Torpedo/Salamander heater best practices?

[Travelover]

Just a note of caution with the kerosene heaters. If it doesn't light right away and you have to re-try it several times, when it does start it will shoot out a flame a foot or more.

When I was a lad, I almost burned down a new house under construction that had straw all over the concrete floor that they were pouring in the winter. Had to go home and change my pants.

 

[teejk]

Just a note of caution with the kerosene heaters. If it doesn't light right away and you have to re-try it several times, when it does start it will shoot out a flame a foot or more.

When I was a lad, I almost burned down a new house under construction that has straw all over the concrete floor that they were pouring in the winter. Had to go home and change my pants.

I recall an incident in our grocery store several years ago where the walk in freezer failed and had to be thawed for service. The guy used one of those heaters to speed the process but got too close wearing polyester pants. It could have a disaster (that stuff "melts") but fortunately wasn't...he escaped unhurt but we had to find some pants for him.

 

[teejk]

Sometimes forced-air diesel/kero heaters need just a bit of adjustment to the fuel metering to make them burn clean and stay burning consistently. Instructions are usually in the manual. Clogged combustion air filters will also cause them to burn poorly or flameout.

Mine didn't permit any adjustments. However I have to clean the intake air filter often (was my wood shop so sawdust was everywhere). I also had to clean the electronic eye (safety device to detect flame) from time to time.

 

[boomer1025]

How much did it cost?

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It's on sale for a day or 2 yet. sale price is $229. I had a 10% off coupon and the total including tax was $219. There was none in stock at the stores in my area and I had to ordered it on line and shipped to the store, there was no freight charge. Should be here sometime next week.

 

[jymbee]

Following up on this-- thinking of buying one of these units and wondering if anyone has experience with this particular model? Seems to have some advantages over traditional torpedo type heaters-- especially with noise:

Tractor Supply Master Heater

It's not true of all but most are designed that way today. My understanding is that you could burn diesel in any of them but the older ones would smoke sometimes if you did. Mine is clearly labeled diesel/kerosene.

 

[boomer1025]

Following up on this-- thinking of buying one of these units and wondering if anyone has experience with this particular model? Seems to have some advantages over traditional torpedo type heaters-- especially with noise:

Tractor Supply Master Heater

.
The one I got was bad out of the box. It worked, made good heat and was not very noisy. But, it leaked fuel out around the burner unit. So either there was a problem with the burner housing, nozzle or my thinking fuel pump was supplying too much pressure. Boxed it up and returned it.
Stopped at Lowes since TSC doesn't stock these heater in stores and got a Remington Heater exact same thing as the Master Heater, only Lowes was alot more money. Unboxed the Remington and fired it up, then found that the cooling fan under the burn chamber wasn't running. Thought here we go again, removed the back cover and found the plug for the fan was not connected to the circuit board. Plugged the fan in and fired it up. So far it works like a charm, good heat output and very little fumes on start up and shut down. I'm running it on cheap Kerosene, not K1 stuff which is $3.80/gal around here. If it keeps working good I'm going to mix 50/50 Off road diesel and Kerosene and see how it works. I like the way the heaters work, there small, not to heavy and not noisy like a torpedo heater. also not hard to dis-assemble the components.

 

[Gudrde]

Just my two cents....

I am a big fan of radiant heat and suggest that some form of it would be what you would like to have for a workshop. I agree that hot water radiant heat installed in the slab would be the ultimate way to go. It would not have to be all that expensive either if you are going to install a slap anyway. You can heat the water using a more or less conventional electric water heater too. A tankless type would be a good bet. You could also create an array of tubing external to the slab something like a large towel warming radiant heater.

If radiant heat in the floor is not an option then you could try some of the following:

If you do need to stay with electric and don't mind moving the heater around to the area you are working I think the following type of electric radiant heater would be great:

Best Garage Heaters (Reviewed & Tested / Nov. 218) - Buyer’s Guide

In looking for the type of electric radiant heater I was thinking of I stumbled across the following electric garage heater that seems to have received good reviews and could be just the ticket:

homedepot.com enter sku# 344117

If you want to go the route that would be more typical in comercial garages and shops you might take a look at the following type of propane fired radiant heater. You would have to make sure you had enough ventilation but I think all you would have to do for that would be to pick a ventilation fan with the coresponding amount of CFM and make sure it is turned on when you use the heater.

Grainger Industrial Supply: Heater,Infrared 3E460

Grainger does have a lot of other types of heaters too by the way.

Just some suggestions and one good vide, that I hope will help.

 

[mikester]

Need to do some assembly work in our unheated garage this winter. It's uninsulated and 28x30 feet with 10 foot ceilings. Open stairway in back going up to an enclosed, heated studio.

Given it will be an off/on situation it seems a forced air kero heater is the most practical way to go. Would appreciate any advice or precautions to take from others with a similar situation?

Propane ok. I'd avoid kerosene/diesel heaters as the combustion fumes are really bad for your health - especially if you plan on being in those spaces to work. Watch for CO/CO2 leakage into your studio. I'd install CO detectors in both places.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^
You do realize that this is a two year old thread?

 

[Industrial Toys]

I always wanted one of these and finally bought a bunch at an auction.

It did melt my snow pants and burst a favourite air hose, where I didn't even think it was making heat!

I want to work on something in my drive shed today, but this thing is kind of overkill. I would like to see about getting an electric quartz patio style heater.

I also have a kerosene salamander heater, but as with the heater in the picture, they are too noisy to enjoy working close by. Plus the salamander likes to drink a lot of very expensive kerosene! The big radiant heater runs on diesel and does not smell.

 

[newbury]

^^^
You do realize that this is a two year old thread?

Yeah, but it's getting cold out and is interesting.

I've a small salamander I use in my "big shop", area about 40' x 40' x 12' no insulation. I'm in Mississippi. Years ago I bought a diesel/kero salamander of about 80K BTU. Small, no wheels, some real low price, like $100 or $150. Put it on an HF small dolly ($8). Works great on ULSD diesel. Probably have put 20 or 30 hours on it.

Best practices - keep clean fuel, get a CO detector.

When I grew up in Vermont in the early '60's several of the neighbors burned kerosene for fuel, their clothes stank all spring, fall and winter.

 

[sixdogs]

View attachment 578145

I always wanted one of these and finally bought a bunch at an auction.

It did melt my snow pants and burst a favourite air hose, where I didn't even think it was making heat!

I want to work on something in my drive shed today, but this thing is kind of overkill. I would like to see about getting an electric quartz patio style heater.

I also have a kerosene salamander heater, but as with the heater in the picture, they are too noisy to enjoy working close by. Plus the salamander likes to drink a lot of very expensive kerosene! The big radiant heater runs on diesel and does not smell.

That's a VAL6 diesel heater and probably the best heater out there. No fumes, no muss and I can take the chill off a 40x60 metal pole barn pretty quick. It radiates heat as opposed to blasting it with air so it's more pleasant to be around. Do you recall what you paid?

 

[oosik]

I have a propane fired torpedo heater out in my wood shop. I am very careful - I think - in that I turn it off if I'm doing any high volume sanding, anything that would aerosolize wood dust or when I use wood finish products that are flammable. So far - no explosions. I saw the immediate aftermath of a grain elevator explosion. Two massive concrete storage silos burned for three day - after the explosion. Because of all this - most of my wood working projects are summer time affairs.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I could not afford one generally speaking. My friend bought one new for a few grand. I came across mine at auction, from a film set rental place and got three. Sold two, kept one. They were quite cheap. There was another at the same auction a few days ago. It also sold for a couple hundred bucks, but I didn't bother. Musn't be too greedy!

Great heater if you need to work out on your D9, at thirty below in a blizzard!

 

[Looking4new]

I could not afford one generally speaking. My friend bought one new for a few grand. I came across mine at auction, from a film set rental place and got three. Sold two, kept one. They were quite cheap. There was another at the same auction a few days ago. It also sold for a couple hundred bucks, but I didn't bother. Musn't be too greedy!

Great heater if you need to work out on your D9, at thirty below in a blizzard!

What auction? Where is it located?

 

[Industrial Toys]

Bryans Farm Auction, in Ontario. Now just on-line auctions, no more in person.



A side shot. These from the film set are a version I had never seen. They swivel around. I don't think that is of any advantage at all. All of them rust like that from the heat.

Most of the VAL 6, like sold last week are of the conventional fixed type.

 

[3930dave]

Great heater if you need to work out on your D9, at thirty below in a blizzard!

When I first saw your pic, I was thinking..... "Radial aircraft engine, high Arctic....."

I could see needing a lot of clearance around that.

Someone mentioned noise..... years ago I went into an empty basement of an old building under renovation. When I opened the basement door, it sounded like a jet was taking off ! Aside from annoying, some of the big salamanders are probably loud enough to cause hearing damage.

Rgds, D.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Yes, lots of clearance. I also melted my boot laces! We were doing some carpentry in the barn, using my friends VAL 6, and all of a sudden the air hose blew, that was lying on the floor some distance away. One of my best (of course).

I only have it, if I absolutely have to work on something in the cold. Not just to provide warmth for tinkering.

However, last winter My Dad and I were doing something outside while his GF looked on, obviously cold. I dragged out that heater, and remedied that situation in a hurry.

 

[Looking4new]

Bryans Farm Auction, in Ontario. Now just on-line auctions, no more in person.

View attachment 578182

A side shot. These from the film set are a version I had never seen. They swivel around. I don't think that is of any advantage at all. All of them rust like that from the heat.

Most of the VAL 6, like sold last week are of the conventional fixed type.

Thank you.

 

[Jstpssng]

Still relevant to me. Good info here, that is on the mark, whenever cold weather hits

True. I just dont know what can be accomplished by answering a two year old question. There's a dfference between that and a discussion.

My father had several kerosene heaters for backup if the furnace kicked off in the greenhouses. He gave me a small Knipco (40,000 btu?) which was light enough to carry around if I needed to warm something. One day I was installing the fourth or fifth block heater in the radiator hose of my 275. It was about 10 below zero F and the wind was howling. With that heater blasting it was toasty warm. I plugged the block heater in but it was defective. I didn't even bother to return it, removing the unit required taking the radiator out again so I just ran the Knipco in cold weather. I'm not sure why I have such lousy luck with engine heaters- I installed 5 in my old L275 in a 9 year period before giving up, and the block heater in my 3301 has never worked.