How to Light a Mr Heater: Solving Common Problems and Tips
When you need to stay warm, it's always good to have an efficient and effective heater in your RV. The key is to not have one that is complicated to start or use. A simple device does the same job and starts faster than a complicated model. It may warm up your RV faster as well.
How to light a Mr Heater: You need to open the gas flow by turning the valve counterclockwise, then push and turn the front knob to start or light. Hold the knob till it has been lit. But if you have a defective model, it may take a lot of effort to get this heater going.
To learn more about lighting and using a Mr. Heater just continue to read our article. It has the information to help you stay warm when those cold nights come. A Mr. heater should stay lit for 220 hours using a 20-pound tank and the low setting.
Can you Light a Buddy Heater with a Lighter?
It has been said that a stick lighter is the best way to light this heater model when using a lighter. The process doesn’t change too much as all you have to do is turn the gas on, hold the valve down and then use the lighter to light the pilot light.
Lighting a Mr. heater should not take that long as it is designed to fire up right away. However, you may have a defective burn unit that will stop working at the wrong moment.
If you have trouble lighting the heater, you may have developed a condensation issue that prevents the mechanism from working correctly. To get that issue resolved, you may have to disassemble the unit, remove all the lines, send air through them and then heat those lines to get rid of any remaining moisture.
However, this task is complicated by the fact that the unit is very difficult to reassemble. The key is to make sure the fittings are tight and you do not put a kink in any of the lines.
A sputtering flame will be the sign telling you that one of the fittings is loose.
How to Light a Little Buddy Heater
The first step is to make sure you have the right environment and all your parts are set up correctly. By right environment, you do not have a lot of wind blowing at the time you want to get this heater started.
Then you have to make sure that the gas flow is where it should be or you may have to tip the heater to get the right amount of flow for the heater to light. After that, just follow the instructions that came with the heater.
There may be times that it will be too cold to light the Mr. heater Buddy model and while most people have been able to do it when the temperature gets down to 0 degrees, others have not been so lucky.
If the room is too cold, you may have trouble getting the heater to light right away. Some people take up to 10 clicks before the unit lights up and starts doing its job. To avoid this issue, you may have to use a long lighter and wait till the gas flow gets to normal before being able to start the unit on the first try.
Mr. Heater Little Buddy Instructions
When you look at the manual, there are a lot of instructions to follow just to use this little heater. many of those instructions are simple safety tips to make sure nothing bad happens to you when you use this device.
The instructions go:
1. Inspect the device, the fittings and make sure everything is ready and safe to use.
2. Attach a 1 lb. disposable propane canister that is compatible with a No. 600 valve connection.
3. Make sure the heater and canister are in an upright position. Then check for any leaks by placing some soapy water over the connections. The bubbles will tell you the threads may be loose.
4. At this point, if the heater is ready to go, press the on button for 30 seconds. if the pilot light doesn't light, keep repeating this step until it does.
5. Once the pilot light is lit, release that on button and the heater should light right up. To turn the heater off, just press the off button and make sure the flame goes out before removing the canister.
Be careful as sometimes the device will cause a flare-up at first lighting. Make sure your face and flammable options are kept away from the unit. Also, keep children away from the heater as many of its parts will get hot and remain hot well after you shut the heater off.
If you want to look at the manual for yourself or have misplaced yours, click this link to get to it.
Mr. Heater Propane Not Lighting
There can be any number of things that can go wrong with this heater. Usually, it is in the lighting mechanism where you will find most of the issues. When the heater does not light, you have to start searching to find the problem.
First off, check the spark igniter wire. If it is loose or has come off, simply reattach it and your heater should light up. When you see that is not the problem check the wire, the electrode, and the lighting mechanism for damage. if there is some, then the only option you have is to replace those parts.
Another problem may be that the fuel supply has been cut off. This is due to an empty canister or propane tank or simply the fuel line or pilot light got blocked somehow. Simply clean the latter parts and replace the former one.
If the trouble is with the canister being empty, it shouldn’t take too long to replace it with a full one. If the pilot light assembly is defective, then you will have to replace it. Also, make sure to hold the pilot light ignition button long enough so the device has time to purge the air out of the system.
When you find that the main burner is blocked, cleaning is your go-to solution. Cleaning may be the first option you should choose as dirt, etc., can clog up the lines very easily.
Common Mr. Heater Lighting Problems
1. Sensors- this is a very common issue you may face more than once in the time you own a Mr. Heater. The sign that lets you know this is the problem is when the pilot light won’t stay lit.
When the sensors go bad, the device may trigger its safety options and shut the flame down. The way to fix this issue is to use some sandpaper and just rub it over the sensor until any blockage contributing to the malfunctioning sensor is removed.
Once that is done, make sure the newly lit flame covers more than half the sensor.
2. Dirty Pilot Tube- with this common problem your sign that there is something wrong will be the color of the flame. if it is a blue color then nothing is wrong with the pilot light tube.
But if the flame is yellow or flickering, then that means dirt has gotten inside the tube and the tube needs a good cleaning. If you cannot remove any blockage using a thin sharp object, then you will have to replace the tube.
When using that sharp object make sure to be gentle as you could damage the tube by applying too much pressure.
3. Worn Out Thermocouple- this is one of the safety devices this heater has on it. If it doesn't detect a flame, it will turn the heater off automatically. That action makes sure no gas leaks out.
Before replacing this part, check to see if it has been moved out of position. This is very easy to do and can happen at any time. Just make sure to wait for all the parts to cool down before moving it back into position.
Or the thermocouple does not detect any gas and shuts the heater down. Check your canister to see if it still has some gas inside. Or you can clean it and see if that keeps the flame lit. Finally, replace the part if those options do not work.
Some Final Words
These portable heaters are ideal when you want to camp in some very cool spots. The trick is to make sure they remain in good shape, kept clean and all instructions are followed. Having these heaters around will spare you some very chilly nights when you are out camping in the mountains.
