I need to buy a heater this week and was planning on the Buddy. I see Mills has the Big Buddy on sale for $99. Is it worth the extra $20 or is it a little overkill? I kinda like the idea of the fan. I have a 8X8 thermal hub.
Thanks!
What do you have for a house? The big buddy puts out (i think) twice the BTU’s.
My friend brought his big buddy into my XL4000T yesterday. I kept turning it onto low, he kept turning it back onto HI…It wan’t too warm yesterday.
IMO they are too bulky. I like my sunflower/20#tank.
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What do you have for a house? The big buddy puts out (i think) twice the BTU’s.
My friend brought his big buddy into my XL4000T yesterday. I kept turning it onto low, he kept turning it back onto HI…It wan’t too warm yesterday.
IMO they are too bulky. I like my sunflower/20#tank.
I have a 949I. I have an old Mr. Heater/cooker, maybe that would be enough. The big Buddy seems pretty big.
If your going to run it off a 20 lbs tank i would just stick with a sunflower heater. I like my little buddy but might be too small for a bigger popup unless you bank it in real well and its not blowing 100 mph.
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What do you have for a house? The big buddy puts out (i think) twice the BTU’s.
My friend brought his big buddy into my XL4000T yesterday. I kept turning it onto low, he kept turning it back onto HI…It wan’t too warm yesterday.
IMO they are too bulky. I like my sunflower/20#tank.
I have a 949I. I have an old Mr. Heater/cooker, maybe that would be enough. The big Buddy seems pretty big.
The mr.heater cooker puts out WAY more heat than Big Buddy.
The btu’s listed are INPUT btu’s not output.
So if they say the same btu you have to check the efficiency to get the true output btu.
Thanks Mark! Very interesting.
I think the BB is kinda big HOWEVER the Buddy I bought last year is lacking in cold weather in my Otter Cabin.
The heater/cooker is a less expensive alternative that I explored as well but it’s too hot!
Sunflower cooker heater ran to 20lb tank with a 6ft hose. More room in the house that way. Just tuck hose under wall of house and leave tank outside. But buy the black hose NOT the green one. Material is crap on the green hose. It will not flex when cold. The cooker kicks out 15000 btu and trust me that is plenty. I know the buddy boasts 18000 btu but you can’t cook your lunch on it. Now if you have kids running around I would suggest a buddy heater for the safety features.
There are 4 Buddy heaters, Little 3,800 BTUs, Portable 4,000-9,000, new Hunting 6,000-12,000 and Big 4,000, 9,000 and 18,000. If you fish in cold weather like today, get the Big Buddy and just turn it down on warm days. I have the Portable for my 1 man flip over and the Big Buddy for my 2 man.
Yup. The Big Buddy seems like a better value to me at $100. The smaller buddy isn’t much cheaper, and with the Big Buddy at least you have the option of cranking out more heat when needed. It is heavier, but I’ll take the extra weight if it’s that cold. I run mine, when necessary, to a 20lb tank and that works great. I rarely use the fan.
from experience, do not get the little buddy. it won’t be enough in a large thermal, tried it in a friends. he’s going to buy a sunflower. a sunflower puts out way more heat, more than the big buddy.
That being said, i run a big buddy that is almost not enough on cold windy days so i’m trying out a new mod i made to my big buddy.
i retro fitted and eliminated the need for d cell batteries by wiring in two six volt mojo batteries, will jumper them to use my 12 volt vex charger when needed. the batteries fit in one side of the propane cylinder compartment since they never get used.
i don’t have any experience fishing in such a large potable as yours but with the fan i think you’ll happier with the big buddy. going on 10 plus years with my big buddy heater/same flip over and am just getting around to using the fan.
i had clam 8×8 sleeper back in the day and it required a double sunflower to stay warm below 10 degrees and wind, it was not a thermal.
fieds
Thanks for the help everyone! I think I’ll try the heater/cooker I have. I like it cause it’s so light.
Getting fired up to fish Red Lake for the first time this weekend! 
I had the big buddy at one time, two years ago i think. Returned it within a week. Picked up a sunflower and never looked back.
Buddy brought his big buddy to my ice shack sunday. I had my sunflower with, but he already had his big buddy in the house before i could grab mine. I hole hopped for 5 minutes before he got it started…Sunflower starts everytime.
I also own a smaller buddy heater, but it is probably 10yrs old and works WAY better than a brand new out of the box plastic version like they have today.
Last winter i ran my little buddy along with my buddies brand new little buddy on a very cold day in my house. His wouldn’t stay running. Mine is old, dusty, etc…and kept on going…but wasn’t enough heat for a -10 night in an uninsulated QF3.
I just wish the sunflower was fully adjustable instead of 3 settings. Even on low it can cook you out.
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I just wish the sunflower was fully adjustable instead of 3 settings. Even on low it can cook you out.
True!
Glad all ice houses have doors, windows, and vents 
I like it above freezing in my shack but not so warm I need to undress since I am running in/out all the time.
I have used a sunflower for years and finally got tired of the noise it produces even on the low setting. I haven’t tried my new buddy heater yet but I hope I don’t have to go back to the sunflower. 
A small buddy heater, will heat a flip over, unless you have no snow for banking or are just lazy, then you might need the big buddy. My friend uses a Big buddy to heat his 7 x 10 perm and it works great. Quiet, safer and cleaner smelling than the cooker/sunflower. Its all in how you fish too.. in and out, a sunflower heats FASTER, but if if you zip and sit, the buddys are a nice heater for that 
I have the heater/cooker and I love it. They throw a lot of heat. The 1 lb tanks are kind of a PITA so the only thing I’m going to change is buy a hose and hook it up to a 20 lb tank and run it outside like someone mentioned above. The 20 lb tank will save you some money for sure.
oh definitely ! I run my Buddy on a 20 lb’er 
(I also carry a sunflower, just in case… quick switch with a crescent wrench) 
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