed them. Y'know, a CO detector wouldn't have saved them from THAT.

I think I'd just use mine in the mornings.

Best!

[danfromsyr]

yepper, use one on occasion, gets plenty chilly in northen NY.
I find that the talking, drinking, breathing also get the winders misted up.. i've always carried a med sized shower squeegee next to my Ebrake.
habit from lack of defog fan in my old van (soon to be ammended) and towls just smear sweat condensation to produce fog/glare.

yes, it's a pita they only last about 4hrs on a green cylinder, which i factor into my sleeping safety feature.. about 2hrs intot he night it goes out and I'm already warm... if heating the whole day. then thats a differant thing. my Mr buddy came with a carry bag. I leave with 1 full tank in the unit and 2 in the pouches on the carrier.. which are used for the camp stove on the picnic table.

+1 MR buddy heater user.

[mightyart]

I've used the heater buddy for a couple of years now and it's worked great for the mild winters in Texas.
We've been able to keep the pop-top up and still be nice and cozy.
We sleep with it on, put it on top of the sink (with the lid down of course) and open the slider about a half inch, this allows the propane hose access to the 17lb tank I hook it to.

The one pound cylinders always seem to run out about 4 AM and changing them in the cold, dark, cramped Westy was a treat.
I'm planning on plumbing in a quick disconnect for it in the Westy's propane lines, then putting in an "extend a stay" hook-up on the outside.
I also just finished re-insulating the inside and tinting the windows, I'm hoping this year I can get away with using it on low all the time.[/img]

[wolfej1]

Best would be using an inverter with ceramic type heater I am certain that the battery would croak though......

[msinabottle]

They say not to use the 'Heater Buddy' above a certain altitude, I believe it's 7,000 feet. In Colorado, it's REALLY EASY to get above 7,000 feet, I was up to Timberline (Not in Winston, he has an AFM, and measures his air by volume, not oxygen content) Saturday looking at incredible views of Aspen and other good reasons to live in Colorado.

I wrote to Coleman and asked if their catalytic heaters had any altitude restrictions, getting back a resounding, 'NO!' They were quite positive. I keep my 'Black Cat' in Winston's bench with a cylinder of propane. I LOVE to sleep in a cold room under lots of blankets, although you can get sleeping bags with a great deal of insulation, too. My friend the Eagle Scout was telling me on our drive in the mountains that the Scouts have the 'Polar Bear' award for camping in a tent in 0 degrees. The Coleman would be nice for warming up the van in the early morning while you're trying to heat your breakfast without your fingers breaking off. Coleman says you only need 4" square of open window to replace the oxygen used by their heater. They say that it puts out NO carbon monoxide.

I imagine there might be some danger under very cold conditions of the water system freezing, although I doubt the tank would, overnight, at least. You could put the heater on very low. The plug-in/ceramic system would be the safest, of course. I have a CO detector ready to go in Winston if I did feel the need to use a heater, because I don't want to die, and that might also be a good idea in cold weather if you're using the range.

Just some thoughts...

Best!

[getset]

I agree with the thick down bag and life. About the only time I use heat in my van is when i am plugged in at friends houses. Then a little ceramic heater makes or a cozy winters night sleep. I just installed shore power and a small breaker box to make it a little safer. Otherwise just pile on the blankets.

[GeorgeL]

[cnskate]

Just back from trip using the Buddy, works great. I think they get about 4 hours on high and 8 hours on low per bottle of Propane. You can buy a kit to hook it up to your propane tank. Harbor Freight also sells an adapter to fill the little propane tanks.

I wouldn't stake my life on a $30 co sensor. They don't last very long and they are not entirely reliable.
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"Wherever you go, there you are."

[[email protected]]

I have used the Mr. buddy, the big one with the fan built in. It worked great. This was north florida winter though, not snowing or anything, pretty cold though! we just stuck it on the front table.

I'm sure you clould plumb in an adaptor hose but I think it comsumes a fair amout of propane. So if you are using your tank for fridge etc.. you might come up short on long weekends etc.. I have a spare westy tank that I am considering putting in on the otehr side of the bus with a connection hose only, that I could use for the heater and gas grill etc.. just so I don't have to carry extra cylinders etc.. I have just been kinda lazy to to get to work on that plus a buddy from the "Full moon bus club" that I always camp with always has clyinders at the ready as he has one of those refill attachments for the protable cylinders at home. we just give him our empties.
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Markus

[Cat and Walter]

[flyingCoyote]

[hiram6]

http://www.origo-sweden.com/products_f.html

I have one of their stoves installed in my sailboat, and it's top-quality stuff. Have never used this particular product, but generally I'm much more comfortable burning alcohol than pressurized propane!!

[thinair]

I was thinking I could open the pop top vent about an inch as well as one of the front windows, this should provide enough venting. I also don't think we would sleep with the thing running as our bags are warm, I just don't want to crawl into bed at 7pm because the sun went down. This way we can have some nice reading and card playing time while warm.

As for Propane Canisters, I must be part Oakie but my father discovered a great way to refill the things. I've been useing the same canisters for 12 years. You just take a larger tank, attach the proper fitting that mates the two tanks together. You turn the larger tank upside down on a box. Hang the 1lb cansiter over the side and use vice grips or needle nose plyers to gently pull the pressure release valvue on the canister. It takes a smelly minute, but you get a nicely filled canister. Of course you should do this away from all sources of ignition and once the canister is full it's good to leave it outside for a day so that any excess pressure can bleed off.

Yes I know it says DO NOT REFILL, but if you keep reusing your canisters all the warning labels fade and you fell good about yourself again. It's cheap, and it's good for the environment too

[Basilbomb]

Whenever you burn a hydrocarbon you will always get Co2 and H20 - it's the result of the oxidation process that releases the heat we want. You will get CO if the combustion is incomplete, which is why we now have catalytic converters on cars. CO is lighter than air and should theoretcially rise out the tent top, but I would suspect that having all the screens open would waste as much heat as you are creating. CO2 is heavier than air and is also bad for you but the concentrations have to be very high. All in all there is a risk whenever you burn something in an enclosed space, so if you went the way of this unit I would find a way of permenantly mounting it and providing a fresh air input and an exhaust.

There is also the issue of throwing away a lot of disposable propane canisters if you use it much.