Mr Heater Big Buddy smells like exhaust....

Posted by mathbishop@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 22 comments

Looks like this sub has a lot of knowledge regarding these awesome little heaters. I have been running mine to keep warm this time of year and just noticed it started to smell like exhaust. I never noticed it putting of any sort of smell in the past. Could this be a sign that I need to replace my propane filter? Any other reasons why this could be happening?

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mathbishop@reddit (OP)

Update. Swapped the tank with one that I had refilled (as opposed to a home depot swap, which was what WAS on there), and replaced the filter. No more exhaust smell. Most likely oil getting through the old filter from the hose but I figured I would replace the tank since I had an extra one.

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TimelyCommission1953@reddit

If I buy a totally new MrBuddy heater, and get a new 1lb tank from Walmart, then the exhaust smell shouldn’t be there, right?

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dannitdan@reddit

Did you swap the hose?

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mathbishop@reddit (OP)

No. Hose has been kept indoors and is about a year old.

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dannitdan@reddit

Well, it’s presumably leaking enough oil to fill the filter in less than one season/year.

The mr buddy website has good info about this specific issue.

https://www.mrheater.com/mhuniversity/hoses

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cplus4@reddit

Wonder if there’s kerosene in the tank somehow? That’s the only thing I can think of that would cause that kind of snell

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mathbishop@reddit (OP)

Out of curiosity I weighed a brand new unused filter and it 235 grams. The used one is 253 grams. Probably bunked up pretty good in there.

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newarkdanny@reddit

Are you using a CO monitor

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mathbishop@reddit (OP)

Yes

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kojiros@reddit

Hoses can break down and cause problems as well. I’d change out 1 thing at a time and figure out if it’s the tank, filter or hose.

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TheSensiblePrepper@reddit

Did it start doing it after replacing the propane tank?

Are you using 1lb tanks or an adapter hose for a larger tank?

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mathbishop@reddit (OP)

Yea, this is after a fresh tank swap. Using it with a 20 lb tank and a hose + filter.

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ColonelBelmont@reddit

Do you have another hose filter you could put on? I'm not sure west happens if those go bad, but it's possible you're smelling the built up oils or whatnot.

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mathbishop@reddit (OP)

That’s what I was thinking

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TheSensiblePrepper@reddit

It is possible the tank is bad. If you have another tank, switch the tank and see if it improves. If you don't have another tank, take it back to the place you did the swap and tell them it smells weird and might be bad. Have them give you a different tank.

Regardless of when you get the new tank, take the heater and tank outside and bleed out the line. This is done by having the heater on and then cutting the propane valve off at the tank and letting the heater run until it dies. Do this with the old tank first so you know there isn't propane in the line with the new tank.

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