Anybody have a small PREWAY diesel fuel heater?

[dholly]

Looking for a economical heat source for 900sf garage, no NG or LP on site. One local fellow has offered to sell me an old Preway heater. Don't know anything about them other than they were sold by Sears (among others) many years ago, apparently fairly popular, even the military used a version for years. About 3' square, 70000btu and burns #1, #2 or Kero thru gravity feed. Looks like Preway went bust in the 1970's but the heater may not be too bad - many still in regular use at Antartic outposts, etc. I imagine parts could be a problem. Anyhoo, for $300 which incs a 275gal tank, worth looking at?

 

[sodamo]

Don't know anything about Preway.... but here is another alternative
Ebay Monitor or Monitor website
My Dad used an older model to heat his house in Maine, always bragging how efficient (read cheap) it was.
According to Dad, there is/was a similar product as there were 2 brothers in the business that split and went separate ways. I don't remember the other name, but built on same functionality.
David

 

[dholly]

Thanks sodamo - that looks like the kissin' cousin of this Toyotomi Oil Miser 22; I think they run about $1800 and at least one TBN'r has it. This Preway could be a cheaper alternative for my 'weekend' use. Just curious if anyone was familiar or had experience with one.

 

[v8dave]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Thanks sodamo - that looks like the kissin' cousin of this Toyotomi Oil Miser 22; I think they run about $1800 and at least one TBN'r has it. This Preway could be a cheaper alternative for my 'weekend' use. Just curious if anyone was familiar or had experience with one.)</font>

Yep, I'd be one of those with the OM-22.

The question you'd have to ask is where are the combustion products vented? The OM-22 takes in outside air for combustion and vents the exhaust outside. No open flames exposed inside the garage/shop. The old pot style military oil stoves I saw used inside air for combustion--not a good idea for a garage where you could ignite gasoline vapors. They had an outside chimney for exhaust. If you decide to get this make sure the vent system is not rusted out so you don't kill off pets, yourself or loved ones.

The only military style heaters I saw were when I was in Greenland--many, many moons ago. They had an arctic survival course we had to take and a good part of that was how to safely light those old pot burners.

 

[dholly]

Dave - supposedly the Preway does have a sealed combustion chamber and triple wall pipe to bring air in and exhaust out, which is why I'm interested. Don't like open kero heater smells. After your practical experience, are you still pleased with the OM-22 or is there any downside the manufactures don't mention? At $700 winning bid, that Monitor on Ebay looked like a pretty decent bargain. Thanks.

 

[v8dave]

I have been impressed with the OM-22. Now, I live in California, and I don't get the sustained below freezing temperatures other parts of the US get. And, my shop is overdone in insluation. But, with a fairly mild winter, nights at freezing, days no higher than 50 degrees and daily modest winds for roughly three months, slightly warmer for several more months. I was able to heat my 1500 sq ft shop with about 90 to 100 gallons of Diesel this winter and spring. I had the temp set at 65 degrees. The OM-22 has a blower built in and this was enough to circulate the air and pretty much evenly heat the shop.

The OM-22 has 3 heating levels, the level selected is dependent on the difference between the temp measured and the temp asked for. I never did detect that the OM-22 went to full heat except when it first went on at an inside temp of 50 degrees. Mine automatically cycles on and off at the lowest heat level.

I ran it out of fuel once (first partial fill of tank) and it reprimed itself and restarted without any fuss.

I only paid $1.40 per gallon of red diesel. Works out to be less than $30 per month for December to May. It'll cost more per gallon next fill up. But even so, I'd never be able to heat that shop with electricty or propane for an equivalent cost.

Only caution, that is with just one winter's worth of use. So, I really don't have any reliability history with this unit. But, I'd do it again if I had to do it over.