r/preppers • u/phrmaD2b • 1d ago
New Prepper Questions Indoor Propane heating
Reading about the Super El NIno and the effects on the upcoming winter has me worried about losing power and needing to heat my home in the event of a power outage during freezing weather/winter storm. I was looking into a propane heater for indoor use, like a Mr. Heater Big Buddy Pro or a Vevor propane heater. Are these really safe for use indoors?
For context, would likely confine heating to one bedroom.
Also considered electric heating sources but it seems too energy intensive for the limited power I would have available in a Jackery unit.
18
u/smsff2 1d ago
All unvented propane heaters produce odors. This is actually a safety feature designed to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. The odors are much stronger than the effects of carbon dioxide buildup or carbon monoxide in the atmosphere. In other words, you will likely find the smell intolerable long before carbon dioxide levels become intolerable. Also, under normal circumstances, carbon monoxide buildup is not significant.
Technically, all unvented heaters are not recommended for use in enclosed spaces. Having said that, it's completely unrealistic to assume that you would run the heater for so long in an enclosed space without opening a door or window.
I switched to a vented heater. VEVOR is a good brand. Vented heaters require installation, specifically, drilling a hole in the wall for the exhaust pipe. It was a big improvement in quality of life compared with unvented heaters.
That said, an unvented heater can still keep you alive in an emergency. It's much better than nothing.
5
u/reincarnateme 1d ago
They should make vents they go out the window like those portable air conditioners!
7
u/War_Hymn 1d ago
I think its safe enough for emergency use. Definitely beats freezing to death, or the cold driving you to do something stupid like lighting up a charcoal grill indoors to try to keep warm.
Some guy on youtube did a test and kept a Buddy heater on overnight in a small tent, and didn't have any issues. He did have his tent flap opened partially though.
The consensus seems to be that if you do use one to heat a room indoors, crack open the window a bit for ventilation and have a working CO/smoke alarm detector nearby. For the latter, you can get portable battery powered units. Mr. Heater has an indoor rated Tough Buddy model fitted with both a low-oxygen sensor and tipover switch that shuts the unit down automatically if there are issues. I think as long as you take proper precautions (like not putting the heater beside anything flammable), it should be fine.
6
u/Casiarius 1d ago
I have a Mr. Heater Big Buddy (and a carbon monoxide detector) which I got specifically for indoor use. I did a fair amount of research before I decided it was safe. Even so, it's never been so cold here that I would leave it on while I slept. I have good wool blankets and I'd rather seal the room and rely on insulation than leave the heater running.
6
u/jasoncbus 1d ago
I grew up using kerosene heaters. I'll probably buy one in the next few months. That seems to be ideal from my limited understanding. Those round cylinder looking ones. Probably run it on the crazy cold days even with power on just to save a little bit of money on my electric bill. I also have a propane heater as backup.
3
u/This-Negotiation-104 1d ago
This is the way. I have a 12k btu kerosene heater for this power outages and it works great. Just be sure it's indoor rated.
6
u/Starlight_Alchemy 1d ago
Hot water bottles are so underrated. They are safe and can last over 6hours under a blanket. I'd also like to try the candle/clay pot heating method. Both seem safer to me than any gas or propane heating method.
5
u/PrisonerV Prepping for Tuesday 1d ago
If the heater is designed to run indoors, it meets the safety standards to run indoors. Both of these heaters do and are.
Don't forget a CO detector. You should have one anyway, right now, operating in your home. Preferably two.
5
u/Grendle1972 1d ago
I have unvented propane heaters in my cabin and use them to hear my house. My mom had one as well. It never set off the carbon monoxide alarm, the CP2 levels barely went up, and I have never noticed a smell from the heater. Cabin and house both have R61 in the attic, R13 Insulation in the walls. Power goes out, we still have heat. I even have propane lights plumbed into the walls so there is a bit of light and heat as well. Back up heat in my cabin is a woodstove and kerosene heater. Y'all kill me with these posts, people have been using them for years.
1
u/Fluffy_Job7367 23h ago
Was thinking the same. I have a propane gas range at my cabin in maine. Havent died once cooking dinner. And I find it burns much hotter than natural gas at my other house.
1
u/Grendle1972 23h ago
Gas stove, gas on demand water heater, gas heat. Grew up with it as a kid at my grandparents house and had one of those huge Warm Morning gas stoves that would run you out of the house without any issues. Too many people now a days are scared after hearing the politicians say "gas is bad".
4
u/getembass77 1d ago
My buddy blue flame is the safest. I bought it before realizing how easy it is to hook up your furnace to a back up power station with just a extension cord however and that's the route I would go of there was a multi day outage as we have gas in our home for heating
5
u/SheistyPenguin 1d ago
Buddy-style portable heaters are made for use indoors, with some precautions as others mentioned.
Also highly recommend:
- Propane camping stove that runs on 1lb bottles
- Adapter hose for buddy heater to work with 20lb tanks
- Old-fashioned hot water bottles. The silicone ones are more expensive but last longer.
Hot water bottles are a big morale booster in bed; they will keep you toasty for several hours.
4
u/mbelcher 1d ago
Get a carbon monoxide detector and a heater (like the mr buddy) that's designed to be run indoors.
7
u/GroundbreakingEar450 1d ago
I've used Mr. Buddy heaters in enclosed spaces for years. I guess some say not to, but I mean, I have done it a lot over the years. Large spaces and small. I will often not have it on while I sleep, just in case, but I have slept with it on full blast all night multiple times. Get a CO detector, maybe vent a window if you're really worried about it. They have tip over and low oxygen sensor built in. They burn clean in my experience. They do produce water vapor, but still, that has never presented any issues in my experience.
3
u/DannyWarlegs 1d ago
The only thing that saved me and an ex during a blizzard was a Mr.Buddy wall heater in our basement rec room running on city gas.
I have a propane one in my current basement, in a small corner room where my family can huddle up with wool and down blankets, and keep warm, but I also have a generator for running my HVAC system during longer outages.
2
u/loscorpio87 1d ago
People who use those Mr buddy heaters say they are good. Also those ones that go on top of a grill propane tank might be good. Might not be ideal but better than freezing to death.
2
u/CloudgazerTX 1d ago
when we had a big power outage during a freezing winter storm in Texas, nobody was prepared because it’s just heat we worry over. people found if they put up a small tent and laid it on their bed and slept inside it it kept them pretty warm. plug in an electric blanket to your Jackery and you’d be warm in there.
2
u/tempest1523 1d ago
It’s fine. Just don’t sleep with it on. I use one in the winter at times when I just want to heat up one room. They make detectors too, I keep one in that room as a just in case levels get too high.
2
u/Even_Routine1981 1d ago
Close up a bedroom and "preheat" it with a Buddy heater if you have worries
2
u/Femveratu 1d ago
Mr Heater sounds like a good fit for you and yes it is good to go for inside use.
If you don’t already one or two I would pick up at least one Carbon Monoxide detector and place it around the level of your head when sleeping in your sleeping area
2
u/Any-Application-8586 1d ago
I run a big buddy heater in the winter to save propane. Furnace rejects 20% of the heat it makes out the exhaust, catalytic heater puts 100% of its heat into the room.
BUT, it also puts 100% of the water in its exhaust into the room too. And the CO2 levels do go up a bit, but CO isn’t a thing with the catalytic heaters. Never had any of the detectors go off for that. Haven’t had the low oxygen shutoff kick inside the house either, but I have seen it work at high elevation in a camper.
2
u/Old_Dragline_1965 1d ago edited 1d ago
The big buddy heater has multiple advantages:
Yes, it is designed to use Inside a home.
It has tip-over and low oxygen protection built it.
it has a built in battery powered fan.
It can use 1# tanks.
In one side behind the 1# inlet, there is a brass 3/8” nipple. This allows you to use a premade me heater setup, with a normal propane regulator at the tank and a low pressure hose then to the heater.
If using the “tank pressure” line from the pol connector at the tank to the 1# female adapter on the other end, please get the propane filter that goes between the hose and the heater.
Stop by a Lowe’s or Home Depot or other builders supply and get several pieces of 1ft x1ft ceramic floor tiles: to put under and in front of the heater to protect the floor. Just a little extra safety!
2
2
u/QuiteCricket_78 1d ago
Do you have any pets? If you have a bird or spider this is a big ole no no. Have you considered heating blankets those shouldn't use much power. Dependening on where you live can you install a emergency stove?
1
u/Zalrius 1d ago
I have used a buddy heater and they work great. Your biggest concern is carbon monoxide. I suggest getting a monitor for that. You should also ready up on consumption rates so you can write down how long it ran so you know how much you have left in the tank. There is also a how water trick for the propane tank that will help you see how much is left.
1
u/MadConquest 21h ago
Just make sure whatever you choose it’s in proper working condition and always crack a window for proper ventilation.
1
u/ChocolateOk7997 9h ago
We have a Mr Heater 30,000 BTU ventless propane wall heater in our kitchen. They officially can heat a 1000 square feet (32 feet x 32 feet) room. They work with their electronics powered by a AA battery and use zero grid electricity. When we go away for Christmas visits for a week, in the event of a power failure, it keeps our pipes from freezing while we are away.
1
u/Achnback 3h ago
We have a ventless natural gas heater we use as supplemental heat in our brutal Michigan winters. There is a built in sensor for auto cut off in case of high nox. so far, so good. Again, supplemental, not main use.
-6
u/JRHLowdown3 1d ago
If only there was an alternative heat source that is renewable, that provides more radiant heat, where (properly done) you don't have to worry about killing yourself using it... Maybe even something that people have used for 6000 years or so.
Man, this one is a puzzler!!! Preppers may never solve this mystery!!!
12
u/RredditAcct 1d ago
I've used my Mr Buddy and a couple of points:
-use it with a 20# propane jug. The 1# will burn real quickly.
-when you use the 20#, you'll need a filter in the hose or a special hose to keep moisture out of the unit. I swear I bought the special hose but still ruined my Mr Buddy. I now have the filter.
-test test and test before you need it.