i’m having a promlem keeping it lit a it lights hard. when it does get going the smallest little wind will blow it out the it wont light for about 5 min. any help?
i’m ready to give it away 
i though they were supposed to be a good little heater
Did you try a different tank? If possible I would hook it up to a 20#. I can never trust the little 1# cylinders. Good Luck!
FREE?
I’ll take it!!!! 
Monday after work ok?
I know….. 
Mine does the same thing. I am not impressed with those heaters at all.
I think a lot of people were sheilding the pilot light, you do know there is a tip over sensor on them too right, so moving it has the chance to turn it off. I think I’m going to shield the pilot light on my little buddy.
First, what kind of tank are you running? 1 pounder or a bigger tank? If you are using a bigger tank do you have a filter installed?
i am running off a 20# tank as for a filter ,it runs into a regulator and as for tip tip over safty it just sits on the floor but it does like if the piolit was sheild it would help but what would could i use 
I had one as well and it did the same thing. I pretty much did give it away. If you even breathed on it wrong the pilot would go out. I was not impressed with them at all myself. If you want to try and shield it, take some tinfoil and block the bottom 2 bars on the grill. That is what I have seen done quite a bit 
Take it back……and get a filter with the New one.
Is that what they are talking about when they say a filter? Are the new lil buddys shipped that way now? My wife is shopping for me on Tuesday – anybody know if this is an add on I could put on later in case it doesn’t have it??? Thanks, Chuckles
Chuckles…In Chad’s photo that is the a wind deflector for the pilot. I haven’t seen one like that before, so I doubt they ship that way. In my opinion you don’t need a pilot protector, if your shack is relatively air tight. I rarely have my pilot get blown out.
The only way you need a filter is if you are running a bigger tank with a hose, and also alot of it depends on the quality of the lp you are getting.
The one pound tanks will work just perfect in the buddies without a filter/regulator.
Thanks Luke – I have a hose assembly already purchased – where does one find the type of filter you refer to? Do they go in-line at the tank end or the heater end? Thanks for your answers… Chuckles
Chuckles…you should be able to get the filter where you got the heater? I got my filter at L+M supply, I’ve also seen them at Mills.
Original poster…By chance is this the first generation big buddy?? There was a recall on the first generation big buddy! The first generation had problems,”faulty valve”, and were down right dangerous!! I had problems with my first one, hard starting, would go out, and one day while in the ice house it LITERALLY blew up while I was trying to get it lit, it was leaking gas and I didn’t know it!! The fire ball singed my hair, eyebrows and I got a light burn on my face!! I got home that evening and found out the recall just came out, wish it would have come out a day earlier! I sent out a nasty letter and returned it, got a new one and it’s been FLAWLESS! I also use mine in the deer stand sometimes, it can get breezy, the pilot works pretty well. My woman has the little buddy for the deer stand, she has zero problems.
For starters, find out if it’s a first generation big buddy?? If it’s the newer one start with getting rid of the regulator, it doesn’t need one, that could be the problem?? Try it without the regulator, see how it works. If it then works fine, go get a filter so you don’t suck up some debris. If it’s not working you probably sucked up so me crap and it’s shot. The directions state, if using the hose and a larger tank, it needs the filter.
BIRDDOG
Buddy heaters have had problems over the years. They are a good concept and I have one. I never use it, but I have one. The Big buddy had major issues last year that were suppposed to have been fixed. In talking with guys, the same problems seem to be showing up with this years run. The Big Buddy is a nice concept and easy to use when it works but be warned if you buy one. I use the Mr. Heater cooker in my portables. There is always plenty of heat and they are simple to use. They are not a perfect heater by any means, but they work when you need them to.
[quoteThat might be the ticket for mine. Where did you get it?
I had a friend make a couple of these for me, then I installed them with pop-rivets. They work great since I never take the time to “bank” my shack everytime because I rarely stay in one spot for very long. So wind does wreak havoc with the pilot light when it blows up under the flaps. I’ll check with him to see if he has any left.
Chad
Quote:
The Big Buddy is a nice concept and easy to use when it works but be warned if you buy one. I use the Mr. Heater cooker in my portables. There is always plenty of heat and they are simple to use.
I use my Buddy 90 percent of the time for obvious reason’s.
But I always have my Mr Cooker heater on stand by just in case the Buddy fails or I need more heat.
I have to say, you guys have got me thinking about this one. My old Mr. Cooker finally crapped out last year and I’ve been struggling with whether I should replace it with another one or buy the Big Buddy. The Mr. Cooker has never given me any problems and I really like it a lot. If it were just me and the guys, that’s the route I’d go. However, the Big Buddy seems like it would be a safer option for when I have my kids out with me (now old enough and interested enough in going along 
) God forbid one of the kids would slip/fall, it seems like the design of the Big Buddy might reduce the for the potential of getting burned. Any thoughts?
Jim
><(((>
just as side note, last weekend we used my dad’s mr heater…I think it’s like a cooker one, but it can use 1 lb cans of propane. It worked very well, and I was suprised how long the 1 lber seemed to last.
They only way to go!
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