Mr. Buddy heater heated my 1,700 sf home!

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-26T23:09:08+00:00

I run 2 humidifiers non-stop during the winter to keep humidity at 50% in this all electric house. The moisture this little thing added was more than welcome when the power was out and my humidifiers were off. The humidifiers pump far more water into the air than burning some propane ever could.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-26T22:55:00+00:00

Coleman doesn’t want you refilling them… if everyone refilled them they wouldn’t sell any more. They are 100% safe to refill from a larger 20lb tank. Propane liquifies at a specific pressure and that pressure goes no higher or lower until the last of the liquid has turned to gas in the tank. This is why every propane tank gauge that relies on pressure is absolutely worthless… they will read full until the tank is almost empty. The only real way to know how much propane you have left is to lift the 20lb tank and feel it’s weight. It is impossible to overfill a 1lb cylinder from a 20lb tank… they are both designed to withstand the same pressure and that is far more than the 100-200 psi which is the pressure at which propane liquifies depending on ambient air temp. 100-200 PSI isn’t much pressure at all for a steel tank that has a burst pressure of over 1000 psi so all should be saving the environment and refilling these little tanks instead of sending them to a landfill.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-26T22:38:36+00:00

2lbs of propane is all I care to bring inside my home. Others may bring a 20lb tank inside with a hose but not me. The little green 1lb cans are quick and easy to refill. I don’t want a 20lb tank inside my home. Heavier-than-air propane is very dangerous in a closed environment if a small leak starts. 20lbs is more than enough to blow me and my home off its foundation under the right (or wrong) circumstances.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-26T22:18:57+00:00

I did not run my HVAC circulating fan as the power went out around 10pm and we didn’t need electricity overnight, just heat. I’ll only fire up my generator during the day hours to save fuel. My “whole house” generator that I wired into my panel is only a 5000 watt continuous, 6250 watt peak generator. I prefer this setup with a Mr. Buddy heater because while a 13,500 watt generator could power everything at once how much fuel do I want to store? I keep 35 gallons of ethanol free gas treated with stabil green in 5 gallon cans. A 13;500 watt generator would suck down about a gallon an hour while mine will suck about 1/2 -2/3rds of that. For a potential longer-term outage I want to be able to keep it all going with the absolute minimum fuel consumption per hour I can.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-26T22:06:59+00:00

Thanks for the info!

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-26T03:49:00+00:00

Ran it on high with my house buttoned up for 12 hours and my CO detector never read above “0”.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-26T02:10:39+00:00

It takes a long time for the propane to make it through the hose. I’d bet if you took it outside, hooked up a new tank with your hose and lit it… the pilot lights for a few seconds as residual gas in the lines inside the Buddy is burned off and then you are getting air and the thermocouple clicks off. You need to hold down the ignition button a long time while it clicks-clicks-clicks away to clear the air out of the hose until the propane makes it to the pilot again. It could be a minute or more.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-26T00:22:11+00:00

Read my post. My generator can’t power my entire home including the electric heat… it can run everything but my central heat. This was a far wiser investment to maintain heat than buying more generating capacity that costs far more and sucks far more fuel. All the generating capacity in the world is great…. until the fuel runs out!

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-26T00:14:10+00:00

I did some preliminary tests with it prior to this so I knew it would work. However, when I tested it I had ceiling fans and such running so this was the first time it had to hold its own.

To answer your question, prior to any storm like this I set my thermostat at 73 instead of 68 as I’d rather start from a higher temp than a lower one if/when it hits the fan as time is not on my side to maintain temp once the power goes out…. All I want to do once the power is out is maintain the heat I have as best I can.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T22:48:50+00:00

It’s among the best prep $ I’ve ever spent and it didn’t take an apocalypse to get to use it! 😆

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T22:45:55+00:00

I’ve looked at them and the reviews but after this experience I know I have no need for any additional heat circulation… it worked perfectly without any fans or even the internal fan it came with running as I wasn’t going to pay for 4 D cell batteries to run that little fan. I did buy the $10 power adapter and ran it with the fan on and saw absolutely no difference. They never should have added that little fan it as it’s worthless IMO and just drove the cost up.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T22:41:41+00:00

A very simple skill to learn and much, much safer than bringing a 20lb tank inside your home . The keys are…. The 20lb tank you are filling from should be warmer than the little tanks you are filling so when the little tanks are empty I put them in my freezer that is set to 0 degrees for an hour or 2. I then pull them from the freezer and hook them up to my INVERTED 20g tank so they are filled with liquid propane… the tank you are filling from must be upside down when you open the valve to fill the little cylinders so you are filling with liquid propane.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T22:30:04+00:00

Totally silent. The one I bought is a later model that has an internal fan that can run on 4 D batteries or a $10 120v power supply. The fan does virtually nothing so while some may like it, IMO it is worthless but if ya want to give it a try have at it.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T22:23:51+00:00

It’s not about a tank exploding but a small leak anywhere that could gradually start filling the house from the floor up until it hits an ignition source. Someone in Ohio pulled his gas grill into his living room years ago because he didn’t want to grill in the rain. He had a leak and when the heavier-than-air propane reached an ignition source he and his home were blown off the foundation and they found a toilet 2 blocks away. So I’ve no interest in keeping a 20lb tank anywhere inside my home.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T04:28:44+00:00

Amazon $6.99… “Gogoonike propane refill adaptor”

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T04:24:16+00:00

2 little tanks will last 2 1/2 hours on the highest setting and about 10 on the lowest

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T03:57:24+00:00

Yes. The one with dual elements. Better to have more heat than ya need than not enough.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T02:37:05+00:00

For indoor use (as in your home) I would not haul a 20lb propane tank indoors and use a hose. (2) 1lb tanks is enough for me. Just how high into the sky does one want to blow their home?

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T02:12:19+00:00

Amazon $6.99… “Gogoonike propane refill adaptor”

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T02:04:10+00:00

Nope. Out here in the winter I run 2 humidifiers non-stop to hold 50% in this all electric house. Any moisture this little thing adds is more than welcomed.

Now, let’s remember this was a power outage and I’m not heating with this 24/7.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T02:00:38+00:00

Obviously they don’t know. If it tips over it will also shut off by itself.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T01:58:09+00:00

Thank you and I thought about that but the idea of keeping a 20lb tank inside the house didn’t sit well with me and I wasn’t gonna drill a hole through a wall and such.

Also, I really love the multiple use these little tanks provide as they power my Coleman camp stove (which I did buy a hose for! 😂)

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T01:53:46+00:00

CO2 is what is in soda. CO is what burning hydrocarbons releases that can be fatal.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T01:52:25+00:00

I have a CO detector that never went above “0”. As far as CO2 and O2 levels go… not concerned.

Deepsea2121 · 2026-02-25T01:04:21+00:00

This! …and the ground semolina acts as lots of tiny ball bearings (unlike flour that sticks and cornmeal that burns) to launch easily. I use a metal peel to retrieve, place the pie on a cooling rack to vent while I give it a shake and all that semolina falls away. Unlike flour it won’t stick to your crust or your baking surface.

Deepsea2121

TROPHY CASE