Big buddy heater

Where do you put your big buddy heater when fishing in a flip over? Do you leave it in the sled or do you put it on the ice? I’ve always left it on the ice by the door but feel like it’s kind of in the way and don’t want to burn my door.

I put it in one corner to the side of the door. Used one for decades and have never melted anything. Cant say that for a sunflower heater.

I think the back of the Buddy heater stays cool to the touch. I have the DeWalt version and it stays cool to the touch no chance of burning anything. Like Captain says no forgiveness to sunflower heaters at all. The guide we had out in Devils Lake used sunflower heaters in his portables. The corners of his houses were melted or had holes burnt in them. Could never understand why he used them. Every morning when we get into the houses he would warn us at least twice about not getting the heaters up against the house.

Not sure when the Big Buddy Heater came out, the Original Buddy heater came out in the year 2000 . I have both. Be careful when placing the big one they kick out a lot more btu,s.

I tuck mine in the back of the sled with the fan running. Never had anything melt, just have to make sure your coat get tucked between the fabric and the flip over poles. Keeps it out of the way of the heater and the extra tension on the fabric keeps the wind noise down.

I have a large one man and made a shelf for the heater to sit beside me. I don’t like the heater on the ice because when it’s there, I get too much water build up on the ice. Keeping the heater raised means my feet may be a bit colder but I’m not slopping around in water either. A small foam mat under my feet makes a huge difference also in keeping my feet warm.

We put some eye hooks in the back of the sled. We put cushion foam under the Big Buddy for a little cushion, and then we strap or use adjustable bungees and bungee it in. We drive in rough conditions and have never had a breakage issue. We do put a saddle blanket over the top during our runs, so that the fine powder snow doesn’t get into the heating element. Works awesome. We never take it out or move it.

For the tank, we carry a 20 pounder in a milk crate that we’ve strapped down in a similar way. It’s awesome.

I always put it on the ice, I’ve never burned anything yet.

Mine sits on a small piece of wood just to keep the ice melt down. It sits in the corner of the shack. We also use a roll of foam matting by our feet to keep them off the ice.

Back up against the front door on my Trap2. The reflectix liner gets hot but hasn’t melted after several years. A small piece of reflectix is also a great pad for a buddy heater. What melted the ice is now extra radiant heat.

I mount mine in flip-overs. Here’s pics of my first shack, a Clam Kenai thermal. I now have Buddys mounted in two Otter Hideouts and a Big Buddy in a Lodge.

You don’t need nearly as much front clearance as I thought, maybe 10″ tops, when they’re on low-BTU settings. I don’t ever use the high BTU settings. Heat seems to come out and up from the burners at about a 45 degree angle. I never burned a thing, but I’m very careful not to let rod tips and gear get close.

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Bass Thumb wrote:

I mount mine in flip-overs. Here’s pics of my first shack, a Clam Kenai thermal. I now have Buddys mounted in two Otter Hideouts and a Big Buddy in a Lodge.

You don’t need nearly as much front clearance as I thought, maybe 10″ tops, when they’re on low-BTU settings. I don’t ever use the high BTU settings. Heat seems to come out and up from the burners at about a 45 degree angle. I never burned a thing, but I’m very careful not to let rod tips and gear get close.

How much/how far do you drag your portables with machones? Those are nice mounting clips, but pulling behind a snowmobile, I would think the holes on the Buddy plastic would bust out?

On the side of the shelter opposite of where I’m sitting.

Bass Thumb wrote:

I mount mine in flip-overs. Here’s pics of my first shack, a Clam Kenai thermal. I now have Buddys mounted in two Otter Hideouts and a Big Buddy in a Lodge.

You don’t need nearly as much front clearance as I thought, maybe 10″ tops, when they’re on low-BTU settings. I don’t ever use the high BTU settings. Heat seems to come out and up from the burners at about a 45 degree angle. I never burned a thing, but I’m very careful not to let rod tips and gear get close.

This is an awesome Idea! I always wanted to do this in my otter cabin but I have then bench seat I still might give it a try!