I'll give the two of you convenient, safe, hassle-free, space saving, efficient, odorless, super neat-o and similar adjectives, but cheaper ain't one of them.
"Cheaper" and "cost effective" aren't necessarily the same thing. In the case of a heater, cost effective means taking into considerations things like, you're not supposed to operate the propane heater while the heater is unattended, or while you are sleeping, you're supposed to disconnect the propane tanks from the heater when the heater is not running, and anything larger than a 1 lb bottle is supposed to be placed outdoors (in most states it's illegal to operate propane tanks larger than 1 pound if stored inside an enclosed space, residence, or a vehicle). Not having to deal with the "mess with it" factor adds cost effectiveness to the Espar.
A Big Buddy heater can be had for $129. Cheaper off season like late spring, early summer. Northern Hydraulics usually has a $25 off coupon card in their fall catalog. A 12' hose is about $25, a filter $10 and a new 20# tank about $30. A person could be up and cooking for about $200.
I agree - a $200 Big Buddy installation is cheaper than a $2000 Espar Airtronic heater installation.
Liquid propane is cheaper than highway use diesel but also a bit less efficient. LP has about 91,000 BTUs per gallon compare to diesel at 128,000 BTU's per gallon. I recently had two 20# tanks filled for $26 and change. That's $2.76/gallon.
Wherever you're getting your tanks filled, I'd be wearing that place out. The national average for residential propane is $2.964 (as of 1/20/14) and the refill retail price (at gas stations and truck stops) is currently $3.49 a gallon.
But the BTU of the fuel is only a small part of the equation. The BTU and efficiency of the heater itself is a bigger factor. The MH18B Big Buddy puts out 18,000 BTUs on high, while the Airtronic D4 puts out 10,200 BTUs. Efficient heating is about air flow and heat distribution, and the Mr Buddy is primarily a radiant heat heater. Even with it's snazzy blower motor running off the 4 D cell batteries, Mr Buddy only moves about 12 CFM, whereas the forced-air Airtronic D4 moves 69 CFM (the D2 moves 40 CFM). That makes the 10,200 BTUs of the Espar far more efficient than the 18,000 of the Mr Buddy. And it is shown in fuel consumption.
An empty 20 pound propane tank will hold 4.7 gallons (which is why it's way better to refill your 20 pound tanks than it is to exchange them for the typically 15 pound refills). On high, two 20 lb propane tanks will last about 50 hours. That's 9.4 gallons per 50 hours. The Airtronic will use .10 gallons per hour on high, so 5 gallons. At $3.87 diesel that's $19.35. At only $2.76 a gallon for propane, that's $25.94, and at the $3.49 a gallon retail price it's $32.81. So rounding off at $30 versus $20 for 50 hours on high, the Espar is cheaper to operate per hour. 60 cents versus 40 cents an hour. I've got 20,000 hours on my Espar heater. That's a $4000 savings in fuel costs.
Most people don't run their Mr Buddy heaters on high for 50 hours straight (though these last couple of weeks they may have), and they will average 140 hours on two 20 lb tanks (yes, I know, some will get more hours, and some will get less). The same is true for the Espar, where most of it's time is spent on Low and Medium settings. In my case, of the 20,000 hours, more than 9,000 have been on Low which uses .03 gallons per hour. Over 140 hours that's 4.2 gallons ($16.25 @ $3.87), versus the 9.4 gallons of propane ($28.2 @ $3.00 a gallon).
20,000 hours divided by 140 hours is 142.857 times $16.25 is $2321.43 for the Espar, and is $4028.57 for the Mr Buddy. That's a difference of $1707. That's about the difference between the initial costs of the setups.
Once you start factoring in the time involved with the "mess with it" factor, the cutting corners of sleeping while it's running, the storing of the tank inside the vehicle, and having to disconnect the lines from the heater when it's not running, compared to the no-muss no-fuss, no-brainer ease-of-use of the Espar, and the cost effectiveness begins to take on a new meaning.
Mr. Heater recommends changing the filter every year. It probably wouldn't hurt to replace the hose every few years. Even if a Big Buddy only lasted 5 years you could throw it away and buy 10 more for the price of an Espar. Put that in your cost analysis calculator. I'm not knocking Espar and my next van will have one, probably gasoline fired. I don't believe an Espar is cheaper than running a Big Buddy on bulk propane.
In this thread (
http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/truck-talk/60272-espar-heater-20-000-hours-counting.html ) detailed my usage, along with detailed costs involved, including all repair costs. People can do the same with a Mr Buddy or whatever heating method they like. I encourage people to do so. Because math is fun!
