Big Buddy heater propane hookup

Today was the day to hook up my Buddy heater direct to the RV propane tank.  I will go through how I installed it for anyone looking to do the same.  You might ask why I didn't just run a hose direct to the high pressure propane tank and use the Buddy heater regulator that is there for the 1 pound bottles.  It is recommended that you should never run unregulated propane to any appliance inside an RV, in fact you may want to check if your insurance company would like it.  If you run an unregulated hose into your RV and something happens to the hose or a fitting,  you now have high pressure propane spewing everywhere.  Have you ever used a tiger torch?  This is what it would look like.

That is unregulated propane.  With a regulated hose it would just be a hiss of propane and if ignited would be like the flame in your BBQ.   Both are dangerous, but at least you stand a chance to get it under control when it is regulated.  The second reason is that you can't use a quick connect on unregulated propane so you would have to thread the hose fitting on an off each time you want to put it away.  Just not handy.


First thing I did was order the hose and fittings from Amazon.  It is so amazing down here that you can order something and it will be here day after tomorrow.  It really makes it easy to do.

The hose has a 3/8 female flare gas fitting on one end and a Quick connect fitting on the other which will fit right into the quick connect on the buddy heater.

I added the Tee and Female adaptor to the hose before starting any of the RV disconnecting.

The furnace in the Ponderosa is behind a grate right under the stove.  By undoing 2 screws I had direct access to the propane copper pipe and fitting which goes into the furnace.

I turned off the propane at the tank outside while running the furnace and the stove to use up the propane in the lines.  That way there will be no propane escaping in the Ponderosa when I take the line off the furnace.  I am teeing into the furnace because it is the handiest pipe to get at.  In other cases perhaps the stove may be a better spot.

I removed the furnace duct to make it easier to work on and although it looks like it is in the wide open it is actually in a cupboard so some squiggling was in order to work on it.

When I had it all together and all of the fittings in place I went back outside and turned on the propane and tested the connections with some dish soap.  Look what I found.  This connection was not quite tight as indicated by the bubbles.

So I went back in an re-tightened all the connections and tested them with dish soap again.  Good to go!!  Then I re-installed the furnace duct to its original position.

The quick connect end will run under the sink and out the front of the kitchen counter.  Any excess hose will remain in the kitchen cupboard and if we want to use it to heat the bedroom there is enough hose to set it up in the back bathroom.

All we have to do is hook up the quick connect and turn on the Buddy Heater.

I use a fan on top of the heater to move the air around the room.  Without it the heat rises and your feet are cold and the roof is hot.  So far we think it is the best thing since sliced bread!!!

It was a good day to do some projects because it was really quiet in the Ponderosa.  Susan is in bed today with a bad cold.  Hope she gets better soon, because I really do miss her bugging me when I am working on things.  She always has to know what I am doing.

Here was the view out our window again today.  We hope to be on the move tomorrow.

Our Location tonight:  Magnolia Beach Texas  Boondocking