Hi there,
My apartment complex was built in the late 50's, and has for the most part the original appliances in each unit. (They're actually quite charming. Push-button electric ranges!) My question concerns the natural gas heater that I've got.
The model is a "Custom-Aire vented recessed wall heater" that is installed in the wall between a room and a hallway. It uses natural gas, and the pilot and ignition work fine. The problem as I see it seems to be that it may have had a fan or blower attached at some point, and if so it isn't working any more. Signs pointing to this are the fact that the wall above the heater on one side seems to creak when the heater goes on, and there's a crack in the plaster where the wall gets *very* warm. I think if there was a blower or something, the air would be circulating fast enough to prevent this, though I could be wrong.
At this point, anything within the upper metal grills/housing is a mystery. I got the bottom grill panel off and looked inside the bottom half of the heater, but I don't have a clue as to what some of the stuff does. There's an obvious gas pipe with a valve, the pilot pipe with a separate valve, two large cones that I'm guessing are for adjusting the air/gas mixture, wires leading to the thermostat (which seems to be only half-functioning, but that's another story entirely) and a black sort of brick with wires going to it. Does anyone have any ideas on what's normal to see in a heater of this age? Diagrams would be especially helpful.
Thanks!
-Laura