Catalytic heater question February 09, 2003, 02:22:07 pm Yahoo Message Number: 18876I recently recommended a catalytic heater to an RVing friend as a supplementary heat source, and in looking at the available choices the question arose: why are the Olympians so expensive? I had never thought about it before, but you can buy a 9,000 BTU Mr. Heater "Portable Buddy" for well under $100, while an Olympian 8,000-BUTU unit--the largest they make-- sells for about $350. The Portable Buddy can be used either with 1-lb. cylinders or with a 5' or 12' hose connected to a refillable 20-lb. D.O.T. tank (or presumably to the coach's propane supply). Like the Olympians, it has several heat settings, a piezo ignitor and an oxygen depletion sensor that makes it safe to use indoors. In short, based on the specs it appears to by comparable in every respect (and superior in heat output) to an Olympian model that costs three and a half times as much. Now, maybe the Olympians are built better--but *that much* better?? Gertie already has an Olympian built in, so this is academic to me...unless I wanted to get a portable in addition. But I'm really curious about the reason for this huge price disparity. Surely there must be something that accounts for the difference, but durned if I can see what it is. Anybody have an idea? Also, has anybody usedd the "Portable Buddy," and if so what are your impressions of its pros and cons?Andy Baird :-)
Re: Catalytic heater question Reply #1 – February 09, 2003, 06:41:08 pm Yahoo Message Number: 18883-The Mr Buddy heater is not a catalytic heater. It is an open flame infared radiant heater. It burns at a much higher temperature than a catalytic such as the Olympian. To me this is an advantage because it radiates the heat much further. The downside is that it is more dangerous in that it can set stuff on fire more readily. Also the Mr Buddy only has a high and a low setting. This relates to 4000 and 9000 btu. It does have a pilot setting which holds the pilot light only on and that puts out quite a bit of heat. As a note the instruction say not to try to set the control dial between the high and low settings. Probably none of the above does anything to affect the price. I would guess the price difference is because the Olympian is made for permanent installation and the Mr Buddy is for portable use only. I imagine that the Olympian would have to pass through many more testing and certifying agencies.NormQuote The Portable Buddy can be used either with 1-lb. cylinders or with a 5' or 12' Quotehose connected to a refillable 20-lb. D.O.T. tank (or presumably to the coach's Quotepropane supply). Like the Olympians, it has several heat settings, a piezo ignitor and an oxygen depletion sensor that makes it safe to use indoors.Quote In short, based on the specs it appears to by comparable in every respect (and superior in heat output) to an Olympian model that costs three and a half Quotetimes as much. Now, maybe the Olympians are built better--but *that much*Quotebetter??Gertie already has an Olympian built in, so this is academic to me...unless I Quotewanted to get a portable in addition. But I'm really curious about the reason for Quotethis huge price disparity. Surely there must be something that accounts for the Quotedifference, but durned if I can see what it is. Anybody have an idea? Also, hasQuoteanybody usedd the "Portable Buddy," and if so what are your impressions of
Re: Catalytic heater question Reply #2 – February 09, 2003, 08:59:52 pm Yahoo Message Number: 18886"The Mr Buddy heater is not a catalytic heater. It is an open flame infrared radiant heater. It burns at a much higher temperature than a catalytic such as the Olympian." Thank you, Norm! I just assumed that the Portable Buddy was a catalytic heater. Duh! Now that I know it's not, I know at least one major reason for the price difference between it and the Olympian cat heaters: it contains no platinum. Platinum is the catalyst in all cat heaters. Even in the relatively small amounts used, this precious metal must contribute significantly to their price. I'm thinking that one of these Portable Buddy heaters might just be useful for warming up the bathroom on cold mornings before showering. Gertie's cat heater is all the way in the back, so it doesn't do anything for the bathroom. And my homebase is an all-electric apartment ...if we ever had an extended power failure in cold weather, I'd be mighty grateful for a little heat. I think I might just get me one of these.Andy Baird :-)
Re: Catalytic heater question Reply #3 – February 09, 2003, 10:30:10 pm Yahoo Message Number: 18888Andy, I also thought it was a catalyic until I went to purchase one. We use it in our trailer for just the purpose you describe. It is quiet and it will heat things up in a hurry. Just don't put it near anything that can burn because it is red hot. Also on high heat it will go through a 1 lb bottle in short order. I have not verified it but on another rv group someone said Lowes had them on sale for $59. That would be a steal. I just purchased mine from Camping World on special for $80.NormQuoteI'm thinking that one of these Portable Buddy heaters might just be useful for Quotewarming up the bathroom on cold mornings before showering. Gertie's cat heater is all the way in the back, so it doesn't do anything for the bathroom. QuoteAnd my homebase is an all-electric apartment ...if we ever had an extended power failure in cold weather, I'd be mighty grateful for a little heat. I think I
Re: Catalytic heater question Reply #4 – February 09, 2003, 10:56:54 pm Yahoo Message Number: 18890Quote Also, has anybody usedd the "Portable Buddy," and if so what are your impressions of its pros and cons? Andy, We've had a Mr. Heater Portable Buddy Heater for a couple of years. We use it in our VW poptop camper. It's great. We've only used it with the 1 lb. bottles, which work fine. I've never really checked, but I think we generally get a couple of night's heating on one bottle. I try to buy the bottles in bulk at Costco, for both our camp stove and the heater. I plan to use it in the LD we have on order, with the bottles first and then if it seems satisfactory I may tap into the LD propane system with a quick disconnect hose. It has some mounting holes on the back to allow it to be mounted to a wall, but we'll probably just store it in one of the outdoor compartments and bring it indoors when needed. By the way, we've used it up in the Sierra Nevada mountains and not had trouble with the oxygen depletion sensor turning it off. I should stick it in an enclosed space sometime and let it run to see if that feature does, in fact, work. We don't sleep with it on though and when running I leave the overhead vent open a bit and a window cracked. It does produce moisture, like the catalytics I think, but with ventillation that doesn't seem too bad.TerryPalo Alto, CA
Re: "Portable Buddy" heater Reply #5 – February 10, 2003, 05:11:58 am Yahoo Message Number: 18895Thanks to all who posted information and experiences with regard to the "Portable Buddy." This sounds useful enough that I decided to get one. I poked around a bit on the web and found most places selling them for about $95; a few on eBay for less than that...but then I found that Amazon has it for $84.99 with free shipping. Rather than mess with an eBay auction to save a few bucks, I took the easy route and One-Click ordered it through Amazon. :-)Andy Baird :-)
Re: "Portable Buddy" heater Reply #6 – February 10, 2003, 07:25:08 am Yahoo Message Number: 18896AndyA reason I purchased the Olympian Wave 3 was that it can be used above 7000 FT in altitude. The Portable Buddy is not designed to be used above 7000 FT. This may not be a big concern to East Coasters with the limited amount of high altitude mountain camping areas. We have mountains within a one hour from Los Angeles drive above 8000 FT. Many of the areas we camp in the Sierras and White Mountains are in excess of 7000 FT. You sure can't beat the price of the Portable Buddy and it will make a great second unit for your LD.Larry
Re: Catalytic heater question Reply #7 – February 10, 2003, 10:41:21 am Yahoo Message Number: 18905QuoteI recently recommended a catalytic heater to an RVing friend as a supplementary heat source, and in looking at the available choices the question arose: why are the Olympians so expensive? I had never thought about it before, but you can buy a 9,000 BTU Mr. Heater "Portable Buddy" for Quotewell under $100, while an Olympian 8,000-BUTU unit--the largest they make--Quotesells for about $350. Andy, the reason the Olympian can operate with such low levels of CO and unburned fuel is because of the very low flow rate and very large combustion surface area (exposure to O2). This makes a design like theirs expensive and space-consuming when analyzed 'per btu' - but far and away safer than most cheaper competitors. Note that the fact they are catalytic is a plus - due to the additional safety of the low combustion temperature - but not the main reason for their emission superiority.As a matter of course, I would simply steer away from anything that produces a lot of heat from a very small device for use other than outdoors. Olympian can provide you with independent lab results for CO emissions, but none of the cheapies have responded to me on this issue.Steve
Re: "Portable Buddy" heater Reply #8 – February 10, 2003, 12:20:11 pm Yahoo Message Number: 18911QuoteThanks to all who posted information and experiences with regard to the "Portable Buddy." This sounds useful enough that I decided to get one. I Quotepoked around a bit on the web and found most places selling them for about Quote$95; a few on eBay for less than that...but then I found that Amazon has it for Quote$84.99 with free shipping. Rather than mess with an eBay auction to save a Quotefew bucks, I took the easy route and One-Click ordered it through Amazon. :-)Quote Andy Baird :-) Andy,Camping World has it on special for $80.97 plus $1.00 (President's Club price).Tom
Re: "Portable Buddy" heater Reply #9 – February 10, 2003, 07:58:50 pm Yahoo Message Number: 18920QuoteWe love ours!!!! It stores in the side of the LD and when it's REALLY cold we bring it inside; has an ignitor et al., One thing tho, if it's really cold you should bring it inside ahead of time - like the night before if you want to run it in the a.m. because it likes to be at least relatively warm in order to ignite. Little Buddy claims to require no ventilation but we only run it when we're awake and it physically is set near the door or in the cab area. We also purchased one of those refill valve things??? so we can fill off a portable propane tank rather than continue to purchase and have to dispose of those 1# units. Saves a lot of $'s and w/ a little planning ahead your 1# unit is ready to go. I think we purchased ours at GI Joes for about $89. Works great in the boat too when it's really wicked outside. It's $'s well spent.
? for Larry re Olympian Cat Heater Reply #10 – February 12, 2003, 10:08:37 pm Yahoo Message Number: 18978Quote A reason I purchased the Olympian Wave 3 was that it can be used above 7000 FT in altitude. The Portable Buddy is not designed to be used above 7000 FT. This may not be a big concern to East Coasters with the limited amount of high altitude mountain camping areas. We have mountains within a one hour from Los Angeles drive above 8000 FT. Many of the areas we camp in the Sierras and White Mountains are in excess of 7000 FT. You sure can't beat the price of the Portable Buddy and it will make a great second unit for your LD.Larry Larry, I don't remember what size your LD is, but do you feel a Wave 3 would work in a 30' or would stepping up to a Wave 6 make more sense?Chris Horst
Re: ? for Larry re Olympian Cat Heater Reply #11 – February 13, 2003, 06:52:54 am Yahoo Message Number: 18984"I don't remember what size your LD is, but do you feel a Wave 3 would work in a 30' or would stepping up to a Wave 6 make more sense"ChrisWe have a 23.5' FL. I would suggest the Wave 6(maybe even a Wave for the 30' LD. We have less storage space and a smaller area to heat so the Wave 3 was our choice. We also have fewer windows and the ones we do have are the new dual-panes. The Wave 6, at full output, is roughly comparable to a 1500-watt electric heater. I would not expect it to provide all the heat your LD will need in cold weather. Think of it as an area heater that heats what it is aimed at. Its main strengths are high efficiency and zero battery consumption. You do need to have a small amount of ventilation to replace the oxygen consumed and to exhaust the moisture build up. I like having some ventilation anyway in cold weather. In cold, dry weather, the human body loses large amounts of water through the skin in an attempt to maintain its natural moisture. In cold weather, the heat flow away from the skin carries the moisture with it. When tent camping in freezing weather, I drink large amounts of water at night, up to a quart or more. In warm weather, I almost never drink at night.Larry
Re: ? for Larry re Olympian Cat Heater Reply #12 – February 13, 2003, 07:52:58 am Yahoo Message Number: 18985Quote "I don't remember what size your LD is, but do you feel a Wave 3 would work in a 30' or would stepping up to a Wave 6 make more sense"Quote ChrisWe have a 23.5' FL. I would suggest the Wave 6(maybe even a Wave for the 30' LD. We have less storage space and a smaller area to heat so the Wave 3 was our choice. We also have fewer windows and the ones we do have are the new dual-panes. The Wave 6, at full output, is roughly comparable to a 1500-watt electric heater. I would not expect it to provide all the heat your LD will need in cold weather. Think of it as an area heater that heats what it is aimed at. Its main strengths are high efficiency and zero battery consumption. You do need to have a small amount of ventilation to replace the oxygen consumed and to exhaust the moisture build up. I like having some ventilation anyway in cold weather. In cold, dry weather, the human body loses large amounts of water through the skin in an attempt to maintain its natural moisture. In cold weather, the heat flow away from the skin carries the moisture with it. When tent camping in freezing weather, I drink large amounts of water at night, up to a quart or more. In warm weather, I almost never drink at night.Larry Thanks, Larry, for your quick response. I'll most likely be getting one before the next summer is over.Chris
Re: Portable Buddy Heater Reply #13 – February 13, 2003, 08:01:49 am Yahoo Message Number: 18986Quote.... I just purchased mine from Camping World on special for $80.NormAnd there is also a $10 off coupon in the Camping World Presidents Club Members Only Coupon Book for 2002-2003 - page 35, expires 4/1/03.Chris
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