Any one use a ventless gas stove for heating.???

[k0ua]

Oh, and I have been cleaning the orifice when the pilot was orange, I figured that out on my own, that if it was burning orange it must be oxygen starved, and I figured it was dirty so I cleaned it out and it restored the pretty blue flame. All just common sense stuff, It it ain't like it was last heating season, then perhaps dust and dirt has settled in the orifice.

 

[JerryK]

Don't want a dirty orifice...... [[[ ]]]

 

[dragoneggs]

I could draw it out and take a picture, but it is too much trouble. Just keep in mind that the carbon atoms have a valence of 4 and the hydrogen is valence of 1 and the oxygen is two.. since propane has 3 carbon atoms and 8 hydrogen atoms.. well you can picture it can't you

Sadly I can picture it. :laughing:

I have a 25,000 BTU ventless propane wall mounted heater in my home office located in the basement. Never had any issues with it and it does a great job heating the room with its built in thermostat. I never open the windows. This thread made me find the old owner's manual and see what all it says about ventilation. First it talks about ventilation classifications per the National Fuel Gas Code, ANS Z223.1... there are three (at least 15 years ago) 1. Unusually Tight Construction, 2. Unconfined Spaces, 3. Confined Spaces. For each, there are definitions/specifications to meet. If anyone is still following I will pull some excerpts.

Unusually Tight Construction = walls and ceilings exposed to the outside atmosphere have a continuous water vapor retarder with a rating of one perm (I'll let you look up the units in US, metric, or SI) with openings gasketed or sealed and, weatherstripping on all openable windows and doors and, caulking applied to areas around windows, door frames, sole plates, between wall/ceiling joints, all plumbing/electrical/gas penetrations, etc.

Confined Space = a space whose volume is less than 50 cubic ft per 1000 BTU per hour of the aggregate input ratings of all appliances installed in that space

Unconfined Space = a space whose volume is more than 50 cubic ft per 1000 BTU per hour...

Per the owner's manual, my heater "shall not be installed in a confined or unusually tight construction unless provisions are provided for adequate combustion and ventilation air". My space does not meet 1. UTC and I did a rough calculation on 'confined' and if my math is right I am okay. Room volume about 1300cu ft and my minimum for size of unit is 1250 so I am 'unconfined' barely. I do leave the interior door open to the rest of the basement though. Interesting little exercise.

There is a very slight 'film' on the windows but they have never been cleaned other than cobwebs in 8 years (guess it's about time :ashamed: ).

 

[k0ua]

Don't want a dirty orifice...... [[[ ]]]

I am always in favor of clean orifices.

 

[tbrooks26]

in my 30+ yrs of installing and working on all types ventless.. I have never seen a case where a ventless heater, logs consumed enough oxygen in the room to activate the ODS pilot system, and shut the heater / logs down..
I have seen it in a controlled environment , during testing ,where the ODS pilot would activate ,and shut down the heater

I built a greenhouse about 10 years ago, 12X30. Worked very hard to make it airtight. When I realized that the electric space heater I had would not be enough, I grabbed an old ventless propane heater from the shed. Built a little stand and hooked it up. The first couple weeks it drove me nuts, it would just not stay on. Then I learned about the ODS. Ended up having to put a 4" pipe down low and leave a window cracked at the top in order for it to run without going out. I also learned from research, that the ODS will kill the flame long before the air becomes hazardous. I also learned burning propane produces alot of water in a greenhouse, way too much actually lol.

Now I'm living in a place with only ventless propane heat, have been for 4 years now. There are logs in the LR and a small wall unit near the bedrooms. Never had any film as previously mentioned. Never have any moisture problems in the winter either, sometimes still need to run a humidifier. I always keep a window cracked about 1/4" in the LR and the other is beside some old leaky windows so I don't worry about it. We also keep fans going, mainly because the house has an awful layout, and the heat needs circulating. The only thing that bothers me, is once a year I have to remember to grab the compressor and blow out around the pilot/ods/igniter. Other wise sooner or later we will wake up one morning freezing our butts off lol.

Also, I thought they added a small amount of sulfur to propane to give it an odor

 

[kenmac]

Oh, and I have been cleaning the orifice when the pilot was orange, I figured that out on my own, that if it was burning orange it must be oxygen starved, and I figured it was dirty so I cleaned it out and it restored the pretty blue flame. All just common sense stuff, It it ain't like it was last heating season, then perhaps dust and dirt has settled in the orifice.

well, orange flame is ok. When the flame is orange, it's just burning dust that is being introduced into the flame via the pilot air shudder.Yellow is what you don't want.. When it's yellow, the pilot is starving for oxygen,. at that point, the pilot flame will lift off the t.couple causing limited voltage to the pilot safety.. If the pilot safety doesn't have enough M.V to hold it, It will drop closed, then the pilot goes out... These ODS pilots have a ruby orifice spud and can be damaged.use caution when claening...Service Bulletin on Oxygen Depletion System

 

[k0ua]

well, orange flame is ok. When the flame is orange, it's just burning dust that is being introduced into the flame via the pilot air shudder.Yellow is what you don't want.. When it's yellow, the pilot is starving for oxygen,. at that point, the pilot flame will lift off the t.couple causing limited voltage to the pilot safety.. If the pilot safety doesn't have enough M.V to hold it, It will drop closed, then the pilot goes out... These ODS pilots have a ruby orifice spud and can be damaged.use caution when claening...Service Bulletin on Oxygen Depletion System

I saved those instructions to a file for future reference

 

[sld]

I have a ventless in one of the garages. It works ok but I can't keep it running constantly very well. I have to open the garage door every now and then to get fresh air in. Not a big deal as once you have the mass heated up the cold air is not a big effect.

 

[dragoneggs]

I have a ventless in one of the garages. It works ok but I can't keep it running constantly very well. I have to open the garage door every now and then to get fresh air in. Not a big deal as once you have the mass heated up the cold air is not a big effect.

Now that you mention it... that would be a great addition to my garage/shop. I have a bit of an issue plumbing from my main tank but I suppose buying a smaller dedicated tank wouldn't be a big problem. Thanks sld! Not sure why I didn't think of that before. I have been using a kerosene portable heater and the kerosene is not cheap and a bit of pain to refill, it, etc.

 

[kenmac]

I have a ventless in one of the garages. It works ok but I can't keep it running constantly very well. I have to open the garage door every now and then to get fresh air in. Not a big deal as once you have the mass heated up the cold air is not a big effect.

you would have to have a very small garage for the heater to be going off because depleting the oxygen in a garage