Fighting with Kerosene Wick Heater?

[SwampSurvivor]

Just your standard every day DynaGlo kerosene wick heater. Never had any issues with it before.

I have been using it the last few winters on medium setting to keep my garage around 50 degrees. If I am working in the garage on a weekend, I can take the time to build up a fire and heat it to a comfortable 85-90 degrees, but this can at least maintain a workable 50-5 degrees.

Last winter I put a new wick on it. Had no issues with it.

This year it's just constantly fighting me. It will work for a bit, then it starts to lose flame, rolls a bunch of coal, then just won't light again. I have to take the top off, scrub the wick and we're good to go for a bit.

Last time I had this happen it was from running diesel - by mistake - in another one. It's running kerosene this time - I know that or a fact. I bought 10 gallons of cherry flavored kerosene to run through it. It was fine at first but now it's just not usable.

Figured maybe something was assembled wrong so I took it fully apart, cleaned everything up, made sure the wick was at the right height and same thing. I usually just pull the top part off and scrub the top of the wick to make it work again for a bit.

What am I missing here?

 

[SilentType]

OEM wick?

 

[JohnnyG]

That red dye isn't very good for the wick. I think it will build up over time and create a "crust" at the top edge of the wick.
Plain old water white kerosene (or turbine fuel) is the best.
Also check for water in the tank. If the wick gets any water in it it is generally rendered useless.

 

[mk378]

> medium setting...

These can't be thottled down. Always set the wick height knob so the flame stays above the top of the burner but not so high that there is smoke from the flame tips. If you can't get the proper flame height or it is not even around the burner, take apart and reset the base wick height. Again, the adjustment is not to regulate heat output.

Every few tanks of fuel, let it run to almost empty then set the heater outside (there will be a lot of odor and smoke) to let it burn completely out. This cleans the wick to a large degree. You can tell it is due for a burn-out when you no longer get full flame height even with the knob turned all the way up. On the refill after burning out, wait an hour before lighting.

@JohnnyG has a good point about fuel quality and water in the tank. Look for "1K" or "clear" fuel. Red kero is not a total no-no but you will need more burn-out cycles.

Note that it needs a free flow of air from under the heater up through the air tube in the center. Check that for obstructions. The feet on the heater have to establish a gap to the drip pan to let air in.

 

[DukeOfFrontenac]

Great site for wicks, especially odd-balls & general kero info: https://www.milesstair.com/

I have no affiliation, just a satisfied customer. Got my old Aladdin Blue Flame an new wick from him. He's got some owner's manual reprints there as well.

 

[maraakate]

Great site for wicks, especially odd-balls & general kero info: https://www.milesstair.com/

I have no affiliation, just a satisfied customer. Got my old Aladdin Blue Flame an new wick from him. He's got some owner's manual reprints there as well.

Thanks a lot for this. I've been getting mine from "Red Hill General Store" aka https://www.kerosene-wicks.com/. Their wicks work well and they ship relatively fast, but Miles Stair seems to be the keroman!

 

[SwampSurvivor]

It should be a dyna-glo wick. I got it from amazon ... so could be fake.

Might be onto something with the dyed kerosene. I usually do let it run dry then refill and let it sit a few hours before lighting. But this is the first time I've used dyed kerosene I think. When I had the oil furnace, I'd go to a different gas station that sold clear kerosene and would fill up my drum for that to pump into the house oil tank because it was easier to get in and out of with a trailer.

Now that I'm not filling a 55 gallon drum, it's easier to go to the one by my house.

 

[8307c4]

I used and fought kerosene heaters before as well, for quite a few years in fact...
One day I broke down and bought a propane heater and some 30# propane tanks.
No comparison, I'll never go back to kerosene.

Go with a propane heater.