Is the buddy heater enough?

[huntnfish]

I recieved a Mr. Buddy heater for my birthday and I am not sure if it will put out enough heat in my 6x8 clam. I have a sunflower right now and that works fine except for the fumes. I like the idea of being able to put the buddy right up against the canvas to save room. I haven't taken it out of the package yet because if it isn't going to do the job I will return it. Does anyone have any ideas?

[#Boater#]

I just got one myself. At 9000 btu's it would have to do a pretty good job. I would immagine below zero or so it might have a tough time keeping you warm but if we get snow you do a little banking which should help a lot. Where did you run your sunflower at? If it was on high all the time it may not do the job. I couldn't keep my sunflower low enough or it was too hot in my 5600. In a 6800 I wouldn't hesitate to buy a hose and run it off a bottle for those long days.

[Lowe]

I agree with rodbender. The high setting on the Buddy (9000 BTU's advertised) doesn't even come close to the amoiunt of heat on the sunflower's low setting (8000 BTU's). It'll work on decent days, but it really doesn't throw out enough heat to be a reliable fish house heater.

[Scott Steil]

On really cold days I supplement my Buddy Heater with the lantern. I just run the latern in addition to the heater and it is fine. I usually have my lantern with me anyways so it is not a big deal.

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[addicted]

Does just fine in a fishtrap guide when coupled with a lantern. Below zero unscrew and put the normal mr heater on

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Addicted

It's not only a name, but a state of mind!

[Guest]

Just don't sneeze,..... they go out pretty easy in fact way to easy

[irvingdog]

Huntnfish, go buy a foil blanket and place it foil side down over the pipes on the inside of your house. It really helps!

Bigguns, take off the grill of your heater, and cover the bottom 2-3 inches of it with good, heavy foil. It won't effect the output, but will prevent blow-outs.

[This message has been edited by irvingdog (edited 12-04-2003).]

[Guest]

I don't have a buddy heater I'd go broke buying tin foil and blankets

[Dan Wood]

I've used my buddy in a fish trap guide without any issues. If it is really cold out, you won't be toasty, but you will be pretty comfortable. I'd say they are best suited for 1 person portables. I'm pretty happy with it overall as it is nice and portable and very easy to work with. They do blow out fairly easy. If you use it inside your house out of the wind, you don't have much of an issue with that. Once in awhile when you go in and out of the shack it will go out.

[Waterbeater]

I agree with Dan. I have a Quick Flip II and the Buddy keeps it nice, even on windy day if you bank the edges of the portable. I don't need it 75 degrees.

[cashcrews]

I just purchased one of these recently. I have not used it for ice fishing yet, but hope to get out this weekend.

The old "Mr. Heater" single burner heater/stove would put out 8,000 BTU on Low and 14,000 on High. I'm assuming Medium would be somewhere around 11,000 BTU. Most of the time, I'd turn the Mr. Heater to "Low" shortly after lighting it. That seems to work fine for all but the most extreme cold conditions.

That being said, I think the Buddy will be adequate, but if I find out otherwise, I'll post here again.

Cashcrews

[rod bender]

I have a 6X6X6 Frabill XLSpeedshack. The buddy wasn't enough to keep up on the colder days, even with the black tarp. I'd be buying something else if you're sticking with the same shack. I wish they made something in-between the Buddy and Sunflower.

[Surface Tension]

Buddy heater will be under powered on cold days in a 6x8. If you used a lantern for to supplement the heat like Scott suggested you it may be enough. If it were my shack I'd go with a combination of 2 buddies heaters and a lantern, this should give you enough flexibility with 4000-22000 BTUs to cover most temp ranges. If money is an issue then go with a Mr Heater and a lantern.

[This message has been edited by Surface Tension (edited 12-05-2003).]

[bigswede]

I have the buddy and use it in my Magnum Otter. It does fine on most days, but if it's like last years trout opener... wheew I needed the "OLD" Mr. Heater. I wish they would make the buddy with another 5000 BTU'S. Then quiet is GREAT!!!

[ackotz]

huntnfish...

As you can see, lots of replies. I too own both the Sunflower with 20lb. tank and the "Buddy Heater". On really cold days (below zero wind chills) the "Buddy" was pretty much ineffective, even in my 2-man "Guide". But that's why I bought really nice ($175) boots!!
You now have the best of both worlds...use them as needed...--AK

[ray]

I've been disappointed in the "buddy" on cold days with my Speed Shack XL. I only use it for those milder days. It works decent in my Fishtrap but blows out very easily. I'm still looking for that perfect heater and I think my wife is hoping I find it soon as they are piling up in our garage.

[fishingguy]

I agree with many of the posts. The concept of the Mr. Buddy heater is a good one, BUT, it does blows out really easy! To easy! I am not very happy with it. Had to re-light it yesterday aprox 10 times, because of the strong winds. Until some one comes up with something better, I'll stick with my sunflower.

[pj4]

when you place the tin foil on the heater, do you just cover the pilot light area or create a guard around it with the top open for viewing the flame?

[This message has been edited by pj4 (edited 12-07-2003).]

[irvingdog]

Cover the bottom 3 inches of the grill.

[iffwalleyes]

Depends on you house I would say for me it is just a big fat NO. I have an otter lodge and I knew it would be iffy. So I set up and sure enough no where near enough heat for my liking so I packed it up and pulled out the old sunflower I was toasty warm in less then 5 minutes and was able to fish comfortable the rest of the day with out my jacket. I see where they would be handy and I will keep mine for in the deer stand or in a tent. I think that if you have a single man house though they would be darn tough to beat. I used a thin piece of sheet metel to shield my pilot and it was windy and it wouldn't blow out so that is a easy fix.

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Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes
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