Regulator for 30,000 btu propane heater?

[Steve Foss]

Hey all:

Picked up the above-mentioned wall hanging circulating heater at a garage sale, and just now hooked up a half-full 20 lb tank to it.

No propane would make its way through to the ignitor, and when I disconnect the supply hose from the furnace, it's clear that there's a good amount of pressure built up in the line, which tells me no propane is getting past the furnace coupler.

I see reading on the back of the heater that it needs an external regulator, similar to the one my home furnace uses.

It states the following:

Manifold pressure of 8" W.C.

Max. inlet pressure of 14" W.C.

Min. inlet pressure of 11" W.C.

So I'm guessing that, because of the pressure buildup, the half-full 20 lber exceeds the max inlet pressure. I also spun on a full 1 lber, and it was the same.

Do I in fact need a regulator and, if so, do I have to go to the propane company to get one? The hardware store doesn't carry that kind of stuff.

Thanks!

[Surface Tension]

Steve, what brand and model heater is it.

[Steve Foss]

Frank, the only brand I can find on it is Glow-Warm. Sold through a U.S. distributor, made in China. Called my HVAC guy to ask about a regulator and he said that, since it's a ventless propane heater, it's illegal to use indoors (including garages) in Minnesota. In fact, he said if he came on a service call and noticed a ventless propane heater hooked up and functional, the law requires him to unhook it, red flag it and notify the state.

Yeah, it's got low oxygen sensor and all that, but still illegal, he says. So I asked him why the Buddy type ventless propane heaters aren't illegal, and he said that they probably are, depending on how you read the law.

So no one will sell me a regulator for it anyway. Guess that was $20 wasted. Tell you what. I'm getting sick of a state that assumes I can't figure out how to live safely and dictates this kind of carp.

[delcecchi]

And if they let it be sold, some fool would kill themselves or their family and sue everyone in sight into oblivion. Then the state guy would get fired. So, too bad about that.

Of course someone on the bay or some other site knows nothing about the rules and would probably happily sell you a regulator.

[Eelpout08]

A regulator for a gas grill or propane heater that you can find at the home improvement stores should be big enough to handle 30,000 btu's.

I wonder if that law applies to the ventless heater i have in the fishhouse.

I will have to look through my fuel gas code book on monday and see how the actual code reads.

I sure am glad the government knows whats best for me. how would i survive oherwise

[Steve Foss]

A regulator for a gas grill or propane heater that you can find at the home improvement stores should be big enough to handle 30,000 btu's.

I wonder if that law applies to the ventless heater i have in the fishhouse.

I will have to look through my fuel gas code book on monday and see how the actual code reads.

I sure am glad the government knows whats best for me. how would i survive oherwise

Thanks eelpout. Never even thought about that! Heck, since we don't use our gas grill in winter, I could pull the regulator and just put it back in spring.

[kevfish1]

yep, gas grill regulator will work just fine... and so will the heater, i have had every kind of heater in my fish houses and love the ventless. runs very economically. i leave a window cracked to let the moisture out it produces

[CAMAN]

Quote:

I'm getting sick of a state that assumes I can't figure out how to live safely and dictates this kind of carp.

Quote:

I sure am glad the government knows whats best for me. how would i survive oherwise

They aren't dictating how YOU should live safely. They are protecting the unsuspecting ones who may buy the house 10 years down the road.

[Steve Foss]

They aren't dictating how YOU should live safely. They are protecting the unsuspecting ones who may buy the house 10 years down the road.

That is incorrect. By making it illegal to use the heater in my garage, they are dictating to ME, today, how to live my life, and are not just "protecting" the person who would someday down the road buy my home and garage. And since the heater would have been mounted on a rolling rack so I could move it wherever I wanted in my garage, it wouldn't even have stayed with the garage if/when the house was sold.

[delcecchi]

Gee Steve, you are starting to sound like Rick Santelli.

[Steve Foss]

I don't know who that is. If he's one of those cable TV windbag commentators masquerading as newsmen, that explains my lack of knowledge. I don't watch any of that [PoorWordUsage].

All I'm trying to do is point out that this law does, in fact, limit my freedom and try to protect me from my own stupidity. No law in America can do that, so it's all useless legislation.

You know, just let me be me and if I kill myself through stupidity, so be it. Gotta thin the herd somehow.

[CAMAN]

If it is mounted to a movable cart then I don't believe it could be illegal. How do they know it is being used in the garage? You could easily say you use it for work or whatever and just storing it in the garage. If it's permanently mounted to the wall or ceiling then that would be an issue.

[delcecchi]

I don't know who that is. If he's one of those cable TV windbag commentators masquerading as newsmen, that explains my lack of knowledge. I don't watch any of that [PoorWordUsage].

All I'm trying to do is point out that this law does, in fact, limit my freedom and try to protect me from my own stupidity. No law in America can do that, so it's all useless legislation.

You know, just let me be me and if I kill myself through stupidity, so be it. Gotta thin the herd somehow.

Of course you are competent and should be allowed. Unfortunately, the nanny state doesn't see it that way.

Rick Santelli is a market commentator on CNBC who covers the bond market from the CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Occasionally he veers off into commentary about government actions that affect the markets. He has occasion criticized bail outs that benefit those who have not been prudent.

[Steve Foss]

Rick Santelli is a market commentator on CNBC who covers the bond market from the CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Occasionally he veers off into commentary about government actions that affect the markets. He has occasion criticized bail outs that benefit those who have not been prudent.

Figured as much. A commentator should not report news, and a newsman should not be a commentator. Of course the cable TV Snews stations don't care about such distinctions.

[Surface Tension]

I asked because a lot of those type heaters have a built in regulator.

Like your Buddy heater.

If yours takes a reg you could try the gas grill reg.

[Steve Foss]

No built in regulator that I could see, Frank. And it's printed on the back of the heater that it needs an external regulator. I took the front mesh grill and assembly off so I could trace the wiring and gas line all the way through just to check.

[Surface Tension]

I looked around and think that you will need and external reg.

[Steve Foss]

Pulled a regulator off an old gas grill at the dump today (free), brought it home and hooked it up. Works like a champ now. Thanks for the suggestion, Eelpout and kevfish.

[delcecchi]

He comments and reports on the markets. If you don't watch CNBC you won't get what he does. It is sort of a combo reporter commentator.

[Steve Foss]

He comments and reports on the markets. If you don't watch CNBC you won't get what he does. It is sort of a combo reporter commentator.

Yes Del, I understood what you meant from your previous post. And while I haven't seen that fellow in particular, I've seen enough cable TV so-called "news" reports in which reporters also act as commentators.

And that's just my point. There must at all costs, in order for people to have faith that news is unbiased, be a firewall between news reporting and commentating. One of the worst things in modern news history has been the transition away from that firewall. Once you allow news reporters to broadcast their own opinion, you've breached the firewall and lost viewer trust.

That's the biggest reason I no longer watch cable news channels. In the environment they've created, you can't trust that they are reporting accurately or in an unbiased way.

Anyway, thanks again everyone for the help on this heater!

[delcecchi]

I would have helped if I could. Unfortunately I couldn't. Maybe next time.