Product Description

NEW, improved, totally portable, more POWERFUL warmth! The Mr. Heater Big Buddy, now with TWICE the BTU output of the previous model, and with more propane capacity! If you've got a barn, shed, workshop, garage, ice fishing house, porch, patio, RV, you name it, that needs a dose of coziness, this is the way to go: Two 1-lb. propane cylinders will offer from 3-12 hours heating. Two 20-lb. cylinders will heat up to 400 sq. ft. for up to 220 hours (propane cylinders, tanks not included. Hoses sold separately); 3 heat settings... 4,000 / 9,000 / 18,000 BTU / hr.; Powerful fan to distribute heat. Uses AC plug-in (adapter not included) or D batteries. Or just use as radiant heater; CSA-certified safe, with unique low-oxygen sensor and tip-over automatic shut-off; Effortless built-in piezo electric starter; Durable porcelain-coated reflector, wire safety guard; Compact 17 x 10 x 17 1/2", approx. 15 lbs. "Key" rear holes for wall mounting. Shiver no more... get yours ONLINE! AVAIL ABLE SEPARATELY: 5' or 12' Hose Assembly - word search in our Store for 'Hose Assembly'. Mr. Heater Big Buddy

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60176 in Home
• Brand: Mr. Heater
• Model: F274800
• Dimensions: 18.00" h x 11.40" w x 18.50" l, 20.00 pounds

Features

• Mr Heater #F274825 18000BTU BigBuddyHeater
• MR HEATER CORP

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

80 of 84 people found the following review helpful.
Works well...But arrives without essential parts.
By Christopher C. Sims
Here's what you should know BEFORE you buy this thing. It is inefficient, expensive, and environmentally lousy with 1 lb disposable cylinders. If you are planning to use a 20lb propane tank, be aware that you can only get near the 220 hour (at low) performance by using 2 tanks. The heater has 2 regulators, 2 heating tiles, and 2 connections. At low and medium settings you will only use one of the `tiles'. On high, both tiles will burn brightly. The fan is noisy and sucks down D cell batteries, but really doesn't move much air. There is also the AC adapter option: Radio Shack sells it for about 18-20$. Mr. Heater Customer Service can provide the part numbers but cannot sell you the item. When you talk with them, you might as well order the fuel filters ($9.95 each) that you will need if you use 20 pound tanks. For 2 tanks, order 2 filters. The filters are a (moisture/impurity) trap that prevents the tiny holes in the heating tiles from filling up with junk. Propane may be equal at creation, but one never knows how it has been stored. Use the filters. If you use 20 lb tanks, you will also need hoses. Mr. Heater makes them in 5 and 12 foot lengths. Amazon seems to have the best price on these. You should expect to spend $100-$150 above the price of the heater for hoses, tanks, filters, AC adapter.

Feeding the rumor mill: There was a Consumer Product Safety Commission Recall of this item during the Winter 04/05. It impacted all heaters sold prior to about January 10, 2005. The problem concerned a potential malfunction of the regulator/control valve assemblies. My first heater was affected by the recall. I had no use of it for the winter of 04/05. My second heater works just fine.

Amazon Customer Service: EXTREMELY POOR as it relates to this purchase. I purchased my heater days before the recall was announced. Amazon refused to accept my return of this item even though it had not been used. They also took down product revie ws alerting customers to the recall (and potential safety hazard) of this item. After numerous polite but fruitless conversations, I contacted the President of Amazon with my complaint. He has chosen to ignore it. I would probably buy this heater again despite the problems. I would never buy anything from Amazon again because of the problems.

Variations of this review have been deleted by Amazon 4 times.

46 of 52 people found the following review helpful.
Amazon.com stuck it to me...........#%&*%#......thanks alot.
By Sparky
Amazon.com conveniently cut the price on this "beaut" of a safety hazard 2 weeks before the pending safety recall. I guess it was more important for them to clear their shelves of this fire-bomb of a liability than to be "man enough" to hold the manufacturer responsible. This lack of social responsibility is major scary. It makes one wonder what other stunts they've pulled in the past. Maybe I should unload their stock, before someone sues them because their house burnt down because of this heater.

Mine NEVER WORKED RIGHT FROM THE START. ALL PREVIOUS REVIEWS ARE DEAD ON ACCURATE. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE THIS REVIEW, JUST GOOGLE MR. HEATER "MH18B RECALL", & READ ABOUT THE FISHERMEN THAT HAVE BEEN ENDANGERED OR LITERALLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES BY THIS PRODUCT.

DON'T EVEN BUY THIS ITEM IF IT IS DISCOUNTED, OR USED, AT ANY PRICE!

I hope this review gets NOTICED......the last review of this bad product was DELETED by Amazon. In fact, the product itsel f (MH-18B) "MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED" from their website! (Imagine that!)

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful.
Great product -- I've used them for years
By What?
I don't know why people are having so much trouble with this heater. This is a great product which has made living in my off-the-grid cabin bearable even in winter.

PERFORMANCE IN COLD WEATHER
For the past 5 years, I've used the Big Buddy heaters to heat two small cabins, 200 sq feet each, with vaulted ceilings. Without the Big Buddy, my primary cabin averages 37 F in the winter, and my studio averages 35 F. With the Big Buddy, I can keep either cabin at a toasty 65 to 70 F. In the past, I used the smaller Mr. Buddy for years to heat a tent in winter for 2 weeks at a time while working in the mountains.

How long to heat a space?
Cabin: From full cold (37 to 45 F indoors), it feels like it takes forever to heat 200 sq feet on low. On high, my cabin is toasty warm in about 10 to 12 minutes. The heater then keeps the space too warm, so I have to turn it down to low, or start cycling it on and off every hour.
Tent: It never heat s the tent; too much loss through the tent walls. It just provides a radiant heat source for the side of your body that faces it. I could never decide if that made things better (to have some heat), or worse -- one side warm and the other freezing my hiney off.

BOTTLE VS TANK + FUEL FILTER
I have used both the Mr. Buddy and the Big Buddy with 1-lb bottles and 20-lb tanks, with and without fuel filters. Over the past 10 years, I have had only one failure -- one heater clogged with a 20 lb tank (no fuel filter). All my other heaters have performed flawlessly, and I've had 2 Mr Buddies and now have 5 Big Buddies (I gave away the Mr Buddies and went solely to the Big Buddies). I started using fuel filters only in the last 8 months. It's a preventative measure for my older equipment, since the heaters worked fine for years without the filters.

YIELD:
- 1-lb bottle: 5 hours on high -- maybe. If you're refilling your 1-lb bottles, remember that they're never as full as new ones (sometimes only 75% full), and you're going to eat up the refills very fast.

- 20-lb tank: Seems to last forever. The heater will run at least 2 weeks in snow/ice weather if I'm careful and willing to layer up a bit indoors.

MEDIUM SETTING -- DON'T DO IT
Use either low (single burner) or high (both burners). The medium setting burns on both burners, but does not burn cleanly -- I can smell the propane. This seems to be an overall design flaw, not a defect of any given heater. Also, the medium setting is not so much faster in heating the space than the low setting to make it worthwhile. Feels like the worst of both worlds: wasteful, unclean burning, and not very efficient.

CONTINUOUS USE -- WASTEFUL
The heater will work just fine if you leave it on for an hour or more (I've certainly done that indulgence), but you'll waste a lot of propane. Better to turn it on, heat your space, then turn it off for a while. If you throw down some carpeting, you'll be fine for an hour before you need to fire it up again. Remember, this is essentially a camp heater. You're not trying to achieve a tropical setting; you're trying to keep the space comfortably bearable.

INDOORS AT NIGHT -- DON'T DO IT
Although it is safe to use indoors, and after years of experience with these heaters, I'm confident in that claim, I still do not recommend running it at night or while you're sleeping. I've had the CO alarms go off three times this last year -- once dangerously -- from other things. I just don't think it's a good idea to run any propane appliance indoors in a small space when you're not conscious.

SAFETY FEATURES
Bump it -- even slightly -- and it will shut off. While I appreciate the safety feature, personally, I find this annoying. I live and work in a tiny space, bumping things -- eg, stepping over it in hiking boots -- is almost inevit able.

The wire cage that protects you from the ceramic elements is well designed -- far enough from the elements to protect against accidental touch, without adding too much bulk. This is especially important when you're wearing bulky layers and unknowingly dangling coat sleeves, lanyards, and jacket corners. I have yet to find another propane heater I'd be comfortable having in a tight space.

ACCESSORY: CARRY BAG -- DON'T DO IT
What a waste. A soft-sided bag that doesn't really protect the heater. With 2 huge pockets on either end for the two extra 1-lb bottles. Makes the entire package bulky, susceptible to damage, annoyingly shaped, and hard to store around other objects. Just keep your original box or get a suitable tub for the heater + a couple 1-lb bottles. You'll be able to pack it more efficiently, travel without worrying about moisture, and move it wherever you want without risking so much damage.

PRICE
I've gotten much better prices locally than I've ever seen on amazon. I suggest you shop around.

BOTTOM LINE
This is a great product, well designed, portable, lightweight, compact, and safe. Without the Big Buddy, I would not endure the cold very well in my cabins. This product has allowed me to work anywhere, in any weather, for the minimal price of a tank of propane. Really, that's pretty darn useful.