Mr Heater Buddy Heaters on Sale at Lowes

[R_Lefebvre]

Alex, never trust the PA service desk. I'm in Ottawa, and they have the Big Buddy heaters for $100 or something. Want one?

 

[AlexJet]

Alex, never trust the PA service desk. I'm in Ottawa, and they have the Big Buddy heaters for $100 or something. Want one?

Is it a regular price or discount? Some stores have 20%. Local Bass Pro has them for $119. How long do you stay in Ottawa? Do you plan on driving to Toronto?

 

[Remote]

Yes the handle folds down

Darn it for me, good for you folks.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Is it a regular price or discount? Some stores have 20%. Local Bass Pro has them for $119. How long do you stay in Ottawa? Do you plan on driving to Toronto?

Pretty good discount, regular $170 I think. I'm in Ottawa till today, but I think the store is closed. I didn't pick one up for myself yet, but I might get my father to pick one up tomorrow. Next time I'll be in the GTA is going to be for the Cottage Life show in late March.

Maybe Bass Pro would price match?

 

[AlexJet]

Guys, who operates Mr. Heater, which model do you use and for what application?
Which one would you recommend?
My plan on using it is for camping. I have big 14x17 tent to warm up and sometimes use for outside of the camp. I was thinking of Portable Buddy, but then afraid that it wouldn't be enough. Big Buddy one uses 2 1lb bottles. Can it be used with 1? With price difference in $40 its a tough choice. Which way is best to go?

My understanding is
Portable:

Big:

 

[wcdu]

I have 2 "Big Buddy" heaters. They can use 1 or 2 of the disposable propane tanks. My oldest heater was primarily with a bulk tank, hose, and a special filter designed especially for the Big Buddy. The filter screwed in where the disposable cannister would go and a standard hose connected it to a bulk tank. I frequently had a pressure issue if I turned on a full 20 lb to quickly. So, when the newer stoves came out with a dedicated hose for attachment to a tank, I bought the newer one. I have used my big buddies to heat a 120 sq ft dome tent in the fall in Wyoming with no difficulty. Temps went below freezing at night but not much below. I used it for heating up the tent for a sponge bath before bed time and when getting up in the morning. I did not sleep with it on because I didn't need to. I have also used it for the same purpose in a Jumping Jack trailer both here in Colorado and in Wyoming.

I also have it for use in the home in the event of power failure and I have used it in the bathroom of my mtn cabin to get things toasty before showing. I have used it above 8,000'. I haven't used it in really serious or severe weather, say single digit temps but I wouldn't hesitate to run it all night in either the tent or the tent trailer. I do however, make sure I have a bit a vent to fresh air available.

When the trip is long and the temps are expected to be cold, I use the newer heater & dedicated hose with a bulk tank. If it is a summer trip or a short trip then I use disposable propane cannisters. Two will last me 4 or 5 nights (+) for just warming up the tents before bedtime and in the morning.

Hope this helped,

Steve

 

[Rando]

I have only had mine (the big buddy) since the start of this thread, but I primarily bought it to figure out how much heat output would be required to heat my wildernest. For my Wildernest (which is about 50 square feet, although it is probably equivalent to a bigger tent as it is so tall and has airflow underneath it as well) the smaller buddy would be fine for camping in temps above about 20F. With the big buddy on the medium setting, which is ~2600W and the same as high on the smaller heater, the wildernest would go from an air temperature of about 20 to 45 over the course of a little more than half an hour. The heat is mostly radiant, so it will feel much warmer if you are sitting right in front of it. The other difference is that the big buddy also has a an electric fan that helps distribute the heat beyond just the radiant path.

I have also used it on high to heat my two car garage, I didn't measure the temperature, but if you aim it at where you are working it made it comfortable to work in the garage on below freezing evenings.

Guys, who operates Mr. Heater, which model do you use and for what application?

 

[mlaux]

I don't know how you guys are able to get your heaters to run at altitude. My big buddy will not run at 6500' in my garage with the door open.

 

[wcdu]

Tell us more. Will it light up, perhaps run on low but not high? Are you using the regular or big model? Are you using one or two cannisters or bulk tank with new hose or older model with the accessory filter? I bought my first one from the bargain barn at Cabellas in Sydney, Nebraska. No directions and I had no idea about the filter / regulator gizmo. I gave up on that stove but knew the concept was good and went on to purchase and recommend others use them. You know, can't be the only one in hunt camp warm.

Steve

 

[mlaux]

It's the big buddy with two canisters. It came from a Cabelas special in Utah. It lights fine but will only run for about 10 minutes before the low oxygen shutoff kicks in. I have tried it at ~3000' and it worked fine.

 

[highlandercj-7]

Wish I would have found this sooner. Sears wants 125 and 150 for the same heaters. Lowes is done with them for the season.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Now that I have some shop time on my heater I have to say I'm still happy. Plus i found it to be a great way to use all those partial propane tanks I had laying around up. You know, the ones you didn't trust to cook for a whole weekend so you took a new one. I had a half dozen of them around. When they are gone I'll use my adapter hose and run off a 20# tank.

 

[XJCamper]

As a long time lurker, I have enjoy this entire site. I especially love this particular post since it netted me a $120 heater for less than $40. After reading this original post and doing some research on this particular heater, I decided to move forward and try to find one. At which time I searched locally and found one Lowes that had 'limited quantities'. I called the store and they said they had two. I asked them to hold one at which time they asked for a name and a number. As I got ready to leave the house I received a phone call from the store and was told they could not locate them and must have sold them. In other words: I tipped someone off to a good deal at the store and they bought it. Well the next morning I check their site and it still said 'limited quantities'. So, rather than tip someone off again, I decided to just make the 20 mile drive down and find it for myself. After much searching in the store and asking about 8 associates, I finally asked for the Manager. I told him the situation and he promtly went back into the office where he pulled out the brand new unit in the box still sealed. I thinked him and purchased the unit.

Thank you all for the valuable info. Looking foward to many more great deals.

 

[Swingshiftworker]

Missed the sale but bought one still available at the local OSH for about $100.

Checked it out in the garage and it pumps out A LOT of heat. Works w/1" can or off one of my #11 tanks w/a bulk tank adapter and hose. Waiting on a Mr. Buddy 12' bulk tank hose w/regulator and a 1# tank refill adapter from Amazon to complete the set.

Bought it because I was freezing last week in my Ezi-Awn 1800 RTT. Think it will work in the RTT because the bottom stays cool and there's lots of ventilation available, but think I'll use it mainly to keep my feet warm at the camp table -- eating, reading or working on the laptop.

Bought a 36"x60" Elecrowarmth 12v electric blanket that I'm still waiting for which I will work better (read "safer") in the tent. See: http://www.electrowarmth.com/fleet.php.

The 36" blanket is wide enough for tossing and turning in a single bag and also wide enough to fit under 2 down sleeping bags zipped together when need be. Draws up to 6.3 max amps, but normal usage should be around 3amps or around 20-25 amps for a night's sleep, which seems reasonable.