Mr Buddy Heater Explosion

[buckwilk]

When lighting my heater today it exploded and caught fire around the regulator. All fittings and hoses from the 5 gal tank and on the heater were tight and not leaking. Seems to be a failure of the regulator.

 

[crofter]

Boy that is scary!!  Are you OK?  How did you get the fire out?   -crofter

 

[66788]

When lighting my heater today it exploded and caught fire around the regulator. All fittings and hoses from the 5 gal tank and on the heater were tight and not leaking. Seems to be a failure of the regulator.

The Buddy heater is a high pressure system with the regulator in the heater.   This makes the design dangerous.  My friend had a Mr. Heater regulator fail and the heater became a 3 foot blow torch.  He barely escaped alive.

I firmly believe the safest heaters are vented propane heaters (low pressure with the regulator outside of the vehicle).   There is a reason all the RVIA trailer manufacturers use this design.

Even using an Olympian catalytic heater with an inside 5 gallon tank is dangerous because cheap imported regulators fail and can discharge propane rapidly through vent holes in the regulator, creating a dangerous and explosive environment.  Virtually all of those regulators are marked "outdoor use only."

What is your life worth?   I don't mind paying $800 for a good vented Propex heater.

If you can't afford a quality heater, be safe and bundle up.

 

[travelaround]

Thanks for letting us know. How old was your heater?

 

[66788]

My friends "blow torch" heater was 2 years old.

My Propex vented heater is going on the third winter with no problems.

 

[highdesertranger]

66788 I have been meaning to call you. I hope all is well. where did you buy your Propex from? highdesertranger

 

[Camper]

I've been on a waiting list for one for a few months now and just got the email that they are back in stock. If you need the info, simply send me a message.

 

[Cammalu]

I guess that’s the next thing that’s going to break for me

 

[hugemoth]

I had a Little Buddy heater do that, the small round one that screws onto a 1 lb bottle. It didn't make 3 foot flames, just a few inches of flame inside the plastic shell which caught fire and melted. The rubber diaphragm in the regulator came loose from the metal center piece that is part of the needle valve causing propane to exit the vent hole and ignite. I prefer the design of the little Chinese heaters that run on low pressure from a standard regulator on a 20lb bottle.

 

[Camper]

There's no way in the world I would be in my insulated van with a buddy heater, or any non-vented heater. It's not only about dying from the fumes, but about breathing poison gas fumes into my lungs for hours.

 

[treesprite]

Many years ago, I had one of those Buddy heaters while tent camping. The directions said to only light it outdoors. It went out in the wee hours when temps were in the 40s, so I was really tempted to just light it in the tent. Thank goodness I didn't listen to myself. When I went to light the thing, it exploded and flames shot way up to the leaves on the trees. I was on my feet when lighting it, just crouching, so I managed to jump back fast enough to not get hurt. I try not to think about what would have happened if I had lit that thing in the tent. Anyway, that was the last time I used anything with propane.

 

[Weight]

I have a Suburban vented RV furnace. I purchased it from RV Parts Nation dot com. They were the best dollar deal, but I don't think much of their follow up of my problem with shipping.

 

[66788]

Just curious:  If you had received an electrical shock would you quit using electricity?

Propane is safe if used in a safe manner and with equipment that is properly designed and maintained.

 

[LERCA]

Gitano,
I won’t write one of my long stories but as a child I got thrown across the room from putting a finger on an electrical plate in a lamp, then a cord fixed with electric tape blew up when I stepped on it (same age about 4) then as an adult a new toaster caught on fire. So yeah I’m terrified of electricity and use it sparingly. I have to leave some things plugged in like the fridge but otherwise everything is unplugged and I have a close relationship with my electrician.

Fear usually based on bad experiences and can’t be reasoned with. It’s not always rational and putting someone down doesn’t help. As I grow older my list of fears grows.

 

[Freelander]

I had a Lincoln Buzz Box welder that liked to bite me like that, if you grabbed the ground clamp to move it, and didn't let go of the electrode holder, that thing would bite me. I threw the electrode across the shop more than once.

I finally sold it.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Those buddy heaters are terrifying! I started off using one, totally disregarding the safety precautions of course, and nothing but close calls and problems. Now I think I'm in the right boat, only using safe heating systems, particularly the ones that vent outside. Honestly, there should be more PSA's about this stuff.

 

[bullfrog]

Actually the Buddy heater has some safety provisions the others don’t which makes them prone to have problems, but safer. Now I’ll get really crazy, I would recommend you use a Prius as a first choice, if nothing else as a power source for anything 120 volt AC you could want, an electric ceramic heater no problem, a small air conditioner, a freezer as it is quieter and more fuel efficient than almost any generator. If you insist on cheap propane heat I would recommend a small vented one with no fan or electric requirements for boondockers with no or small solar systems. Basically a sealed steel box with a vent and exhaust in a single doubled layer pipe, but two pipes are fine. There are some ice house heaters like this but most produce way too much heat. Old truck campers used to have them and there are still some around. I would think you could convert a mini wood stove and hope one of the manufacturers will soon. Some tear drop trailer people have experimented with basically putting a grill burner in a steel pipe that runs through the interior but that looks really sketchy to me. If you need a fan to circular air an 18 volt Ryobi fan will run 8 hours off their big battery and is much more manageable to keep charged than a regular RV heater with a built in fan. I had an old VW bus and car with gasoline heaters that were loud and required maintenance as they have pumps and ignition systems that give problems as they got older so I don’t care for those.

 

[wayne49]

Air cooled VWs used air forced around the exhaust manifolds for heating the passenger compartment. No waiting for coolant to warm up. Nice until there's an exhaust leak.

I had a 1968 Squareback and I drove it in Minnesota winters, while inside a sleeping bag with the bottom open for my feet to use the pedals. One time it was so cold, around -29 F, and the battery was near end of life, that it would barely turn over. I put some charcoal briquets in a baking pan, lit it off, waited for the flames to go out then slid it under the engine. When back inside, waited a bit, and it started right up. Got a new battery right after that.

My older brother had a Microbus and he used an old school Coleman catalytic heater. Oh, the horror. Nothing happened.

I'm wondering under what circumstances would lighting a Buddy heater cause a large fireball. There must be more to that story. Not a good Buddy.

 

[tx2sturgis]

How old was this Mr Buddy heater?

I found limited info on the web, from back in 2005: 55,000 of these heaters were recalled due to a leaking valve that can cause a fire.

 

[treesprite]

A couple of people told me that's what they thought was probably wrong. There was no way to know because I threw the thing in the trash right away.