Buddy heater 02 sensor

[Cgasner1]

How many of you have bypassed the thermocoupler in your heater I took mine apart and tinkered with it got it working again but the 02 censor I don’t think is gonna work now has anyone had any similar issues with theirs

[MNice]

From what I know, there is not a "sensor".  The pilot is designed to be a bit on the weak side, and the pilot itself is the sensor.

[Cgasner1]

That’s interesting I pulled the spring out on the plunger so it can’t shut the valve so I wonder if it would still go out or what would happen

[esox_xtm]

Why would you bypass the thermocouple? If you were able to lock the gas valve to "always on" that means if the burner and pilot go out gas will continue to spew unburned. That could be a pretty hazardous condition. Even if you turned it "OFF" and were transporting or storing, if there's a gas source attached and the control get bumped to "ON" you've got gas in the car, house or garage.

If you suspect the thermocouple was the problem I'd solve that and let the heater function properly as all gas appliances. Doing otherwise puts yourself, your property/belongings and others at risk. It's not expensive or difficult, especially if you've already gone that far.

The thermocouple is the "sensor" and the pilot activates it.

[Cgasner1]

Well it started by googling thermocoupler was bad and saw a bunch of stuff about just bypassing it so after i did that I wondered if the sensor will still work

[swnoel]

Well it started by googling thermocoupler was bad and saw a bunch of stuff about just bypassing it so after i did that I wondered if the sensor will still work

The thermocouple produces an electric charge when it's in contact with a flame that energizes a magnet in the gas valve and it remains open allowing propane to flow to the orifice.  How can you bypass a thermocouple and be safe?

[Huntindave]

How can you bypass a thermocoupling and be safe?

You can't.

[esox_xtm]

It's a $15 dollar part for cryin' out loud... Give up a case of beer and you're even.

[swnoel]

You can't.

Yeah... the only answer!!!

[Unclegillhunter]

Not knocking anyone, but when you look at something like this you have to wonder where did common sense go? Not saying the op lacks common sense but whoever showed  something like bypassing pretty much the safety system on a gas powered stove, should have their pee pee wacked!
Keep it safe! JDL

[3300]

From what I know, there is not a "sensor".  The pilot is designed to be a bit on the weak side, and the pilot itself is the sensor.

true statement. the less o2 the weaker the flame. the weaker the flame the harder it is to keep the thermocoupler hot enough to hold the gas valve open.
any thing with a pilot works like this to a degree.

what i did was move the pilot closer to the thermocoupler because the colder it is the harder it is to get the thermocoupler hot enough. and it's when we want it to work the most. i think this is the most common issue with this brand heater. a work around is to hold the pilot down much longer after it is lit to try to get the thermocoupler hot enough to open the gas valve. even tilt the pilot closer to the thermocoupler to get it hot and then return it to a level surface to ignite the tile(s).

[Huntindave]

true statement. the less o2 the weaker the flame.

Please explain this further.  O2 is carbon dioxide, How would having LESS carbon dioxide cause the pilot flame to be weaker? 

[3300]

Please explain this further.  O2 is carbon dioxide, How would having LESS carbon dioxide cause the pilot flame to be weaker?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide

please explain how co2 is not carbon dioxide and o2 is not oxygen.

anyways, when the oxygen in the air becomes thinner so does the pilot.

[metalbender]

Why would you bypass the thermocouple? Problem I had with mine was the tip-over switch. Very prone to dust intrusion. Gets dirty, no continuity to the thermo. As far as I know, early versions of the buddy didn't have the tip switch. More safety for the inept. I by-passed the tip switch, can now lay the heater over to cook on it too. Of course this was done knowing there is risk involved, but the old heaters worked fine. Somebody must have had an issue and the lawyers made a bunch of noise and money. 

[3300]

i like it. does it sit flat on it's back so it's level? probably use a milk crate or two?

[Huntindave]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide

please explain how co2 is not carbon dioxide and o2 is not oxygen.

anyways, when the oxygen in the air becomes thinner so does the pilot.

"O" is oxygen, I have no idea what "O2" is,  I just assumed you miss typed CO2 .  My bad.

[3300]

it's all good, we got the jist of it. the point is there is no o2 sensor in it to maintain or replace. the op wanted to know more about that.

keeping the thermocoupler and pilot orifice and tube clean is all we can do with out buying new parts,

[tswoboda]

"O" is oxygen, I have no idea what "O2" is,  I just assumed you miss typed CO2 .  My bad.

"O" is the unstable Oxygen atom.  "O2" is the Oxygen gas molecule that we breathe.  "O3" is the ozone molecule.

[esox_xtm]

The real problem here is someone had an issue with something they knew nothing about (or they would not have blindly accepted bypassing the thermocouple as the answer) and trusted the internet to provide a solution to the problem.

We have no idea what the problem actually is. Thermocouple? Or other, more likely, things like pilot flame out of adjustment, tip over switch, dirty/blocked orifice, etc.?

My first question would be what was the issue? As in what problem were you having that led you down the thermocouple path. Wouldn't light, would light but not stay light, burn for a while and go out?

If I get headache and Google brain tumor that's the only information I'll get and it'll be pretty scary stuff. Guess what, I was just dehydrated... It's like my Mom (God bless her) trying to offer suggestions on why half of some of the outlets and a wall switch doesn't work. She don't know spit about electricity but it sure didn't stop her from supposing. Same thing with her PC. The minute something isn't quite right she's on Google, ending processes in Task Manager, downloading "driver updates" and by the time I get to it she's got it so monkeyed up it takes me half a day to recover it.

If the OP shares the symptoms of his heater before he did anything I think there's enough real expertise here to get him on the right track and keep him safe.

As long as I'm on a rant, can we please agree that there is no such device as a "thermocoupler"? It is a thermocouple. Please? It makes me a little crazy...

[Spider1]

"O" is oxygen, I have no idea what "O2" is,  I just assumed you miss typed CO2 .  My bad.

The periodic table describes atoms not molecules. It takes 2 O atoms to make one O molecule. We breath O2.

It is a terrible mistake to disable any safety feature on a heating system that can kill you  if that system fails.

[esox_xtm]

The periodic table describes atoms not molecules. It takes 2 O atoms to make one O molecule. We breath O2.

It is a terrible mistake to disable any safety feature on a heating system that can kill you  if that system fails.

Now that's a breath of fresh air