Golf Cart Batteries

Originally posted by fwunder I bet you never siphoned gas with a piece of garden hose from a '68 Dodge dart either!  fred

Correcto!

Originally posted by fwunder IMO, no more ventilation needed than two adults and pod furnace. The Buddy heater's byproduct is CO2, has both tip and oxygen sensors. Basically, if it's raining inside your pod, you need more air. Disclaimer: I'm not a scientist even though I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. fred

Fred,

In a perfect world you're correct. Two adults use O2 and produce CO2. The onboard furnace uses and produces nothing since its combustion chamber draws from and exhausts to the outside. However, in the imperfect world of reality the Buddy may produce carbon monoxide due to incomplete combustion. CO is deadly and odorless. I never worried about similar heaters in a tent but would in a sealed hard sided camper. The Buddy also produces water vapor that adds to condensation. Crack a window and the ceiling vent.

How much ventilation - fresh air does one need to run the little buddy?  I used to use one in our tent trailer but fresh air was not a concern in that rig....

My Duracell batteries have held up well since we bought them in December, 2015. On our last trip, after our propane hose went bad and left us without heat, I picked up a Lil Buddy. It went back for the simple reason that it is top-heavy when used with the one-pound bottles. Back when the base of the bottles was made of metal, it would probably have wirked. Now that the new bottles come with a plastic ring, I could not get it to reliably sit upright. It kept falling over. That was unacceptable and indicates a design flaw if it will not stay upright.
I now have the Mr. Buddy Portable (4000-9000) unit. I agree that it is a bit much for the 'Pod, but it will at least stay upright and not fall over. The thing is that if Mr. Buddy would simply make the base bigger and the socket for the tank deeper, it would probably fix the issues I was having with it. I was not disappointed with the performance and would have kept it if not for it falling over almost every time I tried to use it.

We are beginning year #7 on our 2  group size 24  12v deep cycle batteries. During a boondocking campout we expect 3 days minimum from each battery and that is when we camp when the furnace gets used quite a bit (night temps 40's and 50's).  When these go bad we will most likely go to 2  6v or 2  12v golf cart batteries.  Looking at amp hours for each, price, and of course total weight.  Will report back when results come in.