Mr Heater Buddy Connection To Aux Propane Port?

Has anyone had trouble running a Buddy heater directly off the side LP quick-connect using CI's LP Accessory Hose? My pilot light goes out after 15 seconds and it won't come back on, no longer how long I hold down the control knob.

I'm not using Mr Heater's recommended proprietary direct-to-tank connection hose #F273701 or their fuel filter, yet. I just wanted to try it connected to the trailer with the CI hose first. The heater works as it should with the 1 lb bottles.

There is an internal regulator inside the heater, which would supposedly make any regulator on any hose redundant, or even counterproductive. CI's regulator at the tank is rated at 20 PSI and I'm wondering if that is too much for the Buddy's internal regulator to handle.

Since the MH hose doesn't have a standard regulator in-line either, does their hose dia itself act as a regulator to get the pressure down to 11" WC or something lesser than 20 psi that the Buddy can handle? And if the trailer's LP pressure does need to be reduced, where and how do I do it? Modify the MH hose with a crimp-on male quick-connect, like the CI hose has?

I have no problem buying their fuel filter, but I do want to use the side quick-connect as opposed to bringing a separate LP tank, buying a stash of expensive 1-pounders, or running a 15 foot line up to the CI's tank, (which would also prevent us from using the stove at the same time.)

BTW: This is for exterior use only with an enclosed galley shelter (the Backroads).

Any insight would be most welcome. Thanks.

Steve

 

I may have found my answer: Because both the CI tank and the appliance are regulated, the appliance is now is over-regulated, if using the side quick-connect and CI's hose. Nothing will fix this other than a direct connection to a separate unregulated tank. Which is what Mr Heater recommended in the first place. Or sticking to the 1-pounders. Go figure.

Since I am averse to throwaways of anything, in particular the 1 lb bottles, I was going to ask generally about these refillable kits:
Flame King Eco Friendly 1lb Refillable Reusable Cylinder + Kit 16.4 oz and if anyone has had any success with these.

However, I have since discovered that these are illegal in Canada to use, even if I were able to import one. And quite possibly not as safe as the manufacturer would like us to believe.

Back to trying to scoop up the 1-pounders on sale. Or biting the bullet on a legally refillable 5-pounder.

 

I too have been wondering about using a Mr. Heater Buddy inside the (on order) Backroads. It’s something we never got around to with our ARB Awning Room, but we do have an early spring trip coming up where we could use the heat!

IIRC the CI has a second stage regulator as well, bolted to the frame near where the cabin & tongue meet?

Thanks for testing this out! Disappointing that the nearby gas spigot won’t work. The 1-lb. cylinders went up in price a lot this last year! One could split the gas supply at the tank using a distribution post, then a long hose back to the kitchen. A 5-lb. cylinder also seems great, but where to stow it?

Hmmm… if a Buddy heater could be modified…. Maybe by a propane dealer’s shop…

It just seems painful, expensive, and wasteful of resources to cycle through 1-lb bottles!

(edit)
Quick check: A reg Mr. Heater runs 3-6 hrs per 1-lb tank. Ugh.

 

Seth: Agree on all points.

If a 5-pounder were in the cards, despite its storage issues, then why not just a tank-top radiant and no hoses?

Giving Buddy a Lobotomy (removing its regulator, if its even possible ) makes it unusable elsewhere without a dedicated regulated hose. This is not even taking into account its susceptibility to contaminants from the tank and the hose lining if you don’t use the MH proprietary hose, or a MH fuel filter on a non-proprietary hose. How true that is… I’m not sure. I didn’t think this was all that unique an appliance but the radiant pad, apparently, needs some special care.

Seems I’ve gone down a rabbit hole; all I wanted to do was stay warm.

K&P: the refillable situation may not be that safe. Standard disposable green ones aren’t meant for multiple use, despite some people’s “success” with them. Kinda dangerous. Even the refillable one-pounders (Flame King) that are designed for multiple use, in some jurisdictions (mine) aren’t allowed, or powers that be strongly discourage their use, despite their commercial availability. Overfilling (going beyond the 80% max) is the big danger, as well as some other internal mechanical protections that get compromised in the process.

It seems if you want to run a Buddy safely, you’re splitting at the CI tank and running a long unregulated hose, or bringing a separate tank and short hose, or taking the 1-pounders. No option is ideal.

 

Speculatively:
Pull the 11 or 20-LB tank off the tongue after dinner & dishes on a cold night.
Fire-up the on-tank radiant heater in the Backroads on the kitchen hatch or as a side tent.
Pull out that 1-lb. tank emergency adaptor that obsessive CI owners like me bought but never used because we never let the main tank run out of propane, spin on the backup 1-lb disposable cylinder on the hose at the tongue… and make the tea & cocoa!

Because by that time of night it only takes a smidge off the 1-lb. tank to boil the kettle of water…

This might work on our April trip to Utah, as it will get cold at night and we’d rather sit at a table outside to play dominos and tell tall tales before retiring to the cabin.

 

That’s a scenario-workaround I never considered. I was thinking of trying to run the stove and heater simultaneously. Which, as you describe, isn’t absolutely necessary. The CI stove itself will be warming the space as well.

However, and not as a consequence, I’ve already ordered a tank splitter, and will be picking up the 12’ MH hose (without reg) and their fuel filter tomorrow.

Without measuring, it should be long enough to reach the left side table, on or under. The weight/space penalty of the extra hose, I calculated, was a lot easier to stomach than another LP tank. Or a 6-pack of green bottles.

Between the two us and our solutions, the Backroads should be relatively habitable and comfortable. Proper site selection and staying out of the wind will, of course, help a lot.

 

There's a 1-pounder specifically designed to be refilled here on amazon. I haven't tired a buddy heater, all I use is a weber q grill, and its worked flawlessly so far.

I have heard of several people having trouble with the buddy heaters on 20lb cylinders. Apparently, the 20lb cylinders are prone to contaminants that clog up portions of the heater, severely limiting their longevity. I'm not sure if these contaminants would "come across" when you use refilled 1 pounds....

If you want to use a 20lb cylinder, there's a filter available. The last time this "bubbled up" was a couple years ago, things may have changed --- but I suspect not.

"Factory" 1-pound cylinders seem not to be a problem.

 

Sweeney: That Amazon link is what I could get, but is illegal in Ontario and possibly the rest of Canada. i.e. you can manage to buy it and possess it. But the act of actually filling it is prohibited by industrial/consumer law(s). And if you mess up in the process, it could prohibit you from existing.

And to your point: even if you chose to venture into this area you would still need to use the fuel filter, as transferring contaminants from the donor 20 pounder into the 1 pound bottles could still, in time, foul up the burner. Which is non-repairable or not easily replaceable, from a cost perspective. The single-use 1 -pounders are contaminant free and would be safe to use in the heater indefinitely. They just make you poorer and an enemy of the planet.

Any other appliance I've tried to run off the side port, like the Coleman BBQ, runs perfectly. It's the integrated regulator inside the Mr Heaters, and their aversion to non-pristine fuel that makes them somewhat less of a plug-'n'-play device than others.

 

I don't know Canada laws. I love the "legal to buy" but dont' use it laws. I think it is probably technically illegal here too at least in some places. I know some municipalities have a license requirement to fill tanks. Lets hear it for living far enough. Let's hear it for living far enough away from people ... no one would know

I thought I said it, but you're right --- refilling would just move contaminants to the 1lb tanks.

There's always old school IR heaters like THIS or THIS. It doesn't work on 1 pounders though...you've got to pick your poison I suppse

 

Just as a caution to those who may be actively (or thought of) re-filling the green ones:

STOP! Never refill 1 lb. propane bottles | PHMSA.

The refillable Flame King ones are undoubtedly manufactured to a higher standard than the DOT 39's and can withstand the filling-emptying-refilling stresses. But with those, the margin for error now lies entirely in the realm of human fallibility and "getting it right", without having gone through the Propane Handlers Course. Since I'm finding my error rate increasing gradually with age, I won't be attempting to decrease my life expectancy by filling re-filling either type.

 

Steve,

This is a interesting one indeed. Did a little digging into the Mr Heater heaters. Their internal regulators are 20psi so they are technically a hi-pressure burner. The regulator on the tank of the Camp-Inn is a hi-pressure regulator that outputs 20psi. That is why then if you connect using the 1lb adapter hose that comes with the camper the two regulators zero each other out and the heater does not work. When you use Mr Heater's hose it connectors to a QD port on the unit and not to the 1lb bottle connector. That QD port bypasses the internal regulator in the heater and the hose they supply has a 20psi regulator on it that regulates the burner then.

So, since the regulator they are providing is the same as the regulator that is already on the tank of camper you could use the camper's tank regulator but it will involve a bit of custom hose configuration. If you purchase Mr Heater's hose and remove the 20psi regulator from the hose you can install a male QD fitting on the threaded end of the hose so it connects to the QD port on the side of the camper. The QD male connector you need would be this one here:

https://www.etrailer.com/Propane-Fittings/MB-Sturgis/401132-MBS.html

Cary

 

Cary: I would say that, yes, that's a little digging. Certainly much more than I was able to discern from any manuals and vids. Thanks.

I think we have this sorted out. I'll add a little bit to your explanation. It has to do with the significantly different design of the Little Buddy/ Buddy and the Big Buddy. (at least it is significant for our trailer purposes.)

I just connected the Buddy heater using their proprietary non-regulated hose:

View attachment upload_2023-11-20_12-20-21.jpeg

... direct to the tank. It works. It takes about a minute to purge the air from the 12' hose. And it makes the connection at the same female swivel port that the 1lb tank screws into.

With my "Buddy" (4k-9K BTU, the middle one) there is no other QD port on the appliance that I can attach to. It looks like the Big Buddy might be the only one that you can make a QD at the appliance as you suggest, in order to bypass the appliance's internal regulator. This guy points out the male QD hiding behind the bottle port at 1:40 on the vid: which he doesn't explore further. The Big Buddy accessory hose comes with a regulator, because as you described, the QD port at the appliance is unregulated. That's pretty clear evidence that your information is spot-on. But it only applies to the Big Buddy.

Unfortunately Mr Heater, despite their lion's share of the market, isn't terribly clear on these matters. (Otherwise this thread wouldn't be this long, or exist in the first place.) I've even seen the same hose part number as both a regulated and an unregulated product. Horrible.

I'm starting to understand that the 100 PSI minimum in a propane tank, is required to keep the propane in a liquid state, whether its a large 50lb or small 1lb. Tank size is irrelevant. So it makes sense that if you're using a hose to connect an 11 or 20 pounder into the bottle port, it needs to mimic the same PSI as the bottle i.e. it needs to be unregulated. 20 PSI going in will shut it down as you point out.

My 12 footer doesn't reach. Of course that wouldn't have been a surprise if I had actually gone out and measured . At least I know what I need to get the thing to operate on a basic level.

So... if I want to use my "Buddy" near the galley, I need to make my own 16'-20' unregulated hose that mimics the MH heater hose connections above. And it needs to go to a Y splitter at the tank. A "Little Buddy" probably requires the same workaround. The additional downside is the extra hose length will require an even longer time to purge.

Or, if I want to use a "Big Buddy" near the galley and go off the CI side port QD (preferred solution and super convenient), then I need to fashion a much shorter custom hose with a male QD and a female QD and no regulator (i.e. you're using the CI's tank regulator as you suggest to give you the 20 PSI you need at the heater QD).

What to do about the fuel filter and where to put it? It seems that the majority of potential contaminants to the heater come from substandard hoses that shed gunk under high pressure. The tank itself as a gunk source is further down the scale. Using the MH hose eliminates the majority of that problem. If using the bottle port on any model, with a generic hose, or a large tank, then the filter is simple, good insurance. If you're trying to use the Big Buddy and the CI QD, then there's no place you can put their filter in-line without a ton of fittings and reducers, if they even exist; I didn't look. Just make sure your hose is a quality MH version and you'll be better off.

Hope that helps. Looks like my Buddy could become a Xmas present and I will be upgrading to a Big Buddy and a short easily-fabbed double QD hose using my 12' MH hose as a donor.

I did not explore other similar heater manufacturers and their units and differences and what could possibly work with what. Parsing this mystery was enough.

 

By the way... this all assumes that you're not just performing Seth's simple tank-switch workaround scenario that he described above, and that you have a deep down desire to make this process as complicated and expensive as possible.

 

I have three Mr Heaters: Buddy, Big Buddy, and the “new” BuddyFlex.I have had no problems. Depending upon the length of extra hose used I do bleed the hose until I smell/see gas, then connect the appliance. I do use the fuel filter. Please, no safety comments (A Christmas Movie: You’re going to shoot yourself in the eye!)

 

... but you don't say how you make the connections, with what and to what. We're dealing with 2 or 3 very different appliances X2 very different possible LP sources, exacerbated by imperfect information from the manufacture about a plethora of poorly-described accessories for all of them. By my calculations that adds up to a lot of frustration and combinations than just plain don't work. As my initial post in this thread must have illustrated.

If you were able to tiptoe through this Mr Heater minefield unscathed, then you're a far better layperson gas tech than I am.

 

Perfect break down of the different models Steve.

This is all good timing, I have been looking to get one myself.

If going to the LP tank this may be a good application for a LP Y fitting like this:

https://www.amazon.com/DOZYANT-Spli...1&psc=1&mcid=40986a4d639330c8ad72d52415071770

Cary

 

I connect the desired extension to the QD adapter, plug the QD adapter into the trailer, bleed the hose, connect it to the appliance. I also make sure to hold the appliance primer down for about one minute so the pilot light ignites (and hold it down longer if needed, Buddy Heaters are touchy about this). I’ve hooked up propane lanterns, grills, fireplaces to the QD with no problems.

 

Cary: That's what I have on order.

However, I think I'll be going with the Big Buddy, and Big Buddy regulated hose, keeping their female QD end, spinning off the regulator and spinning on a male QD with a female thread. Seems the simplest to go into the CI's side. Karen won't argue about the extra heat either.