problems with buddy heater

I was wondering if anyone else was having problems with their buddy heaters when hooking them up to a larger propane tank with a hose. I have a big buddy heater and when I hooked it up to my 5lb take it would run for about 5 minutes and then shut down. I could start it right back up and then it would shut down after 5 minutes. It was like there wasn’t enough pressure from the tank. I had just had the tank filled that morning, I have tried a couple different tanks and it did the same thing.

Havn’t tried the external tank yet but those things are really touchy if you move them when they’re on, because of the safety mechanism, if you didn’t know.

Are you using the recommended filter?

If there’s a regulator in-line…. that will cause the problem.

Yeah I had the filter on and it did it. I took the filter out and tried it that way too and did the same exact same thing. It was like -20 out and I had the tank out side with the hose running to the inside. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

no regulator

Also propane will get slow burning when it is this cold out (tank freezing) Maybe that is all it is.

The next day I tried to run it in the heated shop and it would do the same thing. It worked fine the first time I was out this year but then I was running it off of the small propane tanks.

my buddy’s big buddy was like that too, he sent it in and they said the regulator or valve was clogged… they replaced it and sent it back to him. its been fine since.

i’d contact mr heater and see if theres a fix.

I go thru one every couple of years, the service dept for buddy has told me to clean out the pilot per the instructions; to no avail, to aleviate problems i buy a new one when it starts to act up, the last thig i need is a cold trip due to unreliable heaters

To solve my problems with the big buddy, I returned it.
IMHO these are the worst heaters ever created.
The amount of heat given off for fuel used is horiable and the sunflower is the way to go. I know some of you are going to go and try to list the safety features but they are just a point of failure. I thought it looked like a great way to become more compact,yes it was more compact but BTU’s were super low and if the thing was bumped or not sitting perfectly flat it would not work.
If you are serious about fishing and want to limit your down time i would reccomend saving your $$$ and just get the sunflower. Remember they are made by the same company(most are Mr.heater) So im not slammin the comp., just the model.
Someone tried to warn me, I didnt listen. Maybe I can save you the trouble. -Mark

I have a Mr. Heater sunflower cooker/heater. Last year i was having a problem keeping it running after i removed my hand from the thermalcouple valve and if the heater did run, it was always on low, no medium or high. I did some research and people on other Forums had similar issues. If you have a 5, 10, 20 pound tank your only supposed to crack the valve open. A 1/4 turn on might be too much. Apparently when you open the valve wide the gas hose ends up getting vapor lock and the heater cannot draw enough gas to stay running. They also mentioned making sure you use a filter, particals get caught there and don’t clog your heater. Right now i open my valve 1/8 turn and don’t have any issues. I had one other issue with small heater that would only run 2-3 minutes then go out. I replaced the thermalcouple this fall and it runs for hours. Hope this helps.

Quote:

---

To solve my problems with the big buddy, I returned it.

Someone tried to warn me, I didnt listen. Maybe I can save you the trouble. -Mark

---

Buddy’s a great heater when they work.
but I’ve seen too many people relying on them

I actually really like my big buddy heater. If I was using it in a drafty portable, I’d go with a sunflower. But in a tightly sealed portable or the semi-permanent shack that I use it in now I really prefer it. The big selling point for me is the fact that it doesn’t put out the fumes like a sunflower does. My eyes don’t burn, I don’t get light headed, etc. Like I said, if it was in a drafty space it wouldn’t be as big of a deal.

It’s not as durable, it does go out if you have a draft blowing across the sensor, etc., etc. But all in all it’s the right heater for me.

In regards to the question on this thread, I’ve seen guys build a small sheild over the pilot flame sensor (can’t remember what that piece is called). Not sure if that’s your problem or not, but if heater thinks the pilot is out the whole heather will shut down. I bent mine to fix the problem; some other guys just build a tiny enclosure for the sensor.

Mine did the same,after taking it apart and cleaning everything I called the customer service number. I got a new regulator online from them.Be careful there at least 2 different ones. It wasn’t very expensive,I paid way more for shipping than the part. I couldn’t hear it but the kids said there was a high pitched squeal when it ran.

Here is a post with links to a couple modifications that you can do to the Big Buddy heater to keep the pilot from blowing out.

Big Buddy mods

Bringing back this old post because I was having problems with my newest big buddy heater. One thing I have noticed is that the pilot on my old buddy heater has a flame more like a torch but the pilot on the one I just bought is more like the flame of a lighter. I had to raise the left side of the heater up about 3 inches so the flame makes it all the way across to make contact. Haven’t read the manual yet to see if there is an adjustment to make the pilot stronger.
DT