Little Buddy Heater wont stay lit

[slymer83]

I have a Little Buddy Heater , the one which runs on a single 1# tank , when i hit the pilot light it ignites and when i let go of the switch the pilot light goes out ... I have had it for probably 5 years so i know how to operate it just started doing it last week on Onieda , i emailed the company , with no answer i have followed the companys maintence instructions still not working ..... any suggestions its really cold in my Kodiak lol

[hesseltine32]

I'm curious for answers too. I have a little buddy heater only had it a few months and it seems now I have to hold he pilot light for several minutes before it will stay light.

[tundra1]

sounds like the thermocouple is bad, or like mine did this year. I had crud or something in the valve and the pilot was a real small flame. I had to take a piece of wire and wrap around the "t" couple and into the flame to make it work...flame seems to have cleared up now. Glow gas in rome might have parts slymer
Good Luck

[eyeballer6]

Sounds like the thermo coupling.

[Mr. Freeze Miser]

Those heaters work exactly as a natural gas water heater...it has a thermocouple as a safety device..the thermocouple creates millivolts of electricity when heated and powers a pilotstat electromagnet valve...that is why you have to hold the button in for about 30 seconds until it is heated and the valve will remain open...when flame in heater goes out...electricity is gone and then electro magnet closes the gas valve...quite a great safety device.  Weak thermocouple=no flame...in other words...change the thermocouple and sometimes the orifice might need to be cleaned. Gander Mountain sells thermocouples for the MR Heater brands.     

[travis9791]

open your heater up and unplug the wires going to the thermocouple. If this solves the problem then you know that the thermocouple is the problem. You can use the heater without the thermocouple but your heater will still let gas out even if the heater is not lit. So do so at your own risk. I would advise buying a new thermocouple. looks like you can get one for 20 bucks here



www.propaneproducts.co m › ... › All Mr. Heater Parts, Fittings, Hoses

[slymer83]

is the thermocoupler the pilot fuel line thats the only part they list ... no "thermocoupler "

[travis9791]

i see my link doesn't take you to the page i looked at. I googled "buddy heater thermocouple" and   it was the fourth link down. It says the sku on propane products is 73404

[Hardwaternubie53]

Are you using a fuel filter? If so, replace it. I had the same problems and changed the filter. No more problems.

[mricefish]

If you are running off of bulk and use the hose, you need to put a 10.00 flilter on it.  I never thought i needed one, and my big buddy was doing the same thing, stay lit for about 30 sec and would go out.  Now i have a new heater with a filter on it.   have to try and figure out what to replace or clean out now on my old one some day now.

[jrogbuff]

From what your discribing it is the thermocouple.  You may not be able to just unplug it, these are safety devices and if thats the case it would be a fail safe switch.  That is to say the heater wont work if you unplug it.  You may be able to jumper it and see if the pilot works.  this would prove that its the thermocouple.  Some of the Mr Heaters also have a tip-over switch(another safety).  It your problems not the thermocouple i would suspect the tip-over switch next.

Hope this helps

[RTXGuy]

My buddies did the same thing on saturday.  I put it in my shack next to mine for a few minutes to warm it up and then it finally began to work.  They are fairly simple devices, the thermocouple would be my starting point.  I stuck my fingers up inside the bottom and wiggled the wire and thats when it finally lit. Could be coincidence but who knows.

[jiggly wiggly]

I have a Little Buddy Heater , the one which runs on a single 1# tank , when i hit the pilot light it ignites and when i let go of the switch the pilot light goes out ... I have had it for probably 5 years so i know how to operate it just started doing it last week on Onieda , i emailed the company , with no answer i have followed the companys maintence instructions still not working ..... any suggestions its really cold in my Kodiak lol

  you need to talk to a gentleman named  HANK HILL.  he  sells propane and propane accesories

[fishnfool59]

 

  you need to talk to a gentleman named  HANK HILL.  he  sells propane and propane accesories

[bigredonice]

I have a Little Buddy Heater , the one which runs on a single 1# tank , when i hit the pilot light it ignites and when i let go of the switch the pilot light goes out ... I have had it for probably 5 years so i know how to operate it just started doing it last week on Onieda , i emailed the company , with no answer i have followed the companys maintence instructions still not working ..... any suggestions its really cold in my Kodiak lol

slymer, try a few things first before you start pulling things apart.  First, blow some compressed air in the flame orifice.   Try it after that.   If it still doesn't work, try the wire trick that Tundra1 suggested.  If that doesn't work, then its probably the thermocouple.

[fiskasassassin]

open the doors while lighting fresh air could help

[slymer83]

Thanks for all the info guys i spoke to the manufacturer the part they described was 40$ so ive decided to by a new one but i will get the one with the tanks on the side of the heater this time instead of the single tank Little Buddy Heater i will get the Buddy Heater this time ...I tried compress air blowing all the parts off ..then i took it apart and inserted a pipe cleaner like they described for maintenance/trouble shooting, not to happy but there was no guarentee that that was the problem either but they said it was typical when this problem happens

[slymer83]

it is the regulator valve assembly

[missfishy]

don't they have a saftey device for when they tip over ...maybe it's stuck 

[slymer83]

yes they do I spoke to the manufacturer and he never mentioned that had me push the on button in as hard as i could (?) didnt work then decided it was getting any propane i bought a new one hope it doesnt melt my shanty lol

[bigZin315]

Cabelas sells refurb buddy heaters for $50 mine works great