Big Buddy vs Portable Buddy Cold Weather Field Test

Hey Rick, I must say you are the most polite channel when it comes to reply responses. Everyone always wants to contribute and that is a great thing but some channels get a bit snarky and I can kind of understand why. I appreciate your humility. Now...my two cents, Lone Wold 902 just did a great video on wood stove. He is as expert as they come....having probably 15 or so stoves many of which are his design and brand. It is quite an in-depth video that covers a lot of things we generally don't think about. For instance, a woodstove height plays an important role in heating a tent. The closer to the ground then the lower the frost band will be at the bottom of the tent. Importantly too then, is how high your cot is off of the floor. A taller cot will keep you warmer, something like the Teton xl or xxl for instance. It is getting you up into the heated zone. Also, I see where someone mentioned the diesel heater....man, that is the only way to go. It sits outside and pumps dry heat right into the tent through a 3" or so ducted hose. There are two great advantages, one, propane produces 1.6 lbs of water for each pound of propane burned. Therefore, a 20# tank will introduce about 4 gallons of water into the tent. Think of turning over an almost full 5 gallon jerry can in your tent. That is a lot of water that also effects heat efficiency. If it is cold enough, even with heat, you will find a frost line in the tent as well as the discomfort of high humidity. Secondly, the diesel heater "sips" fuel. You could likely run it 24/7 on less than 3 gallons of diesel a week. They do however require a 12v power source... which is no problem if you have a solar generator and a few panels. Also note, when shopping for one make certain it can be set for higher altitudes....some don't. Disclainer* I do not own one but I have done my research and intend to put one in my camping trailer. A trailers central heat can eat through a 30# tank quick.

They Do Make Tent Ceiling Fans, To Force Heat Down In The Winter...😊

Try dialing down the tank valve, it slows the consumption of fuel

Note:
The filter is needed if the hose does not have a regulator the higher pressure will push contaminates into the buddy. Using a buddy quick connect hose with the regulator is fine w/o the filter,you will notice the heater will run quietly

With the Big Buddy you can hook up 2 - 20# tanks at the same time, one on each side. You just need to get a second hose. Doubles the run time. Thanks for the video!!

It's called a "Little Buddy" ...

One point, the filter is not for dirty fuel but for oil in the rubber hose that is used to hook up the propane 20 lb. tank. This will plug up your heater. The filter is not used with the one pound tanks. Thanx for the trial review. I have 10x10 springboard. Great tents!

Mr Heater advises to not use their heaters while asleep. They don't tell you why. Their heaters run on a "low pressure" system. They have an integrated regulator built in to reduce the PSI from tanks such as the 1# to 20# with a hose. When you use the quick connect fitting, it bypasses their regulator so you need a regulator at the tank end of the hose. The reason for caution is that their integrated regulator can, and sometimes do fail causing a fire. I've seen that happen twice and was present to extinguish those fires. Also, it should be no surprise that the Big Buddy puts out much more heat, twice as much as the regular one panel Buddy. Big Buddy: 4k, 9k, 18k BTU where as the regular Buddy: 4k and 9k BTU settings. The filter is only needed when allowing high pressure propane to pass through a rubber hose. Notice how you don't need one with a 1# bottle or the quick connect hose with a regulator at the tank end?
The techs at Mr Heater in Ohio "schooled" when I called about their heater not staying lit. Not the same issue since. This was before I experienced the heater fires.

Hey there! Great video! I own three Kodiak canvas tents. The 10x10 Flex bow, 10x14 Flex bow and the same 12x12 cabin your buddy has but with the added awning enclosure. For our large cabin tent we use the Big Buddy. For both Flex Bow tents we use the Portable Buddy. The problem I've found is that both are radiating heat. Not pushing the hot air throughout the tent. You end up with one area warmer than another and a really hot sidewall and roof. Sure it takes the bite out but not super efficient in my opinion. For long cold hunts like elk or coues deer I had to bring multiple tanks or make trips to town. My solution: Look into thermoelectric fans. Like the ones you would put on a pot belly stove in your house to move the hot air. No batteries. Nothing but a hot surface. The heat charges a thermoelectric battery that spins the fan motor. with it sitting atop your heater or even wood stove it will quickly move the hot air around the tent.! I bought two for $30 and used a grinder to cut a notch in the back to attach to my heater grate. Best heater hack ever! It will turn your heating solution, whether it be Mr. Buddy or wood stove, from radiant to convection! It works so well in the flexbow style tents that you really only need it on low for anything above freezing. With it on high in the 10x14 this year my family and I were enjoying a very comfortable 74 degrees during a windy 20 degree (12 degree wind chill) snowfall in Williams, Arizona. The 12x12 has very straight walls but still allows some convection. The sheer size and lack of tapered walls is why we us the Big Buddy in that one, but both always run with the thermoelectric fans. Fuel consumption is about half as well! Bit of a long comment but I hope it helps a fellow angler out! And remember., Drink all the fish and catch all the beers fellas! ;)

When connecting a hose with propane, turn on the propane tank as ur connectingthe hose to heater otherwise it creates air bubble in line if it's connected then turned on, that's why it took you 15 minutes get the big heater working, same thing connecting a propane generator, that's why if you read reviews of propane generator alot of people swear the propane will not work on their generator, it's because they connected the propane tank then turned it on creating an air pocket, if you turn the tank on as ur connecting to generator it will fire right up, just make sure there are no open flame or ignition sources near the open hose as you connecting it
That safety concern is probably why manufacturers cannot tell you what iam telling you, just use common sense

Smaller tent. Better bag.

Need fans on top, wood stove fans. Check it out.

I use dyna glo convection 25k.
cooks and kicks the heat up in minutes in the am for first wake up.

They sell a hose that don't need a filter.

The propane isn't what's dirty, it's the hose that breaks down and clogs your heater. Buy the high grade 10' Mr. Heater hose and a filter is unnecessary. It's all about the hose quality, not the propane.😉

It's not the fuel that is "dirty", it's the hose that can leach oil. The Mr Heater 10" hose is specially designed to not leach contaminates and does not require a filter.

Thanks for this video on the tent & big buddies comparison !

All you need is one of those tent fans that you hang from the top of your tent to blow the heat down to you and you would be set you still need air flow

I've run forges off those 20lb tanks and they will tend to freeze up when discharging. The tanks acted like they were empty but just to cold to release gas from the liquid propane. Did you check your tanks later to see if you still had gas still in the tank?
Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I hope you're leaving a gap open somewhere for the fumes to get out. It's not really safe to be completely sealed in a space with the heater.

The hose you want is Mr Heater brand, model F273704. It is 10 ft long and is their only hose you can use without the filter and the only one they should sell to be honest. The others leech oils from the rubber under pressure and will ruin the heater. Why they sell the others that require a filter is not logical but we all know why they do...

Good stuff 👍

Camp fan that hangs on the ceiling forces heat down and around. Yes you need batteries but the circulation is good. Wood stoves are better and the buddy are great for that back up. Propane is to expensive to run constantly for me. Also usb fan off a solar generator works great too.

You should try using a battery powered ceiling fan made for a tent, and then do another test with a second thermometer at ground level.

As the military says 1 is none and 2 is one. Everything fails, must have alternative ways to stay warm. Very nice review.

You don't need the filter if you use the special Mr Buddy branded hose!!😲😲

Need a battery powered CO Detector in there!!😲😲

Having camped in a small one room wooden cabin about 2/3 the size of a small one car garage fitted with a bunk bed, (no mattresses), and heated by a kerosine heater, (temps in the 20s), I'm going to dispute your findings. The lower bunk about a foot off the floor was uncomfortably cold. Moving to the upper bunk the temperature changed drastically and sleep came easy. While I understand what you were trying to demonstrate, your thermometer should have been closer to ground level. Heat rises but camp chairs and sleeping bags are closer to or on ground level and would have definitely shown a drop in temperature in that high ceiling tent.

Check for leaks?....

as someone who worked in plumbing and heating may i suggest never use teflon tape meant for water on any propane line. use tape for gas. you can use gas tape on a water line threads. thanks.

i see where someone talk to you about the quick connect hose being the better option. thanks for the vid.

Good show thanks

My buddy heater uses alot of gas on low?

Bring a small battery operated fan you can hang from peak of tent to blown downward.

The quick connector hose is a better hookup. It has a regulator on the tank end to reduce the gas pressure and thus the need for the filter on the heater. That filter is used to gather impurities that come from the rubber hose because of the unregulated high pressure with the unregulated hose. The filter is for the hose impurities because of the unregulated high pressure in that hose.

I have used the big buddy for 2 years. I find a problem with waiting for an hour to restart it after the tank is changed. There is no way to bleed the hose when changing the tank.

I was there a few times. I lived back towards the river and about half way between Cahone and Dove Creek. Beautiful country up there. Be safe.

I think you mentioned you had a cot. If you were on an air mattress six inches off the floor you might not get any warmth at all. Heat rises. I got caught in a snow storm with minimal warm clothing. I fired up my little camp stove and because I was in a tiny tent it warmed me right up. But it wasn't 12 degrees either.

Kind of expensive heating tho. $20 $30 a day

Unvented propane heaters create too much moisture.

Be warned even with the filter using the 20lb tank damage can still be done your buddy heater.

I have both of those heaters and I have to say the big buddy is a beast.