A Big Buddy heater requires four D batteries for its fan to operate. You may wonder how to insert the batteries in your Big Buddy heater. We have done the research to provide you with everything you need to know about inserting batteries into the heater.
To insert batteries into a Mr. Heater Big Buddy, locate the battery compartment at the lower back panel of the heater and carefully push down the latch that secures the compartment's cover. Once the latch is unhooked from the heater's housing, remove the cover by pulling it downward.
Press the negative terminal on the spring located at the left side of the compartment. From there, insert four D-cell batteries into the compartment, then return the cover.
A Big Buddy heater uses propane to create heat, but it needs D batteries in order to control the heat inside the housing. Continue reading as we discuss the purpose of batteries in a Big Buddy heater and how to insert them.
Does A Big Buddy Heater Need Batteries?
A Big Buddy heater is a portable heater to which you can connect a propane canister or tank. It is a radiant heater that can heat up to 450 square feet of space. The Big Buddy's operating time can reach up to 11 hours, depending on the setting of the heater.
A fan inside the heater blows heat outwards to warm up a space. The fan requires four D-cell batteries to operate. A Big Buddy heater only needs batteries if it has this fan feature. The batteries allow the heater to be as portable as possible.
Mr. Heater, the company that manufactures the Buddy heater series, has discontinued the fan on some heaters because of changes in import tariffs. As a result, some Big Buddy heater models have no fans.
A Big Buddy heater with a fan can also operate on an electrical adapter when batteries are not available. The electrical adapter plugs into the lower back panel of the device on the left side of the battery compartment.
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How To Insert Batteries In A Big Buddy Heater
You can follow these steps to put batteries into your Big Buddy Heater.
Remove The Battery Compartment Cover
Four D-cell batteries power the fan inside the heater. To insert the batteries, locate the battery compartment on the lower back panel of the heater. The battery compartment cover can be found directly behind the vertical lines etched on the heater.
You will need to unfasten the cover. The cover is secured by a latch at the outer top part of the compartment and two black teeth protruding from the bottom section of the cover. The teeth are inserted into slots on the inner part of the compartment, functioning as hooks.
To properly remove the battery compartment cover, push the latch down with your index finger. From there, use your thumb to press on the bottom part of the latch.
Once you are pinching the small latch, carefully pull it downwards. The teeth at the bottom of the cover should be released in this process as well. After removing both fasteners, lift off the cover of the battery compartment.
Inserting the Batteries
Locate the negative terminal on one of the batteries. The negative terminal should have a flat or a slightly raised but level surface.
Once you have located the negative terminal of the battery, press it against the spring that is protruding on the left side of the compartment. While pressing the negative terminal on the spring, insert the entire battery into the compartment.
The top positive terminal of the battery should have a knob protruding in the center. Position this knob against the metal plate. You should install all four batteries and then return the cover of the compartment.
When returning the cover, insert the teeth at the bottom part of the cover into the two slots at the bottom part of the compartment. Once they are inserted, raise the cover while keeping a finger on the latch. When the cover is in place, release the latch to refasten it.
As mentioned above, some Big Buddy heaters don't have fans. As a result, these heaters have no battery compartment.
How Long Do Batteries Last In A Big Buddy Heater?
D-cell batteries are heavy-duty batteries that have primary and rechargeable options. A D-cell battery can last up to 36 hours when used heavily. However, the operating time will rely on the usage and capacity of the product.
Why Does My Big Buddy Heater Keep Shutting Off?
A Big Buddy heater can continuously shut down when it detects low oxygen in the area. Big Buddy heaters are portable propane heaters that should only be used in ventilated spaces. You can use a Big Buddy heater indoors or outdoors as long as the air is circulating.
Since Big Buddy heaters are radiant gas heaters, they utilize fire in order to transmit heat to the objects around their vicinity.
As a result of this process, Big Buddy heaters expel carbon monoxide into the air. Carbon monoxide is a gas that can be poisonous when inhaled in excessive amounts.
Big Buddy heaters do not have a carbon monoxide reader, but they do have an oxygen detector. Once the Big Buddy heater detects that there is a low amount of oxygen in the air, it shuts down.
This safety feature is meant to prevent the user from inhaling high amounts of carbon monoxide. If the heater detects that the oxygen level is low, the device will assume that there is little to no air circulation in the area.
As a response, it will shut down to prevent emitting more carbon monoxide.
Another reason your heater is shutting down could be the altitude of your location. High-altitude areas can affect the heating process of a Big Buddy heater. In an area that's 7,000 feet above sea level, the heater may continuously stop operating.
If this happens, give the heater some air and allow it to stay idle for five minutes. Then you can try to reignite it.
Why Won't My Big Buddy Heater Stay On?
Insufficient cleaning and maintenance could be the reasons your Big Buddy heater won't stay ignited. Make sure that the parts of your Big Buddy heater are clean and not damaged before operating the heater.
If the flame of your Big Buddy heater has a yellow tinge, it could be an indicator that the pilot tube needs cleaning. A dirty pilot tube can affect the quality of the flame on the heater. It can also cause the flame to be weak and easily blown out.
Before cleaning the pilot tube, make sure that the gas is not connected to the heater. Once the heater is ready for cleaning, remove the black grille in front. Once the obstruction is removed, apply alcohol on a cotton swab.
Insert the cotton swab into the pilot hole to thoroughly clean the inner surface of the tube. Before returning the black grille, make sure that the alcohol has completely dried on the surface of the pilot hole.
You can do this by using a compressed air duster to spray air into the pilot hole. You can use a compressed air duster with a long nozzle that can fit into the pilot hole.
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To Wrap Up
Some Big Buddy heaters have a fan that is powered by four D-cell batteries. The batteries can be inserted in the battery compartment on the back panel of the heater.
In this article, we discussed the process of inserting the batteries into a Big Buddy heater and what you should do if your heater won't stay on. Make sure to use your Big Buddy heater in a ventilated area.
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