Mr Heater Buddy - I ruined mine using this

My name is neill, and I’m the Senior Tech at Enerco Mrheater. The oil substance is called plasticizers, this is added to all rubber to give it its flexibility. The buddy heaters are unusual in a way because they’re regulated at the unit, instead of being regulated at the fuel source (propane tank larger then 1lb cylinder). Because of this you have tank pressure in the fuel line, which ranges from anywhere around 60-190 psi depending on outside ambient temperature. That pressure squeezes and contracts the hose causing the "plasticizers" to leach out. This is the oily residue you will find coming out of the fuel lines, or possibly see it puddle up underneath the heater.

We make our hoses out of a special kind of rubber that has a very low amount of plasticizer. This is why our hoses are pretty stiff and not easily bendable. This only affects the buddy line of hoses, so this is why we designed and patented our propane fuel filter so these oils can be caught before entering the heater.

These are portable radiant heaters, designed to be used with 1lb throwaway propane cylinders, but we know we need longer run times. This is why we make accessory hoses to connect to larger tanks.

Now with all this being said the 10ft hose (F273704) is the only hose not required to use the fuel filter, unless you have a big buddy and you can get our 12ft (F271803) regulated quick disconnect hose.

Any questions related to this, just ask. I’ll be happy to answer.

Lil Buddy needs to drop the internal regulator. It's fine for 1lb. Canisters The whole plasticizers thing had my Lil Buddy dead in three months.
I'm heating now with a Coleman single burner with the Lil Buddy filter attached to a 12' hose and 30 lb. tank. I've put an iron skillet under it , heat shield between the burner and control knob fabricated from a small rectangle throw away cookie tin. It tilts like the Coleman single burner.
Only cost $25.
Obviously you must have enough tilt to keep it from getting hot. I'm very well insulated and about 800 BTU is all I need.
It's worked flawlessly for the past two weeks.

This is a pervasive problem with Mr. Heater Buddy heaters and is not so easily solved.

I've had the same issue with oil get your filters now before the winter cuz they're usually sold out I had to use mine and it messed it up I'm going to try to clean it with a q-tip and some alcohol or blow it out with a air blower thanks

I had the same problem even with the filter. Went and bought the 10 ft Mister Heater hose and it has worked great ever since.

Thanks so much for the straight forward info pal. Here's a quick tip to help keep those stiff hoses from cracking, take some heavy duty grease, slather it all over the hose, then wrap it with pipe insulation. It will be a bit bulkier of course but the grease will keep it as flexible and strong as the day it came from the factory. Best to ya🙏

Its the high pressure from the 20 pound tank thats drawing oil from the rubber line i bought the quick connection version with a regulator at the tank no more problems plus the 12 foot hose from mr heater with the regulator does not have oil impregnated into the rubber

so...yes, this is a easy problem to fix
over abput a YEAR residue will collect
perhaps making a "gurgling" sound as the propane passes the oil residue

Naw you misstep.

you didnt ruin it, you just need to take it all apart and clean all lines fitting and valves out with the air compresser and water and rubbing alcohol. took me about 2 hours. can probably do it in 30 minutes now. just make sure to regrease inside the control valve assembly. i used vasaline. have zero idea if or what i should have used or done but it works like i just pulled it out of the box.

It says in the instructions to use a 10ft F273704 hose.

Your 3rd 😮... In NZ These heaters start at 300 dollars the hose is of course extra, the filter will be extra too. If I purchased this on Amazon the shipping included this heater turns into a 500 dollar expense. Thanks for this, its a lot of money to spend on a small heater you would expect it to work.

Great information! Quick and to the point! I LOVE it!

Thanks for the information.

Just bought 2 filters. Phew,thanks for this simple tip.

rganks for sharing. the most probable explanation for my current problem. whats unfortunate is that the hose i bought from walmart was branded either mr buddy or bernzomatic, cant remember, and closely resembles the off brand one you got, and my system is still clogged after getting a tablespoon or so of the oil to drip out of the heater by turning it off and leaving it on its side.

Take a shower, lol

an option to the filter is to use a hose with a pressure regulator on it

I have one myself. Thank you for the info.

Thanks for the info.

Did you use the filter n you must use the heater buddy hose they make

Good to know. Was wondering why the Mr. heater hose was so expensive but I mean if it doesn't require a filter, it's much worth it.

Your video shows how to prevent blockage. But shows nothing about how to fix a heater after the blockage occurs.

next time you change filter cut your old filter in half and look for the oil, i think they are feeding us BS

According to instructions to the heater it must have a filter installed/hooked up

Propane has a small amount of oil in it. If your tank is higher than your heater you will get a build up in your heater pipes. It's not the hose.

Now that it has been a while, did that hose without the filter work without causing your heater to go out?

If i'm not mistaking propane being a petroleum product also has a slight oil residue in it.

I just ordered a Mr Heater hose. I had a hose from Home Depot. I bought the filter, but it clogged after just a few hours. The heater works fine, using 1lb tanks. I guess the other hose will end up in a box in my shop. I also watched videos on cleaning the pilot and the line between the control and inlet fitting.

I've been using my hose for 2 winters and no issue buy the hose they recommend and you won't have a issue

I use my big buddy on 5 gallon tanks but you need a special type hose

By all means it would be honestly retarded to run it without a filter....... everything thing else on earth uses a filter and you will end up with a BETTER END PRODUCT......... knowing zero contaminants will be entering heater of any kind......even I a grain of sand can put you out in the cold......🤔🤔🤔😉

On the fence on this one,just purchased big buddy,,want to use 20lb tank,but,,I dont like the fact that if I use the hose directly from tank to heater regulator,the hose is high pressure,causing this leaching ETC. I prefer to have the regulator at the tank valve and go through the quick connect,now there would be regulated pressure in line only,but no way to install filter,,plus with quick disconnect,I can hook it to the RV barbeque fitting.and use the RV regulator,,for now just going to use 1LB tanks.
Great vid for a topic with so many answers..

Same happened to me. I had to disassemble the entire heater and basically blow the oil out of the tubings. The filter does not necessarily help. Get yourself a Mr Buddy hose!!

I had one that went on me in about 8 months using the hose and I was a wholesome you know propane place and it lasted about 8 months I believe that the best thing was missed the haters is you're better off if you just used a little tanks if you want to hate her to last use a little tag she ain't going to worry about it oil or anything then there's no excuse for it to go bad and some hoses for some reason I don't know why good luck with the plastic cause I but if I was you I would go just use the little tanks that's all

My son had the same thing happen and bought another Mr Buddy heater and used a filter and it is working fine. I found a spot on you tube that showed how to take the heater apart and clean out the clog, he did exactly as shown and now it is working perfectly. Unfortunately I lost the You Tube site where I got the video I sent him.

where i live their house adds 50% more to the cost of the heater, and the filter is said to be changed frequently so that price matches up soon enough too depending on usage. One can never read up too much before buying ANYTHING any more

Thank you!

Great Video

Great advice!

Good that you shared this information. It could be a critical matter for some.

I have two Buddies with problems. Sounds like this may be the reason. thanks.

Thanks for letting us know

Just an issue I had.......where the pilot light comes through, I clean that little "cup" with alcohol on a q tip. Let it dry for a while before lighting. Works wonders. I have used the long hoses on a 20 pound tank and they work great. Been using my two heaters for about 6 years. (I have both a little buddy and a big buddy). Haven't cooked with them yet but will. HAPPPY CAMPING !!!

I'm.confused, so the Heater buddy hose is better even though it will Crack and leak propane?

Good Info.Thx Much👍👍

Have my big buddy heater eight years now. No problems. Use the regulator hose for propane. Solves all problems.

I got a mr. Heater about a month and a half ago.. I got the 12 ft hose that was made by mr. Heater and hooked it up to a 20 lb propane tank that was brand new.
This heater didn't work right from the beginning something was gumming it up so that it wouldn't light and stay lit.. I had a 1 lb green propane bottle that I hooked up to it and ran that for about an hour and a half because that's the only way it would stay lit and then I thought maybe it was cleared out so I hooked up that 12 ft hose again and it ran okay and when the 20 lb propane tank ran out I went to fill it and it ran okay so I refilled it when it was empty again and the heater won't work again.. I got the fuel filter finally in the mail and put that on but it still won't stay lit so I did the green propane bottle again.. I was also experiencing bad headaches a hoarse voice nausea my eyes burning and I had vertigo..
I wasn't sure what was happening.. so I finally got it lit and it ran the tank down to about half full and it shut off so I filled it the rest of the way up with propane and it ran but I was getting sicker and then I started finding out a lot of people are having this problem and a lot of people were having what it turns out to be allergic reactions to the fumes that were coming from the combustion process running it.. and a lot of people were having trouble with it not staying on it also..
I returned it and got my money back and I never want to see a mr. Heater again..
And I have no more headaches or burning eyes or hoarse voice or nausea Etc..
I think this is a very dangerous heater and there is no mention of any allergic reactions or danger notices about the fumes, they actually recommend it as safe for indoor use.. and no one seems to know how to Fix-It from shutting on and off all the time..

COMMON MISTAKE... just like any other filter, it fills up with junk
I have a couple Mr. Heater filters... their good for 300 hours, according to the manufacturer... it's on the back of the package...
you get a good 12 days, I give it 2 weeks... then change... you'll be fine

I've actually had oil in my Propane. It was causing problems with a lantern. Had to purge the tank, charge with dry Nitrogen, invert and blow out the oil. To finish the purge, needed to introduce a liquid solvent, and then blow that out the vent to clean the tank. For me, it wasn't the hose. It was oil from a compressor or pump somewhere along the line for delivery. The oil tends to dissolve the odor ant, so the oil will have a very strong odor. I was not using a hose. This was a unit mounted directly on a tank with a tree. No rubber to leach oil.