Customer Reviews

Mr Heater MH18B Portable "Big Buddy" Heater

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I was concerned when I purchased this unit. There are a number of highly negative reviews on it. However, on further research, I have discovered that the circumstances leading to those reviews could have been avoided.

When one uses this heater with a 20 lb propane bottle & accessory hose, it is imperative that you always shut the tank off first & let the heater run until it burns off all the fuel in the lines.

*** IT IS IMPERATIVE TO FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE ***

If one simply turns the heater knob to the off position, it will trap trap 100 PSI of propane in the accessory hose. When high pressure propane sits in the rubber hose, it will chemically react with the rubber and leetch a light oil. The oil will build up and quickly work its way into the heater, clogging both the regulator & control valve.

Another very important recommendation is to purchase the gas line filter. This will catch the oily residue and protect the combustion components of the heater should one forget to follow the precautions above.

Keeping these precautions in mind, one will be able to enjoy a very well-build and flexible-use portable heater.

I don't agree with some of the reviews. I don't see that it's a fire hazard at all. My Big Buddy was delivered last week. Here's what I found:

My elevation in Virginia, About 800 feet
Ambient temperature, 72.8 (in my house). Outside temp 29.0

1. Running on high on ONE Disposable Cylinder caused unit shutdown after 50 minutes. (Pilot started to flicker, cut out and then gas shut down). Single bottle was covered with ice (I assume that's bad...)

2. Running on TWO Disposable Cylinders got me the balance of three hours smoothly and well.

3. No fumes observed at all. Some moisture, but cracking the window an inch kept it under control.

4. A lot of heat. Too much for my wood floor. I had to put it on my brick mantle. This might scorch tile.

5. It kept my upstairs (1000 square feet) at 72.5. Only a loss of 0.3 degrees over three hours. Better than expected.

Suggestion: If you are trying to run on high with disposables, use two of them. This is not in the manual.

I don't know how it works with tanks, or whether you need to feed one or both inputs.

My unit did not come with the AC adapter. The batteries work.

If you bump it gently, it shuts off.

Conclusion:
For 139 bucks, it fits the bill well enough. It appears to be very well made, but the safety features make it tempermental. For my use as an emergency heat source, it's adequate.

I've been fumbling, stumbling, and bumbling along trying to obtain the "right" combination of MR HEATER items to allow me to use their BIG BUDDY product. I strongly suggest that you decide on which heater you want, then go to www.mrheater.com and pull up the web page for that heater. Find the FAQ section for that heater. Read through the "problems" very closely. You will find there are valid reasons for those problems to occur. MR HEATER explains and provides solutions to those problems in the FAQ. One thing, in my humble opinion, is missing in the descriptions ~ If you are using larger than 20-lb tanks, you may need a "regulator" to control the pressure from the tank to your heater or other small appliance. Check with MR HEATER Tech Support before you run into problems. Be patient and be very clear about your setup. Everyone I have contacted has been very helpful and responsive to my questions. MR HEATER also provides information on the SAFETY RECALL situation with a possible solution on what to do with replacing a faulty heater.

My heavily retro-insulated 1920 NH colonial is heated with base-board heat supplied by an oil fired water boiler. Living alone now, and seeing oil prices exceeding $4.25/gallon this summer, I decided to get creative with space heaters. After a lot of research, I bought a Big Buddy for my downstairs 12x24 office and a Delonghi TRD0715T oil-filled radiator for my upstairs, 12x12 bedroom. Both have proven to be excellent choices.

To fire my Big Buddy, I drilled a small hole in the wall to the outside, just large enough to sneak the 12' regulated propane hose (accessory) outside and into a barbeque grill size propane tank. I built a little, enclosed stand for the propane tank so I could reach out a window to turn it off and on rather than have to go outside to do it. I've been keeping the rest of the downstairs at 50 degrees as I don't use the other rooms except to walk through to get to my office. In the morning, I fire my Big Buddy up to the max 18,000 btu and in 20 minutes the room is at 60 degrees. Then I turn the heater down to 9,000 btu for a half hour or so until the room is up to 65 degrees, then down to 4,000 btu until the room is at 70 degrees, and for the rest of the day I vary between 4,000 btu and just a pilot light. At a local propane dealer, I can get a 20 lb. barbeque tank filled for $10. I keep two barbeque tanks, so when one runs out of propane, I have another ready to go. So far I go through a tank about every 10 days. No mess, no fumes, no headaches, no problems. Between this heater and the excellent Delonghi heater in my bedroom, I have so far used 1/8 tank of heating oil since August, where I would otherwise by now have used more near 3/4 of my 275 gallon oil tank. Even as heating oil has dropped considerably in price since August, that's still a huge savings.

One downside of my Big Buddy is the installed fan is not only noisy but pretty useless. To compensate for this, I have a six inch fan propped up behind and toward the top of the heater to blow the rising heat around the room. My Big Buddy isn't thermostat controlled, but who cares? When the room is up to the temperature I want, I get up out of my chair once every couple hours or so and turn the heat control up or down, and for that minor inconvenience I save a small fortune on heating oil.

If you buy the Big Buddy, be sure to turn off your propane source and let your Big Buddy pilot light go out before you turn off the unit. Otherwise, enjoy the relatively inexpensive heat from this excellent powerhouse.

This Is A great Little heater. You can use it with 1 LB cylinders or 40 lb tank. And you don't need a regulater like most heaters becouse there is one built in side. If you reed the manual you will see this. You do have the option of using a quick disconect hose and with this you do need a regulater. witch is in the manual. and a filter for the oily resdue. also most heaters ask for a 100 lb tank only no less. with this buddy heater you can use one 20 lb tank or two 20 lb tanks. I use one 40 lb. Also i see some reviewers say thay don't like it becouse it don't last long using the 1 lb cylinders witch is true. but thats why thay call it the portable Buddy. There is a fitting called a ( MAC COUPLER) that screws on the 20 or 40 lb tanks to refill those cylinders and save moneyMac Coupler Propane Refill Adapter $2.99 shipping.

I bought my first Big Buddy after my central heater failed just before a snowfall and hard freeze. I rushed out to Northern Tool and grabbed the last one I could find on their shelves, a package of D batteries, and 8- 1 pound propane tanks. Those tanks and the first set of batteries lasted the weekend, but I went back and bought a pair of 20lb tanks for $39 each, 2 filters for $10 each, a power adapter for $7, and a 12' bulk tank hose kit for $25. (I got mine from Northern Tool, but I could have easily ordered everything but the tanks with 2-day shipping using Amazon Prime.) And that's all we've needed ever since. When we awaken or arrive home in the evening, I put it on high and within 20 minutes at the most, the house will be back to 70 F. Then I drop it to medium and in another 20-30 minutes it'll be up to 73-74. And when it reaches that temp, I just set it to the low setting and it will maintain that temperature except during the coldest weather, during which it takes the medium setting to maintain a pleasant temperature.

The internal fan's bearings are noisy, but after a year, mine have quietened quite a bit. And for those who have complained that on the High setting the floor beneath the heater gets too warm, I will simply point out that there are two conveniently-placed nail/ screw wall-mounting holes on the back of the heater to make make hanging it on the wall (as I've done) as easy as placing two nails or screws to hang the heater upon. This heater saves me at least $200/ month during the coldest months compared to electric heat costs where I live. Getting one of my 20lb tanks refilled runs $12-$15 here and one tank last me generally 4-7 days, even in my drafty, uninsulated 'project' home.
We have enjoyed it so much that I bought another for our RV and camp. They're very efficient heaters, and having used the filters since the first time I used a bulk tank, I've had not a lick
of trouble, even though I've almost never remembered to turn off the gas flow at the tank 1st to
burn off the fuel in the pressure line. I intend to change that practice, but... I'm just saying the fuel filters are a good investment and mine have apparently helped me avoid having to pay for my repeated sins.

These, undoubtedly, were never designed to provide main heating for a home over even a single season. But my first unit is halfway through season 2 and runs like a champ. Honestly, I think it's the best purchase I've made in years. It pays for itself again every month in electrical bill savings. It gives me another opportunity to tell my wife "I told ya so" every time we sit to pay the bills. And that's almost as warm a feeling as the heater puts out itself, even if it sometimes leads to getting the 'cold shoulder'! Buy one, read the manual, and enjoy. You'll be glad you did!

This is the second Big Buddy heater I have gotten. We have short but cold power outages in my area and this heater does a great job in maintaining the house temperature at a comfortable level until the power and the furnace come back on. It's also convenient because it can easily be moved from room to room and I also use it in my garage when working on projects. I bought a second one for my daughter and got her the hose with the quick disconnect and regulator for safer operation indoors since they tell me that the pressure in the hose is only 1/2 psi pressure.

After having bought and used the Little Buddy heater, I purchased the Big Buddy to get the higher heat output for my shed and back porch. The unit is well made and very sound. There are two major problems that I have found: 1)when the heater is on the highest setting, the propane cylinders get so cold from the high flow of gas that the heater shuts down. This is only a problem if the temperature that you are using it in is below 40 degrees F. If you are using it as an auxillary heater in the house, it does not frost up. 2) hooking the heater to a larger tank is not even discussed in the instruction manual, other than stating that an inline fuel filter should be used. It doesn't state if the line should be hooked to one side of the heater or the other, or if you need 2 hoses.

The frosting up issue is the biggest disappointment for me. I can't use it in my shed in the winter because of this. Make sure you know how you are going to use this unit before you purchase it.

If you read reviews...you will learn......

This unit works AWSOME...when used correctly. Pay attention.
I hate long wordy reviews so this is to the point.

Don't use the 1lb disposable propane tanks, for many reasons: they don't last long, enviorment, they freeze up (on high), they freeze the internal regulators.
So, you need a 20# tank. Got a gas grill? That is a 20# tank......go get it filled.

Hose: Do NOT get the plain hose and filter...again, many reasons: no pressure regulation creates oil, clogs unit, unsafe....
So, get the hose with regulator...safe, no filter needed, unit wont clog.
Yes, it is an added expense so plan on it. You need the unit, a 20# tank and the hose WITH regulator.
PLUS: hose with regulator has the quick release....nice!

C'mon, you have never hooked up a gas grill to a propane tank without a regulator. This is no different.
Once you have these three correct items...this thing is great!

Fan/blower: kind of crappy. I'm glad it has it and I'm glad I can use batteries in a jam. But you either need the A/C adapter for $20 OR any other fan....Just something to move the heat around. This unit produces a LOT of heat. It rises straight up. The blower moves it around and heats areas more quickly. For $20 and free shipping, I just bought it. I'm not bringing a fan everywhere I use this.

If you follow these simple things you will be very pleased.

Personally: I use this primarily to heat my basement (approx 800sq.ft). Bought a pellet stove to heat house a few years back and since the FHW heating isn't running the basement stays cool as no hot water running through pipes. I used to get "free" heat in basement.
Right now it is 11 degrees outside and 65 down here (man town, my office, kids game area).

Unit is on high, no shut off, no freezing, no problem. Running for 2 hours straight now....on high.
You can use the 1 lb tanks and this can go camping and everywhere else. But if you plan on using at home or someplace constant, you need the 20# tank, or larger, and the Hose WITH regulator.

If nothing else, this unit could keep your pipes from freezing in an outage during winter. HUGE savings there alone. Then use it all over until/if that happens.

For under $200 I bought the Big Buddy, the correct hose with regulator and the A/C adapter. Free shipping and here in 2 days.
You can't get this kind of heat for indoor use from another heater this safely (low o2 sensor and tipover sensor).

Got this heater this year and really love it. It does a really great job of keeping me warm while working in my garage. I love the fact that it takes two 1 lb. throwaway cylinders. The two tanks actually last a lot longer than I had anticipated. One of the best things about it is the fact that it can be moved anywhere I am working. Often times, those heaters on propane bottles are hard to position to adequately feel the heat. But with the big buddy, I can position up high, down low...you name it. Great heater.