Heaters?

[Dan DAN the fisherman]

What heater do you use in your portable? How well do they work? How much did they cost.

I bought a Mr Heater Buddy heater 3 years ago. It worked fine for 2 years and now it is very temperamental. Called Mr heater and they said that they were not meant for the high altitudes of Colorado. Why, I wonder, do Sportsmans and Galyans, sell them then?

Dan

[Tipup50]

Dan, I know Sportsmans sells Mr. Heaters.

Jeff

[webos]

I bought a Coleman Sportcat from Walmart in Aurora. It works great. Uses the little propane bottles. Have had it up to Williams Fork and had no problems.

[lucky7]

Dan:

That's a great question! I have some heater from coleman that uses the the little propane bottle. I am not sure how safe it is for in hut use. I keep my vents open on the Fish trap

[Gilles]

I have both the sport cat and black cat heaters from Coleman. I really like the black cat although neather of our other heaters work well outside, in a tent its great.

[Sw icer]

My Paulin burst into flames in my shelter on the recent trip to Blue.No damage or unjuries.I bought a Mr. heater yesterday.Hope I did'nt jump the gun.

Chad,I'd like to come to Gunnison in Feb.Do you know of any snowmobile rentals in the area ?Thinking of a Blue and Taylor trip.If you or anyone else is interested in something on this order I'd like to share expenses on anything that would make it a productive and enjoyable trip.

[Chewy]

Dan,

I use a Colemean Focus 5 propane heater. It is the best small heater I've found. It has both a 5000 BTU and 7,000 BTU settings. The problem is for some reason Coleman qiute making them. I've been lucky and been able to find parts for it and continue to use it. I also bought a Mr. heater Buddy and had problems the firat time I used it at Granby. I got on the Colemean web site and found out it was not meant to be used above 6,500 feet or some altitude close to that. I took it back to Garts and asked why they were selling a heater that wouldn't work outside of Denver. They returned my money and pulled them from their shelves. I bought a new Coleman Black Cat heater and it is worthless. You can find Focus 5 and 6 heaters on HSOList but prepare to spend a lot to get one. I have a buddy that owns a Coleman dealership and I've got him looking to see if he can find any Focus heaters around the country. Maybe I'll e-mail Coleman and ask why they discontinued the Focus models. The only other alternative is to look at garage sales. The only thing about the Focus heaters is they are a little loud. They pull air and sound a little like a turbo tourh that you would use to sweat copper pipe. But the heating capabilities outway the noise factor.

[Dan DAN the fisherman]

Thanks for all the replys guys. I bought a little coleman this past hunting season and it worked fine,but does not put out the BTU'S like the Buddy used too. I here alot about those sunflowers. Not sure what they are refering to. Is that a brand or just a style?

Dan

[John19]

It's a style. It's like sunflower shape burner on top of a propane tank. Check the main icefishing thread. The post is propane hangovers. Those sunflowers need alot of ventlation, or else you suffer from CO poisioning.

John

[Dan DAN the fisherman]

Oh!, Thats what there talking about. I've got a double burner one. The hook right on the top of your 20LB tank. I think that would be a little crowded in my Guide!

Dan

[GMCO]

The 'Low Oxygen' safety feature on the Mr Heater units is great but a side effect is that they can have problems when

used above 7,000 feet.

The Coleman Focus 5 is a great unit, But (as Chewy says) they haven't been produced for several years. I have had

one for about 10 years and was able to get one on hsolist

recently for $43. That is about half the average going

rate right now.

[John19]

Just saw on the main ice fishing site that the new " Big Buddy" heaters are being recalled.

[Chewy]

I spoke with my friend that owns a Coleman dealership and he said Coleman seems to do discontinue great products. He couldn't give me a good answer as to why they do this. I did send an e-mail to Coleman asking them why and to see if they are willing to start production again to reintroduce the Focus heaters back into the market. I haven't heard back from them yet. As soon as I do(if they respond) I'll share the information with everyone. I still have my friend searching for Focus heaters around the country. The problem is anyone who has one knows how valuable they are and want a small fortune for them. I have a friend that has a Focus 6 that he doesn't use......unfortunately I can't talk him into selling it to me. I guess I'll keep working on him.

[CAJ]

The Big Buddy heaters that use 2 1 pound bottles are having a lot of problems. They recommend that you not use them until they figure out the problem. The model is MB18 B CAJ

[Chewy]

I received a reply to my e-mail from a Coleman consumer service representative. My question was.....Why did Coleman discontinue such a great little heater (Focus 5)that so many covet.

Coleman's response..........Coleman likes to improve and make changes in our heater line. We have not had the Focus 5 heater in stock for a few years. You might be able to find the heater at a garage sale or at a close-out sale.

Wow.......no new information in that statement. I sent a reply back again asking for a better explanation for discontinuance of such a great product. It sounds a lot like changer just for the sake of change. I also asked if they ever talk to their customers about what works and what doesn't. I reminded the rep that they currently don't have a small heater in their product line that even comes close to delivering the quality that the Focus heaters do. I'm waiting for another response. We'll see.

I just received another e-mail from Coleman (1/13/05).........Mark- I will pass your comments on to the heater design team. We do have a lot of request for that heater to be manufactured again.

I'll keep everyone informed if I receive any follow-up e-mails.

[Mikinaak]

Dan Dan the Fisher Man!

I just purchased a new heater at Cabela's on my trip to Mn.

I hope it works here in the Colorado Rocky mountians.

I will be giving it a work out this weekend. After reading all these posts I'm a bit worried it will work at all. I'll keep everyone informed!