How often do I need to adjust the wick?

[Oleander]

Hello all

I have bought a little parafin heater for my three tier growhouse, but I only seem to be able to keep it alight for about an hour.

Any ideas what I might be doing wrong? Or should I expect to have to turn the wick up quite frequently?

Ideally I just want to light it overnight to keep the frost off, but I don't want to have to adjust it all the time.

Best wishes

Oleander

[shirlthegirl43]

I have no experience of paraffin heaters (except I remember my mum having one years ago). Would suggest checking that the wick has become thoroughly soaked with paraffin - if it is a bit dry then it will burn out.

[srodders]

I was told you have to clean the wick each time you use it, and then reset the height to give the best flame.. I must admit to only doing mine about twice a week, but never have a problem with it going out. I'd say Shirley is closer to the problem in that it is fuel related.

[Oleander]

How do you clean the wick - do you trim the burnt part off with scissors?

Srodders - Just checked your location - I guess were going to need the heaters this weekend aren't we! Do your roads grind to a halt at the sight of three snowflakes, like ours do?

[bravo2zero]

Parrafin heaters.

Dear Oleander, if your heater is going out after 2 hours there are 4 possible causes. Poor quality fuel ,you must use grade A british standard parrafin .You have set the flame too low. It may be catching a draft. The wick needs trimming, you only need to remove the crumbly bit at the tip and use sharp scissors to trim at 90 degrees or else you will get uneven burn. Adjustment of the wick is usually made when the flame loses height this all depends on what type of heater you have and what colour flame it burns. As a rule of thumb you should run it just on the cusp of it smoking then turn it down a tad.They take some learning but once youve cracked it they are worth their weight in gold. Hope this helps.

[richardbees]

Ollie

It sounds like the bottom of the wick isn't in the paraffin (as I do assume you filled it!) as it does sound like you're just burning the cotton.

Lift the wick holder off and check - as paraffin heaters should just keep burning until the reservoir is empty. I've two heaters and only trim the wicks once or twice a winter.

Richard

[bramble]

I would say its the wrong paraffin.
Regarding the wick, we used to hae a paraffin heater and only trimmed the wick when the flame went yellow.