There was no error number provided for my manual backups stalling problem and no solution that I found on via search.

Thus and so, here are my notes on the Backupbuddy setting change that worked for me:

The Problem:

BackupBuddy author iThemes does provide an error page but this problem is not at mentioned.

A Solution:

This setting worked for me on several client sites:

• BackupBuddy> Settings> Advanced> Database section
  Changed Database method strategy setting
  from the default “PHP-based” to “Commandline”

You might be inclined to ask support if this is ok for your installation. Commandline setting does not support restarts.

The backup was totally smooth after that; no more stalling at `backup_create_database_dump` step.

Good Luck