Buddy heater and carbon Monoxide video

[Dooglas]

I have used the "Buddy" portable heater in a boat. It certainly works and does not trigger the CO alarm. I found, however, that it did produce some odor which required venting - i.e. an open hatch or port. There are actually 3 sizes of this portable heater - the original "Buddy", the larger "Big Buddy", and the smaller "Little Buddy".

http://www.mrheater.com/product/heat...dy-series.html

[Cpt Mark]

I borrowed one of these for a club cruise which was cancelled. Anticipated overnight low 14F. I have a brand new reverse cycle heat pump which I cannot use because the water temp in the Columbia River is 37F. So.... space heaters which don't work worth a damn on a multihull. Got the flu last week and the outside temps dropped a lot. Needed more heat so I fired up the Mr Buddy. Same as the one in the video. Worked very well, still alive and have used it 5 nights in a row. Did buy a little 1lb can refill thing. Propane costs 20 bucks for a 20lb tank so cost is comparable to the Chinese thing which between the 2, I'd trust this more than that. 1lb tank on low runs about 6 hours.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by rbk

It is possible but not practical. If you want to connect a heater to a 20lb tank there are better suited catalytic heaters that are made for it, however most do not have thermocoupler with shutoff. The little buddies have a tilt switch shutoff and molded base that fits over a 1lb canister, while getting the hose to connect is a non issue its coming up with a safe base that will allow it to run level and not trip the tilt switch (these are very temperamental on the LB heater). Even the use of the green bottles and base is sketchy at best. Best way to do it, is to fix it to the 20lb tank with hard fittings, not so convenient in a cockpit, and you should not be bringing a large tank in the cabin. The buddy heater is the safest, cheapest, best option IMO. I've even seem them fixed to walls in cabins with 20 ft of hose run to an exterior tank.

Oddly mine is mounted to a bulkhead and connected to the boats low pressure (11 inch W.C.) system. For $150 total in parts, including heater, I have a vented propane heater and have been using it for 8+ years on the boat.



I personally do not like running 100 PSI propane lines inside a boat.



As others have indicated moisture is a issue. Adding a vent hood to a little buddy with 1-1/2 vent (I calculated flue flow rates) and a DIY vent cap on deck, gets rid of the moisture... life is pretty good.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by mogulskibum

There are two different sizes of the "Little Buddy." There's this guy:





That one will not (easily) adapt to a larger tank. You're stuck with the 1lb tanks.


And then there's this guy:





They might call that one the "big buddy," but who really cares what they call it. It can easily be adapted to a large propane tank - the manufacturer even sells a kit.

The lower photo is the BIG buddy, the top is a canister mount. There is a third heater, the little buddy, which I have and the video on the first post used. The Big buddy can be adapted to low pressure easily as it has a extra low pressure connection port (or so I've read).


The little buddy requires that the gas regulator be removed to connect the little buddy to low pressure propane (11") BTW the regulator on the buddy heaters are 11" w.c. regulators. Mr. Heater has a hose kit to connect a buddy heater to high pressure propane, but I would not use that on a boat.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

The lower photo is the BIG buddy, the top is a canister mount. There is a third heater, the little buddy, which I have and the video on the first post used. The Big buddy can be adapted to low pressure easily as it has a extra low pressure connection port (or so I've read).


The little buddy requires that the gas regulator be removed to connect the little buddy to low pressure propane (11") BTW the regulator on the buddy heaters are 11" w.c. regulators. Mr. Heater has a hose kit to connect a buddy heater to high pressure propane, but I would not use that on a boat.

Actually there's 3 sizes, Little Buddy (Shown on canister); Buddy heater (one ceramic plate and x1, 1lb tank); as opposed to the Big Buddy Heater (shown with 2 ceramic plates and x2 1 lb tanks).

[River Cruiser]

When temps gets lower than 32f I use a kerosene heater a Toyotomi radiant 10. I only heat the solon/galley area with it. I turn off all heat at night except for the electric in the master berth. In the morning about 30 minutes to a hour run time warms everything up so the built in electric unit will keep it comfortable. I have bought a Chinese forced air unit that I’ll install this year, the kero unit has worked great without any smell or smoke problem. Just a hint of a smell when shutting off the unit. Just a hint of fumes when shutting off.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by rbk

It is a separate issue and that’s where you missed the point. The big buddy heater is a freestanding design, the little buddy not so much. If you’ve used the little buddy you’d know why.

I did not miss anything, own and use both, great products in the right context.

A small cruising boat is not one of them.

Originally Posted by mogulskibum

"Little Buddy."
..
That one will not (easily) adapt to a larger tank. You're stuck with the 1lb tanks.

Again, no, would be very easy to rig a stand or fixed mount, and adapt to any LPG source tank, butane or propane.

Just saying precisely that, not that anyone **should** do so on a boat.

The larger unit would be very awkward to place properly, incredible overkill for such a small space, nearly impossible to regulate low enough, and long-term very unsafe IMO compared to say an Olympic Wave.

But still I'm not recommending that approach either.

A "parking heater" or other specific marine heater, fed by the same fuel used by the boat's propulsion engine, would be safer much more convenient and also more efficient.

But obviously costs a lot more.

[Rorzech]

[QUOTE=rsn48;2845389]I did use a Buddy heater in an RV but was always uncomfortable with it due to Carbon Monoxide issues, or possible issues so I sold it. I know there have been discussions in various posts about this heater so I thought I'd submit this link so those can see one person testing out his Buddy heater in relation to Carbon Monoxide:

Whatever kind of open flame or catalytic heater you have , Just remember you need one square inch of fresh air ventilation for every 1,000 BTU the heater operates at and it will not make any C0 . So if you have a 30,000 BTU heater going , then open a port light that let's in fresh air that measures 10 inches by 3 inches (30 sq in) and you will be just fine.
Flame does not make C0 unless starved for O2 (Oxygen). It will make Co2 when it has oxygen and Co1 (CO) when it doesn't have enough oxygen. Co2 won't kill you but Co1 will kill you . It's just a difference of 1 oxygen atom.

[Rorzech]

I always run two CO detectors with the led numbered PPM read out. Not spending $20 is not good enough excuse for croaking.

[GTom]

Originally Posted by mogulskibum

There are two different sizes of the "Little Buddy." There's this guy:

How much moisture does that produce? I am thinking on something like that, but I have enough moisture already...

Originally Posted by Rorzech

CO2 won't kill you..

That depends on the amount... It's not that difficult to fill a boat with CO2 when there is no/little ventillation. However, if your heater is on the bottom (makes sense, but not always feasible!), the flame should go out and you start filling your bilge with propane unless there is a decent safety in Little Buddy...

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by rsn48

I did use a Buddy heater in an RV but was always uncomfortable with it due to Carbon Monoxide issues, or possible issues so I sold it. I know there have been discussions in various posts about this heater so I thought I'd submit this link so those can see one person testing out his Buddy heater in relation to Carbon Monoxide:

The problem with this line of reasoning is that catalytic heaters produce more CO as the catalyst deteriorates due to use and, mostly, contamination by airborne gases and dust. You'll never know because there's no way to measure it.


You can use a CO detector but how do you know it works? The sensors deteriorate with age and exposure to contaminants. You'll never know unless you check it with bump gas. Most people don't even know what bump gas is.


So there are all these stories about how safe they are and how "I've never had a problem" and so on.

And every once in a while there's someone in the news that went to sleep and never woke up.

Or they woke up but their crew didn't.

The risk is there. Maybe 1 in 1000, maybe 1 in 10,000. And it's completely avoidable by installing proper heating equipment.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by mogulskibum

... The best solution I've seen for storing the canisters onboard is to get a piece of 4" PVC, cut it to a length that will fit however many canisters you want to carry (8" for each), glue a plug/cap on what will become the bottom end of it, dry-fit another plug/cap for the top - that will be your "lid," and then mount the whole pipe somewhere above deck where any propane that leaks will fall overboard, and drill a hole in the low point so that if a tank leaks it won't be held in the tube.


I'm pretty sure that properly executed, the above propane storage would even meet ABYC standards (although the heater itself would not).

I hope you know that it does not.

• No solenoid valve.
• No propane detector.

----


I also think most people do not realized that home CO monitors are not instantaneous, they are averaging (from Kiddie):



"An alarm's response time will vary depending on the level of carbon monoxide in the air. For example, an alarm will sound after three and a half hours of continuous exposure at a level of 50 PPM, yet will sound after eight minutes of continuous exposure at a level of 400 PPM.Oct 27, 2011"


By comparison, the monitors worn in industry have a very quick response (less than a minute).

[rbk]

Originally Posted by john61ct

I did not miss anything, own and use both, great products in the right context.

A small cruising boat is not one of them.

Again, no, would be very easy to rig a stand or fixed mount, and adapt to any LPG source tank, butane or propane.

Good for you, I also own three of them and the little buddy should not be mounted on a large tank period. You'll also know that they're top heavy and wont stay upright without a bottle attached. Secondly if you were to attach it to the tank as a base you'd have to bring the tank into the cabin. The idea of using a makeshift base for a heating appliance is IMO dangerous at best. We use our boat one for bumping up the heat in the cabin when we first arrive during the shoulder seasons, then in the full enclosure when its miserable so we can sit out and have a drink and enjoy the view, never as a dedicated heat source but we've always had vented heating appliances on our boats.

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by rbk

Good for you, I also own three of them and the little buddy should not be mounted on a large tank period. You'll also know that they're top heavy and wont stay upright without a bottle attached. Secondly if you were to attach it to the tank as a base you'd have to bring the tank into the cabin. The idea of using a makeshift base for a heating appliance is IMO dangerous at best. We use our boat one for bumping up the heat in the cabin when we first arrive during the shoulder seasons, then in the full enclosure when its miserable so we can sit out and have a drink and enjoy the view, never as a dedicated heat source but we've always had vented heating appliances on our boats.

Actually, the standard Buddy heater is probably the simplest one to mount. It has two attachment points on the back of the case which allow it to be attached to the bulkhead or other cabinet work. I did this on a previous boat. It could be easily lifted from the mount to change cylinders or the 1 lb tank could be swapped in place.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by Dooglas

Actually, the standard Buddy heater is probably the simplest one to mount. It has two attachment points on the back of the case which allow it to be attached to the bulkhead or other cabinet work. I did this on a previous boat. It could be easily lifted from the mount to change cylinders or the 1 lb tank could be swapped in place.

Yes and I think people keep getting them mixed up. The Little Buddy is the smallest and mounts on a 1lb canister and cannot stay upright without the canister and almost falls over with an empty canister attached. The Buddy and Big Buddy are both free standing and easily plumbed to a larger tank.