Buddy Heater vs Sunflower

[Guest]

I've burned many jackets on the sunflower.

Thinking about Mr. Heaters new Buddy Heater.

It looks stable, always worry about knocking over the sunflower when I'm using a smaller propane tank.

I'd like to hear some comments from owners.

Thanks.

[Gissert]

I love my Buddy heater. Keeps me warm in my Otter on all but the coldest days. On those really cold/windy days, I fire up my coleman lantern, and that gets me the extra heat I need. If those buddy heater were about 12-14000 BTU on high setting (they are 9000BTU on high)they would be **** near perfect.

They are very quiet, and you can run them with zero wall/canvas clearance. i just shove it in a corner, and I done have to worry about it burning the wall, or melting my line. They also have a sensor that will shut the unit down if the oxygen level drops too low in your shelter.

The one drawback I have noticed is they do not tolerate drafts well. A good draft will snuff them out. On high setting, I get about 3 to 4 hours on a one pound tank. Heat output does drop significantly the last 15-20 minutes of a tank.

The sunflower heater is great for heat output, and I still use mine at times around the garage. I just got tired of it not being real moveable in the shelter, and I got tired of the mono burn offs.

[Bob Horn]

I bought a buddy heater. It was quite but lacked the btu`s. I took it back and bought a Mr. heater/cooker. Plenty of heat now. Just have to be a little more careful with it then the buddy but the extra heat is worth it. Fish On

[Paully]

My buddy heater works great. I have a small portable and it is plenty to keep it warm in there. Plus it is quiet and comes in very handy deer hunting rather than one of the sunflowers which are much louder.

[Ruegs23]

I baught my buddy heater to use in my 4x6 collapsable, and it just doesn't have the btu's. This winter it has been decent in the warmer weather, but on a cold night i need to use the sunflower. I have also noticed the wind does affect the buddy heater. One little gust and the sucker goes out. I don't know if they are worth the $100 price tag, but they are quiet and they don't need much room in a fish house.
Ruegs23

[Guest]

I used a friend's Buddy Heater and it is perfect for my small permenant house, but not enough btu's for my portable when the weather is below 15 degrees. I'll keep the sunflower for cold days in the portable and the buddy for the house.

[Guest]

I have the Buddy and like it for all the reasons mentioned above but it would be nice to have an extra high setting. It works great in my Double Bull Blind for late season archery!!!!!

[Ferny]

Hey Dreamer, I have a Buddy and love it.
Pros: No match ignition, super quiet, stable, puts heat near floor, less fumy.
Cons: Real susceptable to drafts, 1 pounders always run out when fishing is good :-), $79-$99 price tag, 9,000 btu's might not be enough for your shack?
If you get one you might as well get the hose to run it on a bulk tank. I read on the Mr. Heater forum the adapter to refill 1 pounders only allows a half to three quarters fill. What's the use? The thing would only run about 2 hours then!

I still have 2 sunflowers but use them mainly for work out in the garage now.

Later,

Ferny.

[Guest]

Dreamer: I knocked my tank and sunflower over a few times, and then decided to stick the tank inside of a plactic milk crate. You can buy them at the discount stores or office supply stores. I then ran a heavy piece of wire over the top through the handle on the tank and attached it to the other side. You can then pick up the tank by the handle and the crate just comes with it. No more knocking over in the portable or in the truck. Just my thoughts, but its worked for me.

[dlskills]

you can also set them on the ice in the milk crate and they don't sink in to the ice.. you don't have to worry about trying to dig them out after a long day on the ice.. Dwight

[Guest]

In the flip and fish I love the Buddy I run a hose off of a 20 lb tank. It puts off plenty of heat and I don't worry about getting co poisoning. I also like the fact that its matchless.

Good luck

Ukes

[Guest]

Thanks all for input.

I forgot about the tank outside option.

Maybe I missed it - what to do with the mounting/placement of the "sunflower" in the portable (otter lodge)?

Tank outside and extension hose seems like the way to go, but what does the heating element rest/sit/mount on?

Thanks for the ideas.

[Guest]

Dreamer,
I believe when tubejig and others where talking about running the heaters from "outside" tanks they were referring to the buddy heater only. I do not know of any accesories that would allow the sunflower heater to stand on its own. Plus if it did then it would probably be even more "tippy"
Just my .02

-Mr Fisherman

[Guest]

I stand corrected!
I actually found a sunflower heater that runs off of a bulk tank if you buy the extra hose assembly.
Downside for you dreamer, sounds like you already own a Sunflower, this one you have to buy the whole unit over again.
Upside, its what your lookin for, looks like it could be tippy though.
Be careful and tell us what you end up with and if you like it or not.

-Mr. Fisherman

[bigpike]

the mr. heater/cooker sunflower heater works great
i use it with a hose and tank outside