Whining about Sunflower Heaters

[headcheese]

the whining attracts fish. sometimes i shut mine off then turn it on again to blow the fish call.

[splakeshaker]

That is the sound of "The Orchesta of Catching Fish" warming up!

Exactly....I always looked at as into music!!!

[scott b]

If you sing a song while this is happening the time goes by much faster. I don't know what I would do without my sunflower hearter/cooker. Makes toast in 5 seconds flat. Burns soup to the bottom of the can in one minute. Keeps me warm. I've even night fished by the soft orange glow after the lantern burns out. Love it... even with the howl. As for the flame throwers. Uhhh yeah get rid of it.

[splakeshaker]

I meant..Intro Music..lol

[JimBuck]

Thanks DTro. The hose has always been a hassle anyways. Now I have a legit excuse to trash it.

[leech~~]

My heater/cooker also doubles as a flamethrower from time to time. What do you think that could be from? I'm pretty sure I don't wanna get torched inside my fish house. It's almost happened 3 times now.

Does this happen mainly when you have it tilted in the cooker position and with a fill tank or the two pounder on it? Sometimes with a fill tank before I mounted mine on top of the tank it would flame up and I think it's because you maybe getting more of the liq, then gas out of your tank? Check which way it is sitting next time and how full your tank is at the time.

[magicstix]

I'm gonna throw this out there. Mines never made noise normally that I can remember but it did act goofy and maybe made whining when the thremocouple was on its way out. I just replaced it because thats really the only thing that can go wrong and they do wear out over time.And they're don't cost much. My heater was like new again after that.

I've also never had the flamethrower expirence. Have seen both problems with other peoples equipment but not myself personally. My heater/cooker is about 15-18yrs old and has the 3 temp. selector knob. hope this helps.

[BrdHunter01]

We just replaced the thermocouple on ours and it still whines and shoots flames at the start. I also think the flames are from laying the tank on its side....

[jBohmer]

Been away from my computer and I have just been able to read the responses. Thanks for all of the great ideas. I feel a lot better about it now since I have yet to experience the flamethrower affect. Anyway, I do not think it is the thermocoupler since it is relatively new and has always done this. I really like the cleaning idea. Also, what about putting a regulator on my big tank? It definitely seems to be a pressure thing and if cleaning it out does not work I think that will be my next step. Does anyone use a regulator? At the ice fishing show I saw a hose just like the one I have, same brand and everything, but it had a regulator on it. I am thinking this may help.

[Esox_Magnum]

I run a regulator but I have also modified mine to heat from aroud 3,000 or less to afterburner, guesing over 25,000. Not sure it a regulator would help or not since thats basicly what your temp setting thing is. Mine don't have that anymore.

[leech~~]

I have also modified mine to heat from aroud 3,000 or less to afterburner, guesing over 25,000.

Esox, I thought you were from Iowa not Texas! I think you would totally melt down a little Sunflower before it would hit 25,000 btu's!

[Esox_Magnum]

Dad did melt the cooking grill off it making coffe up in the Rockies Elk hu nting one year. Boils a gal of coffee quick though

[FrontenacPike]

I had an experience with it last winter and think I know why this phenomenon occurs. My mr heater cooker always does this at start up. When it is in the shack it does it for about 20 seconds. Last winter we attempted to tailgate a fish fry on the Mr heater on the tail gate of my truck. The heater was quiet UNTIL I laid the pan on top of the grate. Every time the pan made contact with grate is squealed. I lifted the pan away and it would quit. We tried just letting the pan heat but the unbearable noise wouldn't stop even after several minutes of heat. There was no wind that night just your typical 20 deg night. I then figured that it had to be the cold pan and the rapid heating of the molecules so fast that it was making that noise.

To make a long story short I believe it is the rapid heating of the cold metal that causes the squealing. Even when we bear'd through the noise it was the cold portion of the pan meeting the hot portion causing the noise.

I'm really not a science guy but does this sound right???

[Dhow]

when mine squeals at startup i put my finger on one of the two holes on the gas/air mixture chamber, it stops the racket instantly and if you hold your finger there for 5-10 seconds you can let go and you will be left with warm, cozy, QUIET heat. Been doing this for years

[chris63]

The frequency(tone)seems to be different on different heaters so in effect we could all get together and do a heater symphony.c63

[jBohmer]

I know that the heater onlys whines when it is cold. I have confirmed this that last two times out. If I watch the heater coil as it whines I always see a cool spot on it. The whining stops as the cool spots vanish. This would explain why it last so much longer outside with a breeze present. I could see if you were cookng with it it could cool the coil down so the whining would begin again. I think I have narrowed down when it whines, but why? I have not tried a regulator yet but I may. I am intrigued by Dhow's idea by restricting the airflow by blocking one of the oxygen holes. Sounds bass ackwards to me but if he says it work for him I am gonna give it a shot.

[jBohmer]

when mine squeals at startup i put my finger on one of the two holes on the gas/air mixture chamber, it stops the racket instantly and if you hold your finger there for 5-10 seconds you can let go and you will be left with warm, cozy, QUIET heat. Been doing this for years

I tried this in my garage and it worked. I have not had a chance to try it in cooler conditions yet but it their seems to be something to it. Thanks Dhow, looks you're the winner!

[DTro]

I think it's only a Band-Aid. In my case it shut up for a while and then started back up again.

For whatever reason mine has been really bad lately. It goes on and on and on and drives me nuts I took a small piece of tape and covered a portion of the hole and that worked, but I can tell it's not burning as efficiently as it should be.

It has done this since new and I really think it's some sort of manufacturing defect.

[jBohmer]

Dtro,

When mine is making noise I can see the cold spot on the webbed portion (forgot what is actually called). I can see a fluttering flame on top of the cool spot and once that is gone the noise quits. If I use it outside where there is a breeze it seems to cool it off and the noise starts. I know this is not a solution to your problem but I assume you are seeing the same thing. That is why it stops when it warms up. But what makes it do that? Why do a lot of people not even seem to have this problem? I am still curious and I cannot wait to try blocking a hole when I am sitting outside with a breeze and see what happens then.

[stuckinthedesert]

I'm betting most of you that have this problem have used the heater with the hose at some point (black not green)...those hoses plug up the orifice with oil which can cause all sorts of havoc like the whistling noise and flare up. mine got so plugged up i couldn't even get it to light until i cleaned it out which you can do with a small piece of wire after unscrewing it from the mixture tube. also try holding the brass orifice over a flame like a lighter or match or something to burn it clean (but please disconnect the propane supply first.) even if you go back to the 1 lb cylinders once there is oil in the orifice it will still make problems until cleaned out. using the filter they sell for the buddy heater will prevent this from happening, but it's not hard to clean the orifice.

also if you do a lot of cooking on it and have had water or food boil over at all try cleaning the orifice as well because it gets plugged from burnt residue. you might see what looks like a white powder on it from boiled over water.

[MN_BEEF]

I also had this issue with my 1lb. and 20lb. tanks. I found that if I slightly cover one of the air intake holes on the shaft before the bell, it will stop whining. last time I covered it with a wrench I had, so almost anything will work for mine.

I did also have the 2-3' flames, it was due to my thermocupler having a break in the line. Bought a new line and it works great.

Good Luck.

[Hartley]

I have the Blind Heater from Cabela's (its made by mr.heater) It's the best heater I've ever bought. It only has one setting though, but it's very quiet, it doesnt throw out the heat like a sunflower it heats up objects. I use 1 pounders early in the year, then when Iam able to drive and carry more stuff along then I use a 20 pounder. I highly reccomend it!!

[DTro]

Ok, I can get mine to shup up too, if I partially cover one of the holes, but that doesn't seem right. Kind of a Band Aid. Is it still burning right that way? I don't think I should have to do that. What is that a symptom of?

Where is this orifice I should clean? I think it's been this way since new.

[stuckinthedesert]

Where is this orifice I should clean? I think it's been this way since new.

if you unscrew the brass assembly that connects to the mixture tube (the part that has the holes you are covering) you'll be able to see the orifice on the tip that points into the mixture tube. you'll have to disconnect the thermocouple in order to unscrew the brass assembly with the orifice. the reason limiting the air intake works is because when the orifice is partially blocked it is limiting the propane gas so you are getting more air into the mix, and a partially blocked orifice can also increase the pressure of the gas coming out (imagine running water through a smaller hole) and that can cause flare ups.

the best way to clean the orifice IMO is to heat it up and burn it out with a propane torch. but anything like that will work as will some very thin wire. but be careful when using wire to not scratch the inside of the orifice; it's not as precisely calibrated as a carburetor jet but you don't want to go reaming it out. i only use wire on mine if the clog is so bad it is visible. when burning the orifice clean, make sure you purge whatever gas is left in there with the push button valve. even so you might experience a small pop from the trapped gas igniting.

it's worth cleaning out because it can't hurt anything and you may find the heater works much better afterward.

[stuckinthedesert]

I have the Blind Heater from Cabela's (its made by mr.heater) It's the best heater I've ever bought. It only has one setting though, but it's very quiet, it doesnt throw out the heat like a sunflower it heats up objects. I use 1 pounders early in the year, then when Iam able to drive and carry more stuff along then I use a 20 pounder. I highly reccomend it!!

x2

i have a portable buddy, a heater/cooker sunflower, and the Cabela's Quiet Blind heater which is also a heater/cooker, but different than the common ones in that it uses a standard type regulator and a ceramic burner face similar to a buddy heater. it has always been the most reliable out of the box but only has one setting and does not provide as many btu's as the others. a modified one to put out more heat would probably be nice but you'd have to lose the stock regulator which is the reason it's so quiet. i mostly use mine as a secondary heater when the portable buddy isn't warm enough on it's own. the portable buddy is still my favorite though since i rigged it to override the safety shutoff...been dead reliable ever since.

the quiet blind heaters are Cabela's specific, i've never seen them anywhere else nor a clone of them, and are nearly impossible to find on the second hand market although i did get mine used. last i checked you can still get them new from Cabela's but who knows how long they will stock it.