Anti-Frozen Ball Technology: Part 4

[This is a followup to parts 1, 2, and 3.]

Mr. Heater branded Buddy series products come in two variants. Mr. Heater Buddy is the small one (with a ridiculous name). Mr. Heater Big Buddy is the large one (with a ridiculous name). Both are excellent heaters. Both have a ridiculous name. The ridiculous name is mandatory.

There are pros and cons to each and both are subject to the details of using propane in ball freezingly cold weather. Lucky for me, I got to experiences a side by side comparison. I went hunting with a friend who had a Mr. Heater Buddy so I could compare it to my Mr. Heater Big Buddy.

For the purpose of anonymity let’s call my friend Fred, because it’s not his name. In fact, I’m changing a few details here and there because hanging out with me shouldn’t imply blog involvement. (Are you listening Facebook freaks?) So, Fred, who’s a one-legged Filipino horse jockey and I, a Lithuanian opera singer, headed out to go hunting.

About 100 yards from the truck the differences started to show. The big heater is too damn heavy! The son of a bitch weighs a ton. I was insanely jealous of the smaller one which is so much lighter. So, there’s your first clue, if you’re going to hike more than the bare minimum get the small one. Later in the hunt I took an ATV out solo. If you’re using an ATV the big one is fine.

We set up looking for big game; he in one location I and the other. We both fired up our devices. Thus, it was a head-to-head competition among the heaters. It was about two below Fahrenheit. (For our Canadian friends that’s probably something like 73 Kelvin or “not yet cold enough to cancel pond hockey”.)

It’s not surprising that the larger heater pumps out more BTUs but it’s a big deal. The specs. say the big dude hurls out 18,000 BTU and I believe it. The little burner specs. out at 9,000 BTU. Does the difference between 9,000 and 18,000 BTU matter? You bet your ass it does!

There are situations where maximum BTU output is all that matters. The larger model has roughly twice the combustion surface area of the smaller model. It also has three settings. On low and medium, it only uses half of its surface area (which is frankly a little lame). When you crank it to high the flame spreads out to the full surface and the result is impressive. It cranks out heat like a boss. I found myself warm and toasty. Depending on wind and weather I often only needed the medium setting but when I wanted max heat it was instant and plentiful. I just basked in the luxury. I was leaning against a tree in the snow and shrugging off weather that should have been miserable. I may have dozed off a bit. It was that nice!

The smaller model has a smaller surface area and it needs to use the whole thing all the time. It only has two settings (low/high). With a smaller area it can only crank out so much heat. So, here’s a win for the larger heater and it’s a huge deal.

Both are excellent for hunting. The devices make no noise. Sometimes if the wind blows directly on the combustion area it’ll make a bit of an intermittent sound but it’s hardly noticeable. I tinkered with low/medium/high settings to minimize it and that probably wasn’t necessary. While trying to hunt it seems loud but eating a cracker sounds like a thunderstorm when you’re hunting. I experimented and even in the worse conditions I doubt you could hear it at 8 feet. For rifle hunting that’s close enough to silent. They’re much quieter than most campstoves. The combustion area has a cheery orange glow when it’s lit. I enjoy how it looks. I feared it would be a beacon to wary game. It’s not. It’s pretty much invisible in all but the darkest after sunset moments. Even then the burn area is recessed and only visible directly in front of the burner. If you aim the burner out at your quarry, you’ve got bigger issues in life than the color of a flame… like maybe you’re a moron and soon to perish in the cold. The exhaust is almost scent free. Almost miraculously so, it must be a very efficient burn. Also, the exhaust is colorless and it didn’t set off steam (unlike my breath).

Either device is a win but the big one was a bigger win. I rode out weather that normally would suck. Being comfortable meant less fidgeting. It was quite pleasant.

Nothing in life is free (remember this when you vote!). The larger model, on high, sucks down propane big time. The larger model holds dual one-pound propane tanks. The smaller model which only holds one. On high, cranked out as far as will go, the big boy can suck down those two tanks in a long day… which meant not one damn thing to me because not freezing was more important. You’re going to carry more fuel for the big one than the little one; which should be obvious. (That said, you meter your consumption by the setting. On medium it’s probably just as efficient as the little model.) There’s no real way to know how much propane you’ve got left. (This is true of both models.) Plan accordingly.

A note on fans: The big model that I own has a little fan that optionally blows the warm air. It’s modestly useful in a garage and utterly useless outdoors. The fan would make noise, which you don’t want while hunting, and the rate at which the batteries die convinced me to not bother with it; but I forgot to pull the batteries. Thus, I wound up lugging dead batteries (4 D cells) along with 4 one-pound tanks (two on board and two as spares) compared to my friend who only needed 2 tanks (one on board and one spare). That weight adds up. For use in the garage, I have the AC adapter for the fan; which is probably a pointless feature anyway. I hear the newer Big Buddy heaters have no fan at all and I think this is good. The complexity and weight isn’t worth it. The little one never had a useless bullshit fan in the first place.

Both devices put up with plenty of abuse. Both lit well. Both maintained the pilot light and burners in all but the worst of conditions. Both were well appreciated. Being outdoors, neither of us tripped the oxygen sensor but I’ve seen them work before and I appreciate them. They’re very safe devices. That said, they’re heaters. Fred, in the heat of the moment lining up on a critter that wound up in the freezer brushed his pants against the heating element and melted them. This would happen with any heater and it’s just part of doing active shit like hunting. Don’t teenagers pay good money for ripped jeans?

Back at the garage I almost immediately removed the one-pound tanks and hooked it to a 20-pound BBQ tank. (The hose is an accessory and it’s worth every penny.) The big model will run a very long time on a BBQ tank. The same hose (I think) works with the little heater too. It’s probably less important for the little model, considering its relatively lower consumption (don’t forget, that means less BTUs too!)

I had absolutely no problems with my heater but Fred had a few issues. Propane is a gas and follows all those gas laws you forgot from high school chemistry. That means frost may form on the tanks… which is no big deal. Also, propane can freeze, which is a PITA. If I’d stashed a 20-pound BBQ tank and hose in the forest there’s a small risk it would have frozen (in the hose likely) and I’d have not been able to use it. Since we kept to one-pound tanks it mostly was no big deal if you had them in a warm-ish environment the night before you need them. I’m not talking like they’re a delicate flower, tossed in a truck cab or in an unheated garage is fine.

Fred had one issue when he used a one-pound tank that had been stashed in the forest weeks before. Apparently, the O-ring didn’t make a good seal (Google Challenger disaster to hear about cold O-rings) and it let fly with a bunch of propane in a big whoosh. This meant the tank was unusable and he had no heat. I can’t describe it well because I was basking in the glow of 18,000 BTU a half mile away. Fred said it didn’t take long for the vented propane to dissipate but it’s probably good he wasn’t smoking at the time.

Note: the bigger heater has receptacles for two one-pound tanks but only needs one to function. If I’d had the same situation, I’d have been able to jettison one tank, run on the other, and still have my two spares. If you can deal with the weight, the bigger heater has more resilience.

Summary: Both heaters are excellent. They handle abuse and harsh environments very well and I like the safety features. The big one makes more heat and that’s the whole point. Buy the big one unless you’re carrying a long distance by hand. If you’ll carry more than a few hundred yards without an ATV or whatnot, get the little one. If you’re going to heat a garage or shed or some stationary location, get the big one and spring for the BBQ tank hose adapter (it’ll pay for itself in a few winters). Regardless of which one you get, don’t stick your knee in the burner. (Fred didn’t complain… he made the shot.)