Mr. Heater Portable Buddy 9,000 BTU Propane Radiant Heater #F273400

What's in the Box
Heater (piezo igniter, igniter wire, ground wire, RH plastic cover, fuel control knob, rear cover, LH plastic cover, two base support tubes, guard wire, handle tube, burner-mount screw, regulator, owner's manual, control valve, pilot ODS/ tip-switch assembly, burner orifice, burner orifice o-ring, burner plenum, burner tile clip (2), burner tile gasket, burner tile, burner reflector, regulator hold-down)

Five Tips for Buying a Heater
Choosing a space heater is a matter of sifting through a bewildering array of types, power ratings, and fuel sources. Let's break it down a little to make the process easier.

What are the different types of space heaters?

• Radiant heaters emit infrared radiation that directly warms the objects in front of the heaters (rather than the surrounding air). If you only need heat by a desk or in a small section of a room, a radiant heater is quiet and will use very little power.
• Forced-air heaters use a fan to blow air that has been warmed by metal or ceramic heating elements. A forced-air heater is appropriate for quickly heating up a small- to medium-sized room, but can be noisy.
• Convection heaters draw cold air from the floor; the air is warmed by heating coils and emitted from the top of the heater. A convection heater is appropriate for quickly heating up a small- to medium-sized room, but also can be noisy.
• Radiators work by heating oil enclosed in a reservoir, gradually heating the surrounding air. If heating speed isn't an issue, you might want to opt for a radiator. These are extremely quiet and effective--perfect for bedrooms.

Should I buy an electric or a combustion model?
If you want a heater that will be available in emergencies, or that can heat areas larger than a single room, choose a "combustion" model--one that is powered by a gas or fuel like propane, kerosene, natural gas, or diesel. Which fuel type you choose depends largely on convenience and local availability. For example, diesel would be appropriate for a heater you take with you on long car trips.

How powerful a heater do I need?
Heaters are rated by BTU, which stands for British Thermal Unit (the amount of heat needed to heat one pound of water by 1 degree F). To find out how many BTU you need:

• Calculate the volume of the space to be heated by multiplying square footage by height.
• Multiply that number by 4 if your insulation is poor, 3 if it's average, or 2 if it's good.

Do space heaters cost a lot to operate?
As a general rule, electric space heaters are more expensive to use than combustion models. To ensure energy efficiency, a thermostat is a must-have feature for any heater. For radiant heaters, models with a 360 degree heating surface can heat larger spaces. If you need a forced-air heater, models with ceramic elements tend to be more efficient.

Are space heaters a fire hazard?
Space heaters are implicated in about 25,000 residential fires every year. To ensure proper safety, always follow the manufacturer's usage instructions and fill out the warranty card to receive informational updates from the manufacturer. Also, look for extra safety features such as an automatic shutoff switch that can shut down the unit if, for example, it gets upended. In addition, choose a model where the heating element is adequately enclosed within the unit.

If you have electricity, use an electric heater. Don't bother with the hassel of propane. The cost isn't too different and the hassel factor is much higher than electricity.

I also don't recommend using the small canisters. That's an inconvinient way to go as well.

BUT. If you don't have power and need a cheap, safe heat source that you can run while you sleep, this is the best one made. Buy the 12' hose, place a 20lb propane tank outside, and run this heater all night with just a small crack in a window or door (just in case!). You will get > 100 hours of heat out of a tank of propane! Less than a buck to run it all night.

Highly recommended under the right circumstances.


The purpose of the fuel filter....   November 30, 2005
M. Hiltabidel (Cleveland, OH)
96 out of 100 found this review helpful

Once and for all, here is the purpose of fuel filter for this heater. When you use this heater with a remote tank & rubber hose, it is imperative that you always shut the tank off first & let the heater run until it burns off all the fuel in the lines. YOU MUST DO THIS EVERY TIME. If you simply turn the heater knob to the off position, what you are doing is trapping 100 PSI of propane in the rubber hose. When high pressure propane just sits in your rubber hose, it literally causes the rubber to leetch a light oil that is part of the chemical composition of the rubber. If this oil forms and you have the filter on the heater, the filter will catch it and seperate it from the gas. If you do not have the filter, the oil will quickly work its way into the heater & destroy both the regulator & control valve. The heater can be repaired, but these two components will need to be replaced.


Non-vented gas heaters--   September 30, 2001
Amanda Peck (Waynesboro)
90 out of 121 found this review helpful

Non-vented gas heaters have a couple of problems. You usually hear about the danger of carbon monoxide buildup. I don't know as I've ever had a problem with that, cracking windows when I run either kerosine or propane heaters.

But this heater is what for heat I had last winter in a travel trailer. Running it for a couple of hours gave me lots and lots of condensed water vapor on the windows.

I complained to some neighbors about this, wondering if I had a special problem here. But they said that they thought that a big heater of the same kind left their floor too damp to walk on barefoot.

Bottom line--ventilate, ventilate ventilate.


deleted due to stupidity   October 16, 2002
67 out of 98 found this review helpful

I'm deleting my wrongheaded and misinforming review based on research of catalytic...not radiant propane heaters. Serious safety issues surround the use of propane RADIANT heaters by campers. Issues include CO POISONING, radiant heating of combustible materials and asphyxiation.
www.carbonmonoxidedeaths.com should be consulted when purchasing a radiant camp heater.


Keeps the kids warm and toasty   February 13, 2002
Mike K. (Irvine, California USA)
49 out of 50 found this review helpful

This heater is perfect for tent camping in larger tents. It's not too big and pretty stable. We have a large cabin style tent that sleeps 6-8. On our last camping trip to our local Southern California mountains in January 02, the temp at night got down to the mid 30's. Mr. Heater kept us almost too warm, even on the low setting. Our kids ended up sleeping on top of their sleeping bags. The safety features and BTU range were the deciding factors in our purchase. The low oxygen sensor gave us peace of mind(I still purchased a battery operated Carbon Monoxide sensor for the tent for extra precaution)and the BTU range was good. I could not find any other indoor approved heater that warmed us so well. At first I purchased a infer-red heater that attached to a bulk talk. I found too many reasons why not to use it in the tent(No low O2 sensor, no heat shield, and no low setting). Don't chance it. Get an 8 to 12 foot extension hose and a bulk tank. The portable tanks won't last all night. I wouldn't recommend this heater for small tents(not enough space, not enough air volume, and the potential for Carbon Monoxide problems is too great).