# Thinking of buying a Mr. Heater F232000 MH9BX Buddy Any one know anything about it?



## biobacon

Im thinking about buying a Mr. Heater F232000 MH9BX Buddy 4,000-9,000-BTU Indoor-Safe Portable Radiant Heater. Any one know anything about it? Will I need to buy anything else not in the box? Does It come with a hose? Any one love/hate it?

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-F23...d=1348168603&sr=8-1&keywords=mr+heater+indoor


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## timmie

yes.we have one.webought it a couple of years ago to take camping. it keeps our tent nice and warm,and hubby takes it hunting. great buy.


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## hiwall

it has been out for many years and it works fine.


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## biobacon

thanks for the info, I m goimg to get for a back up in case the power goes off this winter. I should be able to keep at least one room warm with it.


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## sailaway

Do what I do, open the box and see if it's all there.  I like mine we used it to thaw the pipes in the utility room when they froze.


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## LincTex

Buy the 8 foot hose kit so you can use a 20 lb grill bottle. The little spin-on bottles are good for the weekend camping trip, but don't last very long trying to keep part of the house warm.

Always use a filter, too - these Mr Heaters quit working if any tiny little piece of crud gets into the fuel system.


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## jsriley5

I"ll add when using a hose with the big bottle be sure to remember to let pressure off that hose whenever you aren't runing the heater. I have a heater that is currently non functioning because the oil that weeps from the hose will migrate to the regulator and ruin it. At least I think it's ruined if I could get it apart I"m not sure I"d trust it when I put it back together. And attempts at cleaning the oil out by various methods have failed. Loved it till I messed it up by leaving it pressurized long term and then moving them letting the oil get to the regulator. I intend to replace it possibly with the larger version as soon as money allows. It's the best heater I have yet located with a (reviewer reported) properly working Carbon Monoxide shut off feature. Have to get the filter Linc Tex mentioned might have been my savior if I"d been using one.


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## razorback

First experience I had with one was way back in 2002. Went elk hunting with DH and a buddy of his at about 10,000 feet. We didn't have Mr Buddy but the other hunter did, and the sensor wouldn't let the thing kick on because of the elevation. Ours was rated for higher elevation than the Mr Buddy so I stayed nice and warm in the tent at night. Not sure if they have updated that feature over the last 10 years but something to look into. I'll never go camping in the back country with out a heater again, I've done got spoiled =)


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## biobacon

So it dosent come with a filter, or are you just saying to make sure i always use one?


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## jsriley5

Mine (bout 5 years ago) didn't come with a separate or changeable filter and definitely not the one shown above, nor did it come with a extension hose for using a larger tank. pretty sure that filter shown screws into the spot for the lil propane bottles and is specifically for use with the hose and a bigger tank. if you never intended to use anything but the lil bitty short life bottles you'd not need the filter.


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## LincTex

jsriley5 said:


> Mine (bout 5 years ago) didn't come with a separate or changeable filter and definitely not the one shown above, nor did it come with a extension hose for using a larger tank. pretty sure that filter shown screws into the spot for the lil propane bottles and is specifically for use with the hose and a bigger tank. if you never intended to use anything but the lil bitty short life bottles you'd not need the filter.


Yes, all correct. 
However, the little "short life" bottles get expensive quickly. I have an adapter to refill the smaller bottle from a larger 20lb grill tank, but the stinkin' seals in the small bottle are crap (they leak when unscrewed) 

So, I use the hose and run off a 20 lb bottle on just about everything... with a filter added after the hose and before the appliance.


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## biobacon

Thanks for all the info, this was exactly the kind of stuff i wanting to know about.


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## townparkradio

I heat my cabin with it entirely, and will until the doldrums of winter when I'll use wood.. Works reliably. No, it does not come with a filter or long line, you have to buy those.


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## biobacon

Got it two days ago. Im going to test it out tomarrow afternoon


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## Disturbedinwv

I bought the big buddy for a backup heat source. It runs off one or two of the little tanks. But I'd recommend the hose to attach to a 20 lb and a filter. You could maybe use a 100 lb tank with a regulator. Mine seems to run fine and puts of a tremendous amount of heat for its size. Has a built in optional fan that runs on batteries or ac power. I think it puts out up to 18000 btu's.


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## mishy

So is the big buddy worth it? We are thinking about getting one or two. Our home is all electric & we live in an area that can receive big snow storms. We have a large generator that will run house but not the two heating units at same time. Looking for something to work with our fireplace.


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## jsriley5

I don't have a big buddy but have a regular one. extrapolating up and adding the nifty idea of a battery operated circulating fan I think a big buddy or two would be about the best thing going for a portable heat source. And the safety factor is a big deal with them as well as they have a truly working low oxygen/carbon monoxide cut off. I have and sue some of the much cheaper heater heads that hook on a propane tank but I rarely reccomend them to folks I dont know simply because they lack a safety feature. The lil buddy rocks the big buddy should rock twice as much or more.


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## PrepN4Good

We just bought the small one, that uses the 1 lb disposable tanks, for use with our campter at the BOL. Used it this weekend, it got nice & toasty altho we do need a fan to circulate. We were thinking about hooking it up to the 20 lb tanks, didn't know about the filter. Thanks!


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## jehowe

I have been very happy with the one we own as well. They say the filters purpose is needed to protect the heater from oil leaching from the standard hose and fowling the internal lines and venturi tube.

I want to point out that Mr Heater does offer an oil-free hose that doesn't require the filter, and it mentions this in the manual. Not sure if this means that tanks can remain hooked up when the heaters off with this hose though.

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-F273704-Plasticizer-Free-Portable/dp/B001CFWF5U


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## jsriley5

cool thats new news for sure as there was only the one hose offered when I bought mine. Still need to get it in for repairs due to not havng the filter and still wanna big buddy as well


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## Startingout-Blair

jsriley5 said:


> I don't have a big buddy but have a regular one. extrapolating up and adding the nifty idea of a battery operated circulating fan I think a big buddy or two would be about the best thing going for a portable heat source. And the safety factor is a big deal with them as well as they have a truly working low oxygen/carbon monoxide cut off. I have and sue some of the much cheaper heater heads that hook on a propane tank but I rarely reccomend them to folks I dont know simply because they lack a safety feature. The lil buddy rocks the big buddy should rock twice as much or more.


I have the smaller Buddy heater and it seems every time I use it for an extended period, I end up with a headache. Not sure if the CO sensor is working correctly


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## jehowe

Startingout-Blair said:


> I have the smaller Buddy heater and it seems every time I use it for an extended period, I end up with a headache. Not sure if the CO sensor is working correctly


I'd test the heater with a working CO detector before using it again to make sure. Otherwise, it's likely that you have a sensitivity to burning propane (not CO related) which apparently some people have. This amazon reviewer describes headache symptoms here- http://www.amazon.com/review/R22VX17S8ROKYN/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R22VX17S8ROKYN


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## Woody

I've had my little buddy heater for&#8230;. ohh... a good 5 years or more. I use it on fishing trips when I camp in Unit 1, my one seater '94 modified XJ. You do need a fan and I use one of those portable hand fans you are supposed to use to cool yourself. In that small of a space you can't have it on for long, even if it is cold out.

Never used it inside but would agree that it most likely would do at least 200 sq.ft, depending on drafts and outside temp. Again, rig up some sort of battery operated fan to help distribute the heat.

I've never had a reliability issue [knocks on wood] and it is not babied. It is in a non-padded compartment inside the jeep and has always worked when needed.


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## LincTex

jehowe said:


> Not sure if this means that tanks can remain hooked up when the heaters off with this hose though.


The beauty of using a larger tank is that there is a valve right on top, to shut gas off when not using. You don't need to disconnect anything.


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## LincTex

Woody said:


> In that small of a space you can't have it on for long, even if it is cold out.


In that small of a space, you could have gotten away with a good sleeping bag all by itself. If a little more heat is needed, take an old coffee can (or two) and punch some air holes in the rim on the bottom, paint it flat black and set it over a burning candle.


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## ZoomZoom

Cabela's has a couple different models of the Mr. Heater on sale right now in the bargain cave.

Reconditioned units (but the reviews are still very high) but they're about 1/2 price.


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## jsriley5

thnx for th eheads up might have to splurge a little before payday


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## Attila

We have two of them. The regular size Mr. Buddy, and the Little Buddy. Both work really well, and we use ours quite often in the winter. For instance the electric heater is out in our bathroom, so instead of replacing the in-ceiling heater, we use Mr. Buddy, and Mr. Buddy does a much better job that the electric one ever did. I also have one I use at my work bench in the shop. Won't heat the whole shop, but keeps me toasty enough to stay.

Two opposable thumbs up for Mr. Buddy heaters. Can't go wrong with them.


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## jimLE

we had a power outage during the winter storm of 5 or 6 weeks ago.i was prepared some what for that.i bought a my buddy heater 4,000/9,000 BTU. Now im waiting for the next winter freeze, and/or power power outage during a power outage.eventuly i'll buy a 20LB propane tank,with a line and filter for it..


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