eltex greenhouse heater

[chilli_grower]

Look what someone gave me yesterday!

It is in excellent condition.

Only problem is, I don't know how to use it!

Can anybody help me please?

It looks like it will whack the heat out, as there are 4 seperate wicks.

THe knobs lower and raise the wicks perfectly, and there is a lever on the side which seems to clamp the wick into psition, any ideas what it is for?

It appears that I will need to lift the top off to light the wicks, then put the top back on

THank you

[rustylady]

Yes the lever on the left is to snuff out the flames & the two with the knurled knobs are to adjust the height of the wick & the size of your flame the higher the flame the hotter it gets, BUT don't have the flames too high as it will smoke badly taken from Eltex greenhouse heater | Gardeners Corner

[chilli_grower]

ok great,

I am going to light this tonight after work.

I am going to test it in the g/h whilst it is empty, and if ok, I will then put my toms and chillies in there

[bearded bloke]

Very Nice

Presuming it is empty & stood unused for some time,fill with paraffin,lift the top off,wind the wick up 1/2",the wicks are ready to light when you can nip them between finger & thumb & get a light coating on you finger tips,wind wick down to 1/4" & light 1 (or more depending on heat output required,unused wick/s should be wound down flush with top surface),put top on & looking through window slowly turn down,you are looking to achieve an even blue flame.

[chilli_grower]

thanks for that great expaination BB, I will print it out. I was wondering wether the flame should be blue or orange.

And yes, I assumed I could vary the heat ouput by lighting either one or two of the wicks.

Yes it is empty and has probably not been used for 10 years.

I bet they dont get made to this high standard anymore?

I will report back tonight....

[bearded bloke]

As long & blue as you can get it CG the odd yellow flicker is to be expected though,if you are feeling inventive you could fashion & clip a water tray on top & use it as humidifier

[rustylady]

As long & blue as you can get it CG the odd yellow flicker is to be expected though,if you are feeling inventive you could fashion & clip a water tray on top & use it as humidifier

Doesn't paraffin produce enough water as it burns without needing to add more to the atmosphere in the greenhouse?

[bearded bloke]

Dunno how much water paraffin makes,presumably about the same as petrol which is a pint from a gallon.It probably depends on what you are growing but Eltex did actually produce heaters with removable evaporator trays.

[chilli_grower]

i will give the evaporation tray a miss.

but will hopefully get this up and running tonight.

sooner the better really, as my conservatory is like a jungle!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Eltex made both blue and yellow flame heaters. That looks to me like a standard flat wick yellow flame heater. I could be wrong of course that wouldn't be unusual.

When you first light it don't forget to go back and check it after about 20 minutes and re adjust the flame.

Potty

[chilli_grower]

i am glad you mentioned that, as I have just lit it, and no matter what I do, I can only get an orange flame.

Please see pic.

With the wicks in this positin there is no smoke at all, but have I set them too low perhaps?

Thank you

[bearded bloke]

Eltex made both blue and yellow flame heaters.

Well spotted that man I only ever saw the round wick jobbies live & learn as they say

[chilli_grower]

well it is burning nicely at the moment, I have the wicks nice and low, with no smoke.

It has been burning for around an hour or so now, and the flames are nice and steady.

So I am guessing it is all set up right.

I might chuck it in the g/h overnight and hope for the best!

I have a max/min wireless thermometer in there. So I can take it to bed with me tonight to monitor things!!!!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Parrafin heaters have their own little foible's so I would keep a close eye on it the first time you use it for an extended period.

Check the flame again before you go to bed. As the heater warms up the fuel will become more volatile and therefore burn easier and this may make it smoke. Also the atmosphere in the GH can change with the same results. The last thing you want is to awake in the morning and have to clean the soot from your GH glass.

One final point if it does start smoking it is also producing CO, so leave the GH door open for a few minutes before you enter to allow it to vent out.

Potty

[chilli_grower]

thanks for the advice potstubsdustbins

I checked on the heater several times last night before bed, and the flames were consistent.

So I went to bed with the theremometer receiver thing, and checked it at least 10 times throughout the night!

THe greenhouse maintained a temperature of approx 13 degrees until around 1am, then dropped to approx 11 degrees, and then at around 3am it dropped to 9 degrees, and stayed like that for the rest of the night, until now.

I am very pleased with this, although I will raise the wicks a little bit tonight, to try and keep the minimum temp to 11 degrees.

I just turned the heater off, and there is no black on the windows at all, and no smoke, so looks like all went well.

Prior to using the heater, I would have expected the temperature in there to have gone down to 2 or 3 degrees.

Very pleased.

Thanks for the help