Mr. Heater Buddy VS Olympian Wave-3 Catalytic Heater

[One Awesome Inch]

After a little reading I have found that the Wave-3 Wave-3 Catalytic Heater is a better heater than the much loved Mr. Heater Buddy.

Two reasons:

1. Its cheaper given that it uses less propane because it uses low pressure propane vs the Mr. Heater Buddy which uses high pressure.

2. According to the company the Wave-3 is safer than other propane heaters because it doesn't allow harmful gases into the air as the others do.(Naturally, you still need to keep a window open to let in oxygen).

If you open this url and click the video onto the bottom left they go into a bit more detail.

www.amazon.com/Camco-57331-Olympian-Wave-3-Catalytic/dp/B000BUV1RK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398618086&sr=8-1&keywords=wave+3+heater

Just wondering why the Mr. Heater Buddy **seems** to be more popular when the Wave-3 clearly seems to be the better heater.

 

[Lucky mike]

that being said.....I have a Wave 3 in my coach and dont like the catalytic matting...dust,dirt,airborn grease will damage it....humidity will damage it and you MUST replace it when it happens.

its a nice heater dont get me wrong but a little thought could have been put into making a cover by the mfg....I had a stainless shroud made for mine to protect it when not in use.

the buddy heaters alltho using more gas has triple the durability ,I carried one on my service truck for yrs and it took an extreme beating and never failed me!!!

the wave seems to need a new thermo couple every yr.....dont know if its the cheap thermo's or bad design of placement on the wave!

 

[rverscorner]

"1. Its cheaper given that it uses less propane because it uses low pressure propane vs the Mr. Heater Buddy which uses high pressure."

The Buddy heaters have a built in regulator - high pressure to the heater, then regulated down to low pressure to the burner. Thus it does not use more propane. One pound of propane produces 24,000 btu's of heat from either the Wave or the Buddy.

 

[SoulRaven]

I live in a 35 foot park model trailer and the little buddy was the bomb all winter down to –20F. 90% of time at just 4000 btus.

 

[akrvbob]

I also think the Olympian is a far better heater. But it's a lot more expensive and it's intended to be mounted so the feet cost extra. Plus, most of us don't have a regulator so you have to buy one of those too.

For those reasons I recommend a Buddy to most people unless they are in extremely cold areas. If you have to run it over night I would only want an Olympian. I think they are much safer and I would not leave a Buddy on overnight but I've left an Olympian on and running for over 1000 nights. In Anchorage I turned it on in October and it ran 24-7 until sometime in May when I turned it off for summer. I had both a Wave 3 and 8. At normal temps I only used the Wave 3, near Zero I just used the Wave 8, at -30 I used them both.
Bob

 

[mockturtle]

I have the Wave 6 and am very pleased with it. Uses very little propane and no battery at all. I ordered the cover when I ordered the heater and so far it seems to keep the dust off. OTOH, I've only had it for about a year.

 

[LeeRevell]

Besides being cheaper, the Buddy heaters are more widely available - I find them in most any box store. Don't know if the Wave series is available locally?
I do use the Big Buddy at home through the night, but that's a lot larger area to spread the CO through.
Once my van conversion is done, I'll have to choose between the Big Buddy or the Buddy Jr. - I have two of the first and one of the little one. I have been using the Buddy Jr. in my hunting stand during the winter.
I am inclined towards using the big Buddy - more output in necessary, and the ability to use a quick-connect line to a bigger tank. Depends on how much room I end up with.

 

[mockturtle]

I have a quick-disconnect LP valve in my MH for my Wave 6. My LP tank is 20 gallon.

 

[caseyc]

I like my Big Buddy heater, but it's larger than I need. I used it only once, it's for sale at a discount if anyone is interested and nearby me. PM me. I've been using my Small Buddy heater instead.

 

[Simran]

This is the end of the 3rd season of heating for me in my van. It is insulated extremely well; well enough to live in @ -28 this last winter. I heated, last winter, with a big buddy and a infra red electric heater; as I was parked where there was electricity.
I used the infra red heater down to about 0 then I kicked in the Big Buddy as well. I rarely put it on high as I just didn't need it; unless It was a quick warm up after a chill down.
That said; I always left the ceiling vent cracked and I always used a CO monitor. ALWAYS!!

 

[One Awesome Inch]

Still deciding between these two heaters and the dickinson marine P9000.

I have seen the Mr. Buddy mid size on CL for $80cdn and I might just jump on that when I see it again. The Dickinson is really nice but a whole lotta more money. By the time I get a Wave 3 up here its going to cost $300 or close to it. These things make the Mr. Buddy more appealing.

That said, I have two question regarding the Wave 3 vs Mr. Buddy (medium)

1. I assume the more BTUs the heater puts out the more moisture its going to produce? Moisture is a big problem in my humid climate so the less the heater adds the better.

2. Living in a humid climate makes the Wave 3 not as good a choice since, as mentioned above, the matting gets damaged by humidity... right?

Ultimately, I'd much prefer to be able to leave the heater on over night making the Wave 3 more appealing. However, humidity destroying the matting makes that more debatable.