thermocouple

[Shifty Jim .....]

anybody know where I can get a replacement thermocouple for this kind of chinky cabinet heater ....? I assume all the diferent brands are the same.....

[Chris Hogg]

Not of any help to you, but I suspect you mean a flame-failure sensor, although that in itself is probably a thermocouple.

You do know, don't you, that those portable gas heaters fill the house with water vapour, causing condensation on windows, damp and mould in other places. They can also give off poisonous carbon monoxide. I trust you keep the windows ajar to ventilate the place, or have a dehumidifier, and have a carbon monoxide monitor.

[Davey]

Agreed. It always amazed me that the home appliance industry called that type of sensor a thermocouple, when industrial companies use the term correctly, to mean a junction of two dis-similar metals, to produce an electrical potential. In fact, the flame sensor you refer to might be a capillary and bulb, so bearing no relationship at all to a thermocouple, except for the name on the box.

[Peter Parry]

The one mentioned actually advertises it's "Oxygen depletion system" as a selling point. I assume for those who wish to give one to an aged relative who is living too long and spending too much of the potential inheritance on Gin.

[tabbypurr]

I bet that sensor system is the first thing to have parts omitted by a corner cutting manufacturer.

NT

[Dave Liquorice]

ISTR 1 litre of water for every kg of gas. Flat out the normal three radiant heaters are 4.2 kW, heck of a lot of heat, we only use ours with one radiant or 1.4 kW at that level a 15 kg bottle of butane lasts around 150 hours or about 100g/hour, 1/3 of a mug or about the same as having three people in the house (based on a person losing about 800g/water day due to perspiration and respiration).

The risk of partial combustion with the burner in free air is fairly low. It's not quite the same as contained boiler or water heater.

Do you open the windows and run the dehumidfier when Auty Doris, Uncle Barney and Cousin Mary come round?

[Chris Hogg]

No, they're all dead. The carbon monoxide in the air from their gas room heater weakened their immune systems, and they were unable to fight off the lung infections that they got from the mould spores in the damp atmosphere in their house.

If you think I'm making that up, you might be right, but there are plenty of warnings about the potential hazards of gas room heaters

[Jeff Layman]

1.55 litres for every Kg of butane. A little more (1.64) for propane.

[Tim Watts]

That would be a bad assumption!

I don't know, but having googled for "kingavon gas heater spares" I gave up with the lack of useful hits.

It's probably bin and buy a better known and more serviceable brand next time :(

[Davey]

That's the thinking that got that Mars probe wasted when somebody confused Imperial and Metric units.

- Davey.

[Roger Hayter]

They sell "all purpose" replacement ones for gas boilers in plumbers' merchants and big hardware shops. If they don't fit it is probably impossible to get one.

[Shifty Jim .....]

I have four of them, five if you count the bust one and they are all different makes and they all look the same .....

[Shifty Jim .....]

I also have a mains flueless gas fire in the living room with cat ...