buddy heater problem - not wind!

[akjw7]

2nd winter on my buddy heater and went out yesterday and couldn't get the heater to stay lit.

Light the pilot, get the heater burning, turn away and within a few minutes it was out again.

Pulled it in the house today and after everything was room temp started messing with it. Remember all testing here was inside so no wind - in other words the pilot light blowing out issue is not the problem...

I could get it lit fine and after a couple minutes the pilot would start freaking out - very erratic flame.

tried the q-tip with alcohol - no change

looked on the website and found the recommendation to clean all fuel lines in soap and water - took the thing all the way apart (what a pain!) and soaked the lines for a few hours. Rinsed and blew them out. Reassembled - same problem...pilot will go out (relight from the ceramic off and on a dozen or more times) but eventually it goes out and then the heater kicks off. At one point it actually ran for about an hour and i thought she was fixed, but then just like the rest of the time it went out...it simply won't keep the pilot steady burning and eventually it goes out and the heater follows a few seconds after.

Thermocouple? I don't think so - pilot stays lit with the knob in the up position - heater works, just won't stay lit reliably

Tip sensor? I don't think so - again the thing works - just won't stay lit

low o2 sensor? shouldn't be...

only things I think it can be are the actual pilot assembly (bad orifice or something?), regulator, or control valve.

Any ideas? Anyone replaced any of these before - why? Did it fix it?

fyi - I use bulk bottles with the filter installed. Always try to turn the tank off and let the heater burn out.

I can't believe how tough it was to get these plastic sides off! didn't take the burner out - I think that would have made it easier!

[Fishin Fireman]

Bad propane

I doubt that this is the case for you though. I noticed my big buddy doing the same thing the other day off the 100 lber while out working on the shanty, I never had a problem with it doing that the day we were at Quartz on the 20 lb bottle.

Things that make you go HMMMMMM

[travisj88]

Try to pm barlydog he seems to know alot about almost everything or try listing it in our Alaska section and he may respond.Sorry I can't help.
Travis

[Bailbuster]

Sounds like the thermo couple to me,it acts like the couple loses the mili volts and shuts down the heater.BB

[Fishin Fireman]

In my case it could be low or bad propane on the big cylinder or like he said it could be the thermocoupler.

As soon as you hear something let me know. It may be a good fix before it happens to mine.

[akjw7]

my uneducated assumptions here, but I don't think it's the thermocouple - in fact I think it's working perfectly.

The pilot goes out - then after a few seconds the heater is shut down, just like if you turned the knob to off - my guess here is with the pilot out the thermocouple loses heat and disconnects the flow of gas - i.e., it is working exactly as designed.

Am I way off here?

I guess I'm going to have to order the pilot assembly and the regulator - neither one seems like it should be intermittent, but I don't know what else to do...it is a very come and go kind of problem - for the first few mintues she runs like brand new - strong pilot light...then it gets flakey and starts kind of sputtering - flame starts getting erratic and flickering - then it goes out, relights from the burner - repeats that process for anywhere from a minute to 30 minutes but eventually it ends the same - the pilot fails to relight at some point and the burner quits a few seconds later.

Guess I need to get on the phone to their support line - that will be fun! No doubt they'll tell me to replace everything...

oh the other cool thing is the control valve on their parts website shows two possible parts depending on a marking...mine has neither marking! Fun eh?

should have jumped on the dyna glo sale the other day - going to spend more on parts and shipping to get this fixed...and then for how long?

[The Hooked One]

We had a similar problem with my mr. buddy. We now run it with a big propane tank hooked to one side and a small coleman tank hooked to the other side. Try this first. We dont have any more problems now.

[akjw7]

fyi - I use bulk bottles with the filter installed.

thanks for the idea, but I'm already using a big tank. First had the problem with an 11lb bottle and in troubleshooting tried a 20lb bottle with no difference (filled at different times at different locations)

[Icewarrior]

must be why theyre slashin the prices on them

[akjw7]

possibility! There are a lot of these units out there and I'm not finding much in the way of similar reported problems...kind of leads me to suspect a less than everday failure. (unless all the people with the "wind blowing out their pilot light are seeing what I am and assuming that it's wind when it's not)...or maybe this problem is happening all over and people are just junking them and not searching the net for fixes...I for one can't afford that attitude!

keep em coming...someone must have replaced some hard parts on their buddy heater to fix a problem like this - hate to pay $15 shipping on a $4 part to find out it wasn't the problem....

[Bailbuster]

Could be a piece of crap in the pilot orifice ,if you know a gas guy he may have a set of pilot drills he could clean it.BB

[akjw7]

I think the pilot would be my first replaced part if I do anything

the only thing listed in the troubleshooting guide is alcohol soaked q-tip shoved and twisted around. The manual (downloaded from the website) talks about not cleaning the orfice with anything else (paperclip, safety pin, needle, etc) to avoid damaging the "calibrated ruby"

no idea what the hell that means, but I don't think they want you jamming anything through that jet opening...

[Bailbuster]

Pilot drills are just that, they are a kit of differant sizes to fit most any size pilot hole just cleans it does not change hole unless you use the wrong drill and you turn them with your fingers.BB

[akjw7]

gotcha - thanks! What's the calibrated ruby?? :-)

no gas here in fairbanks - well a small amount is trucked in, but it's not prevelant - the pilot assembly is only $13 plus shipping so I may just buy it...in my mind it's the most likely culprit - I would think regulator or control valve wouldn't be intermittent like that - I don't know what I'm talking about, but those parts seem like they are simpler with less likelyhood for a precision orifice to be boogered up...

[Mainehazmt]

the first thing they are going to ask you is if you tried it with 2- 1 lb bottles   try that first  before you call   I have 3 big buddys and 1 buddy heater   never a problem!  esp now that I use the quick disconnect hose!   never could get it to stay on high with out the quick disconnect now I can run 2 of them off a 5 lb tank on high with no problem!

[akjw7]

guess I should have been more specifid - this is not a big buddy - just a buddy so only one propane inlet - no dual tanks, that's only on the big buddy I think.

This particular problem doesn't seem to care what the unit is running off of (I did try a 1lb bottle for kicks) it still does it.

[akjw7]

response from mr. heater tech support

I just received your e-mail re: heater cuts out prematurely. There are a number of things that could cause this type of problem.
First, What is the altitude above sea level where you are operating your heater? Are you providing the required 9 square inches of fresh air ventilation?
Have you always used a fuel filter when operating your heater from a bulk tank? Do you replace the fuel filter annually?
When you disassembled the heater did you notice any oil around the fittings on your heater or inside the control valve?
To address the question  that you asked me, Yes the regulator and control valve will definitely give you an intermittent problem if they are bad. The regulator is a factory sealed component so you cannot see inside it to determine that you got all the dirtor oil out of it. You also cannot see any damage that may have been done to the diaphragm inside the regulator. The control valve has an electrical component (solenoid valve coil) inside of it that will become unreliable at best if it is exposed to moisture.(OIL)
I hope you find this information helpful and I look forward to answering any other heater questions you may.

we'll see what more I get out of them after I answer his questions...

[akjw7]

I'm still working on this issue, but in the meantime I bought a dynaglo tag along for $35 at home depot - i gotta say I like this thing way better than the buddy heater

one hand lighting (the knob trips the ignitor when you turn it to pilot)

sturdier construction (the handle on my buddy has always sucked - finally riveted it)

better QC maybe - the pilot light actually hits the thermocouple on the dynaglo!)

and probably the top reason - the swiveling propane inlet! Talk about convenient...

i'll continue to update on my progress with the buddy heater - think it's going to take parts though (probably the pilot but with shipping it's probably a smart move to get the regulator and control valve also...cost me what I just paid for the brand new dyna glo so no parts order until some spare funds pop up)

[ice_mike]

If you have been running off of a 20lb tank the gas valve and regulator more than likely have oil in them.
The only fix is to replace them and clean all other parts with soap and hot water.
When running the hose and bulk tanks you should shut your heater down by closing the valve on the tank and not the heater. If not oil will collect in the hose and eventually get into the regulator and valve.
I had the same problem as you and oil was in everything. With the new parts and a good cleaning it has been running good for 2 years now.
mike