Mr Heater F274865 Portable LP Heater for Indoor/Outdoor Use - Red, Perfect for Camping, Garage & Emergency Heating in Massachusetts/Canada

I use this in an 8x20 tiny house in Austin, TX and it keeps it plenty warm on nights when it reaches the low 30s. And that's on the lowest setting. I can imagine on a higher setting it would suffice even in a colder clime. Using it from mid-November til mid-January, it find it burns about one 20lb tank of propane a week or so. Mind you, this is central Texas, so that's not running anywhere close to full time. I got the hose they recommend with the regulator, and ran it out a window. That gives me a little fresh air which makes me feel more comfortable about using it in the house.The first time you attach the hose, you do have to hold it down quite awhile to allow the propane to climb up the hose. And my pilot light NEVER lights until about the fourth time. I don't see this as a problem, just don't think your unit is broken if it doesn't light immediately. Once you see the pilot light up, hold it for 3-5 seconds until it stays lit on its own. Then turn the knob to the level you want. I have found sometimes it will not light on low if the unit has been on recently, and is not completely cooled down. So I turn it on to medium, and then back down to low when it fires up. I also stand there and watch it until it is going. One time I turned it on and crawled back into my loft, and woke a couple hours later to the smell of propane. It had not lit. So just make sure it's going before you walk away.Also the anti-tip feature works extremely well! I had a ladder that twisted once with me on it and I literally crashed on top of the heater while it was on. Not my finest moment, and bruises galore, but the Big Buddy shut down immediately and nothing spilled or leaked even though it went all the way over on its back. I accidentally bumped it walking by once, and it sits down with just the slightest nudge. It won't come back on for several minutes, but all of this is a good thing in my book. My crash landing bent the protective metal grate a bit, but I was able to reshape it and reinstall it. I'm really not a klutz--just not terribly functional before coffee! My two cats love to sit in front of it and walk by way too close just taunting it to catch their tails on fire, but so far we have not had any roasted cat tail incidents! I've recommended this to my friends and family, and two of them bought them as well. They got the smaller version, which is the same BTUs on the low and medium settings, they just don't have the high setting. This unit is slightly larger, but I figure for a few extra bucks and inches, I'd rather have the high setting just in case I ever need it!Needed a heater for my 10x14 canvas tent, this heater works perfectly and keeps the tent comfortable. I use a 20 pound propane tank and bought the accessories to hook up the larger tank. If you go that route be sure to buy the line filter to stop your heater from becoming clogged due to debris in the larger tank @ less than $10.00 dollars this is good insurance. For a weekend and warmer fall weather the one pound tanks will provide plenty of heat for a couple days. I use this heater during ice fishing season with a one pound tank, due to the size of my ice fishing shelter this heat is sometimes too much even on the lowest setting.Received Nov 1, 2016, worked fine, no issues...Starting two weeks later the fan, using the Mr Heater power transformer, for power, the fan makes a loud noise...very loud...turn it off, then back on several times, will eventually stop making the loud noise and run normally, the fan has issues! The fan does this now, each and every time the unit is turned off, then turn back on at a later time of the day. Since I use the heater daily, I don't want to return it, but I would like a replacement, and return the problem unit. I would give the heater 5 stars if the fan did not have issues.Dec.5, 2016, I just recived a new assembly Item # 78404, Cover Back , with Fan from the Mr Heater Company. I contacted the company, about my problem with the heater, they have sent a under warrenty replacement part to take care of the issue with the fan motor. Very pleased with their fast response to my problem... I have changed my rating to 5 Stars!P.S. The fan heats a room much better with the internal fan running...The first one I ordered was missing a control knob. Set it back, and got another one. So far love it. I live in northern Wisconsin, and spend time working in the garage. I looked at different ways to keep my work area work area warm( from the knees down). I had no need to heat the whole garage, and did want something portable. Looked into electric portable heaters. Ordered one 1500 BTU, I believe it was defective. Sent it back and decided on this heater.I think it's over rated on the area it will keep warm, however for me I keep it about six feet from my work area and even when it's been 10 degrees in the garage it keeps the chill off. I also like the fact that if I need to work on something outside, it also keeps the chill off.I would recommend this heater.Nice design and overall a good unit but it doesn't put that much heat out. It might warm a one car garage but it will barely raise the temperature on a multi-car garage. 18,000 Btus is about the same as three to four standard hair dryers. Yes they'll be warm if you are near them but they aren't going to make take a 35 degree garage to 65 degrees. Nor will it heat you up much if you are tailgating.On the positive side it is very well made and very portable.If you want to heat a drafty garage from 35 to something comfortable in a short time I'd choose a unit with at least 40K btu. If you want something small and portable this is probably your best choice.We purchased this item during the aftermath of the Hurricane - It does work fairly well but there is a definite odor of propane if used on medium or high setting. Propane consumption: I ran the heater on medium for approximately on day - it used a 20 pound tank of propane - It did make our family room comfy on only the medium setting - that is about 200 sf. We did not need to crank it up to high setting. It was a real pleasure after enduring 50 degree temp.Connecting small propane cans is OK but when connecting it to large tanks it may leak and cause fire. One of the units I bought caught fire and had to return it. But it produces very high heath even in the open air.I still have to test this in the extreme cold environment that I purchased it for but in testing at home with the optional 12 foot hose for 20lb propane tank connection and optional ac power adaptor it kicks out an insane amount of heat. I’d say this purchase was better than expected. 18,000 btu on high gives you heat when you need it.The Canada version (this one) is the same as US version except it says the Canadian one can’t be used indoors. I tested indoor and nothing measured on my Carbon monoxide detector. There is a low oxygen sensor on the unit so that won’t be an issue. I’ve determined it’s safe for me to use indoors. As I stated, it does say not to be used indoors so I wouldn’t recommend indoor use unless you’ve done some controlled indoor testing such as I have and determined for yourself that it is safe.This Big Buddy throws a great heat, we have a 6 person tent with screen room and never have to turn it up past low setting on the coldest nights in the spring and fall, we actually just use it more for warming up the tent & bags before going to bed {about 20 minutes} and then turn it off and in the early morning another 20 minutes before we get up. It is quite easy to start once you get used to it, I've never had a problem in the few years I've owned it, I do keep mine in a specially designed bag meant for the Big Buddy, I suggest you buy the bag for storing so as when you haul it out the next time to use it, it will light, what happens is spiders and bugs favor the gas line and end up inside it creating blockage so unless you want to push air through a compressor or use a Qtip and some rubbing alcohol to clean the line, consider it. So mine was bought a few years ago and I got it just in time before they stopped putting a fan in them, that's petty and cheap of them and whats with the high price, the highest price this thing sells for in PEI is 199.00. AlthoughI have rarely ever use the fan "almost never" and I even bought a 6-volt power source for it I still highly recommend the Big Buddy but I wouldn't pay more than 200.The reason for buying this heater was the integrated fan, after opening the box and trying to open the battery compartment, I realized the battery door was glued shut. After calling Mr Heater, they informed me due to high tariff costs on the fan parts they were left with two options. Either raise the price of the unit or delete the fan. Regretfully, they deleted the fan. The unit still heats very well, however it doesn't have the fan to help move the hot air.This thing is amazing. It is really well made, and it kicks out a lot of heat. It has made my garage Workshop occupiable, even on the coldest days. I have hooked it up to a 20 gallon tank using the big buddy Quick Connect hose adaptor and so my cost to use it is quite reasonable. Highly recommended.Note: when hooking it up to a 20lb tank, hold the switch in the pilot light position for up to two minutes the first time you use it. It apparently takes that long to fill the hose, according to a YouTube video I viewed after not being able to get it to light after I hooked it up to the tank. I followed that advice and now it works perfectly.***** This is a follow-up after a few months of using the Big Buddy. This thing has changed my life. My garage was a complete mess, because before I got the heater, I never wanted to be in it. Since I got this heater, and can now work comfortably in my garage, I am out there all the time. I now have it organized, and I'm actually building projects.Concerned about some other posters mentioning fumes, I bought a CO2 alarm with a display that shows the CO2 level. It has never exceeded zero. If you have an unheated workshop garage, I highly recommend this unit.It's a great product....but.. not as advertised.The model I recieved did not have a fan. It was supposed to.The model I recieved was supposed to be a Canadian model. It definitely was not.Again, great heater.. but I wanted something else. And now it's too late to return it as it's cold out and I need it. Severely disappointed.