Salamander ( Torpedo) Heater Problem - anyone here work with them?

[Angarak]

Are there any members here who own/service/work with kerosene fuelled torpedo heaters?

 

A friend of a friend has a Salamander ("torpedo") heater that is fuelled by Kerosene, similar to the one shown below:

 

http://www.arpielleequipment.com/productImages/b200t.jpg

 

It's been working fine for ages and now its suddenly struggling to start, or, if it does start it switches off after 5-20 minutes and will then struggle to restart.

 

To date I have:

 

:: drained and flushed out the fuel tank

:: put in a new spark plug (there is a good spark)

:: put in a new fuel filter (fuel is getting through it fine)

:: inspected the nozzle/injector for obstructions (none found)

:: inspected the rubber fuel/vac lines for leaks (none found)

:: visually inspected the flame sensor (cant see anything noticeable wrong with it)

 

The flame sensor is a fail safe, if it doesnt detect a yellow flame in the combustion chamber it will shut the heater down.

 

If I have the top of the heater off it will run all day long, however as soon as I put the top on it fails to start or doesnt run for very long.

 

I'm therefore thinking that when the top of the heater is off less air is being forced through the combustion chamber due to it leaking around the sides of the combustion chamber.....giving a nice yellow flame (good air/fuel mixture). If the top of the heater is on there is minimal air leakage so it is creating an orange/blue flame (too much air).

 

If I throw a towel on the back of the heater when the top is on, the restriction in air flowing in from the rear of the heater results in it starting fine and would no doubt run all day (until the towel catches on fire from the heat generated!)....but for H&S reasons this cant be a permanent solution.

 

There is an adjuster on the fan motor that lets you tweak the vacuum which in effect affects the rate at which fuel is pulled through the system into the combustion chamber. I've had this from 1 extreme to the other and still cant get the heater to start and stay lit with the top cover on.

 

Would anyone like to suggest the possible reasons for this? It's doing my head in, anyone who may have a solution please post up. I have thought of drilling some holes in the top cover to allow some air to escape to see if that helps to improve the air/fuel ratio but I doubt the owner would be too keen on that.

 

Cheers

Simon

[Chris Wilson]

It's almost certainly the flame sensor. You can maybe disable it "for test purposes"

[Angarak]

Thanks Chris, I'll look into it.

[Guest rbats]

I was having the same problem with my heater not working with the cover on. My solution was to slightly bend the blades on the fan to decrease air flow just a little bit. I have no more problems with that unit.

 

 

 

 

Are there any members here who own/service/work with kerosene fuelled torpedo heaters?

 

A friend of a friend has a Salamander ("torpedo") heater that is fuelled by Kerosene, similar to the one shown below:

 

http://www.arpielleequipment.com/productImages/b200t.jpg

 

It's been working fine for ages and now its suddenly struggling to start, or, if it does start it switches off after 5-20 minutes and will then struggle to restart.

 

To date I have:

 

:: drained and flushed out the fuel tank

:: put in a new spark plug (there is a good spark)

:: put in a new fuel filter (fuel is getting through it fine)

:: inspected the nozzle/injector for obstructions (none found)

:: inspected the rubber fuel/vac lines for leaks (none found)

:: visually inspected the flame sensor (cant see anything noticeable wrong with it)

 

The flame sensor is a fail safe, if it doesnt detect a yellow flame in the combustion chamber it will shut the heater down.

 

If I have the top of the heater off it will run all day long, however as soon as I put the top on it fails to start or doesnt run for very long.

 

I'm therefore thinking that when the top of the heater is off less air is being forced through the combustion chamber due to it leaking around the sides of the combustion chamber.....giving a nice yellow flame (good air/fuel mixture). If the top of the heater is on there is minimal air leakage so it is creating an orange/blue flame (too much air).

 

If I throw a towel on the back of the heater when the top is on, the restriction in air flowing in from the rear of the heater results in it starting fine and would no doubt run all day (until the towel catches on fire from the heat generated!)....but for H&S reasons this cant be a permanent solution.

 

There is an adjuster on the fan motor that lets you tweak the vacuum which in effect affects the rate at which fuel is pulled through the system into the combustion chamber. I've had this from 1 extreme to the other and still cant get the heater to start and stay lit with the top cover on.

 

Would anyone like to suggest the possible reasons for this? It's doing my head in, anyone who may have a solution please post up. I have thought of drilling some holes in the top cover to allow some air to escape to see if that helps to improve the air/fuel ratio but I doubt the owner would be too keen on that.

 

Cheers

Simon

[Chris Wilson]

I would imagine the flame sensor is tired.

 

 

BTW a Salamander was originally an old style vertical heater that uses no pump, just the upward draught of hot air to pull fuel in, often petrol, they are now sadly illegal as they were awesome beasts with no real moving parts.