Buddy Heater Issues,,,,,(again)

[Stratosman]

Seems like these things have their problems....mine doesn't lite very easily, I can hear the propane hissing but won't ignite, and once it does, it doesn't fully catch, the ceramic doesn't "glow" and will shut down, pilot and all, after about a minute. This seems like a flow issue to me....anyone have this issue along with all the other ones...

Oh yeah it's the small one, and it's hooked up to a 1lb bottle...thanks.

[superbee]

I had the same problem, I returned mine to Cabelas and got the Big Buddy and it has worked well.

[hockey_19pro]

I just got a Big Buddy this year and the other day when I tried to use it, nothing would work. Do the normal 1 lb. propane cylinders not work because of the pressure or am I just doing something wrong. When I turn on the pilot, I cannot hear anything in the line. What am I doing wrong?

[wheres the fish?]

You have to hold the knob down for a couple min before you turn it to the pilot to "prime" the line...let it set on pilot spot for a min the crank her up....with the big buddies if you tilt them at all they will shut down...its a safetly thing with them...

[mrfish1991]

I am having the same problem with my buddy heater... It was an xmas present sexeral years ago and the reciept is long gone...

Will cabelas still take it back (not quite sure on their policy)?

[Phred52]

mrfisher1991, I fell for the 'Buddy' heater several years ago, about the time they came to market. Tried it at home, lit fine, went out fishing and I couldn't get that piece of sunshine to stay lit for love nor money. Took it back to the store and got a Mr. Heater cooker and I LOVE it!! I can heat the house, and heatup food in my portable! I run it off of an 11# tank with an extention hose(tank outside) and I haven't been let down yet. I just figured if that Buddy was gonna leave me down when I needed it, It was no "Buddy" of mine!! Phred52

[Burnham]

i think mine is going bad after 2 years. its almost like the striker misses, it doesnt click. and when it does it takes about 50 tries to light

[jjohnson5150]

I never have like my buddy heater. They are just not strong enough & go out with the slightest movement / breeze. I bought the Mr Heater cooker & sunflower. I use these 99% of the time now. The only reason why I keep the buddy is to supplement on VERY cold days. I'd suggest cutting your losses now.

[mrfish1991]

ya ive got another heater that attaches to the 20lb or any other bigger tank that i might take out from now on...the pain is lugging that thing w/o a wheeler or snowmachine

[Phred52]

mrfish1991, Why not look into a 5# or 11# pancake tank if the 20's too heavy/bulky. I use a 5# with my Mr Heater/cooker and easily can fish for 3 days with fuel to spare. That's on some pretty cold days. Plus the 5# with heater attached will fit into a 5 or 6.5 gallon pail for stability for transport. Phred52

[BuckKiller]

I like mine so far... got it for X-mas and no problems lighting it

[Northlander]

I have had several buddy and Big buddy heaters and I will not buy another. Great concept but I could never get one that worked properly.

[ChuckN]

Stratosman-

There is a regulator inside the buddy heaters (it's where the tank or hose connects to) and that likely failed. They are weak. I had this exact issue with my old Buddy and a new regulator fixed it. You can find the part on Mr. Heater's HSOforum, and it's not too much $$.

Can't rule out the thermocoupler...

My regulator likely failed because I used a hose and 20lb tank. These regulators are wimpy and dirt and gunk from the hose and tank wrecked it. If you run the filter with the hose/tank it will work great.

[shnelson]

I'm having issues with my buddy heater (it's only 4 days old now, used two days of fishing).

I can run it on the 1lb tanks without any issues, lights up and heats like a charm.

When I hook it to the 20lb tank, I can light the pilot (which appears will run forever if I I let it), then when I push it over to high heat it will ignite the grid like normal but slowly putter out and kill the pilot. Sometimes it wont completely kill the pilot, but it will barely be glowing when it doesn't.

I'm using the approved part numbers for a 5' hose and the filter adapter with no luck. I tried it across two 20 #propane tanks that I thought had gas left, then on a fresh 20# tank with the same results. I have also tried it without the filter just to see what would happen but am again disapointed.

Anyone else experience similiar issues?

[mrfish1991]

mine is doing the same thing with the 1lb bottles...i think the solution might be to drop kick it and get a new heater

[goose89]

If you want to "fix" your Buddy heater, just check out the Ice Fishing Forum and look for the "Proper tool for fixing Big Buddy Heaters." Sums it up for me, too.

[shnelson]

I caught that post yesterday, that would fix my frustration temporarily i think.. but I'm more concerned about long term here =].

I've come to discover that when routing the same 5' hose direct from 20# tank to lantern, it will light up good then drop down to a very very low burn/light. I'm thinking I should be looking at the hose as the culprit now.

I made sure to get the part number listed from the buddy heater, is it possible i picked up hose with built in regulator? I wouldnt think there is much to go wrong with a hose other than that.