Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

3 or 4 years ago we bought a catalytic gas heater along with a couple of gas bottles and a regulator. All was Ok the first year however the following winter there appeared to be a problem with too much gas pressure. I changed the regulator for another that I had, exactly the same, it would only work by holding the lever up on the regulator. Went out and bought a new regulator no change, so we changed the gas bottle, No difference. Ok so it must be the heater then.............. We went and bought a new heater, different style with 3 panels. fitted the regulator and gas bottle and guess what......... it was exactly the same, toomuch pressure so that the flame moves away from the jet and switches itself off. We have used Repsol and Cepsa bottles, This is driving me nuts, we use a sponge to hold the lever up slightly on the regulator thereby reducing the pressure....................................Help, has anyone else had this problem ?

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

Does it maybe need propane instead of butane? Perhaps propane bottles or regulators have different pressure?

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

IMO go to a Repsol shop/agent and buy a reg from them.

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

Sounds a bit dangerous to me. Holding the lever up means that the seal is not properly made and gas is leaking out thereby reducing the pressure.
You could either suffocate or blow yourself up - either way you'd be dead.

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

No it doesn't leak, It's basically just keeping the diaphragm under slightly more pressure. I have just turned it on this morning and it is OK. It's like 1 time in 5 it works OK? As for new regulators I now have 2. ( 1 is Repsol)
We have been using the A/C but because we still had 2 full bottles of gas from last year we thought we would use them. The Gas is correct. It makes no sense at all. I just thought that I wouldn't be the only one to have had this problem. Obviously it's the black cloud that follows me around.:(

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

Many of those heaters have a safety mechanism that shuts them off if there is not enough oxygen or too much moisture in the air.

We have one in a bathroom, and it does exactly the same thing until will open the window and let fresh air into the room. Could that be the problem?

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

You might have something there, I remember turning it on outside last year and it was OK. I just put it down to pot luck.............. This morning the temperature in the house was 17.1C and the humidity was 70%. There is nothing in the instructions except on the external box it says it has a sensor for CO? Where that is I have no idea there are no electronics in it just a mechanical valve with a heat sensor for the pilot flame. Using this increases the humidity and the condensation is quite evident on the windows.

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

Does it work for a time and then go out? Possible oxygen problem.

Does it work if you keep the starter button pressed down? Possible heat sensor problem.

Is the gas bottle very cold? Warm it up. I know someone who used to heat them up with burning oily rags but I wouldn't recommend that:eek: - just keep the bottle in a warm room for a day.

This might help...

...especially the last paragraph. (can't copy and paste it:confused:) which describes the pilot flame 'lifting away' from the jet so it seems that either ventilation is poor or there is a problem with the ODS - oxygen depletion sensor.

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

Nothing in the instructions on mine either - except a warning sticker on the top saying that the heater requires adequate ventilation.

Jimenato - good job with the info. That seems to explain a lot.

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

If the ventilation seems OK have a look at this...

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

That is what is happening the flame lifting away from the jet which makes me think of too much pressure. A few years ago (3) when we first had the other heater working fine, we had a damp problem caused by a leaking water pipe. This was fixed and steps were taken to reduce the water table in the land by about 1 metre to reduce any other damp problems. Since then, probably coincidence we have had the problems with these heaters. I have 2 different heaters with the same problem, the last one was straight out of the box with the problem. Maybe we have radon or something coming out of the ground, the smoke detector doesn't activate and I check it every so often. As for ventilation, we have a 90sqm bungalow generally with all the internal doors open.
We also have a rabbit size dog which hasn't passed out or worse.
I'll try some googling on flame lifting away...............

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

Didn't find very much with a quick google, only some stuff about catalytic heaters in tents.
Yesterday morning I took the heater outside temperature 12 C
1. tried it immediately, same problem with flame lifting.
2. 5 mins later as above.
3. 30 minutes later same again.
4. after about 4 hours of sitting in the sun (air temp 14C) It worked straight off and was repeatable, I tried it half a dozen times waiting a minute or 2 between tries and every time it was correct. The gas bottle was tepid but the regulator was quite warm.
5. some hours later after dark it failed to work correctly again, with multiple tries.
6. Indoors again this morning it has worked first time, temp 16.9C

From the above it is fairly obvious that the problem has nothing to do with oxygen levels (or are we all in danger?), I don't know how much the humidity changed during the day but it seemed very dry. CRAZY ! Maybe it really is my black cloud..............

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

Weird. Perhaps CO2 levels have increased to such an extent that....;)

Maybe a gas service man might be able to help?

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

Is there no legal requirement to have such appliances checked by a qualified gas engineer on a regular basis ?

I have had one in use here for eleven years with only an occasional problem such as partly blocked jet and points needing adjusting (similar to spark plug) which I've done myself, though I'm not recommending it as normal practice.

Also I've never had a problem firing it up at very low temperatures ( possibly close to zero at times), though that seems to be the case with some mentioned on here.

I think in this particular instance advice or help from a qualified engineer is probably the order of the day to get the thing working as it should and give peace of mind.

Re: Gas Heaters/Bottles, Help!
 

I think you were correct on your initial post on the thread "toomuch pressure".
The suggestion that you have a gas safety check is a good one (assuming he can get the bugger to light!). The engineer may also be able to point you in the right direction re servicing and repair if needed.
I had one done in 2011 and it cost 60e with a new flexible pipe fitted.
Use the local Repsol office to book the inspection and they will ensure that it is their certified engineer who carries out the check. If none of the above yields a result, you may wish to be "certified":eek: