Who has a Little Buddy?

[Far-I]

I just picked one up because i love the size and portabilty of this unit, it screws onto a 1 lb propane cylinder like a sunflower heater screws onto a bigger tank. I noticed that it heats 3000+ BTUs an hour, and I fish mostly in a 1 man or 2 man portable, so I dont need much space.

Just wondering if people recommend or discourage this model for ice fishing. Does it get hot fast enough to do the job. I know the 2 bigger buddy's crank out massive heat right away, but this one has no temperature control, which is my main concern.

Please let me know what you all think.

Thanks

[bobbymalone]

I do great with the little guy in a two man. and i have done fine in one of those big pop ups with a handful of lanterns going.

not t shirt ice fishing, but good enough.

everyone is going to tell you that you need a big buddy in 3......2......1

[harvey lee]

Very happy with my Little Buddy. In my Canvas Craft insulated portable, its almost too much. In my Otter Lodge, it could use just a tick more on the wicked cold days but otherwise is fine.

[picksbigwagon]

I have a little buddy and use it in my solo house. I insulated it with reflectix and there are times when just a lantern keeps me warm. Nope it won't get you to t-shirts, but that little heater works great with reflectix in the house......I also keep mine in the tub of the ice house, that helps more than anything......

[BD110]

I have a little Buddy that I use in my Otter Ultra wide Cottage. I like to use it for early ice to lighten the load when I'm pulling things out by hand. I tried to use the little Buddy in my Otter Lodge on a very cold weekend and was not as pleased with it as I am with my Mr heater/Cooker. The little Buddy does fine most of the time just not in a bigger house in the bitter cold.

Hope that helps...

[BD110]

Well bobby,

I'm not sure if that was the type of response you were expecting but there you have three different views with almost the same content. The two before me were not posted when I started typing my reply so I would think that the little Buddy was given an honest review.

Nothing short of good advice if you ask me...

[curtistodd]

Big or little, man o man have they gone up in price! Glad I got a big buddy 4 years ago. Works like a charm with 3 settings. I like to really blast the heat and thaw everything out quick, and then lower it later on.

[bobbymalone]

huh, i'm surprised i know people love that big buddy and it usually wins out in a big vs. little thread, even considering the footprint differences.

[picksbigwagon]

Bobby, I believe he is talking about the little buddy that came out a year ago, it screws onto a one pound tank like a lantern.

[Far-I]

Right, I am talking about the lantern style screw-in model. Takes up very little room and that is what i like. I used to run a coleman polecat catylytic that had about the same in BTUs and did fine. I do appreciate the comments.

The coldest days worry me a little, but for the size and efficiency of it I may just keep it and see how it works. I love all of the Buddy's low oxygen shut off. I am buying it for that reason as well, seeing how i fish with my child alot and in case of no oxygen it would affect him before I could feel it happening to me. Scary to think about.

[merkman]

Is there an igniter on that model?

I know the some of these types didn't have one.

Not sure about the little buddy.

That is what turned me off on those.

If you plan to keep it on all the time it would not be an issue though.

[Far-I]

You press and hold the start button for 30 seconds with pilot flame on. When you release it, the burner takes to heat. It radiates a constant flux of heat, for like 5 or 6 hours on one cylinder the box says.

[BD110]

You'll be happy with the little Buddy. You just may want to do a little extra banking of your portable if possible on the colder days. You'll more then likely be keeping your jacket on and skimming the hole a few extra times. On the average day out things should be just fine!!

[merkman]

I think it was some of the smaller Coleman Cat models that did not have push button ignition.

I have a small insulated hard side house so I would need to toggle the heat on and off so the ignition would be important for me, sounds like the little buddy has that.

[Ed Carlson]

The new Buddy may be a more versatile unit in a small to mid size portable shack, at least I find it so.

The Little Buddy has 1 setting...on-off..no range of adjustment, just 3,800 BTU all the time.

The new Buddy MH9BX has a wider range to work from, adjustable from 4,000 and 9,000 BTU/HR. While the Buddy is 3,800 BTU and that is it.

As far as space required, the Buddy MH9BX takes up a bit more room yet it is more stable and can be trusted up against the tent without worry. The Little Buddy is more prone to wobble and tip and can turn more easily and fry a hole in a tent before you catch it.

Another user option for the Little Buddy is to put a 90 degree Mr. Heater adapter on the Little Buddy, and tank-top it. The problem with this is when you will than also have the tank in the shack too, and you loose more space, and the heat is up higher away from your feel. Sure, with this option you gain fuel capacity, but not much else here, and actually loose more space.

I "Thunk" on this preaty hard planning for a new heater in my Frabill R2-Tech Commando Pro, and I went with the new Buddy MH9BX last year....love it. It for me takes up less space and is more user friendly than a Heater-Cooker...and far safer to use. I need to dial it down to about 2000 BTU very often in my Frabill R2-Tech Commando Pro...as it takes very little to heat it, and the flexibility of adjustment has proven very useful to me.

[McGurk]

Quote:

...I need to dial it down to about 2000 BTU very often in my Frabill R2-Tech Commando Pro...

Ed, How exactly do you do that when there is an Off, 4k btu, and a 9k btu setting (plus maybe a pilot only setting)? Are you talking about limiting the gas when hooked up to a 5/11/20 lb cylinder using the shutoff valve on the tank?

From a writeup on it:

Quote:

Two heat settings produce 4000 or 9000 BTU, heating a 200 sq. ft. area.

My recommendation: The Buddy MH9BX will be worth every penny you spend on it, and not take up too much more room. The BIG BUDDY (which I use in my Otter Cabin) will be unnecessarily large for a small house.

[thatoneguy]

I fish mostly out of a Quickfish 3, and the Little Buddy I've had for five years does the trick. Cranks out PLENTY of heat and doesn't take up much space. Two thumbs up!

[herefish101]

i have the original buddy heater and there have been quite a few times i wished i had a bigger heater. in my book bigger is always better.

[Ed Carlson]

Ed, How exactly do you do that when there is an Off, 4k btu, and a 9k btu setting (plus maybe a pilot only setting)? Are you talking about limiting the gas when hooked up to a 5/11/20 lb cylinder using the shutoff valve on the tank?

Fair question...what I found is with the new Buddy, you have more regulator control than the old models. I can set it down at about a half setting of low as long as I have good gas flow...it stays lit and roughly about 2500-3000 BTU...(and that is a guess really). Anyhow the new Buddy has a lot more range than the old one did without kicking out when set to very low. You can get it set, a bit lower...than low.

Get my drift?

[Far-I]

thatoneguy: is your model you are refering to the one pictured in Ed's post, on the top, or on the bottom?

[Duffman]

Remember folks, there's a Little Buddy, Regular Buddy, and a Big Buddy these days.

That Little Buddy will work for most decent weather days, but for those of us with the regular Buddy, we keep it on the high setting (9000btu) more often than the low setting(4000btu), especially come sundown. And sometimes I wish I had more than the regular Buddy.

For that reason I'm thinking of picking up the Little Buddy for those times when the regular Buddy just isn't cuttin' it, using both at once of course. My regular Buddy is getting up there in years of use. (It's been a great product)

[Lve2fsh]

I have the regular buddy that I use in the wilcraft. We don't get below 0 much so it works great for me.

[Lure Lightning]

I fish a couple times a week and mostly at night when it is coldest and the little buddy heats up just enough to take off the chill in my two man house. It doesnt get too hot on windy cold nights but works well enough for me!

Light em up! Go GLOW!

[curtistodd]

18,000 btu's on the big buddy! Yes, its all about versatility for me as I have 6 or 7 friends that I fish with, and they all have different size shacks. Its always a new lake, a new setting, lots of variety for me in the winter. I like having more heat so I can take off some of the bulky layers, makes it easier to bend down and lip big crappies rather than rip the jig out their paper mouths and miss a fish. The high (18,000 btu) setting is the only setting that uses the 2nd tank. I end up changing the first tank alot but the second tank will last me a few weekends. But its always there just in case.

[JimBuck]

I've had 2 Buddy heaters start spitting fireballs in the shack over the last few years. I might be looking at a heater cooker this year instead. They are nice heaters when they work properly.