BREAKING IN NEW KEROSENE APPLIANCES

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ea BREAKING IN NEW KEROSENE APPLIANCES

Any new appliance should be treated with respect. Before use, all exposed metal surfaces should be given a coat of good automotive polish to seal the pores of the enamel finish and help preserve the finish. Before storage in late spring, they should again be cleaned up and given a coat of polish. Polish is cheap, and you paid good money for the appliance. Why not keep it in good condition, as it only takes a few minutes a year to do it?

Kerosene Heaters

Familiarize yourself with the details of the unit. Carefully remove the burner unit and raise the wick. Note the appearance and height of the wick. With most kerosene heaters, the wick should protrude about 7/16 inch at maximum height, and completely retract into its slot when in the off position. (With radiant units, the grill can be opened and the burner removed. With convection units, three perimeter screws around the base of the tower must be removed, then the circular tower carefully lifted straight up and removed to gain access to the burner unit.) 

Polish the metal cabinet inside and out.  The grillwork must also be polished.  The unit may then be reassembled and be ready for fueling.  A half hour after filling the tank with fuel, the heater may be put into operation. 

The polish you applied has sealed the pores of the paint, so spilled fuel will not tarnish the paint (enamel), any soot or grime will wipe off easily, and the heater will be easy to service before storage for the summer. 

For heaters, skip down to Initial Seasoning.

 

Kerosene stoves with normal wicks that rise should have the wick trimmed to the height of the trimming guide visible when the catalytic converter is removed.  The saturated wick design used on some Butterfly stoves (#2413, 2416, 2418, etc) is unique in that the wick itself does not move, but rather the fuel flow is what controls the heat output.  The catalytic converter of these Butterfly stoves is virtually identical to all other catalytic converters, so the illustration below is graphic enough to show you what the inside of a catalytic converter look like. Click to enlarge.

The reason for the exercise mentioned above is because it will become a regular ritual, so you might as well see how easy it is to do...the units are all designed for this. Reassemble the unit in the reverse order.

Initial Seasoning of Kerosene Stoves and Heaters

Your unit, regardless of type or style, is now ready for initial seasoning. Take the unit out of the home, say to a garage or covered patio for ventilation. This will protect it from strong drafts and from rain for this session. Pour at least a half gallon of kerosene into the tank, then let it be for at least a half hour so the wick can become fully saturated.

After the half hour, light the unit with the wick set at the maximum height, and let it burn in that position until the burner is completely red and flames of 1" appear above the top of the burner. Then turn the wick down about half way between the high and low settings and let it burn. During this initial burning, all of the preservative oil on the combustor unit is burned off (smelly), the metal becomes properly annealed, the enamel surfaces are fully cured, and the entire unit "conditioned" to its designed configuration for use. After hours of burning, the flames will begin to die down and the upper part of the burner unit will change color from red to black. Now is the time to turn the wick to its maximum height and let it burn. It will take at least another hour before the flames die out, and then the tar residues on the top of the fiberglass wicks will burn off (very smelly).

The reason for this initial seasoning burn being done at a reduced wick height is because the new wick is in pristine condition, so its capillary action is at maximum capacity. By burning the wick dry during the first burn, the wick itself becomes seasoned and will last considerably longer in use.

Your kerosene appliance is now ready to give you years of odor free performance. Inexpensive kerosene appliances in particular will perform much better if properly seasoned.

Remember that kerosene appliances need regular maintenance.

 

 

 

 

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Heater Information below

Lamp Wicks:

Center Draft Wicks - Wicks available only from this Wick Shop.

Flat lamp wicks

Aladdin Lamp Wicks & parts

Lamp Chimneys:

Center Draft Lamp chimneys
from Junior "Tiny" to Mammoth lamps.

Fabulous "Sans Rival" borosilicate chimney for 14''' Kosmos lamps

Student Lamp Sans Rival Chimney with 1 7/8" fitter!!!

Standard glass lamp chimneys

Sonnenbrenner Lamp Chimneys

Information on lamps:

Center Draft Kerosene Lamps
(Photos, information and history, etc)

Photos of restored center draft lamps 

Care, Feeding and Restoration of Center Draft Lamps (and wick installation for many)

Center Draft Lamp manufacturers and brand names

Lamp Chimneys - Dimension of nominal base diameter by make, model and "line".

Early American Metal Font & Specialty Lamps

Aladdin Lamp History

Aladdin Lamp Wicks & Chimneys,

Aladdin - Exploded burner views

Kosmos-Brenner lamps and wicks

Flame Spreaders and "Smoke Consumers" from Alex Marrack

  • Vulcan, Imperial, Veritas, Belgian, Hinks, Messenger's, Young's Court, etc.

    Articles by Alex Marrack:

Home Page

Site Index

Site Index for all things Perfection

Kindler Wicking For Oil Stoves & Ranges

Kerosene Heaters

Alphabetical list of most kerosene heaters and the proper wick, & cart checkout.

List by wick number and the heaters that fit them. (A helpful guide for buying on eBay)

Measurements needed if you have an unlisted heater.

Care and Maintenance of Kerosene Heater Wicks

Installing Kerosene Heater Wicks - generic for unpinned wicks

Owner's_Manuals & information for many kerosene heaters

Kerosene Heaters - General types, how they work, recommendations for some good ones - and those I would avoid.

Economic Benefits of Kerosene Heaters

Kerosene Heater Safety

Regular maintenance   

Troubleshooting kerosene heater common problems

Breaking In New Kerosene Appliances

Burning Kerosene Heaters at Night

WATER IN KEROSENE causing "dwindling" and poor performance.

Flame Spreader Heaters and Lamps -
A Century of Excellence

Kerosene Heater Carts -
why carry your heater around?

Kerosene Fuel Primer 

Sweet Smelling Kerosene

Kerosene tank cradles (photo) Building a Cradle

HALLER "ORIGINEEL" STOVES

KEROSENE HEATERS MADE IN THE NETHERLANDS

Beatrice Boiling Stoves & Mini kerosene heaters you can make

Sad Iron stoves; Wicks & Installation instructions

Wicking For Oil Burning "WICKLESS" Stoves & Ranges

Photo Album

Photos of Wicks

Mail Order Form

Kerosene Stoves, Lanterns and Ovens

Kerosene Stoves -

 Recommendations on different models 

Kerosene Stove Maintenance and Storage
  


Butterfly A-822, 22 wick
, all-aluminum premium stove.   

Butterfly #2487, 16 wick stove Butterfly #2412 Pressure Stove; instructions for virtually any pressure stove.

Butterfly #2418 Double Burner Stove; good with any gravity flow stove.

Butterfly #2421 Oven for Kerosene Stoves

Butterfly #2641, 10 Wick Stove -
the least expensive emergency stove.

Butterfly #2698 Cook Stove -

THE Best Heavy Duty Cook Stove.

 
Butterfly #828R Pressure Lantern;
same for most pressure lanterns.

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