Don't use a stove fan with your Mr. Heater Big Buddy or Little Buddy!!!!! 

The fan makes the heater much much more efficient. All you needed to do was to find a way to place the fan in a position where it did not overheat. That is why it comes with a thermometer. Something like a piece of tin (paint can lid) between the heater and the fan or a coat hanger to move the fan a little further up or back was all you needed to do. They sell replacement Thermoelectric generator modules for your fan. Go fix the fan and continue your experiment and it will work great.

I have my stove fan sitting on a grate attached right above the top of the protective cage of the big buddy (you can see my set up at my RU-vid channel). Pursuant to watching this video and your analysis, I used my laser thermometer to measure the temperature at the the base of my stove fan. This is a Big Buddy Heater, on the highest setting, and it had been running for nearly three hours at that setting (with the stove fan). The temperature at the base of the stove fan is between 350-360 degrees F. I then measured the temperature near the wires, fan heat sink etc., and that was like 280 -284 degrees F. I'm just not getting the high temperature readings you report. Not doubting you, certainly not trying to argue. Your report and analysis is worth consideration. Thus the reason I did my own testing/measuring. But, I'm just getting different data, and having a different experience. No fan failures, no wire melting. Just a good a heater and stove fan combo that appears to work very well. And it seems to be operating within specified temperature range. My 2 cents... 🙏

I've used both the big buddy and little buddy for heat in camper trailers. The best fan setup I've come up with is to place the fan about three feet above the heater and tilted at a 45 degree angle so it pushes the heat down and circulates it around the room.

Back in the 80s, my grandpa used a wood stove fan on his gas heater. It spins from the heat. Now it didn't go fast but it would send heat across the room.

Just used them together today during the artic blast. Lost power and was freezing. Worked like a champ.

Living in my truck part time over the last couple winters . Best bet is to work overnight shift and sleep during the day . ( Sunlight/less hassles) But when needed I've used my Lil Buddy w/ a 6" USB charged fan on low . Works wonders.

We used the big buddy for about 4 years while living in our rv. We used 100lb tanks(outside) and then used a regular dollar store box fan on low to spread the heat. Great little heater.

THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS TO EVERYONE'S ATTENTION.. THIS COULD OF STARTED A FIRE IF YOU WEREN'T ON TOP OF THIS.. IF NOT A FIRE REAL SMELLY BURNING WIRE PLASTIC COULD OF DRIPPED INTO YOU HEATER. THAT COULD OF BEEN BAD PLASTIC FUMES THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE BREATHING... GREAT EXPERIMENT....

I have that exact fan, and use it with my buddy and it works great. You need to raise it and move it back so it doesn’t get as direct and the fan blows air through the heat stream. I built a support from a coat hanger. Also, if the fan warms up too much, the heat differential that makes the electricity won’t be sufficient and the fan will stop. It takes some “field engineering” to get it to run consistently. Don’t give up.

On the channel Riverside Homestead Life, 3 Things You Didn't Know About Your Mr. Buddy Heater, the guy used an inverted paint roller grid to form a platform for a cooking pot. This setup may put your fan in a better position. The only drawback that I saw was the grid potentially getting hot enough to melt the Mr. Buddy carry handle. You may have to find a better way of attaching the grid.

My fan is what makes my Buddy work so well. Been using it for years. I wrapped the wires in foil, and use it on low. (it works fine on high too but it's too hot for me)

My big buddy has an onboard fan,works perfect. It’s -32 here right now, Alberta Canada, December 20th. It’s a good unit if the power were to go out.

Thanks for this video. I confirm that his is great advice. Too late for me. Like you, I didn't test the temp until I had a problem. My Dyna-Glo Grab 'n Go 18K's temperature at the grate above the heat was way over 775°. I had no idea that it was that hot.

I zip tied a paint grid to the handle, adjusted to the proper angle and wired the fan to the grid. It works great.

Glad you made this video. I just ordered a stove fan for my little buddy.

Thank you for the information it sounds like you have prevented a lot of troubles for other people so all in all this certainly is a win

Thank you for the information. The comments let me know that I can still use the fan on my little buddy with the grate turned upside down. Still a great heat source in my 23 foot travel trailer.

Safety first! Thanks for the video. As an aviator, I know how important it is to stay within the manufacture's recommended operating procedures. Plus when you start modifying anything to do with safety, you don't know what limits you have placed on other components. No way am I going to sleep in my camper with anything that might catch fire.

I use the fan blower that is built into the Mr Buddy. It takes 4 D batteries and it works great.

Hello, "John"; I wish you had included links. I'd like to try the fans in a different configuration. BTW, I trust you, to a degree. It doesn't look like you're trying to take advantage, it looks like you're trying to warn others. So I feel you are trustworthy enough for me to listen to you. Nevertheless, I would like to try a configuration w/ the fans on a paint roller tray accessory. Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!

Thanks for the video. I just bought one and ordered a fan just like it. Good to know it’s to hot for it. Thanks!

I bought one of these fans for my big buddy. I haven't had any problems. 2nd winter running it. So far so good.

Thanks for the video. Isn't it unsafe to have a propane tank indoors? We have used the Mr. Heater/ Buddy Heaters for more than five years and over this time we've discovered the different variations of the Mr. Heaters. Very recently we discovered the stove fan on RU-vid. We too were very excited to hear about a fan that will help distribute heat and operates on the heat from our Mr. Heater. We have the simple one fan with stand, no engine, no electricity required. We're very happy, more comfortable with less use of propane and looking forward to saving some money this winter with the help of the stove fan.

As others stated, positioning your fan 1-2” further back where the wires aren’t exposed to the direct updraft will solve the problem. The plastic handle doesn’t melt, nor will your fan wires if they are closer to it. I have a $20 amazon fan on mine that’s just fine.

While it should be obvious, it’s something I haven’t considered. Our home was converted to electric heat a few years ago. I purchased 3 of these buddy heaters as backup units so we don’t freeze to death with a power failure. I recently added a larger natural gas heater. You saved me some money X4 and the potential safety hazard. Thank you 👍😎

I'd take it apart and try to repair, solder the wires back in place and check the motor resistance with a meter to see if the motor shorted.

I love my little fan. Bought it and use it for my stove. The directions literally say not to use it with Temps over 600. Maybe yours had no instructions. Appreciate all your input..along with all the comments con the fan. Always learning here..ty

Wow, thank you for sharing your experience. I have thinking of getting a fan for my little buddy. But with your great insight, I will wait for my big buddy. Thank you & God bless you in Jesus Name. 🤗🙂

Could sit a couple of cap blocks on each side of the Buddy Heater, and sit a metal grid between the cap blocks, to raise the fan up high enough to eliminate overheating.

Good video! I just ordered a replacement rear panel with the fan and it works perfect. I also use the 12 volt adapter to save the batteries.

I have run this setup for 2 winters in the house. the fan base sits on the second from top crossbar of little buddies front grille in the "sweet" spot. occasionaly run on high setting with zero problems . I run a dehumidifier to control the moisture emission.

Thank you for the honesty and PSA.

I have been running the fan on top of a buddy heater and the big buddy. I have had no issues. I used a couple of butter knives to make a bracket and two paper clips to hold it in place.

Thank you Sir! I just picked both of the same items and put the fan on only for a few minutes. I may make a small rack mount for the fan though after I more closely observe the operating temperatures. Great video!

Thank you for experimenting and sharing this. I might make and affix a coathanger wire cage platform with needlenose pliers, so that the fan base would be secured a distance above the grill. Would have to test for the sweet spot of height. For cost and longevity, I'm torn between buying lithium ion D-cell rechargeables and a good stove fan. I don't know how long the fans last until they're distorted or fried.

I put my screen up in the so called cooking position and put a 1.5 inch thick 4x4 metal plate and fan on that and it runs fine for hours at a time and for the last 3 months no issues. I did it this way thisnking of a wood stove and affraid of melting the wires. So far so good

To use the heater to heat water or cook food, use a tripod like the kind used on an outdoor camping firepit.

Well your video definitely saved me $35 because I would have blown the first fan as well but now I have a great idea on what to do and I'll post it later on when I get it done

Thank You! the fan almost immediately broke on my big buddy heater and I was going to pull the trigger on a stove fan. Glad I saw this

Would love to see a closeup on how/where exactly you had your fan attached/mounted.

The Little buddy works great with the stove fan you just have to run it on low. I use a temp lazer gun to check on temp and it runs about 475F. On low.

Thanks for sharing your experience I was thinking of getting a fan & inspite of reading through the comments as usual people always have opinions & different points of view or ideas. They all know everything but know nothing. We all learn by mistakes. The fact is someone thought of this idea & others ran with it. The manufacturer I'm sure is aware of what people are doing & imo would make something as they did with the 20lb hose that doesn't need a filter. I do not trust a backwoods bush fix after seeing this as the commenters are not engineers & did not have it tested for safety so I would strongly air on the side of caution as it's not their loss of something bad happens.

I’ve been running my stove fan on top of my big buddy on high for 8 hours+ a day for a few weeks now with no problems you should try and get a replacement fan sent out to you! Also I have two individual fans instead of a double unit so there is space in between the two of them so there is much less chance of overheating! My fans were only rated for 650 F and they do fine so it could definitely be that your specific fan was manufactured poorly.

A small ceiling fan will bring the heat from the ceiling down to the living space of a travel trailer. Paid $20 for the one I have have from Amazon. Works by USB and has an inline switch. Positioned my fan (like yours) on my Little Buddy but there's too much heat rising from the heater to be effective without damage to the fan. I did use the heat-driven fan atop a 3-candle chandelier. The fan started just fine but, there wasn't enough heat rising from the front of the set-up. Insta-fire has a stove/heater combo using the heat-driven fan that works very well. It burns canned fuel. I tested the heater with a 2-hour fuel can. Pleased with the results. This combination is designed very well.

People have modified the heater by creating a stand so these fans are at a distance where they wont burn up. Ive been using buddy heaters for many years and have several of them. They are great heaters, but I have always used them on the lowest setting. They get really hot and will heat up an area pretty quick.

Thank you, this information is vital to my planning. Thanks to Einstein learn from not just your mistakes but the mistakes of others. Stay blessed. Thanks again.

I have the little buddy. No fan. I have a Marmot Halo 6. I run the heater on a metal camping table long enough to undress and climb into the sleeping bag. I don’t run it when I’m sleeping. In the morning I run the heater to take a bucket bath. Works pretty well.

Thank you Sir. I saw the same things on youtube and was going to make the same mistake. Thanks for sharing! I'm going to put on a griddle plate to shield the fan and give that a try - maybe offset it a bit or something. I'm willing to take that risk and will monitor. But I truely appreciate you sharing this. Also subscribed. All the best to you!

I put a paint scrubber for a 5 gallon bucket on top of my buddy heater and I set the fan on top of it. I've used it all dear season on high at 1st and then I put it on low and it works fine. Check into a different kind of a fan that does not have wires.

The set up works for me man, low setting, fan situated a little further away from heat grate...flawless dozens of times now. My fan is a single blade model though.

Need to use the all metal ones that can sit on top of wood stoves using aluminum paint tray and hang it from the handle so it's sitting above the Heat works great

Lil buddy heater. I love mine. I use it mainly for garage. But have it in case of emergency power outage. Great heater.

I use this heater to heat my 9x7 tent in 15 degree weather alot. If u want to use the fan, use commercial d battery's. I get them free at work

Mine did the same thing you quit on my little buddy work for a week or so? Thanks for the good video.

There are a lot of different wood stove fans available. I have a single fan for my little buddy heater. With so many fans available there must be variances.

I have run my stove fan for hours and hours without failure.

Good video, thanks for the tips on the stove fans. I'm not being rude, but I have to ask, and I see a lot of people doing this, why do you have the 20lb tank in the same room with you? I read the instructions that came with my Mr Heater Big Buddy, and here is what it said: DANGER! NEVER bring a refillable propane cylinder indoors. A fire or explosion can occur causing property damage, serious injury or death! Also use: The propane cylinder must also be used with Tankfoot F273169. Place holder on flat surface then place 20 lb. cylinder in holder and push down to bottom. I understand the need for a 20 lb tank, but I believe the thought is that it needs to be outside the heater area, tent, shack, shed, camper. I have blower fan on mine, so I guess I'm not seeing the added value of a stove fan accessory. What is the rated CFM needed to distribute the heat in a 1000sq ft area or less? thank you and Merry Christmas! be safe🙏🙏

We have a small fan created to actually withstand this type of heat. Wood stove stores sell them.

The Big Buddy heater can be purchased with an internal fan included. They stopped selling these for a while, but they are available again. I purchased one from Sam’s Club a few months ago. It came with an adapter for fan, but the fan can be used with D batteries as well. I’ve seen them at Tractor Supply too.

I bought the hype also, bought single and dual fan to try both, heat was deflected to grill below handle. I caught it before it became catastrophic. Too bad we can't share pics in comments. RV life !!

Have been using this setup for 2 years now. I cut a notch in the fan base so that I can hang the fan on the cage.

We like to use a “clip on fan” on the handle to help,circulate heat.

Thank you. Was going to buy fan until I saw . Good job

Thanks for another great video! Derive a lot of value from your videos!

Love your honesty!! Thanks for the vid, very useful!

Great video! Very cool! THANK YOU!

Are you saying that your experiment revealed that the thermal fans alleging electrical generation was in fact a fake? I'm grateful for your effort. Thank you.

I've been running a PORTABLE Buddy heater (the small one) for 2 1 lb canisters with the exact fan you have. No problems at all. I put the thermometer on tonight (for the first time) and the temp never got above 550.

Rewire the fan as another video. It would make a good teaching moment.

You could use a cheap bbq grill and some hose clamps in your handle.

It looks like you set the heater directly on top of the heater. I have the big buddy also, & just tested a single fan unit running on a single 1 lb propane cylinder set on low with the fan SET ON TOP OF A PAINT BUCKET TRAY (purchased for $4 at Harbor Freight) slightly away from the handle, but not quite center in the metal tray. I had no issue.

I have all 3 sizes, including the big pro model with a built-in fan. I like the simplicity of design of each unit size and didn't want to deal with an external fan hack. The big pro buddy has a fan and a simple on & off toggle switch. The small & medium size versions don't have a fan, but honestly don't need one, plus dealing with an external fan hack is too much of a pain in the ass.

You can use a paint grid hooked on the handle and you can move the fan around to keep it from getting too hot.

Ive seen some put a painters screen on the handle of the buddy heater and he just had a larger single fan that he put on top of the screen and didn't have a problem but that was outside in a tent maybe that made a difference??

I love my big buddy heater. 18000 btu, u can't go wrong..

I was thinking of getting one of those fans. Now I know not to. Thanks John!

Appreciate the info. So here is my confusion. I was under the assumption that a lot of these fans had no electronics and spun directly off of the heat coming from the heater. In searching these stove fans I see that many do have the electric motors, but there are some that run directly from the rising heat and are all metal so there is nothing to melt. Perhaps that is what's needed on these heaters. EDIT: perhaps I was incorrect. It appears these all have some type of electric motor in them which requires wires and can melt at certain temps.

What if you used a 5 gallon painting grid, and placed the thermometer forward on it over the heat, and not directly on the most immediate stream of heat. Those fans were meant to be on a flat surface so they can lift up to elude contact with the heat surface when it gets too hot. I am going to place an 18,000 BTU Cabinet Propane Space Heater inside of a cast iron tub in the living room of an uninhabitable house, and cap off the drain, and be checking temperatures all over. I may just place a 6 inch osculating fan in back of it, but may also find a way to use a heat powered fan. Thank for the heads up.

I just use a battery operated fan located behind the heater which blows the rising hot air around the room. On low setting my fan lasts 2 days on battery, and no heat issues because it's not above the stove but behind it.

When the fan cools it will work again What I did was take a painters screen that fits in a 5 gal bucket normally an put the hooks on the screen under the handle witch makes a platformand move the fan out to almost the end and the fan didn’t stop because it is not over direct heat coming up from the stove

Thank u for your video!!! There are SO many problems with Mr. Heater heaters of different types. I have the Mr. Heater double sunflower heater and it almost burned down a brand newly build shed because flames started coming out four feet high from the burner. They replaced it on waranty but since then I’ve seen so many videos on the buddy heaters and sunflower heaters and all their issues it sure makes me wonder how they dont redesign these things. They never did tell me what was wrong with the one i sent back and that doesnt make me confident in their product.

Made a 2 layer heat shield with an air gap between them for my big buddy and put a 2 fan one on top works just like on my wood stove & no overheating.

The grate on the front of the heater is made to flip up and you can actually set the fan on top of the grate .I have seen different types of the fans also so don't give up on the idea .

The buddy I have was a built in fan. Uses battery's. I haven't tried the fan tho. It's new.

there is a wide range of temps, must depend on the brand. i found the vevor had higher temp fans and others. i have this heater and it never occurred to me to check the actual temp. good info

We use a paint roller screen from Home Depot turn it upside down and hook on the handle. Works great

Great video, and very well-spoken.

I use a stove fan on my little buddy and it works great. Have gone thru several 20lbs. propane tanks with no issues. You have to be mindful of placement of fan...your's is too close and forward. I use an A frame clamps to hold the fan in place.

The two blade fans being lower profile cause the motors and wiring to be closer to the higher heat zone. Single fan is much higher so a bit lower temperature for the electrics.

I put a regular fan behind my big Buddy heater & it works good warming up my big open floor plan house

Mine works fine, no problems at all.. Just used a wired jig to lift it off the front grill..

Number 1 rule is to buy a good stove fan. I have had no issues with mine.

I am not here to judge however I believe that you have not been into the propane heater too long. I have owned several Big buddy's hunter buddy and smaller ones also for a period of over 18 years. I use them to go on camping trips heating up my room not the whole house. The myth is you can not use them inside, wrong. My heating bill is considerably less.on the fan a fan I have been using different types. Portable desk fans battery powered fan and such. I use a battery powered fan with an adjustable clamp at the bottom. Once in place the black area on the heater is where the air is supposed to blow out, however it did not work. I adjusted the fan to be in line with that area, if you move it forward too much it will be melted. I have not had any problems at all. The key to this operation is to find out what works. I respect your opinion. But you need to investigate a little further. Be blessed be safe, and happy holidays.

A PIECE OF ALUMINUM FOIL ON THE BOTTOM OF THE FAN WILL BRING THE TEMP INTO RANGE....IVE TRIED IT AND IT SEEMS TO WORK GREAT 👍

Thank you for the info. Trial and error. 👍

What about a diffuser plate between the Buddy and the fan base to shunt some of that heat forward and to the sides? Maybe make one from a heavy duty aluminum foil roasting pan?

Make sure you buy the right fan, not all of them actually can handle that max temp (they will melt).

I wrapped the base of mine with tinfoil. And it works just fine. The heat doesn't hit the fan directly so it save it.

Gotta leave buddy on low and once room hits 60° the fan will start to overheat so turn off till room hits 50° and turn back on

maybe not direct heat. works fabulaouse on wood stove, no direct flame. those heaters you got, especially that one... i got one of those... exsact same one too. the heat on those will burn your wires. (direct heat) use one of those painters pans. no the screen one... but the alluminum painters pan. even then i had to put my fan on a kelm brick. perfect... tungsten