Home > Consumer Reviews > Mr Heater MH18B Portable "Big Buddy" Heater

I've been fumbling, stumbling, and bumbling along trying to obtain the "right" combination of MR HEATER items to allow me to use their BIG BUDDY product. I strongly suggest that you decide on which heater you want, then go to www.mrheater.com and pull up the web page for that heater. Find the FAQ section for that heater. Read through the "problems" very closely. You will find there are valid reasons for those problems to occur. MR HEATER explains and provides solutions to those problems in the FAQ. One thing, in my humble opinion, is missing in the descriptions ~ If you are using larger than 20-lb tanks, you may need a "regulator" to control the pressure from the tank to your heater or other small appliance. Check with MR HEATER Tech Support before you run into problems. Be patient and be very clear about your setup. Everyone I have contacted has been very helpful and responsive to my questions. MR HEATER also provides information on the SAFETY RECALL situation with a possible solution on what to do with replacing a faulty heater.

I don't agree with some of the reviews. I don't see that it's a fire hazard at all. My Big Buddy was delivered last week. Here's what I found:

My elevation in Virginia, About 800 feet
Ambient temperature, 72.8 (in my house). Outside temp 29.0

1. Running on high on ONE Disposable Cylinder caused unit shutdown after 50 minutes. (Pilot started to flicker, cut out and then gas shut down). Single bottle was covered with ice (I assume that's bad...)

2. Running on TWO Disposable Cylinders got me the balance of three hours smoothly and well.

3. No fumes observed at all. Some moisture, but cracking the window an inch kept it under control.

4. A lot of heat. Too much for my wood floor. I had to put it on my brick mantle. This might scorch tile.

5. It kept my upstairs (1000 square feet) at 72.5. Only a loss of 0.3 degrees over three hours. Better than expected.

Suggestion: If you are trying to run on high with disposables, use two of them. This is not in the manual.

I don't know how it works with tanks, or whether you need to feed one or both inputs.

My unit did not come with the AC adapter. The batteries work.

If you bump it gently, it shuts off.

Conclusion:
For 139 bucks, it fits the bill well enough. It appears to be very well made, but the safety features make it tempermental. For my use as an emergency heat source, it's adequate.

After having bought and used the Little Buddy heater, I purchased the Big Buddy to get the higher heat output for my shed and back porch. The unit is well made and very sound. There are two major problems that I have found: 1)when the heater is on the highest setting, the propane cylinders get so cold from the high flow of gas that the heater shuts down. This is only a problem if the temperature that you are using it in is below 40 degrees F. If you are using it as an auxillary heater in the house, it does not frost up. 2) hooking the heater to a larger tank is not even discussed in the instruction manual, other than stating that an inline fuel filter should be used. It doesn't state if the line should be hooked to one side of the heater or the other, or if you need 2 hoses.

The frosting up issue is the biggest disappointment for me. I can't use it in my shed in the winter because of this. Make sure you know how you are going to use this unit before you purchase it.

I bought two Big Buddy Heaters from Amazon and neither one will run off a 20lb. propane tank with the hoses provided. The hose valve seat is to deep for the regulator to open, thus no gas flow. Mr. Heater seems to be giving me the run around. The heater works great with the 1lb. disposable propane bottles. If I can get a hose from Mr. Heater that will work I would love this little heater, but until that happens I am not to happy with it.

I was concerned when I purchased this unit. There are a number of highly negative reviews on it. However, on further research, I have discovered that the circumstances leading to those reviews could have been avoided.

When one uses this heater with a 20 lb propane bottle & accessory hose, it is imperative that you always shut the tank off first & let the heater run until it burns off all the fuel in the lines.

*** IT IS IMPERATIVE TO FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE ***

If one simply turns the heater knob to the off position, it will trap trap 100 PSI of propane in the accessory hose. When high pressure propane sits in the rubber hose, it will chemically react with the rubber and leetch a light oil. The oil will build up and quickly work its way into the heater, clogging both the regulator & control valve.

Another very important recommendation is to purchase the gas line filter. This will catch the oily residue and protect the combustion components of the heater should one forget to follow the precautions above.

Keeping these precautions in mind, one will be able to enjoy a very well-build and flexible-use portable heater.