Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 40
 Big Buddy disappointment. December 19, 2004
Tom Pritchard (Rochester, NY)
14 out of 17 found this review helpful
After having bought and used the Little Buddy heater, I purchased the Big Buddy to get the higher heat output for my shed and back porch. The unit is well made and very sound. There are two major problems that I have found: 1)when the heater is on the highest setting, the propane cylinders get so cold from the high flow of gas that the heater shuts down. This is only a problem if the temperature that you are using it in is below 40 degrees F. If you are using it as an auxillary heater in the house, it does not frost up. 2) hooking the heater to a larger tank is not even discussed in the instruction manual, other than stating that an inline fuel filter should be used. It doesn't state if the line should be hooked to one side of the heater or the other, or if you need 2 hoses.
The frosting up issue is the biggest disappointment for me. I can't use it in my shed in the winter because of this. Make sure you know how you are going to use this unit before you purchase it.
Never worked; never replaced April 11, 2006
M. Roberts (Frankfort, KY)
13 out of 16 found this review helpful
I purchased one of these. It never lit. I later learned it was subject to a recall. Anyway, customer service was very effecient at providing a return code to return it for replacement. However, there never was any replacement. So my experience was that I spent a significant sum of money for something that never worked and now looks like money just thrown away.
I'd recommend dealing with a local merchant who will take your return AND provide a replacement.
A BIG FIRE HAZARD! December 23, 2004
Michael O. Anderson
11 out of 16 found this review helpful
I purchased a Big Buddy heater for our vacation cabin based on my positive experience with the little buddy. Big mistake! The Big Buddy is unreliable using disposable cartridges and a FIRE HAZARD using a remote 20lb tank. Mr. Heater should recall this product forthwith!
The Big Buddy worked fine on full speed using disposable cartridges - for about an hour and a half. Then it started shutting itself down with increasing frequency. It ran longer on half speed, but still exhibited the same problem. Save yourself some money - buy a little buddy and a battery powered fan.
Of course, the problem with disposable cartridges is that Big Buddy sucks them down so fast they're economically and environmentally unfeasible. I connected the unit to a remote tank using the same Mr. Heater hose that worked successfully with it's little brother. The primary problem seems to be the internal regulator freezes up. This causes propane to become trapped in the unit. It then explodes when you attempt to relight. I also had the unit "flame up" before the regulator froze completely. My experience is certainly not consistent with a unit advertised as "safe for indoor use".
For the record, I returned my first unit thinking I'd just gotten a lemon. Unfortunately, I've had the same problems with the replacement.
In summary, I'd strongly recommend the Big Buddy - if you need the financial proceeds from your fire insurance policy!
RECALLED BY CPSC January 26, 2006
Rachael G. (God's Country, IL)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
Heater Recall
4/1/05 2:05:34 PM
Mr. Heater recalls 55,000 Big Buddy and Tough Buddy portable propane heaters. The valve can leak and pose a fire hazard. Only model number MH18B heaters are recalled. They are either black with yellow accents or light gray with red accents around the burner tiles. September-December 2004 for $120 - $149. Get a replacement at 1-800-385-2605 or www.regcen.com/heaterrecall. Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission
This Buddy is no friend of mine! January 11, 2005
The King
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
You can't count on this Buddy to keep you warm! This heater has been a huge disapointment! If it is cold it will not run on one disposable or one 20lb tank. It keeps shutting down. Customer service has been terrible. You are lucky if they call you back a week later. First they told me I need to buy the filters which was very hard to find. They will not help this problem I can gaurantee. Then they told me to buy yet another $28 hose and hook both 20lb tanks up. That seemed to work but have not tested it in real cold weather. I use it to heat an ice fishing trailer in Minnesota and it gets cold here. I called them back and told them that idea sucks because I have to worry about always having two full 20lb tanks available otherwise it will shut down. They told me for all my hassle they would send me a quick connect hose for free and that would cure all of the problems of it shutting down because using the quick connect bypasses the 20lb of minimum pressure required to keep the safety valve open in the heater. I waited for two weeks and it never came. I called and they told me to stop using the heater because there is a safety concern and they wont know anymore untill Feb.1st. That is all they would tell me and they never sent the hose. I spent over $80 dollars in hoses and filters for this worthless heater you can definitely NOT count on to keep you warm. As far as the fire hazard talked about in other reviews it did act weird quite a few times with real small explosions. Avoid the headache and buy two of the small ones if you need the extra heat. I have never had a problem with the little buddy.
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