Servicing portable heaters (those with integral gas bottle)

[Richard Savage]

I have an elderly gas heater. It's one of those tin boxes on wheels with three ceramic elements, a piezo ignition system and a 25Kg gas bottle in the back. It's great for taking the chill off my garage and warming spanners.

I have no idea how to clean it nor has it ever been serviced as far as I know.

Problem: It runs happily on burner number 1 but if I select 2 or 3 it will, after a few minutes, start to pop and flare and will - unless I switch it off - go out.

Al suggestions welcome.

TIA

Richard

[fictitious]

You'll certainly be able to get it serviced properly at a place that sells them .Look up Calor in YP's . Have you tried blowing the muck out of the radiants which is probably where the problem lies .If I remember correctly they are cemented in to the fire and not loose like on a mains fire .

[Richard Savage]

Thanks. I'll try a bit of blowing. Paying someone to service it goes against the grain!

Stupid question time: how much does a full 25Kg gas bottle weigh? ditto empty? I have no idea how much gas is in the bottle or how to check it!

Richard

[Clot]

Simple, take it out of the heater and shake it. Sound and the motion will give you an idea of the contents.

[Frank Erskine]

The problem with heaters of this nature is that they spew out loads of water vapour which will cause your spanners and other metally things to rust. I suppose the secret is to ensure lots of ventilation to get the water vapour away, but you'll lose a lot of heat too :-(

[Dave Liquorice]

25kg more than an empty one.

Donno but I have feeling that weight might be on the calor site somewhere.

Pick it up if it's "only a bit heavy" then there ain't much gas in it. If it's almost glued to the floor it's pretty full. Rock it about you'll hear the gas slosh about which will give you and idea and the intnertia as well.

Is this problem fairly recent, like the last month or so? What colour is the cylinder? Blue ones are butane and that doesn't vapourise very well once ambient temps get down to near freezing. I suspect there is enough heat about to vapourise enough gas for a single burner but not for 2 or 3 so it effectively runs out of gas.

[fictitious]

If you can't judge by moving it around and listening to the sound of the liquid or tell by the weight then I believe that you can get strips that stick on the outside of the cylinder which change colour as the level goes down .

[Dave Liquorice]

Would only work once you are drawing gas off and the liquid and cylinder cools down. When ambient temperature is on the cool side this might not happen with butane (blue cylinders).

[Huge]

The tare weight of the bottle will be stamped on it.

[Bob Mannix]

You can slosh them about which gives some indication. When operating, the liquid butane or propane drops in temperature due to the latent heat of evaporation as the gas comes off to replace that taken from above the liquid. You can get magnetic temperature strips so the level is then shown (or feel the side).

If it's important best to carry a spare though. You can often "liberate" gas cylinders from the local tip (so I am told), especially when it's raining and the operatives are sheltering (so I am told).

[fictitious]

Where I stay you often see them lying in the street as the binmen doing the bulk collection of larger items won't take them .You can also get them on Freecycle

[Andy Dingley]

These are dead simple to service because there's little more to it than dirt cleaning, which you can do from the outside without dismantling. Check the rubberwork for perishing too.

25kg + the tare weight that's plated on the neck of the cylinder. This is pretty constant within a brand and cylinder style, but does vary by a couple of kg for different makers.

[Richard Savage]

Hi Dave

No, not recent and it's an orange (Propane?) bottle. Was originally a white bottle supplied by Flogas (sp?)

I did wonder if there was insufficient gas to run more than one element, hence my supplementary about judging the fullness of these bottle.

Rgds

Richard

[Richard Savage]

Hi Bob

I have been looking for a spare for a little while but have only encountered those huge Calor bottles that road crews use :-(

My local tip is infested with cameras and stupidly low height limits

Cheers

Richard

[Dave Liquorice]

Presumably you didn't have to change the regulator and just used the "lefthand thread cone" type? Though I don't think there are any changes required in the appliance if you switch from butane to propane. (I don't know what gas is in white Flogas bottles).

[Bob Mannix]

Hi Bob

I have been looking for a spare for a little while but have only encountered those huge Calor bottles that road crews use :-(

My local tip is infested with cameras and stupidly low height limits

Our's not too infested yet and they only look at the camera tapes if they are looking for something. Quite often various cylinders, too, and they are the other side of the bins from the operatives' portakabin. To be fair, if you approach them it's "we aren't allowed to sell but if you would care to drop something in my palm....". I did this for a wheelbarrow. Seems the best system.

[Andy Dingley]

Possibly with butane, but it's owing to low temperatures more than simply running out (unless you're right out of liquid). With propane you'd have to be colder than this to see trouble.

[Richard Savage]

Hi Dave

No change to regulator.

I know that for my gas BBQ I have to use different regulators when changing from propane to butane.

Richard

[anthuk2003]

Some Calor Gas dealers service mobile heaters, go on

and click on "find a stockist" for your nearest one, then ring, explain your problem and book it in for a service.

[sintv]

I would imagine its repaired or scrapped by now as it was 8 years ago