Mr. Heater Buddy - too hot, high propane use

[Kathleen]

"The method I settled on was a HEAVY cast iron griddle heated up on the stove.
Then turn stove off, close vents, and let that thermal mass radiate the heat.
Prolongs the heat output and doesnt need venting once the stove is off."

Great idea! I'm bringing my cast iron skillet filled with sturdy black porous volcanic rock. They are not heavy but will give off heat longer.

 

[John61CT]

Heavy is better - thermal **mass**

A big pot of just-boiled water will work just fine, or make a mess of soup.

Put your parka around it, will last most of the night.

 

[GrayWhale]

Would 1 front window cracked open about 2 inches (with the plastic rainguard attached) while running a Mr. Buddy Heater on low, be safe?

The Mr. Buddy will be in the isle, a little behind the front seats pointing into the back of the van.

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

Well... there are several different opinions on here about how safe that is or isn't. I've run mine on low several times with the front windows cracked (probably less than 2") and the roof fan on low. I'm still here. Of course, some people have gone to sleep with heating solutions they thought were safe and then never woken up again.

The reason I feel safe doing that is they advertise that the heater 1) is safe to use indoors, and 2) will shutoff if the oxygen level drops. I figure if they're comfortable opening themselves up to the liability of assuring people they can use it indoors, if I add some ventilation on top of that I feel pretty safe.

YMMV

 

[Almost There]

Would 1 front window cracked open about 2 inches (with the plastic rainguard attached) while running a Mr. Buddy Heater on low, be safe?

The Mr. Buddy will be in the isle, a little behind the front seats pointing into the back of the van.

That is within the recommended air intake for the Mr. Buddy.

I would never run my Mr. Buddy while I was sleeping. I warm up the van before bed, turn off the heater, sleep warm with good bedding and then turn it on again in the morning and crawl back in to bed to snuggle in the warm bedding for 10 minutes until the van is toasty again before getting up to get dressed.

When I'm sitting in the swivel passenger seat, the heater is facing the front, towards me. When I'm heating up the bedroom area of the van I turn it the other way and leave it that way so it's facing the right way in the morning...lol.

 

[John61CT]

Yes, 2" is more than enough.

CO sensor required.

And never while sleeping.

 

[highdesertranger]

x2 never when sleeping. get a good sleeping bag. highdesertranger

 

[GrayWhale]

"The method I settled on was a HEAVY cast iron griddle heated up on the stove.
Then turn stove off, close vents, and let that thermal mass radiate the heat.
Prolongs the heat output and doesnt need venting once the stove is off."

Great idea! I'm bringing my cast iron skillet filled with sturdy black porous volcanic rock. They are not heavy but will give off heat longer.

Which would be better....and open, flat griddle or a dutch oven; both being cast iron and roughly the same weight/size?

And I don't want to ruin them by cooking them dry for long periods of time for heat. Any tips?

 

[John61CT]

Weight is important, shape not.

Oil, maybe coconut for that use.

For re-seasoning I use flax seed oil, 100% virgin.

All such oils need refrigerating in warm weather, or buy small quantities

 

[Ivised]

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]We carry a portable Buddy Heater and Patio Heaters as a backup in our Sprinter motorhome. It's supposed to be safe indoors, but I wouldn't want to fall asleep with it on so we'd probably only use it for a before-bed heat up, maybe a 2:30 am refresh, and then a morning warmup.[/font]

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]When I used to do a lot of winter climbing and skiing, we'd often fire up a stove inside the tent. We knew it was unsafe, but sometimes all you care about is getting warm. That reminds me. The Buddy Heater's oxygen sensor will kick in at altitude. They say 7,000' maximum, but we've used ours at about 9,000'. And Icarus is right about the moisture. Burning a gallon of propane produces almost a gallon of water. Of course, it's in the form of vapor so that gallon of water will be evenly distributed over the cold surfaces on the interior of your van.[/font]

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]You should definitely have the alarms if you're doing any cooking inside the van but Buddy Heaters have a low-oxygen shutoff, burn almost 100% efficiently, and have a tip-over shutoff. There aren't very many heaters rated for indoor use like this one is, but still... you roll the dice and you take your chances.[/font]

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Insulating is an easy way to reduce your need for heat. By making the sleeping compartment as small and well insulated as possible (being mindful of having ventilation for breathing), you can almost get by with just body heat. Add a winter sleeping bag to the mix and you won't need your buddy heater during the night.[/font]