Dodgy Superser portable Butane heater.

[Chemfree]

G`day!
Bought a new Superser portable Butane heater 6 weeks ago.
Just started my 7th full, sealed 13kg bottle of FloGas.
Bottle changeovers are a nightmare, getting worse each time. 1st 2 bottles, changeovers ok.
The pilot flame won`t stay in, so the gas button kicks out for safety. This time I had to crouch in front of it, killing off more brain cells, for half hour, playing a small flame over the pilot tube until the flame remained.
Maybe a blockage due to condensation?? I didn`t let the last bottle run right out, so thought that`d help but it didn`t.
Home indoors, so not a temp or humidity issue.
Runs fine when I eventually get it going, although takes about 4 clicks of the button, holding it down(obvs), for subsequent daily starts on each bottle.
I can see it going back. A side panel hangs loose at the bottom of the heater, since new, won`t clip back. Cheap & nasty.
Any ideas please?

 

[polesapart]

I can see it going back.

Immediately!

 

[ericmark]

I have a flue-less heater fitted after the 1978 winter of discontent to heat the house during power cuts, when there was power, it was hot air central heating, so house very dry, so the moisture from the flue-less fire was welcome.

But for normal heating, some method to remove combustion products, mainly water vapour, is required, the portable heater is only any good for temporary heating, I looked for instructions and not sure if correct version, but it states things like

The appliance should not be installed in a room the volume of which is less than 82 m³ for living rooms and 41m³ for other rooms. The air renewal ventilation should not be less than 103 cm²

So 6 x 6 meters, approx, that's a rather big room. It also says

The heater is fitted with a safety device which will shut off the gas and extinguish the appliance if normal ventilation conditions are not met.

Would love to know what that is, but I would be testing it outside and see if it still does the same?

 

[Chemfree]

@ ericmark
Good advice!
Leaky old cottage but this still feels unhealthy, although I thought Butane was reasonably safe, fumes-wise.
Didn`t realise water vapour was an issue with Butane gas heaters.
Nearly half a century ago, I lived in a large old retired touring caravan & had a paraffin heater....until I read that for every gallon of paraffin burned, a pint of water is released into the atmosphere. I wondered why all the walls & ceiling were dripping in the winter....thought it was all from normal cold outside-hot inside condensation.
I`ve just realised, I could`ve died , thank gawd I went to work, breathing in diesel fumes all day... while smoking cigs

 

[endecotp]

for every gallon of paraffin burned, a pint of water is released into the atmosphere.

I think it's more than that, and butane will be similar:

C4H10 + 6.5 O2 -> 4 CO2 + 5 H2O

Assume H weighs nothing and C and O weigh the same; then 4 units of butane burn to produce 5 units of water, by weight.

 

[Diver Fred]

Good grief - I didn't know they were still selling these nasty, dangerous things. They make enormous amounts of damp* as well as carbon dioxide and if they don't burn cleanly Carbon Monoxide - you have installed a CO monitor haven't you? In every room in the house. If left burning in one room for long period the O2 sensor may not cut the gas flow off so the product of combustion will change to Carbon Monoxide - a very nasty life endangering gas.

* for every cylinder of gas used the fire produces 1.4 cylinders of water vapour - all vented inside your house.

BTW - I'd say your fires problem is the regulator.

Adendum - If you can get your money back do so - much safer to use an electric heater.

 

[JohnD]

...for every gallon of paraffin burned, a pint of water is released into the atmosphere....

I think ten pints.

 

[endecotp]

you have installed a CO monitor haven't you?

This. And test if it can wake you from a deep sleep.

 

[Diver Fred]

It also says "will shut off the gas and extinguish the appliance if normal ventilation conditions are not met." Would love to know what that is, but I would be testing it outside and see if it still does the same?

The safety 'device', at least in the ones I've seen, are a fine mesh over the air input holes to the pilot flame - same principle as a miner's Davy lamp.

 

[ericmark]

I seem to remember burning a gallon of petrol produced a gallon and a half of water, but this was when I was an apprentice back in the late 60s early 70s, and one would see while the exhaust pipe was still cold the water running out of it.

The emergency gas fire with limited to 2 kW, boats these

seem to be the normal, and caravan

in both case's flue to outside, the caravan one through the floor, clearly this will not work with a boat, as out the side, gas not used in boats due to the fact you can't have vents low down without them sinking.

The problem is in a building there are strict rules, and we have the local authority building control, (LABC) and this lays down how efficient they must be, and where flues can go, with boats we have the RCD (recreation craft directive) but this is nowhere near as strict, so 230 volt models are not made, so you would need a voltage dropper to use the much smaller models fitted in to vehicles and boats.

The traditional gas fire

can often be converted to bottled gas, but there has to be a flue, my last house had a flue brick and parent's house used the chimney which had served the coal fire, but the coal fire was poorly fitted to start with, with no vents to bring in combustion air, so it was dragged under the doors etc. causing massive drafts.

So to prevent drafts and get rid flue gases, we need a balanced flue in the main.