waste oil heater

[1LtCAP 4,264]

so....the only way i can afford to heat the shop comfortably is with a waste oil heater. installed it about 12 years ago, and it's been mostly trouble-free. had to replace the ignitor, flame sensor, and slide-out at different times, but that's been about it. till this past saturday that is.

 we're finishing up at the end of the day, and i go to park a car. come back in, and the shop's filled with smoke, and the heater's spitting more out. the burner had powered down, but the fan was still blowing and spreading the smoke. there was also smoke billowing outta the slide-out right above the burner motor. got up there, pulled power. found that the burner motor pooped the bed. and took most electrics in the burner assembly with it(that was the majority of the smoke i think judging by the smell). so now i'm stuck. the only reliable place i've been able to find for parts supply for this heater is out in millersburg ohio. i found them by accident, and couldn't find anyone like them close'ish.  that's who i've gotten my parts from for the last almost 10 years or so. but.....it obviously takes time. i can't call up to order a new burner assembly for another hour or 3. once ordered, i'm figuring i'll be super lucky to see it by thanksgiving. and it's gonna run me 'round 1300-1400 bucks. so now, i'm running an old(like 20+ years old) propane heater till i can get this handled. can't obviously leave that run overnight though.

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

Wow, that sucks.

Not sure what kind of propane heater you're using currently, but I recently picked up forced-air propane heater to heat my garage/garage gym and it does a phenomenal job of heating it.  If you end up having to have "auxiliary" heat for a longer period, maybe consider picking one up. 

I estimate from my use so far that they burn through a 20lb "grill size" propane tank in ~10 hours of use.

https://www.northerntool.com/products/mr-heater-forced-air-propane-heater-60-000-btu-1500-sq-ft-capacity-model-mh60fav-106927

[1LtCAP 4,264]

41 minutes ago, DirtyDigz said:

Wow, that sucks.

Not sure what kind of propane heater you're using currently, but I recently picked up forced-air propane heater to heat my garage/garage gym and it does a phenomenal job of heating it.  If you end up having to have "auxiliary" heat for a longer period, maybe consider picking one up. 

I estimate from my use so far that they burn through a 20lb "grill size" propane tank in ~10 hours of use.

https://www.northerntool.com/products/mr-heater-forced-air-propane-heater-60-000-btu-1500-sq-ft-capacity-model-mh60fav-106927

a friend just brought that exact one over for a loaner. the other one i have will burn through a 20 pounder in 3 or 4 hours. it's 230k btu though. another friend has hanging 130btu propane heaters for sale. i'm waiting for the gas guys out in front of the shop to get restocked on their 20 pounders. gonna check with that company and see the cost of having a 100 pounder put in back of the shop and plumbed to those. they'll be used to supplement the waste oil heater.......or in times like this.

[mustang69 505]

I understand the waste oil heater in your situation since fuel would be basically free if you do enough oil changes for folks.  I thought about the same thing for my home workshop but ended up with ceiling-mounted forced air propane unit.  It does a great job heating the space (26x36 with 15' ceiling).  Propane is much cheaper by me than heating oil or electric.  Just fyi.

[1LtCAP 4,264]

53 minutes ago, mustang69 said:

I understand the waste oil heater in your situation since fuel would be basically free if you do enough oil changes for folks.  I thought about the same thing for my home workshop but ended up with ceiling-mounted forced air propane unit.  It does a great job heating the space (26x36 with 15' ceiling).  Propane is much cheaper by me than heating oil or electric.  Just fyi.

i seem to recall having checked into that too, and i think waste oil heaters in a residential setting are illegal here. i might end up getting a couple high capacity propane heaters here to supplement the waste oil heater.....

[maintenanceguy 510]

Just curious, where do you get enough waste oil to keep it running? 

[brucin 923]

How about a kerosene heater? They throw about 55,000 btu and rum for several hours on a gallon or two of fuel.

[1LtCAP 4,264]

1 hour ago, maintenanceguy said:

Just curious, where do you get enough waste oil to keep it running? 

i get it about 50/50 from doing oil changes in the shop, and the shop across the street gives me a couple hundred gallons a year too

[JackDaWack 2,895]

16 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

i seem to recall having checked into that too, and i think waste oil heaters in a residential setting are illegal here. i might end up getting a couple high capacity propane heaters here to supplement the waste oil heater.....

They can't be used to heat a residential structures, including anything attached to the structure. So an attached garage is a no go, but you can use one in a residential detached garage or shop etc. 

The EPA has come down hard on heating systems across the board from nat gas, wood and also these waste oil burners.. so I'm not surprised it's hard to find parts for a 10+ year old model. 

My wood stove isn't even EPA certified anymore and it was bought brand new in 2017. 

[JackDaWack 2,895]

Free is free on the fuel side, hard to argue that.

But I'm starting to believe in these mini split systems with heat pumps. They are pretty efficient compared to other available options, easy to install and the units aren't more than 2k. 

I just put one in our basement it's it's fantastic. Plus, it also cools the air, but that's obviously gonna cost more money to run, not that you have to. 

I think we paid like $1100 for the pioneer 30,000btu model. 

The only specialty item I needed was a vacuum gauge for charging AC systems, and had a vacuum pump already. You probably have that already for vehicles.

[1LtCAP 4,264]

1 hour ago, JackDaWack said:

They can't be used to heat a residential structures, including anything attached to the structure. So an attached garage is a no go, but you can use one in a residential detached garage or shop etc. 

The EPA has come down hard on heating systems across the board from nat gas, wood and also these waste oil burners.. so I'm not surprised it's hard to find parts for a 10+ year old model. 

My wood stove isn't even EPA certified anymore and it was bought brand new in 2017. 

i hadn't thought of that with wood stoves. i bought/installed my insert in 2014 when heating oil prices were spiking. or was it 2013? either way.....i get it.

 we did some troubleshooting on the waste oil heater yesterday. i texted pics of the area to the guy i deal with, and he was thinking transformer orburner blower shorted. both of those worked fine when powered individually. thinking i'm gonna end up replacing the transformer and flame sensor and see if it can last through the winter. then come summertime, i'll shop for some deals on a newer/bigger waste oil heater for the shop, and move this one home to my garage there.....which is separate from my house. the heater i'm running here now just barely heats this place when we get down into the teens. it's a 155k btu and by measurements it's plenty. but then take into account that the building's cinderblock with no insulation, and the bay doors are glass and are all giant heat leaks.....it's not enough. the guy i deal with refurbs these things too, and i can get a 300k btu for ballpark of $5k.

1 hour ago, JackDaWack said:

Free is free on the fuel side, hard to argue that.

But I'm starting to believe in these mini split systems with heat pumps. They are pretty efficient compared to other available options, easy to install and the units aren't more than 2k. 

I just put one in our basement it's it's fantastic. Plus, it also cools the air, but that's obviously gonna cost more money to run, not that you have to. 

I think we paid like $1100 for the pioneer 30,000btu model. 

The only specialty item I needed was a vacuum gauge for charging AC systems, and had a vacuum pump already. You probably have that already for vehicles.

that's good to know, 'cause i'm working on my upstairs which in my ancient old house has no plumbing/heat/ac at all up there. i'll be trying one of those up there this summer i think