Summerizing torpedo heater.

notjustair

Well-known Member
I bought a 135k btu kerosene torpedo heater this winter. I've been using it in the machine shed as needed - probably 20 hours or so. Right now I'm running a 50/50 mix of kerosene and winter diesel just because I ran out of kerosene.

Never had one before - what do you guys go to get them ready to sit all summer? Fill it up and park it? Drain the lines? Cover loosely to keep dust out? What do y'all do?
 
I like mine to be FULL of fuel as then the tank will not rust above the fuel line and you have less condensation. I also throw an old rug over it to keep the dust out. I also put some moth balls under the rug. I have had trouble in the past with mice making a nest in the combustion chamber.
 
We have 1 we used to keep clean and covered all the time. Only got 2 winters out of it than it would only run a minute at a time and loose its fuel. Had it looked at by 2 different shops and it still never worked. Bought a cheap off name brand (looks the exact same) and when we're done of it it gets sit out of the way with however much fuels still in it uncovered and filled back up next time we need it no special treatment and it works.
 
I Have a 150,000 btu kerosene torpedo heater, I bought in 2001...I just fill it with kerosene when I need it, I don't cover it...just roll it to the corner of the shop when not needed. I have never used diesel in mine.


Keith
 
Push it in the corner! Cover it if there is a lot of dust. My father had a Knipco for his last 20 years, put a new igniter in it once. I had my son put a new cord on it before the auction, it sold well.
 
Where do you live Philip??? These heaters are not hard to work on and just take a few simple tools to setup correctly.
 
We live in eastern Canada on PEI. I took it back to the dealer (green diamond) and they said they completely serviced it and had it running like new again. I took it home and the first time I used it it was still the same. I called them back and they said if I wanted they'd look at it again at my expense. I took it to another shop and the same thing. A neighbor that grows potatoes uses them to warm them up for color in cold months before delivering to the plant. He said he's had the same experiences. He runs the 175000 btu green ones and says when they quit just buy a new one.
 
Try lifting the rear of the hood just a bit while it runs and see what happens. Out of desperation I made a couple of brackets that hold the rear of the hood up on my Deere heater, made by Knipco and that solved the problems, it runs well every time.
 
If you have the one I think you have , check your scanner eye .They get clouded over with soot and in a matter of speaking ,they go blind. Wipe the scanner eye with a clean cotton cloth,and a little fine sandpaper on your igniter tips. Like the boys say, not to much goes wrong with them. Do you have a dual fuel unit? Diesel, and kerosene? If you do ,lean towards kerosene near the end of the heating season, as kerosene is thinner, and less soot.CM
 
The one we had trouble with has green paint and is 165000 btu. I'm more than willing to give it a shot won't cost anything but my time. Where is the scanner eye located?
 
I will agree with you ! Bought a Mr. Heater brand torpedo heater from tractor supply. 210,000 btu. Ran great for probably 3 years. Then started having issues. Would not burn properly. Lots of fumes and raw fuel. I sent it out like you did and came back ok but didn't last long. I changed hoses, flame sensor, nozzles, pump vanes, filters and a ton of other things I can't even remember. All I could figure out is the pump pressure was too low because the aluminum pump housing was wore out. I finally gave up and gave it to a buddy of mine who has the same one. He took it for parts. I now heat my little shop with wood. A wood fire is much easier to figure out. I do miss the quick heat made by them, but not the aggravation !
 
little piece of glass between 1/2" and 3/4" diameter that you lok thru into the firebox. I just use a paper towl or a clean cloth and wipe. I have had to clean mine different times over the years. Mine are Knipco brand 95,000 BTU bought in late 80's. One even has a bare spark plug wire where mise I suppose at the insulation off of it. When I first start them in winter they blow out a lot of trash that I have no idea where it has come from.
 
I have a propane torpedo heater on 100# tank
Heater is approx 10 years old. Had it serviced 3-4years
Ago. Heater seems to run ok, but we get a lot of fumes
Almost always run it on high. 150,000 btu.
Any ideas what we need to do it.
Thanks
 
I don't do anything to mine before I put it away for the summer.
There are a few things to know about them in response to some of the troubles I have seen described here.
First thing is the light sensor. There are TWO values of sensors. If you put in the wrong one, the heater will simply not work right. Keeping the sensor clean of soot prevents a lot of sensor related troubles.
Next, I have found that the piece of tubing that goes into the fuel tank and draws up fuel is prone to deterioration. They are rubber, and after a while the fuel makes them soft and they will collapse in operation and starve the unit for fuel.
Air pressure is important. Too high will make them smoke, too low will make them run too lean.
Also, I have found that over time, the fan blades will flatten out some and cause low air flow through the combustion chamber resulting in fumes and unreliable operation.
There are also goo kits available to refurbish the air pumps and filters to make a heater run like new again.
Mostly have learned this from my own experience in using these heaters for years.
 
I don't know how you can afford to feed it. I bought one 20 years ago and quit using it because it used 10 gallons of kerosene in eight hours. Right now it's sitting next in my trash dump.
 
Philip here is where you can find a trouble shooting manual for most of the common space heaters. DESA International built the majority of all brands of the forced air heaters until they went bankrupt. Other companies are making the same heaters now. With the manual you can easily work on your yourself. Really the only special tool needed is the low pressure gauge to check the air pump pressure. It just needs to read 0-5 PSI. The majority of the parts in them are economical. The electric eyes are $15-20, nozzles $10, filters a few bucks. The igniter trans former is the most expensive and they are around $40.

Take the cover off and blow all the dirt and junk out of the combustion chamber you can.
Under the nozzle holder you will see the fuel line going straight down into the tank. Loosen the top nut on the ling right at the nozzle holder. In side the line is the fuel filter. It is a screen so you can usually clean it and reuse it.
On the back end of the heater is the air pump. There is a foam filter on the back side that needs to be clean and a felt one under it. take the screws out of the plastic plate that the foam filter fits into and you will see the felt filter. For test purposes you can run the heater with the filters off. Under where the felt filter is you will see a small round hole going into an aluminum housing. This is the air inlet to the vane air pump. When it is running your should be able to feel it suck on your finger.

The general theory of operation is pretty simple. The Vane air pump, pumps low pressure air, 3-5 PSI. This air stream goes to the nozzle holder where it is blown across the top of the fuel inlet line/filter. This creates a Venturi effect that sucks the fuel out of the tank and blows it out the nozzle. In front of the nozzle is spark plug type igniter. This lights the fuel on fire. There is an AIR fan driven off the opposite end of the vane air pump. This create the air flow that blows the heat out the front of the heater. Right beside the igniter is an electric EYE that looks for the flame. If the heater does not light it shuts the entire heater down.

Some of the most common reason a heater does not work:
1) The filter plugged up with rust dirt. This will restrict the fuel flow which lowers the pressure. This makes the cone sprayed by the nozzle be narrower than it should be. This make the fuel not reach the igniter so you have the electric eye shut the heater off.
2) Plugged air filters. This causes low air pressure which does the same thing as the plugged fuel filters.
3) Bad vanes in the air pump itself. This means it will not pump the required air pressure. A set of the four vanes and springs in around $10. The housing is higher around $20. Usually just the vanes are bad.
4) Bad electric eye. Shuts off right after start up.
5) Flame out where it lights but then goes out. Low air pressure. set the air pressure up with the adjustment on the back of the air housing.

This is just some of the things that commonly happen. These heaters are simple. The newer ones do have a circuit board but it usually works or not. They rarely give any false readings.

Just Google this title. (Desa Kerosene Forced Air Service Manual For Hot ... - DesaTech) this will take you to a page that has a PDF manual you can download for free. I printed one out for the shop.

Parts can be found all over the Internet for these heaters. DESA built: Master heat, Knipco, John Deere, Ready heater, and many others.
 

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