Put 5gals through this thing. Have some thoughts if anyone feels like reading. I still have never seen a Mr Buddy in person. So cant compare the two. I believe this one cost more, and i was excited to pay more for the features, but the features suck. The design team really screwed this one up in my opinion. Will post the good and bad again.
Good:
1. Im able to start it quickly, and it puts out a ton of heat instantly. The pilot will light on the 2nd or 3rd click. Youre supposed to hold it down which i did at first. But instead once the pilot lights just turn the knob to on and it will fire up. No need to hold it down. I will set the heat a little bit passed the low setting and take a shower. By the time i come out the main body of a regular toyhauler is much warmer. The super chilly air is gone. A ton of heat rises upward from it. I will open my shirt and perform my best hot air balloon impression. Will also take a piece of clothing that is cold and hold it over the heater. I cant believe how quick it warms up. Like 5-10 seconds and a sweatshirt or jacket will be regular temp instead of cold to the touch.
2. It has 2 options for using a 5gal tank. Theres a quick release gas connection but it is not regulated. So if you buy a hose for that, you need a hose with a pressure regulator. The other option is using the connection where a 1lb propane tank screws in. That has a built in regulator. I ordered a 5 foot hose from amazon. Im a fan of the stainless braided hose with a gauge. First time trying the POL reverse thread connection. It has an additional oring is why i think it might be superior. It looks like the hose oring makes contact with the rubber seal of the tank. The first hose i bought leaked where the hose met the gauge. That is one reason i really like the gauges is because you can shut everything off and make sure it maintains pressure overnight or even for an hour. My leak took about an hour for the gauge to go down which alerted me to a leak somewhere. I sprayed some lube and kinda wiggled the loose spot. It ended up sealing and working for about a week. Then returned it and the new replacement hose has been solid. It might be a good idea to zip tie the hose where it exits the heater. I posted a picture. Drilled a hole and used 14awg solid wire. Its held pressure for over a month. I turn the propane tank on and off as needed. But the hose is always pressurized and nice to confirm its holding. Only slight negative is the stiffness of the braided hose. A more flexible hose would be nice for moving the heater around. I dont want the stiff hose to bend at the connections, and cause stress and possible leaks. The hose has definitely loosened up a bit since brand new.
The Hose
Bad:
1. This unit has a thermostat. Its controlled by a big long thermometer that runs down the side of it that im hoping to bypass. On paper it sounds economical for the heater to shut off automatically. In reality it does not work great. The heater slowly shuts down and does not burn the propane efficiently. It starts to smell weird and make a lot of noise. The sound of propane flickering on and off is alerting. As soon as i hear that noise i either turn the knob down to pilot, or turn the knob up high.
2. That is another major problem. You cannot set this unit to low and leave it there in the ambient temps we will see in glamis. The thermostat will kick in and start flickering the propane. I wish there were 2 knobs. One knob would control the BTUs from Low to High. The second knob could be a thermostat. Like you find on household electric heaters. You have high and low setting. Then also a thermostat. This unit combines them both together, which for me inside a toyhauler doesnt work. I want to set the heater to low without the heater shutting itself down 3 minutes later.
3. The built in fan is a complete failure. At 5v no air comes out. I tried it again last night at 8v and it disrupts the burning of the propane. Doesnt even blow air forward out the vents. Its a total gimmick and got me to buy in. Dude in the video made it seem sweet. He even has a second video about buying some 5v to 6v adapter. I almost wrote a comment on his youtube with good intentions to say its actually a 12v fan. You could give that sucker up to 14v i would imagine. Woudnt matter though. All it does is blow turbulence over those ceramic plates that the propane is supposed to flow over nice and smooth. Having a fan above the unit will be awesome. Because like mentioned above there is a ton of heat that flows upward off that sucker. You could practically use a piece of curved metal and use the natural convection to blow the air more forward.
The plan:
1. Bypass the thermostat feature.
2. Omit the battery side cover and start cutting away unneeded plastic. Cut away the other side plastic panel where the big thermometer is hiding. That should make the unit about 4" narrower.
3. Cut away the top plastic where the fan switch is. Will put some other fan there. Or maybe try out the curved metal convection forced air movement. (Cardboard lined with foil might work for a quick test)
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What makes the pics upside down? I tried twice. I send them from my phone to email and they look normal there.
