Kovea Cupid Heater

[@robertphillips93]

Good discussion and review -- thanks! Got mine through an official Kovea distributor here in California. Did get a sale price off of what was likely a slightly higher original markup (a pretty common experience), but the customer service is worth something more than just peace of mind sometimes! I like the product very much, but there is one thing about butane fuel that users should be wary of -- even though I haven't had to experience this with the Kovea. From my backpacking days, a cold cannister of fuel would sometimes produce an unexpected flareup before preignition fuel flow is established after a short period of operation. Put simply, liquid butane doesn't behave like the gaseous version -- you can easily singe your eyebrows, or the curtains! In extreme cold it might be a good idea to pop the cannister into a sock at the bottom of your sleeping bag so there's no surprises in the morning . . .

[@freereinveterans]

@@robertphillips93 Thanks for the comment and the helpful tip! 🙏🏽 Glad you’re enjoying the heater so far and I hope it keeps working well for ya on all of your adventures 🤠.

[@marlenemartel9649]

Thanks for sharing this video. Did you come up with condensation issues with this butane heater? Since it puts out a lot of heat I suppose you do not have to use it for too long for 3 season use, maybe 15 to 20 minutes would work. In that period of time, would there be condensation buildup you think?

[@freereinveterans]

I personally didn’t notice any condensation for the exact reason you said-we ran it for such a short time. Our van is pretty small but it still wasn’t an issue. Hope that helps! 😃

[@marlenemartel9649]

@@freereinveterans Thank you very much for your reply. It is reassuring to know this issue was not significant in any way. Have a good one!

[@freereinveterans]

@@marlenemartel9649 No problem at all! Same to you :)

[@marlenemartel9649]

@@freereinveterans :)

[@mikestone9129]

These really are great heaters. Mine came direct from South Korea in about 10-12 days. Worth every penny, especially if you are in a small trailer camper or van camper.

[@freereinveterans]

Awesome! I feel the same. It’s been a convenient little heater. And I also use butane for my cooking stove, so the fuel is all the same :)

[@katiopf]

I just received one of these. I didn’t think to check if the control knob had to be in a certain place so had a hard time getting the canister in until I finally figured it out. Has to be all the way up to the right to lock the nozzle in place properly. I noticed some fumes even burning it outside. Might that be the paint heating up for the first time? Hope so!

[@freereinveterans]

Yes on the control knob. If you’re talking about what I think you are, the knob has to be in the “off” position in order to load the canister, which I believe is just a safety feature. And I’m not sure about the paint, I didn’t notice that! Maybe it’s the paint, like you said. For me, I just notice the ceramic plate heat up and glow red. And also be careful because since the heat rises towards the top of the heater, it gets very hot.

[@mioww325]

The most important feature of the buddy heater is that it has a safety cut out system. Does this little heater have one?

[@freereinveterans]

You know, honestly I can’t remember right this second. I have an awful memory and I’m in a tent in Kenya right now and haven’t been in my van or in the cold for several months. I don’t recall it having one but I could be wrong. I’ll have to check when I get back to the van. In the meantime, I hope you find your answer!

[@jeffreywhitaker5154]

Whats the run time on one canister on low and onm High?? How does the condensation level compare to Buddy Heater??

[@freereinveterans]

“coyote works” does a great review of this heater and tested this. He said on high, one canister lasted him 4hrs. So his best estimate was that on low, one canister would last between 6-8hrs. As far as condensation-I haven’t run any tests on this! Although I’ve used both heaters quite extensively, I used them in different rigs for varying degrees of time with different amounts of ventilation, so it’s hard for me to give you a straightforward answer on that!

[@vi498]

Does anyone has a problem were the mechanism inside won’t rotate to secure canister into place ?

[@workingfolk]

Yep, research tells me that it's not uncommon. Just got one off Ebay and the canister won't turn a lick. It's going back to the seller on the slow boat to Korea. Also, the instructions included were written in Korean which, like a fool, I didn't study in school. I took another chance and ordered one of the few on Amazon. Easier to return if that one is also a dud. Edited: Somehow, my replies keep disappearing. vi498's follow-up post cleared up a lot of confusion and shows that the first one I received was not defective as I thought. When the canister would not turn and lock, I did not dare to ignite it. After seeing that post I took it outside and gave it a try and it worked beautifully. I now have two of these, since I ordered another, but not from Korea,. The second does not have the magnet but has the turn and lock function. That locking function inspires more confidence, but I'm not too worried about the longevity of magnet one. After a brief search, Mr. Googlepants tells me that while permanent magnets can lose some magnetivity under certain conditions, time is not one of them. Nor is normal use. Not sure if I'll just keep both or sell one, but now I'm glad I hadn't gotten around to returning it.

[@freereinveterans]

@@vi498 Damn, sorry to hear you’re having that problem. Good information to know, thanks for leaving it in the comments.

[@vi498]

so thank you guys for feedback,after a lot of reserch specifically on chat gpt it looks like the company has made two different versions of kovea cupid. one has the push and rotate mechanism to lock canister into place like you are watching in most of youtube videos and the other has a magnetic type were you just have to push the canister gently on the magnet. wish i knew that before purchasing this product only because magnets usually getting weaker over time. overall quality product and poor awareness due to the fact is a korean company and not too many informations online

[@workingfolk]

@@vi498 Well, you've cleared up a lot of confusion. Thank you. I wish the company had been responsive to my two requests to send the instructions in English. When the canister would not turn, I did not dare try turning it on. After reading your post, I took it outside and and tried it and it worked great. Now I have two of these heaters as I took a chance and ordered another off Amazon. The second one lacks the magnet and the canister turns as we expected. That locking method inspires more confidence in me than the magnetic connection but I'm not overly concerned with the magnet becoming weaker. (Mr. Googlepants tells me a permanent magnet shouldn't become noticeably weaker under normal conditions. Certain factors can cause a weakening, but time doesn't seem to be one of them.) Not sure if I'll just keep the magnet model or sell it. I hadn't shipped it back and now I'm not going to.

[@freereinveterans]

@ Ugh, well that’s unfortunate but I’m glad you figured it out. I wonder if the model I have is the “older” version or something and the magnet was meant to be an upgraded design. I wish I could go out and take a look at the heater and manual, but I currently don’t have access to it. Anyway, sorry to hear it’s not worked out for you!

[@doctorkayak]

Gas of any kind just freaks me out while I am sleeping. I'm thinking of going with a small electric heater for those places with electricity so I can heat throughout the night. I like this one though because my little single gas burner is LP/Butane. I'm gonna check this one out. Thanks!

[@freereinveterans]

I hear you… and if you want to heat through the night, electric is smart for sure. I never did that with this one for the same reasons you avoid it… but it was great to blast it for like 30 minutes before bed and then blast it for 30 minutes when I woke up!

[@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN]

@@freereinveterans I have a little butane heater, I've used it so much that I've trusted to sleep with it running in my van, waking up cold after four hours to replace the gas bottle was the real pain. This one in the video on low runs for 6 hours or so, so would work for me even better. I ventilate, have two fire extinguishers and two carbon monoxide/dioxide alarms as well as being a risk taker, Oops, just because I am; doesn't mean you have to be but hey! I detest being cold and I'm old 🥶

[@freereinveterans]

@@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN oh man you’re brave…. Smart call on the CO detectors though. And I also hate to be cold!

[@darrellfort1668]

awesome video but how can u stay warm if you vent the tent? just asking? it seems like cold air coming in and warm air going out? am i wrong?

[@freereinveterans]

To some degree, yes-but the vent just needs to be small! We just cracked two windows in the van, neither of us died, and the van got warm quite fast. So we’d only run it for maybe 30-45 min, then shut it off, close the windows, and go to sleep. I never left it running continuously for very long. Mostly used it to take the edge off and it warmed us up pretty effectively despite venting.

[@darrellfort1668]

@@freereinveterans wow

[@JohnD-uj2vs]

got mine just before Christmas and had a defect in the ceramic and it shoots the flame out to almost cause a fire in my van.They come from South Korea and simply sent in Bubble Wrap,mine cost a third more for duty and taxes.Contacted them to please replace at no cost and send a return,i would then take out the new one repack in the miles of bubble wrap .stick on a return and everyone is happy!Not a chance ,they offered me $7. to keep it and talk to you later!!!!!Thank goodness I bought it through Ebay and they got my money back to me,But no comment from the company who are all about the money!these things need to be baby sat when on or you could be tonights BBQ

[@freereinveterans]

Damn I’m sorry to hear that… sounds like a terrible experience. Mine is still holding up and I only run it for a very short time while watching it, but I’ll definitely keep your story in mind because I don’t want a flame thrower in my van!

[@rasaiefar]

is it safe to use in a closed space like a small room or tent? have you checked CO during usage?

[@freereinveterans]

It is-I have used it inside my small camper van. However, you MUST vent. Same goes for any of the propane fueled heaters or stoves. So i just crack a couple of windows in the van and it’s been just fine. I’m not running this continuously for hours either. Just maybe 45min before bed and 30 min when I wake up to take the edge off! I have not tested for CO but was considering getting a CO monitor... I just don’t at all plan on running it continuously period. AND I’m venting. So with those two safety mitigations in place, it’s great and I’m not too concerned about a CO monitor at this point.

[@rasaiefar]

@@freereinveterans Thanks a lot for your prompt reply . have joyful trips ahead :)

[@freereinveterans]

@@rasaiefar Thanks! 🙏🏽🤠 Appreciate that.

[@Danny-xb3kd]

I’ve used this in my RTT And it rules!

[@freereinveterans]

@@Danny-xb3kd RTTs for the win!!

[@mikinklr]

I got that one on eBay for about 80 bucks. Absolutely everything was in Korean, no English directions so I am at a bit of a loss. Could use help on this one related to the propane. I just purchased Kovea fuel from R E I which is slightly too large to fit in the hole. It’s number is. KGF-0227. What is the number on your canister? I’m hoping that the Korean version doesn’t use slightly smaller cylinders which are not available in the US since they don’t seem to ship them. Keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for letting me know. Have a 😇safe and 😌serene day

[@freereinveterans]

Got you-I’d be glad to try to help you out! Hopefully yours is the same version as mine (I think it is). Send me an email at [e-mail] and I’ll follow up with you!

[@mikinklr]

Actually that canister does fit. You just need to open up the bass it does not partially obstruct the hole. Too much of a hurry LOL

[@freereinveterans]

@@mikinklr great!!! Glad it worked out

[@seanfallon4580]

Fantastic little heater 👌 where can you buy it ?

[@freereinveterans]

You can look for them most reliably on eBay, shipped from Korea! Everywhere else I’ve seen is sold out off and on. I got mine from a small overlanding outfitter storefront in Oregon.

[@seanfallon4580]

Thanks you 👌 Happy camping

[@soonj6774]

Thank you for your review!! I'm considering buying this after watching this video. I live in Korea. :)

[@freereinveterans]

Awesome! Glad to hear it...mine is still going strong 🤠

[@elwood.elwood]

My home is KOVEA but it live in BRITTANIA ;)

[@jonnyt16]

Is the leg adjustable so as to not have the heater pointing upwards at a high angle like that? Thanks.

[@freereinveterans]

It is not-is essentially has one setting. I have found it’s really not bad though! The angle hasn’t really presented any issues for us in the van.

[@jonnyt16]

@@freereinveterans Okay. Thanks for answering.

[@yotarocket]

How many hours can it run on a full canister?

[@freereinveterans]

Shoot-I don’t even know. I’d say several hours. I only run it for 30min when I go to sleep and wake up and I use the same canister for my cooking stove so I don’t have an exact answer for you.

[@freereinveterans]

I just remembered-there’s another guy who tested this. With the heater on its highest setting, he ran it for four hours before the canister was empty. So, assuming you aren’t running it on high-it could probably last six hours or more!

[@jongrall]

Nice review. This thing is sold out everywhere unfortunately.

[@freereinveterans]

Damn really! I got lucky and was able to snag one at a very small overlanding shop in Oregon...

[@freereinveterans]

Also, try eBay. It will take a bit longer to ship but they were in stock a couple of weeks ago!

[@jt-xn8bw]

Cool and informative video!

[@freereinveterans]

Thank you!!

[@elwood.elwood]

My home is KOVEA but it live in BRITTANIA

[@zarmindrow5831]

you reviewed the shit outta that heater yo

[@freereinveterans]

Lmao! I tried 🫠🥴

[@FortWildernessRicky]

That was awesome. 😎👍

[@freereinveterans]

Thank you!

[@abangdagang1758]

perfect !

[@karenlewkowitz5858]

No luck receiving a working Kovea Cupid. Came wth crushed ceramic plate. A second one was sent, also poorly packaged, same result. No response from the sender, via eBay, Men of Korea. Returns are not covered. So they have the payment. Too bad. I was hopeful, but will not be purchasing again from this company.

[@freereinveterans]

Ugh what a pain in the ass-sorry to hear that. We ended up purchasing a replacement from Korea online. I’ll have to see what company it was, I don’t remember off of the top of my head. But the original one I bought was from a small overlanding shop in Oregon. If you want any of the names of the companies let me know. You might just be over it and not want to deal with it anymore, so I understand! Another good one to try that’s more available in the US is the Little Buddy Heater.

[@lesvoyagesdelouis6574]

Intéressant

[@efefrfrs]

Dope!

[@freereinveterans]

Thanks 🙏🏽

[@raweediraweedi7957]

how much

[@freereinveterans]

$119 is what I got it for new, however there were also some for sale on eBay for a little over $80. I just needed it quickly and couldn’t wait for the shipping-it was coming from Korea.

[@raweediraweedi7957]

@@freereinveterans thanks

[@freereinveterans]

@@raweediraweedi7957 no prob!