new portable heater from Mr. Heater

[Angler Don]

if you haven't seen it yet,
Mr. Heater has come out with a new
heater they call Big Buddy.
It is much like the Buddy, somewhat
larger, but uses two, one pound
cylinders. It should produce up to
18,000 btu's, vs 9000 in the smaller
Buddy. It has a little
built in blower fan which runs on
two D batteries. Saw one at Fleet Farm
Saturday, Menards also has it in their
ad. $ 119

[huskiesplayer15]

goes for about 100 at sportsmens wharehouse, baby puts out some heat though, so far has been pretty popular, especially right now deer hunters getting ready.
Best Fishes
Chris

[Matt Johnson]

Yep, its the Mr. Buddy on steroids It is still pretty portable and will heat most portable fish houses. I know a lot of people in the past questioned the Mr. Buddy's ability to heat some portable fish houses, now the Big Buddy will pick up where the Mr. Buddy left off.

------------------
Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson
Pro Staff Coordinator
FishingMN Sponsors

Matt Johnson Outdoors
[email protected]
Guided Ice Fishing and More...

[Northlander]

Now if it can only stand some wind. I had 2 that wouldnt stay lit with the slightest breeze. Gander finally gave me a new style and it seems ok so far. More heat is a good thing. How long will 2 1 pounders last in the new ones?

[Smokey]

I see that Northern Tool has the smaller Mr. Buddy on sale this week. I have a 6x8 canvas suitcase style portable that I built from a kit from Canvas Craft. I'm wondering if the smaller Buddy is enough to keep it warm. Anybody have any experience with that one?

[iffwalleyes]

Smokey,
I would say some days but not every day. The little buddy just don't have enough heat. It depends on how much of a diehard you are. If you are a fair weather fisherman it will be fine if you go out in any condition like myself you will be cold.

[Smokey]

It looks as though I'll want the Big Buddy or something equivalant since I am tired of dealing with holes icing over on cold days. Last year I just used an old single burner Coleman "Sportster" camp stove for heat, didn't quite do the trick.
Another question, is there another option other than the Big Buddy, it seems kind of pricey. I'm willing to haul a 20 lb. tank out onto the lake and run a hose into the house to run a heater. I do not want use a tank with a sunflower on top inside of the house.

[iffwalleyes]

I would get a Mr. Heater cooker in you situation. You can hook a hose to that and that will put out plenty of heat for your house. I have a buddy that has one of these and we used it all the time in my Magnum Otter and 6X8 house. Set the tank outside and the only thing inside is the heater. You can usually find these for around 40-50 bucks I believe.

------------------
Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes
iffwalleyes at yahoo.com

[iffwalleyes]

Hanson that hiss it just part of ice fishing. I don't think that it would be quit the same for me if I didn't here that soothing hiss all day. The hiss isn't bad it is that shrilling noice when some thing is in the orfice that is bad.

------------------
Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes
iffwalleyes at yahoo.com

[joshb]

anybody want to buy my origianl buddy heater?............a steal at $90 it never worked for me but it might for you!!!lol

i feel like calling mr.heater up and telling them they should upgrade my buddy for free since the first one was so useless. i wonder if this new one is gonna go out if you bump it to .

[Matt Johnson]

Yeah, Mr. Heater Cookers are nice too. I have a Cooker that I bought about 7 years ago and still runs good as new. It will heat up a three man flip-over very nice, only need to use the lowest setting too.

------------------
Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson
Pro Staff Coordinator
FishingMN Sponsors

Matt Johnson Outdoors
[email protected]
Guided Ice Fishing and More...

[Northlander]

I like my Mr.Heater Cooker but its the same thing as any other "Sunflower" heater. Make sure you have good ventalation! Its also great to heat coffee or make a few burgers on.
If you dont want a sunflower type you dont have many options besides the buddy heaters. My buddy heater that I have now will keep my Fishtrap Guide warm on almost any day but when it gets real cold I run my Mr.Heater Cooker and that thing gets me WARM in no time. My cooker keeps my Frabil Speedshack XL warm almost always. A couple times I had to use both heaters but I can count those days on 1 hand.

[hanson]

I think the original buddy heater is perfect for 1 man type houses. I've used mine on the coldest of cold days and lets just say it barely kept me warm but it did keep me warm. Most other days it works fine. When it gets below zero with any wind, the sunflower heater comes out.

One reason I love the buddy heater is it is quiet! You don't have to listen to the sunflower head hissing all day. But like I said, when it gets too cold, I'll swap to the sunflower for more heat.

[Lost]

huskiesplayer showed me the new Mr Heater. Looks promising. But I've got just a one-man flip top portable. What would you recommend for use in that thing? I've got a heater that puts out heat but it doesn't distribute it well enough.

[hanson]

Lost-

I don't think I can directly answer your question but there are a couple things that might influence your decision- Portability, Comfort, and Expense.

1- Portability. In my opinion, the Heater Buddy is an awesome little unit. Its self contained. Its self igniting. Its perfect for the mobile ice angler. Its quiet like I mentioned before. It also has some limitations which have been touched on earlier. The pilot light blows out. It also doesn't heat so well on the really cold days. But it is definitely more portable than a propane tank & sunflower head heater.

2- Comfort. Do you like to wear your coat while fishing in your portable? Do you like to wear a baseball cap and flannel shirt like I do? On the warmer days, a Buddy Heater will be fine. On the colder days, I'll switch up to a sunflower head Mr. Heater. I have no problem sweating myself out of my 1 man Otter Den with a sunflower head heater.

3- Expense. How much money do you plan on spending on a heater. By the time you buy a sunflower Mr. Heater & a propane tank, you are out about $70-80. By the time you buy a Buddy Heater, you are out approximately the same amount of money. But the Buddy Heater also works alot better running off of a 5, 10, or 20 lb tank with a hose. So now I'm thinking my $80 Buddy Heater, plus a $20 hose, and a $30-40 propane tank is looking kind of expensive.

Guess I'm saying you need to weigh the pros & cons of how you fish, when you fish, how cold it is outside when you fish, and how much money you want to spend to keep you comfortable.

Would also like to add I haven't seen or used the new Buddy Heater with the twin 1lb tanks. I'm strictly comparing the original Buddy to a tank mounted Mr. Heater sunflower head.

[This message has been edited by hanson (edited 10-05-2004).]

[larryz]

Not sure if everyone knows or not but you can also use the new Big Buddy with a 5,10 or 20lb
tank and hose, just like the original Buddy. The Big Buddy is approx 3" larger in width, length and height. If I didn't already own 2 of the originals I would be out buying a
Big Buddy.

[Blaze]

I've had great luck with my Mr Heater cooker, but its biggest downfall in my mind is the instant line melt (or glove melt or pant leg melt...) if it comes in contact with the heater. In a flip-style house, that's a problem due to the small inside area, especially when taking my kids fishing. Does the same thing happen with the Buddy heaters (orig and Big Buddy)?

[irvingdog]

Heat Buddies are much quieter than "sunflower" style like the Heater/Cookers. If this thing can throw out BTU's rivaling a Heater/Cooker, one will come home with me soon.

Someone here is going to buy one soon. Please post results.

[cloudfisher]

I'll be trading in my buddy for a big buddy heater this year. The big one has a blower powered by 4 D batts.